Sophomore Football: Harrisburg handles Benton

The Harrisburg High School sophomore football team improved its record to 4-2 with a convincing 27-8 win over Benton late last week.

The Rangers' lone score came with 7:28 to go in the fourth quarter after the Bulldogs had already scored 27 straight points.

Xavier Doss got the scoring going for Harrisburg as he scored from 20 yards out with 3:35 to play in the first quarter. At the 7:25 mark in the second quarter, Ryan Ragsdale scored from 1-yard out and on the two-point conversion, Jordan Gould hooked up with Ragsdale.

Just before halftime, Austin Hefner hooked up with Gould for a 17-yard touchdown as Dalton Drone provided the pat to give Harrisburg a 21-0 lead at the break.

"The score right before halftime was huge," Harrisburg head coach Kyle McGowan said. "We had another touchdown that was called back in the third quarter, but again, our defense played a great game."

In the third quarter, Mitch Crank scored on a 48-yard run, capping off the scoring for the Bulldogs.

"I thought our kids played a good first half," McGowan said. "Offensively, we struggled in the second half."

Harrisburg returns to action Tuesday against undefeated Murphysboro at Taylor Field.