By CHUCK JONES
The News Enterprise
RADCLIFF, October 03, 2008—The John Hardin Bulldogs have gained a reputation the last few years of being a second-half team although they have tried to change that this season.
On Friday night, they had to go back to their old ways.
The Bulldogs trailed 17-13 at halftime before taking the lead in the third quarter and John Hardin defense did the rest en route to a 20-17 victory Friday night in the First Federal Bowl at Bulldog Stadium.
John Hardin – ranked second in the latest Associated Press Class 5-A poll – won its 16th consecutive regular-season home game and its 21st straight regular season game. It was also the third win in a row over North Hardin after losing the first three of the series.
The Trojans (2-4) made John Hardin (6-0) work to keep those streaks intact, but would you expect anything different in this rivalry?
John Hardin junior quarterback Alex Dingle hooked up with senior wideout Tim Marcum for a 54-yard touchdown. Alan Harber made the extra point to lift John Hardin to its first lead at 20-17 with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter.
After being shredded for 269 yards in the first 24 minutes, the John Hardin defense clamped down on the Trojans, who managed only 80 yards and were forced to punt on two of their three possessions in the second half.
North Hardin still had a chance to win after stopping John Hardin on fourth-and-goal with 6:31 left. The Trojans marched the ball to the Bulldog 28 after converting a fourth-and-6, but on the next play, senior quarterback LaRod King was sandwiched by senior Elias Camper and junior Zed Cofer. King dropped the ball after the hard collision and junior William Burford recovered with 51.2 seconds remaining to set off a John Hardin celebration.
Dingle completed 9-of-13 passes for 153 yards and two scores. Senior fullback David Morehead was John Hardin’s only source of yards on the ground, picking up 88 yards on seven attempts.
King passed for 187 yards and a touchdown as he completed 13-of-22 passes. Senior Justin Berry had 80 rushing yards on 10 attempts and caught four passes for 58 yards. His brother, Austin, rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries and added three catches for 26 yards.
North Hardin set the tone from the start, scoring on its opening possession when King hit Justin Berry on a short pass that he turned into a 31-yard touchdown. Daniel Padilla’s extra point gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead with 7:52 remaining.
John Hardin needed only five plays to answer with Morehead, playing for the first time since the second game of the season, broke loose for a 40-yard scoring run. Harber tacked on the point after to tie the game at 7-all with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
After trading punts, the Trojans switched to the wishbone and methodically moved the ball downfield, setting up a Padilla 22-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 9:23 remaining before halftime.
The Bulldogs looked to have another answer, but after reaching the North Hardin 11, the Trojans recovered a lateral to snuff out the drive.
North Hardin made the Bulldogs pay, turning the fumble into a King 6-yard scoring run after the Trojans put together a 14-play, 82-yard drive and included two touchdowns nullified by penalties. Padilla made the conversion kick to stretch the lead to 17-7 with 37.6 seconds left in the second quarter.
Camper returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards and two North Hardin personal fouls gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Trojan 32. After having a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty, senior Cameron Parker took the direct snap and threw a lateral to Dingle, who connected with a wide-open Sherrod Moore for a 37-yard touchdown to slice the lead to 17-13.
