By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

HARLAN — Despite watching his team score a lopsided win in Monday night’s 50th District opener at James A. Cawood field, Middlesboro coach Jeff McClelland wasn’t overly impressed by his team’s effort against under-manned Knox Central.
The Yellow Jackets’ 8-0 victory over the winless Panthers sends them into tonight’s 7 p.m. championship game against three-time defending champion, Harlan County. The Black Bears escaped Monday night with a 1-0 (5-4 in sudden death penalty kicks) win over Barbourville.
Knox Central fielded just seven players, along with freshman goalkeeper Cashius Woolum, for the match against the Yellow Jackets, and McClelland didn’t mince words after the game.
“We have to do better,” McClelland said. “(Knox Central) was playing three players down and we did not play well, so I’m not fairly happy with them.
“Harlan County is a different team than Knox Central, so we’re going to really have to step it up to win. We’ll have to make some adjustments and play up to our competition a little better.
“I feel like we kind of played down to Knox a little bit. Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll come out stronger and not so flat.”
Middlesboro (7-4) opened the scoring during the sixth minute of the game on the first of two goals by junior Brent Thompson. On the play, Thompson took a long pass from junior midfielder Aiden Larew, outraced two defenders and pushed the ball past Woolum into the lower left corner.
The short-handed Warriors kept Middlesboro at-bay for the next 16 minutes, before the Yellow Jackets scored twice within a span of 44 seconds.
Thompson’s second goal of the game came on a second breakaway, before senior Trevor Raney drilled the first of his three goals on the night into the upper right corner during the 22nd minute.
Larew scored the first of his two goals during the 34th minute of the game, after the ball deflected off a Knox Central defender. Larew capped the first-half scoring with his second goal three minutes later.
Raney scored consecutive goals for the Yellow Jackets to open the scoring in the second half. Another Raney shot found the upper right corner of the net during the 50th minute, and he completed the hat trick when he scored on a rebound during the 75th minute.
Junior Aiden Spencer’s goal during the 77th minute invoked the mercy rule.
Middlesboro freshman goalkeeper Dalton Fleet was called upon to make just two saves Monday, while his counterpart, Woolum, was credited with an eye-popping 38 saves.