JOHN MIDDLETON
Sports Editor
With a 21-point lead reduced to nine early in the second half, the Harlan Green Dragons decided they had allowed visiting Lynn Camp to remain in the game long enough. The Dragons reeled off 26 straight from that point to cruise to a 53-24 victory in the first round of the Class A playoffs on Friday.
“I just think the kids got regenerated and determined to put and end to it. They showed what they were made of in the second half,” said Harlan coach J.B. Donahue.
The Green Dragons threatened to put the game away early, scoring the game’s first 21 points. Cody Logan was responsible for all three scores. The senior tailback hauled in a 12-yard screen pass for a touchdown on the Dragons’ opening drive. He then went in on runs of 9-yards and 13-yards. Logan carried the ball 22 times for 106-yards to power the Harlan rushing attack.
The Wildcats got on the scoreboard when they tackled Logan in the endzone for a safety with 2:08 left in the first half.
Tommy Hatfield then returned the ensuing kickoff to the Harlan 44 to set Lynn Camp up with good field position to begin the next drive. The Wildcats capitalized as Aaron Mills connected with Jesse Keith on a 28-yard connection to the Harlan 6-yard-line. Two plays later, Hatfield scored on a 5-yard run. Hatfield’s two-point conversion made it 21-10 at the half.
Harlan answered to open the second half, as Saragas found David Allen for a 33-yard touchdown strike with 9:44 left in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked and Harlan led 27-10.
Lynn Camp responded on the ensuing possession. Mills found Keith for another big play, this time a 24-yard completion that moved the ball inside the Harlan 20. Hatfield scored on a 26-yard run on the next play. Hatfield also ran in the two-point conversion to make it 27-18.
The Dragons took over from that point, scoring the next four touchdowns to put the game out of reach. David Allen hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions on passes of 33-yards and 53-yards respectively. Allen had six receptions for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
“Davidis a big play guy. He is such a steady kid, and I can’t say enough about the effort he puts forth every week,” Donahue said.
Senior Demarcus Williams also scored on a 15-yard run, and Logan added a 37-yard score as the lead grew to 53-18. Williams and Logan were lead by a Harlan offensive front that controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the night.
“I thought we got a little stale there at the end of the first half, but other than that I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage. We ran the ball real well,” said Donahue. “The offensive line came off the ball really well tonight. I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage, and that was the difference in the game.”
Harlan (6-5) will travel to Williamsburg next week. The Yellow Jackets downed the Green Dragons 36-0 in the regular season.
“We have a lot to prove. They whipped our tail when we were down there. I have been preaching to these kids about consistency and they have a chance to go down and play one of the creams of the crop next week,” said Donahue. “I will be tickled to death to see what we do. I look forward to it, and I hope these kids do as much as I do.”
Lynn Camp closes the season at 3-7.
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