Football Recap: Harlan Piles Up the Points Against Taft

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Previous 6 Games

10/24/25 - Home	56-13 W
10/24/24 - Away	49-7 W
11/02/23 - Away	21-14 W
11/03/22 - Home	27-10 W
09/23/21 - Home	35-42 L
10/09/20 - Home	7-28 L

Harlan had won eight straight at home dating back to last season, but on Friday they bumped up to 8-0 to make it nine. They took their game with ease, bagging a 56-13 victory over the Taft Raiders. Considering the Hawks have won five contests by more than 37 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Leading Harlan to victory were Aldric Trotter and G'Ivori Graham. Trotter rushed for 117 yards and a pair of TDs, while Graham rushed for 130 yards and three scores on only nine carries. Those 130 rushing yards gave Graham a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aiden Pitchford, who picked up 56 receiving yards and one touchdown.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Harlan was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 363 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Taft only rushed for 102.

Harlan's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. Maddox Berantuo refused to say out of the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks all by himself. Another thorn in Taft's side was Berantuo, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made seven total tackles (2.5 for loss).

As for Taft, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-5. They were red-hot offensively heading into the matchup (they scored no less than 31 points in the five games prior), but Harlan's defense proved too tough.

Although Taft took the loss, they still got scores from Boots Williams and David Aguirre.

Harlan has already played their next contest, a 49-7 win against Warren on the 31st. As for Taft, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next matchup, a 35-28 defeat against Brennan on the 31st.