Football notebook: Bears’ and Dragons’ seasons end in playoff defeats

Published 10:30 am Monday, November 6, 2023

By Special to The Harlan Enterprise

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Panthers coast past Harlan in first round of Class A playoffs

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Pikeville began its quest for a second straight Class A state title with a 49-6 first-round win Friday over visiting Harlan.

The Panthers started a running clock with 36 unanswered points in the opening quarter. Pikeville started the scoring with a safety, followed by five straight touchdowns, including a fumble recovery. Pikeville added another touchdown in the second quarter for a 43-0 lead, then added another in the third quarter.

Harlan put together its best drive of the night in the fourth period as Jeremiah Madden picked up three first downs to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Will Varner.

After a 34-0 loss last week at South Laurel that included three player ejections, Eric Perry stepped down as coach. Former Harlan standout linebacker Frank Shoope took over as coach earlier in the week on an interim basis.

The 9-2 Panthers play host to the Williamsburg/Hazard winner next week in the second round of the playoffs.

The Dragons ended the season with a record of 2-9.

Madison Southern responds to challenge, coasts past Bears into second round

Richmond Register

Madison Southern (7-4) carried a big lead into halftime on Friday night against Harlan County (1-10) in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.
In the locker room, though, the coaching staff had a challenge for the players.
“The big thing was just making sure we came back out (for the second half) focused. “Last week (against Whitley County), we were up 29-0 at halftime and I think we let our focus slip,” Madison Southern coach Mark Payne said. “These guys answered the call. They responded. They kept their focus.”
And the Eagles quickly delivered a knockout blow.
Ethan Moore had a touchdown catch and also had two interceptions as Southern rolled to a 49-6 win over the Black Bears. Quarterback Alex Craven had a career-high three touchdown passes as the Eagles advanced to the second round for the first time since 2020.
Seven players had touchdowns as the Eagles extended their winning streak to five games.
Southern will face North Laurel (7-4) next Friday at home in the second round.
The Eagles had a 28-0 lead over Harlan County at halftime, then got a 48-yard touchdown catch from Brayden Hall just 1:04 in the third quarter. Smith had a 3-yard TD run moments later to push the lead to 41-0.
In the fourth quarter, freshman Caden Winkler caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Beard.
Braeden Kelley had a 14-yard TD run and Moore caught a 31-yard TD catch with 4.1 seconds left before the half.
Southern’s Kaiden Kirk came up with his first interception of the season. The Eagles have 19 interceptions on the season.
The Harlan County defense forced a turnover with the game still in doubt in the second quarter as a pair of sophomore defensive backs teamed up with Gage Bailey knocking the ball loose and Jayce Brown recovering.
Harlan County scored with 10:10 left in the game when Dallas Sergent went in from the 2 to complete a lengthy drive.
North Laurel advanced to the second round with a 54-0 win over Montgomery County on Friday. Southern and North Laurel have not meet since 2014.

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