Southwestern Wins Heated Matchup over North Laurel in Kroger KSR GOTW

BbyrdwellKSR

On3 image — Photo by Steven Peake | Kentucky Sports Radio

The Southwestern Warriors (6-0) won a heated 5A matchup 27-13 over the North Laurel Jaguars (4-2) on Friday night in the KSR Game of the Week.

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The first close KSR Game of the Week was incredible. From start to finish, Southwestern and North Laurel put on a great display of why high school football is fantastic. The game was well coached, the atmosphere was buzzing, and the play was fierce. Southwestern won by a seemingly comfortable two touchdowns. However, the final score is misleading — the Warriors and Jaguars battled until the very end.

The game started with a great return from Southwestern’s Christian Walden to the opposing 39-yard line. Then, after a few great defensive plays from the North Laurel defensive line, it was 4th and 8. Southwestern head coach Jason Foley set the tone for the game by going for it. The Warriors converted and drove down to the Jaguars’ goal-line. What followed was a string of plays you have to see to believe.

First, the Warriors fumbled the ball on 3rd and goal (but recovered).

A fumble on the goal-line is recovered by the offense… 3rd and goal pic.twitter.com/9r4BPB8TrL
— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2022

Then on another 4th down, Mason Hibbard made a Lynn Bowden-esque play from the backfield for the game’s first score.

TOUCHDOWN @Southwestern_FB . Mason Hibbard makes a great play out of the Wildcat to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead!! pic.twitter.com/ao7OnqkI63
— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2022

Jaguars and Warriors Show Why Defense is Key

The ensuing possessions would be any defensive coordinator’s dream, so buckle up. North Laurel gave the ball back fairly quickly on their first drive, and once again, Southwestern had the ball on the goal line. The game was threatening to start horribly for North Laurel. However, the Jaguars stood tall this time and came up with a huge interception.

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Both teams then failed to score before North Laurel was in enemy territory for the first time. You could feel the crowd ready to explode when 4th and 3 came up for the Jaguars. The Warriors decided the tension was too much to bear, and they jumped offside to give the Jags the first down. North Laurel humbly accepted this gift by handing the ball to Treshawn Holmes-Evans as he plowed into the end-zone.

We were all square at seven at the end of the first half.

TOUCHDOWN @NLJAGSFOOTBALL . Treyshawn Holmes-Evans ties the game at 7 with 2:17 to go in the half @kroger #KSR pic.twitter.com/lRMPw41Yso
— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) October 1, 2022

The Jaguars received the second-half kickoff, and QB Tucker Warren was starting to string together some great throws. Unfortunately for Jags fans, they fumbled out of the break to hand the ball back to the Warriors.

Southwestern/North Laurel or Bengals/Steelers?

The second half had five unsportsmanlike penalties, some coming at pivotal moments. The first was from North Laurel, which turned a 3rd and 15 into a short first and goal. The Warriors capitalized with a run from RB Christian Walden to give them a touchdown edge.

TOUCHDOWN @Southwestern_FB. Christian Walden makes a great cut to take a 14-7 lead with 3:14 left to go in the 3rd #KSRGameoftheWeek pic.twitter.com/rsMBQELQQG
— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) October 1, 2022

The Warriors then closed the game with two more touchdowns to win 27-13 on the road. I think it’s safe to say this was the best Kroger KSR Game of the Week thus far.

Coach Foley ended us off with this, “You come over here in this environment against a very good football team. North Laurel has a very good team; Coach (Jason) Chappell has done a great job. In their place, it is tough to get a win, so I’m proud of our guys.”