Prep Football: Bulldogs send seniors out with victory
Even though the season didn't end with consecutive playoff berths, there was definitely a positive taste in the mouths of the Harrisburg football program as the Bulldogs closed their year with a 34-7 victory over Carbondale on Senior Night at Taylor Field.
HHS (4-5) rushed for nearly 400 yards of offense and held Carbondale (2-7) to under 200 yards from scrimmage.
"I'm just really, really happy for the seniors," said Harrisburg coach Al Way. "It's been a disappointing season because we are better than what our record shows, but at the same time, you feel better about everything that has happened when you finish playing such a good game and on a winning note."
Harrisburg fullback Jordan Bartok scored four times, and the Bulldogs got a rushing touchdown from senior Jordan Gould as well.
"We controlled the line of scrimmage," said Way. "You've got to give credit to our offensive line. Our backs ran hard. There were a lot of times when they moved the pile five or 10 yards."
Bartok ran for 163 yards on 23 carries. Teammate Axavier Doss rushed for 94 yards, while Hunter Smith carried 14 times for 73 yards.
Harrisburg enjoyed a 21-7 edge at halftime and continued to pound the ball on the ground out of intermission.
Carbondale's Courtney Hunter accounted for the only points for the Terriers on a 40-yard score midway through the second quarter.
The Harrisburg defense was able to force four turnovers on downs inside the redzone and sacked Terrier quarterback Seth Germann four times.
When asked about what the future might hold for the Harrisburg head coach, Way wasn't ready to say.
"It's too early to worry about that," said Way. "Right now my plans are to enjoy this win."
Harrisburg 34 Carbondale 7
HBG- Bartok 3 run (Drone kick), 1st 8:35
HBG- Bartok 3 run (Drone kick), 2nd 10:02
CDALE- Hunter 40 run (Kelley kick), 2nd 7:18
HBG- Bartok 9 run (Drone kick), 2nd 2:18
HBG- Bartok 6 run (Drone kick), 3rd 5:37
HBG- Gould 21 run (kick failed), 3rd 0:01
Carbondale 0 7 0 0 -7
Harrisburg 7 14 13 0 -34
First downs
Carbondale 10, Harrisburg 27
Total yards
Carbondale 181, Harrisburg 445
Rushes-yards
Carbondale 27-95, Harrisburg 62-394
Passing yards
Carbondale 86, Harrisburg 51
Completions-attempts-interceptions
Carbondale 6-17-0, Harrisburg 2-3-0
Penalties-yards
Carbondale 6-28, Harrisburg 8-60
Fumbles-lost
Carbondale 4-0, Harrisburg 1-1
Individual stats
Rushing
Carbondale: Hunter 9-72-1, Scott-Rivers 5-37, Abed 6-16, Germann 4-(-23). Harrisburg: Bartok 23-163-4, Gould 2-19-1, Upchurch 4-31, Smith 14-73, Doss 14-94, Ragsdale 3-14.
Passing
Carbondale: Germann 6-17-0-86-0. Harrisburg: Saulsberry 1-2-0-18-0, Gould 1-1-0-33-0.
Receiving
Carbondale: Bradley 4-78, Burleigh 1-3, Abed 1-5. Harrisburg: Gauch 1-33, Doss 1-18.