It’s been a long while since Williamsburg has been an underdog going into a district matchup.
That was the case heading into Friday’s contest with Harlan but when all was said and done, the Yellow Jackets made a loud statement — the road to a district title still goes through the Burg.
Jerry Herron’s squad ran its district win streak to 23 games after defeating Harlan, 26-16, on Friday.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Williamsburg, who is now 4-2 overall and 1-0 against district opponents. The last time the Yellow Jackets lost a district matchup was way back on Oct. 9, 2015.
Williamsburg will now shift its focus to Friday’s road matchup against unbeaten Pineville. The winner of next week’s matchup will be in the district driver’s seat.
The Yellow Jackets struck first on Friday and didn’t have much trouble moving the ball downfield, as Bowen capped off the scoring drive with a one-yard run into the end zone allowing his team to take a 6-0 lead with 6:44 remaining in the opening period.
Williamsburg continues to put pressure on the Green Dragons.
The Yellow Jacket defense stepped up and allowed the offense to regain control of the ball, and Bowen answered with a 10-yard touchdown run. He also added the two-point conversion to give the Yellow Jackets a 14-0 edge with 5:43 left in the first quarter.
Harlan finally answered on its ensuing offensive drive as Darius Akal broke loose with a 13-yard touchdown run, cutting the Green Dragons’ deficit to 14-8 with 1:58 left in the first quarter.
Bowen continued to carve up Harlan’s defense running the ball. He found the end zone just 17 seconds into the second quarter with a 26-yard run to increase Williamsburg’s lead to 20-8.
The Green Dragons made things interesting after Jayden Ward’s seven-yard touchdown run cut the Yellow Jackets’ deficit to 20-16, but Bowen’s fourth rushing touchdown, a 13-yarder, gave his team some breathing room at 26-16 with 8:03 left in regulation.
