'Dogs fall in season finale at WF

Another second half rally was too little, too late for Harrisburg in a 23-12 loss to West Frankfort to close out the season Friday.

Harrisburg finishes the season 2-4 and head coach Gabe Angelly called the season a rollercoaster.

"I think we were all fairly disappointed when we found out there wasn't going to be football in the fall. Then, we get excited because we're going to have one in the spring. But then just the rollercoaster of the season. The ups and downs: we started of hot and Friday wasn't the ending we were looking for, but I believe we have some building blocks, which I am excited about."

West Frankfort grabbed a 13-0 first half lead after the Redbirds got a two-yard touchdown run and followed that up with a pair of field goals, one from 31 yards and 22 yards out.

In the third quarter, Harrisburg got on the board with a 19-yard pass from Ben Gulley to Noah Boon to make it 13-6 and the Bulldogs followed that score up with a Bryant Lester one-yard run to pull to within one at 13-12 after a pair of unsuccessful two-point conversions.

The Redbirds were able to then put some distance between them getting a 21-yard field goal to go up four and cap off the game with a 25-yard pass play.

Harrisburg outgained West Frankfort 280-265 in total yardage as the Bulldogs ran for 149 and passed for 131.

Gulley was 5-of-13 with a pair of interceptions for 131 yards under center, while Lester led all runners with 74 yards on 19 carries.

Bradyn Whiting had three carries for 25 yards, while Gulley picked up 18 yards on five carries. Blake Stacey finished with 17 yards on three carries.

Jake Hefner caught three balls for 86 yards and Boon hauled in two catches for 45 yards.

If nothing, the spring allowed Angelly to see what blueprint he can use going into fall and likes his lineup with a solid junior class that will be seniors in the fall.

"We'll have our starting fullback and both leading running backs returning, along with a solid portion of our offensive line, but we were happy that our seniors got six games," Angelly said. "I believe we're going in the right direction and we are getting back to some of the things that are Harrisburg football."