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Harrisburg makes easy work of Paris

Samuels rushes for 117 yards and TD before leaving with injury

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 9/20/22

The Harrisburg Bulldogs delivered a decisive shutout over Lewis & Clark Conference foe Paris, 36-0, Friday night at home.

The win makes Harrisburg (3-1 overall) one of three undefeated teams …

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Harrisburg makes easy work of Paris

Samuels rushes for 117 yards and TD before leaving with injury

Posted

The Harrisburg Bulldogs delivered a decisive shutout over Lewis & Clark Conference foe Paris, 36-0, Friday night at home.

The win makes Harrisburg (3-1 overall) one of three undefeated teams in the conference. The Bulldogs are 2-0 in L&C play, along with Fayette and Salisbury. This Friday’s bout at home against Salisbury could be a deciding game in the conference this season.

Despite the lopsided score, Harrisburg did not come out of Friday’s game unscathed. Running back Hayven Samuels suffered what coach Steve Hopkins called “severely torn ligaments” during the second play of the third quarter. This was after the junior had already racked up 113 yards and a touchdown in the first half. 

“We thought it was a broken leg,” Hopkins said. “He had over 100 yards in the first half and was just doing the best he’s done so far this season. He’s probably done for the season.”

Saumels’s touchdown came on the Bulldogs’ second drive of the game. He set up his own score with a 50-yard run and then drove the ball 18 yards into the endzone for the touchdown.

“He had a 50-yard run on that drive; that’s what was really impressive,” Hopkins said. “We blocked it well, and he made a cut back all the way across the field. He’s got a really nice burst.”

Leading 6-0 after one quarter, Harrisburg scored twice more before halftime when sophomore quarterback Trace Combs connected with senior Austin Darwent for two touchdowns. The first was for 14 yards with 9:29 on the clock. Combs and Darwent then hooked up for the two-point conversion to lead 14-0.

Later in the second quarter, Combs found Darwent again from 23 yards out. The two-point conversion was successful to give Harrisburg a 22-0 lead at halftime.

Harrisburg’s defense was just as effective as the offense in the first half. The Coyotes had fewer than 50 offensive yards for most of the game and were unable to complete a pass in the first two quarters. Harrisburg picked off two passing attempts in the first half.

“Halftime was really frustrating,” Hopkins said. “We felt like we left at least two touchdowns on the board by playing down to our competition. We did a much better job in the second half, even though we only scored twice more.”

Following a scoreless third quarter, Combs struck again midway through the fourth quarter with a 35-yard pass to senior Brayden Wyatt. The final touchdown of the game came when freshman Caleb Sanger scored his first high school touchdown on a five-yard run to the endzone. The two-point conversion was good to make the final score 36-0.

Combs had an extremely efficient game behind center. He finished with seven completions on 10 passing attempts for 117 and three touchdowns with one interception. 

“The three touchdown throws were really well done,” Hopkins said. Combs took the reigns at quarterback in the second game of the season after senior Anthony Alicea suffered an injury to his right shoulder.

The majority of Combs’s seven pass completions came on play action. “We fooled them with the run game, and that opened kids up,” Hopkins explained. “If we’re running the ball well, and they have to fly to the run, that opens up our receivers.”

Darwent led the Harrisburg receivers with four grabs for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt made two catches for 25 yards and one touchdown. Junior Hunter Cole caught one pass for eight yards.

Even with a strong passing game by Combs, the Bulldogs racked up most of their yards on the ground. Samuels picked up 113 of the team’s 217 total rushing yards on 10 carries in the first half. 

Despite the injury, Alicea still ran for 53 yards on 16 attempts. “We moved him back to running back. He does exactly what we want, which is to pound the ball between the tackles,” Hopkins said.

Sager picked up 31 yards on three rushes and a touchdown.

Combs scrambled for 18 yards on nine attempts. Hopkins emphasized establishing his young quarterback as a solid runner to keep defenses guessing. “He ran the ball very consistently so that we could run our full offense. He was a threat to keep the ball.”

Defensively, the Bulldogs manhandled Paris, allowing no single gains of more than four yards in the first half. Harrisburg also intercepted three passes on the night.

“We played really, really well defensively,” Hopkins said. “We did a really good job of bottling them up.”

Senior Logan Fritts led the team in tackles with four, along with three assists and one takedown for a loss. Alicea had three tackles and four assists. Wyatt added three tackles and three assists, and had two tackles for loss.

Senior Harley Whitaker had a great game on defense, with three tackles and five assists. He also had two interceptions.

“Harley just played a phenomenal game at free safety,” said Hopkins.

The Bulldogs host Salisbury on Friday in what could be a key matchup in the Lewis & Clark Conference. Harrisburg and Salisbury both boast records of 3-1 overall and are two of three teams to remain unbeaten in the conference. Fayette is the third team.

Hopkins said the key to winning on Friday will be to stop Salisbury’s run game. “We have got to do a great job defensively. They have been very effective at running and throwing. And they are monsters up front. They’re really big. We’ve got to seal off the run first. We want to limit them to the short pass game and make them do it over and over again.

“Offensively, we need to be balanced again. For us to be good, we’ve got to be balanced.”

Friday night is also Homecoming for the Bulldogs. The game will kick off at 7 p.m.

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