HARRISON — Sidney couldn’t keep up with Harrison in a Division II, Region 8 playoff opener on Friday and had its season come to an end.

The Wildcats scored the first 44 points to ensure the second half was played with a running clock and beat the Yellow Jackets 51-6.

Sidney struggled against the Wildcats (8-3), which won the four-team Southwest Ohio Conference and are the No. 5 seed in Region 8. Friday’s win was Harrison’s sixth with a margin of 29 points or more.

Sidney fumbled two kickoffs (both of which led to Harrison touchdowns) and had a blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown.

The Yellow Jackets, which were the No. 12 seed in Region 8, finish 5-6 overall.

“How we played tonight was not indicative of how these young men have done throughout the year,” Sidney coach Dave Taynor said. “They won both the trophy games, brought the Little Brown Jug home, brought the Battered Helmet home.

“Really showed in the middle part of the year that we were one of the most explosive offenses in all of the state. They faced some adverse situations. We lost some key people. I felt like we battled and found a way against Piqua to still win that game.

“We’re still in the process of developing a quarterback (Ethan New) who has about two weeks’ experience. This was a good experience for him, good learning reps.

“Overall on the season, I was proud of the progress we made, but it’s obvious there’s a lot left to do.”

Sidney will lose 16 seniors to graduation, including senior quarterback/receiver Tucker Herron. Herron moved from QB to receiver in recent weeks, but he still played a bit under center and threw a TD pass on Friday.

Other multiple-year varsity players the Yellow Jackets will lose to graduation include tight end/defensive back Mitchell Davis, linemen Eli Biddle and Luke Carter, tight end/linebacker Rylee Vestal, running back/linebacker Brice Hughes and receiver/defensive back Dylan Kelly, among others.

“It was my first opportunity to work with them, and I saw a lot of those guys grow a lot throughout the year,” Taynor, who is in his first year, said. “I’m going to sit down with them next week, talk to them about what their plans are and what they’re looking to potentially do after this and how I can help them as they move forward with whatever endeavor they decide to go in to.

“That group had never beat Piqua, they got a chance to beat Piqua. …They won the Valley side of the conference. It wasn’t every goal they had for the year by any stretch, but they met goals.”

Sidney won the Miami Valley League Valley Division for the second time in three seasons and won at least five games for the sixth time in the last nine seasons.

The Wildcats had 418 yards of offense while the Yellow Jackets had 130.

Cole Koops ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries and caught two passes for 23 yards with one TD. Dickie Engle completed 14-of-20 passes for 168 yards with two TDs.

Harrison got the ball to start the game, quickly drove and scored on a 21-yard TD run by Koops with 9:08 left in the first quarter. Sidney fumbled the kickoff, and the Wildcats drove and scored when Koops took a toss in from 2 yards out for a TD with 6:03 left. The Yellow Jackets blocked the extra point, but Harrison led 13-0.

Sidney was forced to punt, and Harrison drove 93 yards and scored on a 16-yard TD pass from Engel to Luke Rogers with 31 seconds left to take a 20-0 lead.

Koops scored on a 57-yard TD run early in the second to push the lead to 27-0, then scored on a 2-yard run with 5:35 left to increase the lead to 34-0.

Grant Dallio recovered a blocked punt for a TD with 4:41 left to push the lead to 41-0, and Landen Anderson made a 30-yard field goal with 2:06 left for the squad’s final points of the first half.

Sidney put together a long drive before halftime and scored on a 15-yard TD pass from Herron to Kelly with 11 seconds left to cut the gap to 44-6.

Harrison scored on a 7-yard TD run by Preston Flick on the opening drive of the third quarter after the Yellow Jackets fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.