Though it was a night of explosive offensive plays for both teams, Harrisburg's defense stood tall for a goal line stop as time ran out to earn a 36-30 Homecoming victory over the ninth-ranked Salisbury Panthers.

The night marked another homecoming of sorts. Former Harrisburg head coach Zech Bowman is now in his first year as a head coach at Salisbury. Entering Friday’s matchup, he had led his team to a 3-0 start and a No. 9 ranking in Class 1.

Harrisburg received the opening kick-off and prepared to strike fast. On their first play, the Bulldogs attempted a half-back pass that Salisbury intercepted. 

"It's Homecoming, so we put in a few trick plays this week to keep our guys focused and having fun after last week's loss. The Salisbury player made a great play, but our guys rebounded well," Harrisburg head coach Brennan Claas said.

The Panthers started their drive on the 34. They overcame several penalties and made key fourth-down completions to get into the 10. Facing a fourth-and-10 after a short run and a sack by Bulldog junior linebacker Rylee Robinson, Salisbury completed a touchdown pass to take an early 6-0 lead with 5:17 left in the first quarter. Harrisburg stopped the two-point conversion.

Harrisburg started the second drive on the 34-yard line and had little success, which brought up a fourth-down punt. Tragedy struck as a Panther burst through the line, blocking the punt. The ball ricocheted off the Panthers and bounced toward the endzone, with Salisbury recovering and scoring the touchdown. Harrisburg again stopped the two-point conversion, limiting the Panther lead to 12-0 with 3:28 left in the first.

The Bulldogs proved ready to overcome this early adversity, and on their next possession, junior running back Caleb Sager burst through the line, sprinting for a 50-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed, but the Bulldogs cut the Panther lead to 12-6 with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

Salisbury struck back with a 35-yard pass to start their next drive. Several Panther penalties brought up a third-and-15. Bulldog Senior defensive back Bryce Ott intercepted the pass, giving the home team great field position to start their next drive.

Harrisburg earned one first down before an incomplete fourth-down pass returned the ball back to the Panthers. After a couple of short runs, Harrisburg recovered a Panther fumble to take over on their own 27 yard-line.

Both teams traded possessions as the defenses held firm. Harrisburg then received a Panther punt, and Ott returned it 20 yards as the Bulldogs took over on the 49 with 2:48 left in the half.

Sager carried twice for the Bulldogs, getting a first down. A Salisbury penalty then gave Harrisburg the ball on the 20 yard-line. A few plays later, facing a fourth-and-seven, senior quarterback Trace Combs found Sager for a first down. Combs then hit Ott for a game-tying touchdown over the middle. The successful two-point conversion gave Harrisburg a 14-12 lead at the half.

"We felt it could be a high-scoring game, as both teams have big-play ability. We are very similar and could certainly see them again in districts," Coach Claas said.

Salisbury started the second half running hard. Junior running back Brayden White went first, rushing for a first down. Then, on a fourth-and-seven, junior running back Gavin Binder took a handoff and scampered 27 yards for a Salisbury touchdown. Ott intercepted the two-point conversion, but Salisbury again took the lead, 18-14, with just over eight minutes left in the third.

After several first downs, Harrisburg faced a third-and-six on the 22-yard line. Combs kept the ball, rushing for 10 yards and a first down. He then hit freshman wide receiver Will Cole for a touchdown. Sager rushed for the successful two-point conversion as Harrisburg once again took the lead, 22-18.

Harrisburg attempted an onside kick, but Salisbury recovered to start their drive at the 43. A series of runs aided the Panthers as they moved the ball to the 18 yard-line. On fourth-and-three, Binder squeezed through several Bulldog defenders to score a touchdown, retaking the lead, 24-22, with 10:46 left in the game. 

The Bulldogs struck quickly on the first play of their next drive as Combs threw a 64-yard touchdown pass. The conversion was good, and the Bulldogs took a 30-24 lead in the see-saw affair.  

Salisbury recovered another Bulldog onside attempt. Not to be outdone in dramatic scoring plays, Salisbury used a 45-yard touchdown run on a reverse to Binder to tie the score at 30 with 9:37 left in the game.

"We have some young kids playing a lot on defense, but they're getting better every week, and our older guys are doing a great job of encouraging them," Coach Claas said.

Sager and Combs alternated runs to move the ball to the 17-yard line on Harrisburg's next possession. Facing a fourth and four, Combs hit Ott for a key first down to keep the drive alive. On third and goal from the four, Combs rushed to his right, scoring the touchdown. Salisbury stopped the two-point conversion, keeping the score at 36-30 with only 1:48 left in the game.

Harrisburg attempted an onside kick again, allowing Salisbury a short field as they took over on the 48. Binder ripped off a 30-yard run for the Panthers. That, combined with a Bulldog penalty, gave the Panthers the ball on the 13. Two Salisbury runs gave the Panthers a first-and-goal from the two-yard line with 24 seconds left. The Panthers ran up the middle, but the Bulldogs stopped them short, giving them a second and inches with 13.4 seconds left. They needed to use their last time out to stop the clock.

On the game's last play, with victory and defeat in the balance, the Bulldog defense dug deep and penetrated the Panther offensive line. Junior defensive lineman Jonathan Darwent was the first to break through and slow the play, and Robinson dropped the Panther runner short of the goal line as time expired, securing the 36-30 victory.

"These guys might not remember our record in 20 years, but they'll never forget this huge goal-line stand to win the game at Homecoming," Coach Claas said. "I'm very proud of them!"

Offensively, Combs led the Bulldogs, completing eight of 19 attempts for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 50 yards rushing on nine attempts and a touchdown. 

"Trace had a bounce-back game from last week and had a great game," said Claas.

 had another big game rushing, gaining 111 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

Ott had four receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns for the receiving corps. Robinson had five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Sager added two receptions for 17 yards to add to his rushing total.

Defensively, Ott had two interceptions and double-digit tackles. Robinson had several tackles for loss, including one on the goal line at the end. Junior linebacker Victor Shouse also had double-digit takedowns for the Bulldogs.

Harrisburg, now 2-2 overall, opens Central State 8 action at Tipton (3-1) on Friday. 

"Tipton is off to a great start; it will be a very physical game,” Claas said. “They have a very good fullback, and we'll need to have a great week of practice."

With the loss, Salisbury drops to 3-1 on the season and falls from the Class 1 rankings after two weeks in the top 10. The Panthers remain home the next two weeks to face former Lewis & Clark Conference rivals Scotland County and Marceline.