LONDON — North Laurel’s had a week off to regroup and prepare for what lies ahead Friday — a huge district matchup against Southwestern Pulaski.
The Jaguars have dropped four straight games against the Warriors (2-2), but have ending the skid Friday.
North Laurel enters the game rated No. 4 in Class 5A while Southwestern Pulaski is No. 6.
“Being off gave us a chance to work in some areas where we need to improve,” Chappell said. “We didn’t give them much time to rest, but we did shorten practice a little and got the guys out early. Biggest thing is giving the guys a chance to mentally recharge and I think they’ll be back and ready to go this week.
“I am very happy with where we are,” he added. “Our guys have worked really hard every week and I think we’ve seen improvements each game. Sometimes not as much as we’d like to see, but the guys on the other sideline are working, too. Obviously we are still looking to get better. I don’t believe that you are ever a finished product. We’ll be pushing for improvement and development right up through the very last week of the season.”
Chappell said he and his coaching staff went back to basics this week when it came to working with his players.
“We really focused on blocking, tackling and shedding blocks,” he admitted. “We worked really hard on our special teams. We don’t want to get into trying to do too much. We want to get better at the things we are doing and we spent a lot of time on the fundamentals of the game.
“Every single game is important,” Chappell added. “The next one is always the most important. We do have tremendous respect for Southwestern Pulaski, they have really good players and are coached at a high level. Obviously, we want to get a great start in district play. The reason we have scheduled like we have is to be able to prepare for teams in our district.”
Chappell was quick to point out the Warriors being a lot to the table.
“First and foremost, they do a great job of blocking and tackling,” he said. “Their kids are very fundamentally sound. Their kids are big and strong and in great shape. So they are a very tough out just based on those two things alone. Beyond that, they give you a lot of stuff to prepare for. On offense, they will be in several different formations and personnel groupings. On defense, they are very aggressive to the ball and tackle extremely well.”
