Amos McCreary’s Harlan County Black Bears are hitting stride at the right time, winning their second game in a row while improving to 3-2 overall on Friday.
The Black Bears received a strong running and receiving effort from Jonah Swanner, who ran for more than 200 yards unofficially while totaling two rushing and four receiving touchdowns as Harlan County blew past Pike Central, 58-21.
The Black Bears will now switch their focus to district foe Clay County (3-1), who they will host Friday.
After falling behind 6-0, thanks to a 32-yard touchdown run by Pike Central, Harlan County answered with Jonah Swanner’s 35-yard touchdown run with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter. He added the two-point conversion to give his team an 8-7 edge.
Swanner continued his impressive play by breaking loose for a 69-yard touchdown run while adding another two-point conversion while helping push the Black Bears’ lead to 16-7 with 2:19 left in the first quarter.
Matt Anderson’s 80-yard touchdown run 19 seconds later cut Harlan County’s deficit to 16-15.
The Black Bears continued to our it on in the second quarter. Swanner was on the receiving end of a of a touchdown pass from Ethan Rhymer that pushed Harlan County’s lead to 24-15 (11:53) during the second quarter. Thomas Jordan added a 13-yard rushing touchdown seven minutes later while Swanner’s 32-yard touchdown reception from Rhymer gave the Black Bears a commanding, 38-15, lead at halftime.
Harlan County continued to dominate in the second half.
Thomas Jordan scored on an 18-yard run in the third quarter (11:25) while Swanner added two touchdown receptions from Rhymer, both 35-yards, to secure the 37-point victory for the Black Bears.
