John Luttrell had some of his best years at Cawood in the 1990s with a gambling, aggressive approach on special teams and a strong ground game.

He earned his first win at Harlan on Friday at Magoffin County with a similar gameplan, avoiding punts and favoring onside kicks on the way to a 44-12 rout of the Hornets. Harlan trailed at one point late in the second quarter before reeling off 36 unanswered points to turn the game into a rout in the second half, ending a four-game losing streak to start the season.

Harlan rolled up 369 yards on the ground with a balanced attack led by Kendal Brock with 109 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. John Brady Brock added 96 yards on 11 carries and Jacob Howard followed with 93 yards on six carries. Kilian Ledford completed six of seven passes for 61 yards and added 71 yards on 12 carries.

“Our offensive line played really well and knocked people of the ball, and Kendal, Jacob Howard and John Brady Brock ran hard,” Luttrell said. “Killian and Will Varner got our passing game going, which helped tremendously.”

Harlan came up empty after recovering an onside kick to start the game, but the Dragons scored early in the second quarter as Brock picked up a couple of first downs to set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Jacob Howard with 10:11 to play in the first half. Ledford added the two-point conversion as he improvised on a fumbled snap.

Magoffin hurt the Dragons with screen passes on the ensuing possession as Brady Whitaker connected on several passes before pitching the ball to Nolan Arnett for an 8-yard touchdown run. Magoffin missed the extra point as the Dragons led by two with 8:06 left in the first half.

A roughing the passer penalty on the Dragons set up another Magoffin touchdown as Whitaker went in from the 7 with 1:40 to play. Brock made the stop on the two-point conversion attempt but Magoffin led 12-8.

Harlan was able to answer before the half ended as Ledford teamed with Will Varney for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 32.6 seconds left. Varner added the two-point conversion for a 16-12 lead.

It was all Harlan in the second half as the Dragons dominated the line of scrimmage in four scoring drives, the first ending with a 4-yard run by Kendal Brock with 7:18 left in the third quarter. Ledford hit the extra point for a 23-12 lead.

John Brady Brock went in from the 44 with 2:34 to play in the third quarter. Ledford added the extra point to make the score 30-12. A pass interference penalty by the Hornets followed by a run from Howard helped set up the score.

Kendal Brock went in from the 7 with 10:12 to play after Ledford picked up 37 yards earlier in the drive. The conversion failed after another fumbled snap.

The final touchdown came with 3:19 to play as Kendal Brock went in from the 10, then added the two-point conversion.

Magoffin could managed only one first down in the second half as the Harlan defense took control.

“Coach (Justin) Curry challenged our defense at halftime, and I thought they answered the challenge the second half,” Luttrell said.

As far as his decision to be more aggressive with kicks, Luttrell said he was trying to compensate for a weakness.

“We do not cover real well,” he said. “We started rugby punting this year with Killian and it’s an effective tool.”

Harlan (1-4) returns to action Friday at Jenkins. Magoffin County (2-3) travels to Powell County on Friday.