Harlan wasted no time putting the disappointment from a week ago at Williamsburg behind them Friday, reeling off 32 points in the first quarter on the way to a 54-8 rout of visiting Lynn Camp.
Five Dragons reached the end zone in a dominating performance that featured a running clock before the first half ended and set up a showdown at home next Friday against Pineville for second place and home playoff game. Harlan didn’t punt the entire night and dominated up front, limiting the Wildcats to only three yards on the ground.
“We can’t control all the what ifs (of the playoffs), but we can control what we do, and I thought we played well early in the game,” Harlan coach Eric Perry said. “I thought our offensive line blocked well and we had good energy on defense. We didn’t tackle that well, but we got a lot of people to the ball. There were a lot of bright spots.”
After Lynn Camp fumbled on the opening kickoff, the Dragons needed only three plays to score as Jayden Ward went in from the 6 with 11:16 to play in the first quarter. Ward’s two-point conversion gave the Dragons an 8-0 lead.
The Dragons drove 40 yards in five plays to score again as Donovan Montanaro teamed with Nate Montanaro in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard TD strike. Darius Akal’s two-point conversion pushed the lead to 16-0 with 6:44 left in the opening period.
Will Austin raced 65 yards for a touchdown on a punt return with 3:47 left in the first quarter followed by Akal’s run for a 24-0 lead.
After stopping the Wildcats on a fake punt attempt, the Dragons scored again on a 26-yard run by Dylan Middleton with eight seconds left. Donovan Montanaro added the two-point conversion for a 32-0 lead.
Harlan started a running clock when Akal went in from the 5 on the final play of the first half to cap a seven-play, 73-yard drive. Ward added the two-point conversion for a 40-0 lead.
A long kickoff return by Austin set up a Harlan touchdown early in the second half as Akal went 16 yards for a score followed by Ward’s two-point run.
The Wildcats avoided the shutout as Peyton Wilson connected with Ian Agosto for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 7:30 play. D,J. Wren went in for the two-point conversion.
Middleton took the ensuing kickoff 60 yards for the final touchdown of the night. Sedrick Washington was stopped short on the two-point attempt.
“We got to have a lot of kids carry the ball and contribute,” Perry said. “Everybody contributed, including some of our younger guys. I thought Shaun Burnette came in and played well. Jeremiah Madden played his best game tonight, and we needed help tonight with R.W. Sanford out. We were thin at linebacker, so that was a big help.”
The 6-2 Green Dragons will play host to Pineville (7-1) on Friday in a game that will determine second place in District 8 of Class A. The winner will play Sayre in the first round of the playoffs and the loser will travel to Hazard or Pikeville.