Prep Football: Tigers Too Strong
The Harrisburg Bulldogs had their hopes of an undefeated run in the Ohio Division of the River to River Conference dashed by the Herrin Tigers Friday.
Herrin rolled to a relatively easy 40-21 victory. By virtue of the win, the Tigers, Bulldogs and Murphysboro Red Devils all finish the league with a 4-1 mark and tri-championship.
Herrin was dominant on the ground, amassing a stunning 423 yards on 54 carries. They also dominated time of possession, keeping the ball for more than 28 of the 48 total minutes.
Leading the charge for Herrin was senior fullback Gavin Jordan, who romped for a season- and career-best 225 yards on 26 carries.
Senior halfback Gavyn Gosha was close behind with 184 yards on 22 carries. Both backs scored three touchdowns each.
"We've struggled defensively all season," said Harrisburg head coach Al Way.
By contrast, the Bulldogs were just OK running the ball as they totaled 164 yards on 30 attempts.
Harrisburg was dealt a blow early on in the game when leading rusher Tylor Marler suffered an elbow injury on the opening drive and was unable to return.
"Anytime you lose your best back, it's going to make a difference," said Harrisburg head coach Al Way.
Way tipped his hat to the Herrin offense.
"Their backs ran hard and were hard to tackle," he said. "They had a great game plan tonight and executed it well."
The Tigers took a 6-0 lead in its initial possession, driving 90 yards for the score at the 2:06 mark of the period with Gosha cashing in from two yards out. The conversion run failed.
Harrisburg took the lead at 7-6 when Aaron Stephens scampered to paydirt from 60 yards out. Reece Owens' extra-point kick was good with 58 seconds left in the quarter.
The lead was short-lived. Herrin scored with 10:57 to play in the second quarter on a 14-yard run by Gosha. Again, the two-point conversion failed, leaving the spread five at 12-7.
The Tigers next took advantage of a blocked punt by Jake Downen as Jordan raced to the endzone from 19 yards out with 6:27 left in the half. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score 18-7.
After the Bulldogs were forced to punt again, Herrin capitalized. Gosha scored from 35 yards out. A conversion pass was good from quarterback Gavin Pickel to wideout, DJ Spell, and the deficit for the Bulldogs reached 19 by the intermission at 26-7.
The Tigers scored on their first possession of the third period, marching 64 yards, capped off by a one-yard run from Jordan to make the score 32-7.
Harrisburg responded with a 45-yard pass play from Noah Vallette to Corbin Crim-Harbison. Owens' PAT was true, cutting the lead to 18 at 32-14.
The Tigers again had an answer, moving 70 yards for the score with Jordan hitting the endzone from 10 yards out at the 8:45 mark of the final quarter. Gosha added the conversion run to make the score 40-14.
The Bulldogs tallied one final score - a 34-yard scoring strike from Vallette to Crim-Harbison on fourth-and-14 at the 4:28 mark.
Herrin drove all the way from its 36 to the Harrisburg seven with just under a minute to play and chose to take a knee and run out the clock rather than try to punch in another score.
"Overall, I thought we played a great game tonight," said Tigers head coach Jason Karnes. "We won the game because of the hard work we put in this week in practice. We are getting better and better as the season goes forward."
Herrin improves to 7-1 overall and will travel to Breese Central Friday to close out the regular season. Harrisburg falls to 6-2 and will finish up with a non-conference game against Carbondale.
Despite the loss, Way was not down on his team.
"We've come a long way as a group this season. I just hope we can finish on a positive note going into the playoffs."
Herrin 6 20 6 8 - 40
Harrisburg 7 0 7 7 - 21
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
HER-Gosha 2 run (run fails) 2:06
HBG-Stephens 60 run (Owens PAT) 0:58
Second Quarter
HER-Gosha 14 run (pass fails), 10:57
HER-Jordan 19 run (run fails), 6:27
HER-Gosha 35 run (Spell conversion catch from Pickel) 1:57
Third Quarter
HER-Jordan 1 run (pass fails) 6:51
HBG-Crim-Harbison 45 catch from Vallette (Owens PAT) 2:40
Fourth Quarter
HER-Jordan 10 run (Gosha conversion run) 8:45
HBG-Crim-Harbison 34 catch from Vallette (Owens PAT) 4:28
TEAM STATISTICS
RUSHING-HER (54-423), HBG (30-164).
PASSING-HER (1-1 for 26 yards). HBG (4-10 for 78 yards)
RECEIVING-HER (1-26). HBG (4-78)
FIRST DOWNS-HER (26). HBG (10)
PENALTIES-HER (4-35). HBG (8-46)
PUNTS-HER (None). HBG (3 for 24.8 avg.)
TIME OF POSS-HER (28:04). HBG (19:56)
TURNOVERS-HER (None). HBG (None)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: HER -Jordan 26-225, Gosha 22-184, Starkweather 5-15, Pickel 1- -1). HBG -Stephens 5-80, Upchurch 12-46, Vallette 5-25, Bartok 4-9, Crim-Harbison 1-4, Marler 3-0.
PASSING: HER -Pickel 1-1 26 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs. HBG -Vallette 4-10 78 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
RECEIVING: HER -Starkweather 1-26). HBG - Crim-Harbison 3-74, 2 TDs, Hefner 1-4.