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Rice sizzles on stormy night as Clay coasts past Green Dragons

By John Henson 

Contributing Sports Write

Black Bears’ comeback falls short at Hazard

Staff Report

Another scoreless first half. Another second-half comeback. Another heartbreaking loss for the Harlan County Black Bears.

Harlan County fell to 0-2 on the season with a hard-fought 14-13 loss Friday at Hazard. The Bulldogs built a 13-0 halftime lead before HCHS battled back in the second half, only to fall short on a controversial two-point conversion attempt.

Senior running back Thomas Jordan started the comeback when he broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The Bears put together an impressive drive in the fourth as Bryan Howard, a senior running back, battled his way in from the 7. Jordan appeared to fall across the goal line for the go-ahead conversion, but the officials gathered at the goal line and ruled Jordan was short of the end zone.

Harlan County struggled with turnovers, with four in the game.

Jordan led the Bears’ offense with 112 yards on 12 carries. Howard added 74 yards on 13 carries.

Freshman linebacker Shemar Carr led the HCHS defense with 12 tackles, including seven solo stops. Carter Howard added 11 tackles, followed by Hunter Napier with nine, Dallas Sergent with eight and James Ryan Howard with seven.

The Bears play their home opener Friday against Whitley County.