Football notebook: Bears, Dragons face Friday defeats
Published 10:33 am Monday, September 11, 2023
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Harlan running back Darius Akal followed a block from tight end Hunter Clem in Friday's game against visiting Leslie County. Akal ran for 100 yards in the Dragons' 25-8 loss. (Photo by Jon Dickenson).
Leslie County quarterback Landry Collett stretched the ball out as he neared the goal line just before Harlan defensive back Tayquan Vick forced a fumble in Friday's game. (Photo by Jon Dickenson)
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Maggard helps Eagles overcome turnovers in victory at Harlan
By John Henson
Contributing Sports Writer
When they quit beating themselves, with three turnovers in the first half and four in the game, the Leslie County Eagles found success by giving the football to senior tailback Dalton Maggard.
Maggard ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 220-yard night on the ground for the Eagles in a 25-8 win Friday at Harlan.
“People are kind of misled and think they are a big throwing team, but they’re not right now. They lost two great receivers,” Harlan coach Eric Perry said of the Eagles. “We knew we had to slow down their running game. He hurt us a couple of times and took advantage of our linebackers taking some bad angles. He’s a good player, and they have some good kids up front. Their running game is pretty good. We have to live with it. We’ll come back Monday and go back to work.”
Leslie County’s head man was proud of his team’s perseverance.
“We definitely shot ourselves in the foot with all those turnovers,” Leslie County coach Eddie Melton said. “We started the game with the onside kick. They made the play on it and went down and scored, but we settled in and battled. It’s always a battle when we play Harlan. They have a lot of athletes, but we pulled it together and played well enough to win.”
Harlan (1-3) returns to action Friday at home against Johnson County, Tennessee in the first game between the two schools. The 3-1 Eagles travel to Clay County on Friday.
Bears drop 4th straight
Staff Report
The Harlan County Black Bears went to Clay County on Friday, hoping for their first win of the season, and returned with a 36-16 defeat.
The loss was HC’s fourth in a row and sixth in a row dating back to last season.
The 16 points scored against the Tigers’ defense was the highest that the Black Bears have recorded so far this campaign.
HC returns home this Friday to take on the Lawrence County. Clay County (4-0) will host Leslie County.
Stats were not available from the game as of Monday morning.
