East Ridge junior quarterback Talon Jordan needed no tricks to treat visiting fans to another stellar performance Friday night at Green Dragon Stadium.
Jordan rushed for a game-high 182 yards on 10 first-half carries to lead the Warriors to a 43-0 victory over Harlan in the regular season finale for both teams.
In his last five starts, Jordan rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Harlan, meanwhile, managed just 17 yards of total offense against a stout East Ridge defense and finished its regular season with a 1-9 overall record. The Dragons suffered five shutout losses and were limited to seven touchdowns on the season.
After forcing Harlan to punt on the game’s opening possession, East Ridge opened the scoring on a 19-yard run by Jordan and never looked back.
East Ridge senior Morgan Slone capped a five-play drive with a 5-yard TD run on the Warriors’ next possession, followed by the conversion run by Jordan to make it 16-0.
Following Harlan’s third punt of the opening quarter, Slone scored on a 6-yard run and the extra point kick by freshman Silas Wilson extended the Warriors lead to 23-0.
East Ridge (3-7) intercepted a Harlan pass just two plays into the ensuing possession by the Green Dragons, but Jordan’s lone pass attempt of the game was intercepted by Harlan on the first play of the Warriors’ short-lived drive.
Harlan was credited with a pair of first downs via penalty on its final possession of the first quarter, but turned the ball over on downs as time elapsed.
Jordan triggered a 12-play drive that spanned 69 yards on the opening drive of the second quarter, and junior Cole Ratliff capped the march on a 3-yard TD run to make it 29-0.
After another punt by the Green Dragons, junior Kaden Stewart scored on a 6-yard run, followed by the conversion run by Slone to make it 37-0 and start the running scoreboard clock.
East Ridge head coach Donnie Burdine sat most of his starters for the entirety of the second half, and a 3-yard TD run by sophomore Ayden Mullins accounted for the lone touchdown of the second half with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Harlan’s final possession of the game featured an 11-yard run around the right side by sophomore Dyson Freeman and 14 rushing yards on three carries by sophomore Boss Bryson, but the Green Dragons turned the ball over on downs and the Warriors ran out the clock.
In addition to the offensive performance by Jordan, the Warriors got 77 rushing yards on 15 carries by Mullins and another 70 yards on 10 totes by Slone. East Ridge rushed for 361 yards as a team.
Next up for Harlan is a 1A state playoff game Friday at Middlesboro.
———
East Ridge 43, Harlan 0
East Ridge 23 14 6 0 — 43
Harlan 0 0. 0 0 — 0
ER – Jordan 19 run (pass good)
ER – Slone 5 run (Jordan run)
ER – Slone 6 run (Wilson kick)
ER – C. Ratliff 3 run (pass failed)
ER – Stewart 6 run (Slone run)
ER – Mullins 3 run (kick failed)
