One week after going where no Green Dragon had gone before by beating Pikeville in the playoffs, the Harlan High School football team will try for another first by winning a regional championship Friday at Hazard.

Harlan (7-5) has made two previous trips to the Region 4 finals, falling to Paintsville in 1979 and Pikeville in 1999. J.B. Donahue was a player on the first team and the coach 20 years later.

“It would be a terrific honor for these kids and the work they’ve put in to come away with a regional championship,” Donahue said. “It would be huge for the football program as a whole and be a huge mark for these kids to leave on this football program.”

The Dragons’ task in their third try for a regional title is difficult. Hazard (8-4) was the state runner-up a year ago and breezed through district competition again this year, including a 34-0 win at Harlan on Oct. 9.

“That’s kind of been a big push for us this week. I’ve reminded them they got beat 34-0, and I feel if we can change the ‘0’ we can change the ‘34’,” Donahue said. “For us to change the ‘0’ we have to hold on to the football and sustain some long drives and control the line of scrimmage. If we can do that, I think we can keep their scoring down and keep ourselves in the ballgame.”

After losing several of their top skilled players to graduation, the Bulldogs needed someone else to step into key roles to remain among the top Class A teams in Kentucky, and that’s exactly what happened.

“We feel like we still have a veteran team. Our skilled kids are young, but a lot of them played a lot last year. They just weren’t in the main roles,” Hazard coach Mark Dixon said. “We knew with a little time and a little experience they would pick it up well.”

Junior quarterback Jon Combs has completed 115 of 188 passes for 1,885 yards and 19 touchdowns. Freshman receiver Jordan Olinger leads the Bulldogs with 43 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior tight end Joey Meehan has 37 receptions for 537 yards and five touchdowns.

The Bulldogs’ balanced ground attack features senior Alex Hall, who has rushed for 585 yards. Junior Corey Slone has added 328 yards.

Slone had a big game against the Dragons, rushing for 117 yards and three touchdowns on only four carries. Combs and Eric Back teamed on two touchdown passes.

Hazard was even more impressive on defense in the first game against Harlan, limiting the Dragons to 151 yards of rushing. Senior linebacker Forest Smith and senior end Allan Fugate lead the improved Hazard defense, which has allowed less than 12 points a game.

“The key to any game is stopping the run, and if we can stop the run we feel like our chances are good,” Dixon said. “But that’s easier said than done.”

“They are so much better than Hazard teams in the past defensively, and they still have that explosive ability on offense,” noted Donahue

Harlan has won four of five games since losing to Hazard and played its best game last week in knocking off Pikeville 21-14 to break a seven-game postseason losing streak to the Panthers.

“Harlan is a very good football team,” Dixon said. “I was really impressed with them on film, and I was really impressed with them when we played them. They are physical and they will battle. They are the type of team that can control the ball and keep it away from you. We understand it’s going to be a tough ballgame Friday night, and it’s probably going to come down to the last play or the last quarter.”

Senior tailback Andrew Link had 135 yards against the Bulldogs in the first meeting and rolled up 208 yards last week. Senior flanker Ben Cornett added 78 yards rushing against Pikeville.

Harlan’s defense, led by seniors James Hill and Kenny Pennington, dominated last week’s game by limiting Pikeville to only 35 yards rushing on 15 carries.

“We’ve got to have another terrific game defensively,” Donahue said. “The last time they were able to run the football on us, which we can’t have happen. We have some kids playing better the past couple of weeks. Our secondary is really going to have a tough challenge this week and our front seven has to continue to stop the run.”

The winner advances to the Class A state semifinals against the winner of the Raceland-Lexington Christian game.