With a finish reminiscent of last year’s unexpected run to a regional championship, the Harlan County Black Bears rallied from a 14-0 deficit Friday to defeat visiting North Laurel 22-14 in overtime, earning their first win and perhaps saving their season in the process.

Patrick Bynum, a senior running back who lost a fumble out of the back of the North Laurel end zone in the third quarter, more than made up for the mistake with his clutch 3-yard run on fourth down in overtime to put the Bears ahead for the first time in the game. Bynum followed good blocking over the left side of the HCHS line to add the two point conversion.

After struggling terribly against the pass in the first half, the Harlan County defense forced three straight incomplete passes from North quarterback Dalton Sizemore in overtime. Sizemore was tackled five yards short of the end zone on fourth down as the Bears escaped with the win in a game similar to last year’s regional semifinals when the Bears overcame an early 14-0 deficit in London.

Trailing 14-6 at halftime, Harlan County drove 68 yards in 12 plays to open the second half before Bynum lost the ball at the North 2 and it dribbled out of the back of the end zone for at touchback.

Harlan County put together the tying drive in the fourth quarter, marching 75 yards in seven plays. Junior quarterback Jacob Wilson had a 23-yard run to set up Matt Brown’s 40-yard touchdown run off a pitch from Wilson. Ben Landis went over the right side for the tying two-point conversion with 6:07 left in regulation.

With receiver Brody Brinks and fullback Konner Robinson each picking up first downs, the Jaguars drove to the HCHS 5. Hunter Blevins and Garry Henson teamed up to drop Robinson for no gain on second down. Sizemore’s pass fell incomplete on third down. Mark McDaniel’s 23-yard field goal attempt on fourth down barely missed crossing the bottom of the bar.

The first half belonged to Sizemore, who completed eight of 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

The first of the HCHS secondary mistakes cost the Bears dearly on the game’s third play when Sizemore escaped pressure and rolled to his right, finding a wide open Storm Gambrell for a 75-yard touchdown pass. The Jaguars were stopped on the two-point conversion but led 6-0 with 10:18 left in the first quarter.

Harlan County appeared to get a big break when North Laurel fumbled after a hard hit on a punt. The Bears recovered near the North 30, but the officials penalized the Bears for interfering with the catch even though the North player didn’t appear to signal for a fair catch.

North Laurel scored again early in the second quarter when the HCHS secondary lost Brody Brinks for a 5-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-and-five play with 9:28 left in the first half. Robinson pushed the lead to 14-0 with the two-point conversion.

The Bears finally broke through with a 10-play, 51-yard drive that featured a 30-yard run by Brown and a 15-yard catch from Bynum. Bynum scored on the next play but the Bears were called for holding and pushed back to the 12. Three straight runs by sophomore fullback Demarco Hopkins moved the ball 10 yards and set up Brown for a nice cutback on a fourth-and-two play for the touchdown. Wilson’s pass was incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt.

Harlan County (1-4 overall, 1-0 district) returns to action Friday at Letcher Central. North Laurel (3-3 overall, 0-1 district) will play host to Whitley County on Thursday.

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Harlan County 22, North Laurel 14 (OT)

North Laurel 6 8 0 0 0 — 14

Harlan County 0 6 0 8 8 — 22

NL — Gambrell 75 pass from Sizemore (run failed)

NL — Brinks 5 pass from Sizemore (Robinson run)

HC — Brown 2 run (pass failed)

HC — Brown 40 run (Landis run)

HC — Bynum 3 run (Bynum run)

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NLHS HCHS

First downs 12 10

Rushes-yards 29-92 46-255

Passing 170 32

Comp-Att-Int 11-22-1 3-7-0

Punts-Avg 3-26 3-37

Fumbles-Lost 4-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-52 11-93

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—North Laurel, Sizemore 14-54, Robinson 7-34, Bowman 4-5, Woods 3-2, Shepherd 1-(-3). Harlan County, Brown 5-80, Wilson 9-78, Hopkins 12-43, Bynum 8-21, Casolari 3-11, Turner 4-9, Landis 4-8, Henson 1-4.

PASSING—North Laurel, Sizemore 11-22-1-170. Harlan County, Wilson 3-7-0-32.

RECEIVING—North Laurel, Brinks 5-75, Hurst 2-12, Gambrell 1-75, Boggs 1-12, Houser 1-1, Elmore 1-(-5). Harlan County, Bynum 2-20, Lewis 1-8.