Prep Football: Harrisburg pulls off upset, stuns Murphysboro
Heading into Friday night, Murphysboro hadn't lost a high school football game this season. In fact, the No. 6 ranked team in the state hadn't even found themselves trailing in the second half. All of that changed at Taylor Field with Harrisburg's 31-22 win over the Red Devils. The win gave the Bulldogs at least a share of the SIRR Ohio title with a chance to win it outright at Herrin in Week 8.
Senior tailback Tylor Marler went over the 1,000 yard - mark on the season in the win with 165 yards on 27 touches. Sophomore fullback Jordan Bartok filled in nicely for the injured Kane Carrigan and added nearly 100 yards on the ground and two scores for the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-0) who still haven't suffered a setback since a season - opening loss at Mount Carmel.
HHS was able to rack up over 330 yards on the ground as a team and dominated time of possession. Defensively is where the Bulldogs might have even stood out the most, limiting a Murphysboro offense with an average margin of victory of over 34 points per game coming in, to just 66 rushing yards and forcing four turnovers.
"The credit goes to coach (Greg) Langley, coach (Gabe) Angelly and coach (Josh) Allen. We were having so many problems defensively and coach Langley had run the 3-3 defense before and we decided to put it in this week and try to put quicker kids on defense, " said Harrisburg coach Al Way. "We tried to be more agressive and it worked. I just think this game was won by our defense and our defensive scheme."
After Harrisburg had fallen behind, a 79-yard interception return to paydirt from senior Corbin Crim- Harbison evened things up late in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs then found themselves behind 14-7 following a Kane Toliver 19- yard run that had been set up by a Bulldog turnover early in the second quarter.
That score would stand until Marler ran in a score from five yards late in the first half.
Bartok gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the evening with a three-yard run with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. Senior kicker Reece Owen was then able to provide a big lift and made it a two score game at 24-14 when he connected on a 29-yard field goal.
"The interception by Corbin was what seemed to turn the entire momentum of the game," said Way. "It just picked us up, it got us back in the game and it was just a very big play. And a lot of credit has to go to Jordan Bartok also. We got a sophomore fullback out there who has to carry the ball and did not fumble one time. And that's a tough assignment."
The Red Devils (6-1, 3-1) had a chance to cut into that deficit with just under eight minutes remaining, but a busted play from the Harrisburg 24-yardline resulted in a turnover on downs. From there, the Bulldogs continued to take the air out of the ball, marched down field and capped off another long drive with Bartok ' s second score of the evening.
HHS finished the regular season a perfect 4-0 at home. The Bulldogs go to Herrin Friday and with a win, would clinch an outright share of the conference championship. A win by the Tigers, coupled with a Murphysboro win in Week 8 over Benton, would mean all three teams would share the crown.
One thing is for certain. The Bulldogs have six wins and will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2012 which is also the last time HHS had won the conference. This will be the 28th season Harrisburg will be in the football playoffs. With road games to close the year at Herrin and Carbondale, seeding and a potential opening round home game will be on the line.
Murphysboro 7 7 0 8- 22
Harrisburg 7 7 7 10-31
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
MHS - Miller 22 pass to Pulcher (Baird kick), 6:40
HBG - Crim-Harbison 79 interceptiom return (Owen kick), 1:38
Second Quarter
MHS - Toliver 19 run (Baird kick), 9:49
HBG - Marler 5 run (Owen kick), 1:53
Third Quarter
HBG - Bartok 3 run (Owen kick), 3:02
Fourth Quarter
HBG - Owen 29 field goal , 10:17
HBG - Bartok 2 run (Owen kick), 1:28
MHS - Miller 47 pass to Toliver (Miller 2pt run), 0:49
Team Statistics
MHS HBG
First Downs 11 19
Total Net Yards 272 345
Rushes-Yards 26-66 66-332
Passing 206 13
Comp-Att-Int 10-21-2 1-6-2
Penalties-Yards 5-50 6-40
Fumbles Lost 5-2 4-2
Individual Statistics
Rushing- MHS: Rendleman 8-21, Pulcher 5-15, Toliver 7-34, Graeff 4-12. HBG: Tylor Marler 27-165, Jordan Bartok 24-98, Aaron Stephens 7-60, Noah Vallette 4-9.
Passing- MHS: Miller 10-21-2 206. HBG: Noah Vallette 1-6-2 13.
Receiving- MHS: Toliver 4-82, Grammer 3-60, Graeff 2-42. HBG: Austin Hefner 1-13.