LONDON — The tide looks to be turning in Laurel County.
North Laurel entered Friday’s matchup with crosstown rival South Laurel as heavy favorites, but the much-improved Cardinals had something to say about that.
After allowing 49 points last week to Pulaski County, John Hines’ squad turned in its best defensive effort of the season, limiting the Jaguars (2-4) to only one score during South Laurel’s 24-7 win.
“We are very proud of our Cardinals,” Hines said. “This was a big win for our program. It’s a big win for our town for our school, for our community, for all of our student body and everybody that’s a South Laurel fan, this was a big win for the Cardinals. I think we grew up some tonight as a football team. We’re understanding what our standard of play has to be each time we take the field. We played with grade intensity on defense offense and special teams.
“This was especially a big win for our seniors. For those guys to close out their football career at South Laurel finally getting a win over the rival is a really big deal to them,” he added. “ It’s also a big deal to some of our coaches. We have a couple of coaches that played at North Laurel, and another coach that coach at North Laurel. So it was really sweet for those guys as well. More important than anything, this is a beginning to the second half of our season. We’ve got to build on this and continue to work to get better and see how far we can go.“
North Laurel held a slim 7-3 advantage until the 5:59 mark and that’s when the Cardinals took over.
Mika Smith scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give his team a 10-7 lead, and what followed will be remembered for a long time by Cardinal fans.
On North Laurel’s ensuing possession, Noah Smith intercepted the ball and raced to the end zone to give South Laurel a 17-7 lead.
Freshman Zack Thomas sealed the win a couple
of plays later with the Cardinals’ second pick six to wrap-up the 24-7 win for Hines’ squad.
North Laurel’s lone touchdown came with 4:10 remaining in the first half by Jude McWhorter.
The win improves South Laurel to 4-2 overall, and 1-1 against district opponents while the Jaguars fall to 2-4, and 0-1.
