North Laurel looked well on its way to a third consecutive district loss after spotting Whitley County a 19-0 lead after one half of play.
The Jaguars came out in the second half, and looked like a total different team, scoring 35 unanswered points to knock off a stunned Colonel squad on Thursday with a 35-19 win.
Jason Chappell’s squad snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 5-3 overall, and 2-2 in district play while locking up the No. 3 seed in the process.
Whitley County fell to a disappointing 1-7 overall, and 0-3 against district opponents.
The Colonels will host South Laurel next Friday with the winner clinching the No. 4 seed along with a spot in the playoffs.
It looked as if Whitley County was going to run away with the win, as Mason Croley’s seven-yard touchdown run gave his team 7-0 edge with 9:16 remaining in the first quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by Tye Hamblin increased the Colonels’ lead to 13-0 with 4:28 left in the first half.
Whitley County scored what many felt could have sealed the deal for the Colonels when Logan Gambrel picked up a fumble and raced 76 yards for the score, giving his team a 19-0 edge entering halftime.
But that’s when North Laurel’s offense woke up.
A one-yard touchdown run by Ethan Gregory cut the Jaguars’ deficit to 19-6 at the 9:19 mark of the third quarter.
Tucker Warren followed with touchdowns runs of seven and eight yards to give North Laurel a 20-19 edge with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Warren’s seven-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with 6:40 left in regulation increased the Jaguars’ lead to 28-19.
Warren’s fourth rushing touchdown of the game, a one-yarder, sealed the win for North Laurel at 35-19 with 2:43 remaining in regulation.
