LONDON — It was a game that both teams needed to win if they wanted to stay in the Class 5A playoff hunt.
Harlan County entered Friday’s contest winless at 0-6 while South Laurel had lost two in a row, including last week’s 62-0 setback to North Laurel.
With the way things started, it looked as if the Cardinals were going to get routed again, spotting the Black Bears a 14-0 lead before fighting back and claiming a 22-20 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
But Harlan County’s Thomas Jordan capped off a three-touchdown rushing effort by finding the end zone with 2:45 remaining to give his team the 26-22 win.
The loss dropped South Laurel to 4-4 overall, and 0-3 in district play. The Black Bears are now 1-6, and 1-1.
“We played extremely hard and just came up short,” South Laurel coach Allen Mitchell said. “I’m proud of our team. We had plenty of chances to win but were not able to get it done. We battled bad field position all night and gave up three fourth down plays that hurt us tremendously. “Once we took the lead, I felt we had the momentum but hats off to them they came back down and punched it in. I still thought we would go down and score to win it but every play we made, we had a penalty and it came back to bite us. Everyone should be proud of our team as they fought their tails off.”
Harlan County got on the scoreboard first as Ethan Rhymer hit Luke Kelly with a 22-yard touchdown strike while Thomas Jordan added the two-point conversion to give the Black Bears an 8-0 lead with 4:42 remaining in the first quarter.
With South Laurel’s offensive attack continue to struggle, Harlan County managed to take a two-score lead as Jordan scored on a six-yard run to give his team a 14-0 advantage with 6:04 remaining in the first half.
The Cardinals finally found paydirt before the half, gaining some much-needed momentum.
Jimmy Mitchell connected with Hunter Bundy for a two-yard touchdown pass to cut South Laurel’s deficit to 14-6 with 2:36 left in the first half.
The Cardinals gained even more momentum on their last offensive drive of the half as Mitchell and Bundy hooked up again, this time from 24-yards out. South Laurel added the two-point conversion and headed into the locker room at halftime tied at 14 apiece.
Jordan allowed the Black Bears to reclaim a 20-14 lead with 5:48 left in the third quarter after scoring on a seven-yard run.
The Cardinals never folded, though.
Mitchell’s two-yard touchdown run with 4:56 remaining in regulation combined with his pass to Bundy converting the two-point conversion gave South Laurel its first lead of the game at 22-20.
The Cardinals’ lead was short-lived, though.
Jordan’s third rushing touchdown, a 12-yarder, allowed Harlan County to reclaim a 26-22 lead with only 2:45 left in regulation.
