LONDON — South Laurel showed why many prognosticators picked the Cardinals as the preseason favorites to win the 13th Region by dominating Harlan on Tuesday.
South Laurel (1-0) put on a defensive clinic limiting the Green Dragons to only 10 field goals while not allowing Harlan to score at least 10 points in any of the four quarters of its 66-25 win.
“Played hard but have a lot to work on defensively and offensively,” South Laurel coach Jeff Davis said. “We shared the ball well and made some shots. Still have a lot of areas on defensive end we must get better. We have to play at a more exuberant level on the defensive end.”
Twelve players scored for the Cardinals in the win as Jordan Mabe tossed in a team-best 16 points. Colton Rawlings added eight points while Kaiden McQueen finished with seven points. Blaine Baker chipped in six points while three players scored five points apiece.
Six point efforts by Mabe and Rawlings during the first eight minutes allowed South Laurel to build a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals limited the Green Dragons (0-1) to only three points in the second quarter while increasing their advantage to 34-10.
South Laurel outscored Harlan 20-7 in the third quarter as Mabe scored eight points and Zach Thomas added three points.
Jaxson Perry and Ethan Huff led the Green Dragons with seven points apiece.
The Cardinals will host Clay County Saturday at 7 p.m.
