North Laurel found itself in an unexpected battle Friday until finally pulling away in the second half to defeat a much-improved Harlan County squad, 28-12.
The win improves the Jaguars to 5-4 overall, but most importantly, assures North Laurel a home playoff game in two weeks.
North moved to 3-1 against district opponents, and will host a home playoff game for only the fifth time in program history.
North Laurel will be back in action Friday at home against Wayne County with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled kick-off.
“Harlan County had a great game plan,” North Laurel coach Jason Chappell said. “They ran the play clock down to one every snap and was able to stay in good down and distance situations in the first half. We had only seven snaps on offense during the first half but led 14-12 at halftime.
“Defensively, we played much better in the second half, but they still slowed tempo,” he added. “Offensively, we were very efficient tonight.”
The Black Bears ate up the clock in the first quarter, and kept the Jaguar offense off the field.
Harlan County managed to get on the scoreboard, taking a 6-0 lead, thanks to a 10-yard touchdown run by Luke Kelly at the 1:25 mark of the first quarter.
Ethan Gregory’s 3-yard touchdown run with 10:17 to go in the second quarter gave North Laurel a 7-6 edge but Harlan County’s Ethan Rhymer scored from 1 yard out, allowing the Black Bears to reclaim a 12-7 lead with 1:18 remaining in the first half.
The Jaguars received the ball and quickly moved downfield as Gregory’s second rushing touchdown with eight seconds remaining gave North Laurel a 14-12 advantage entering the locker room at halftime.
Quarterback Hunter Morgan marched his squad downfield, and connected with Jude McWhorter for a 20-yard touchdown pass to push North Laurel’s lead to 21-12 with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.
The Jaguars’ Treyshawn Holmes-Evans made a huge fumble recovery on the Jaguar three-yard line to stop Harlan County from scoring late in the third quarter, and added a five-yard touchdown run with 4:55 remaining in the fourth quarter that sealed the win, giving North Laurel a commanding, 28-12, lead.
Harlan County (1-8) closes its regular season schedule on Friday at Bell County.