Harrisburg Edges Fayette to Capture First Ever Conference Title

The Harrisburg Bulldogs survived a late scare from Fayette to defeat the Falcons 30-24 and win their first-ever Lewis & Clark Conference football title. Harrisburg held a 14-12 at the half, but that lead disappeared with the second half kickoff.

Steven Findley Jr. with the call on Superstation KRES and centralmoinfo.com of Chase Allen-Jackman’s 70-yard kickoff return to make it 18-14 Fayette. The two teams each added a touchdown later in the quarter as Fayette held a 24-22 lead into the final quarter. That’s when Harrisburg’s Trace Combs hooked-up with Hunter Cole for the third time on the night.

Cole finished the game with three catches for 68 yards and three touchdowns. He entered the game with seven catches for 117 yards and one touchdown. Harrisburg coach Steve Hopkins discussed Combs’ connection with Cole.

Fayette had one final chance when Ben Wells connected with a 45-yard pass to Chase Allen-Jackman down to the Harrisburg 15-yard line. However time ran out before Fayette could snap the ball again. Fayette coach Mike Thompson analyzed his team’s ill-fated final plays.

Harrisburg went 3-4 on two-point conversions while Fayette was 0-3. Thompson said execution was lacking on both sides of the ball when it came to that aspect of the game.

Harrisburg improved to 6-2 and 5-0 in the Lewis & Clark Conference. Their win coupled with having the head-to-head tiebreaker against Marceline gave the Bulldogs their first-ever conference title. Hopkins put the conference title in perspective.