A 70-yard drive to open the second half helped Harlan County break a scoreless tie on the way to a 6-0 win Monday at Middlesboro in junior varsity football action.
Freshman quarterback James Ryan Howard scored on a 10-yard run to give the Bears the win, avenging a 6-0 loss earlier in the season at HCHS.
“We had a great drive. We pounded the ball with lots of quarterback power and some jets to keep them off guard and guessing, but we had some great runs,” HCHS coach Scotty Bailey said. “James Ryan Howard had a great game at quarterback. There was probably one drive I let him run it 10 times straight times. He stepped up when we needed him and I’m super proud of him for that. Quarterback power was gashing them three to four yards every time. We had some young guys step up on the offensive line and I was really proud of them for that. Our defense played outstanding. The boys were excited and it was a great feeling to see they were pumped up. Overall, we had a great team win and that’s what it was about. The boys had fun, went out there and competed with great attitudes and that’s all you can ask for.”
Luke Kelly helped stop a Middlesboro late in the first half with an interception.
“Carter Howard had a great game on both sides of the ball. He stepped up and was a leader for us,” Bailey said. “Middlesboro has a good team and to hold them scoreless is just an awesome feeling for our defense, I know our boys were proud of that. I don’t believe they had a completion all game. I was super proud of our defensive backs for that.”