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By Paul Lunsford

The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets rolled into Harlan on Friday and left town with a 48-0 win over the Green Dragons in district football action.

Harlan failed to complete two opportunities early, but didn’t score neither time.

“We have to capitalize on opportunities against good teams, and we didn’t do that,” said Harlan coach Eric Perry.

“We did have them in several third-down-and-longs, and they seem to find a way to move the chains every time, and that’s what good teams do.”

Williamsburg junior quarterback Sydney Bowen threw for 255 yards and rushed for 90 yards.

The Green Dragons marched the ball down the field on the opening drive. Williamsburg’s Cade Hatcher recovered a fumble on the Jackets 11-yard line.

The Yellow Jackets scored on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Bowen to junior receiver Martin Shannon. Evan Steely, a senior, added the extra point with 5:17 remaining in he quarter.

With 10:19 remaining in the first half, Bowen scored on an 18-yard keeper. Steely’s kick made it 14-0.

Williamsburg would score twice before halftime.

Senior fullback Jayden Rainwater scored on a 28-yard run and Bowen found Bryson Potter, a junior receiver, for a 19-yard touchdown pass in the final minute before the break. Steely added a pair of extra points as the Jackets led 28-0.

With 5:41 to play in the third period, Bowen connected with Rainwater for a touchdown of 15 yards. The extra point by Steely was perfect.

Rainwater added his third TD at the end of the third quarter on a 46-yard run. The point after by Steely made it 42-0.

“We never could really show them down,” said Perry of Williamsburg.

The Yellow Jackets’ final score came with 3:51 to play as freshman quarterback Mathew Davis found senior receiver Tanner Manus for a 17-yard TD.

Jayden Ward led the Dragons with 74 yards on 16 carries. Harlan was held to just 95 yards of offense.

Robert Sanford led the HHS defense with seven tackles. Will Austin followed with five tackles. Evan Browning, Dylan Middleton, Ward and Tayquan Vick each added three.

Middleton, Noah Kirby and Peyton Thompson each recorded a defensive sack.

Coach Perry said senior Jon Lewis and sophomore Donovan Montanaro will miss the rest of the season with injuries.

Williamsburg (4-2 overall, 1-0 district) will play host to Pineville (6-1, 1-0) Friday in a key district showdown. The winner will likely be crowned the District 8 champion. The Mountain Lions whipped Lynn Camp 51-6 on Thursday.

Harlan (2-5, 0-1) travels to Lynn Camp (0-8, 0-1) on Friday, which could be a possible third-place finish for the district. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Green Dragons will visit Pineville (Oct. 22) before hosting Leslie County (Oct. 29) in the regular season finale.

The District 8 teams will play District 7 (Pikeville, Hazard, Sayre, Phelps) in the first two rounds of the KHSAA Playoffs beginning Nov. 5.