By Tim Branstetter / Staff Writer
The North Laurel Jaguars did not accomplish their goal of making the playoffs, but they were able to accomplish several things during their impressive (5-5) 2009 campaign.
The Jaguars were led by first year head coach Chris Larkey and he was pleased with what his team accomplished.
“We didn’t make our main goal of making the playoffs,” he said. “But we didn’t have a losing season and that was important. This was the first time the seniors experienced a non-losing season.”
The Jaguars turned heads during their 36-33 upset win over Pulaski County to start the season. The Maroons were ranked in the top ten in the state.
“That first game set the tone for the rest of the season,” Larkey said. “We ended up with a pretty successful year. We could have gone 1-9 if we lost that game.”
North Laurel continued to surprise people as they defeated Knox Central 28-21 and South Laurel 7-6 to improve to 3-0.
“People were very excited when we were 3-0,” Larkey said. “They really stayed that way all season though.”
The Jaguars suffered their first loss of the season as they traveled to Corbin to face the Redhounds. After beig defeated 34-8, they enjoyed a bye week to regain their focus.
“It’s not a major disgrace to lose to a team like Corbin,” Larkey said. “We just wanted to compete and we did that. It was a closer game than the score would indicate.”
The Jaguars bounced back in a major way with a big 33-8 victory over Clay County. The Tigers could not find an answer for the Jaguars “Wildcat” formation.
“They had just beat Knox Central to death and we were coming off a bye week,” Larkey said. “I think we caught them off guard with the ‘Wildcat’ offense.”
Adrian Wardup ran the ball 22 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. Johnny Ray Fugate added 58 yards on seven carries and a touchdown.
The Jaguars were on top of the word with a 4-1 record, but a four game losing streak forced them to miss the playoffs.
After dropping a 20-14 loss to Perry County Central, the Jaguars lost in double overtime 32-26 to Harlan County, coached by Larkey’s dad Tom.
“We should have won the Perry County Central game,” Larkey said. “We just blew that game. That caused us to lose some momentum. Our kids didn’t quit and worked hard against Harlan County. That loss took a lot out of our kids. It zapped a little out of us.”
A heartbreaking 40-14 loss at Whitley County knocked the Jaguars out of the playoffs and they lost again 36-20 on the road to Letcher County Central.
“We played very good against Letcher County Central,” Larkey said. “We were the better team. We played well enough to win, it just didn’t happen that way.”
The Jaguars took out their frustrations with a 48-0 victory over Jackson County to dodge a losing record.
“Kids were fired up,” Larkey said. “They took care of business. They didn’t want a losing record. It was their first .500 season. We are losing a lot of leadership. They really set the tone for the rest of the kids to live up too.”
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