HARRIMAN — Oneida stayed within striking distance of the Blue Devils for two and a half quarters at Wallace-Black Field here Friday night before a third quarter turnover seemed to break the Indians’ momentum and helped spring Harriman to a 29-7 region win.

The Blue Devils (5-2, 4-0) remained undefeated in region play with the win and continue to share the Region 2-A lead with Coalfield. The Indians, meanwhile, slipped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in region play, and must beat Sunbright tomorrow (Friday) night at Dr. M.E. Thompson Field to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Oneida’s offense, which had struggled against teams with winning records, averaging 134 yards per game and 0 points, showed improvements against the Blue Devils. The Indians finished with 218 yards of total offense, and quarterback Coty Younce completed eight of 14 passes for 69 yards. The Indians’ backs combined for 149 yards on the ground. Adam Jeffers led the way with 71 yards on 18 carries.

But the Indians had trouble capping drives; Oneida had the ball inside Harriman’s 30-yard-line five times but came away with only one touchdown.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, finished with 306 yards of offense. Julian Goins led the way for the ‘Devils, completing nine of 16 passes for 127 yards and adding 88 yards on the ground on 10 attempts.

Harriman jumped to a 15-0 first quarter lead with relative ease and appeared unstoppable. But Oneida regrouped, cutting the deficit to 15-7 by the intermission. With the momentum on their side, the Indians opened the third quarter with an impressive defensive stand, and their offense was driving inside Harriman’s 40-yard-line when Goins came up with an interception, returning it into Oneida territory. The Indians would be unable to challenge the Blue Devils’ lead the rest of the night.

Oneida began the game by driving from its 20-yard-line to the 33-yard-line before the drive stalled.

After a short punt allowed Harriman to take possession at its 48-yard-line, the Blue Devils scored in six plays, twice completing 20-yard passes on third down, including a third-and-eight touchdown strike from Goins to AJ Johnson with 7:20 remaining. Johnson’s two-point conversion run put Harriman on top 8-0.

After a three-and-out by Oneida, Harriman quickly scored again, covering 71 yards in just five plays, as Johnson and Goins hooked up for a 30-yard touchdown pass and a 15-0 lead with 2:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

A 21-yard run by Allen Hughett on the first play of Oneida’s ensuing drive helped the Indians work their way into Harriman territory for the first time on the evening. But after a 14-yard pass from Younce to Aaron Buttram set up a first down at the ‘Devils’ 30-yard-line, the drive stalled. Younce’s fourth-down pass from the 25-yard-line fell incomplete, allowing Harriman to take over on downs.

After a 27-yard run by Goins pushed the ball to midfield, Brad Christiansen came up with the first of two big defensive plays, intercepting a Goins pass at his 15-yard-line with 6:50 remaining before the intermission.

Oneida took advantage of the defensive stop, turning in one of its best offensive drives of the season. The drive covered 85 yards in 14 plays, chewing more than five minutes off the clock, and was Oneida’s longest offensive scoring drive of the season. Previously, the Indians’ longest scoring drive was a 75-yard drive at Oakdale.

The Indians twice converted on fourth-and-short during the drive, the first on a 16-yard run by Jeffers and the second on a three-yard run by Lewallen. A 27-yard end-around run by Zach Lambert set up a five-yard touchdown run by Jeffers to cut the deficit to 15-7 with 1:32 remaining before the half.

After a questionable 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Indians on the final play of the first half forced Oneida to kick off from their 25-yard-line to start the second half, Harriman began the third period with good field position, at midfield. But the Indians turned in a strong defensive stand. Two stops for losses by Adam Jeffers — who made several tackles in the Harriman backfield on the evening — and a pass broken up by Christiansen resulted in Harriman’s first punt of the evening.

The Indians then took over at their own 45-yard-line and began advancing the ball. A nine-yard completion from Younce to Clint Keeton, followed by a six-yard run by Younce on third down, moved the ball to Harriman’s 40-yard-line. Two plays later, however, Goins intercepted a Younce pass at his 30-yard-line and returned it to Oneida’s 43-yard-line.

Harriman’s scoring threat would end after the ‘Devils advanced to the 11-yard-line. Christiansen made an improbable interception on his one-yard-line.

A 15-yard face mask penalty against Harriman allowed Oneida to get themselves out of trouble, but three plays later, the Indians were forced to punt. An intentional grounding penalty against Oneida that was highly disputed by the Indians’ coaching staff resulted in a loss of 14 yards to the three-yard-line, forcing Lambert to punt from the back of the endzone. As a result, Harriman wound up with good field position even after a 46-yard punt by Lambert.

Three plays later, Goins carried the ball in for a touchdown from 33 yards out, giving Harriman a 22-7 lead with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter.

Oneida turned the ball over on downs at its own 37-yard-line on the ensuing drive, but soon got the ball back when Travis Morgan recovered a fumble at the 18-yard-line.

Behind passing by Younce, who completed five consecutive passes, the Indians then moved deep into Harriman territory. But after getting to the 23-yard-line, a fourth down pass fell incomplete, giving Harriman possession with 3:18 remaining.

Four plays later, Johnson broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run with 1:22 remaining, setting the final score at 29-7.

After an interception by the ‘Devils on the Indians’ ensuing possession, the Indians got possession at Harriman’s 15-yard-line when Jeffers recovered a fumble with eight seconds remaining. Oneida’s final play resulted in a gain of three yards, however, as time expired.