The Middlesboro Yellow Jackets suffered their first loss of the Larry French era on Friday night falling to a strong veteran team in the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets, 55-28.

Middlesboro quarterback Eric Helton played an efficient game, going 11-for-17 for 186 passing yards with two touchdowns.

The Jackets also had another big performance from Jabari Kyle, who rushed for 66 yards on 12 attempts for two touchdowns. Kyle also added 135 yards receiving on five receptions and two receiving touchdowns, bringing his total to four for the game.

Riley Gent aided the Middlesboro effort with 52 rushing yards on six attempts. He was followed by Helton with 34 yards on 14 attempts. Tyler Kelly added 17 yards on six carries.

Atavius Flanary aided the passing game with 49 yards on four receptions. Middlesboro totaled 192 passing yards during the game, as well as 169 rushing yards to give them 361 yards of total offense. Even though Middlesboro found success on offense, Williamsburg’s offense was too much.

Williamsburg only had 85 rushing yards on the evening, but totaled 439 yards through the air to give them a yardage total of 524 yard.

Middlesboro (1-1) will be back in action Friday night on the road against Lynn Camp (2-0). Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Williamsburg (2-0) will attempt to defend their home field against Leslie County (1-0) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.