Published: September 19, 2008 11:21 am      

Jags need a win against Colonels

North Laurel hosts Whitley County tonight in football

The North Laurel Jaguars have dropped two straight games, but in all fairness to the blue and green, they have faced two quarterbacks who are on pace to break two state records held by Tim Couch.

This week the Jaguars will put their pride on the line as they face the strong running attack of Whitley County. Like North Laurel, the Colonels hang their hat on their strong line play and their pounding ground game.

“They do run the ball very well,” North Laurel coach David Abbott said. “You can’t take anything away from their quarterback though; he is no slouch. They don’t throw it a lot, but they run the ball so well that when they do throw it there is something available. They are going to test our physicality.”

The Jaguars are not planning a sneak attack on the Colonels by any means; they plan on lining up and playing smash mouth football. The only focus this week has been keeping assignments.

“We have to be tougher than they are,” Abbott said. “The type of offense they run we will have to play assignment football. Everyone has their assignments. You may stuff them 10 times in a row, but on that 11th time if somebody doesn’t get down where they are supposed to be, they will have a wide open lane.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Jaguars will be without their leading back as Steven White injured his collar bone during practice and will likely be sidelined for the rest of the season.

“That will effect both sides of the ball,” Abbott said. “He is the fastest kid on the team.”

Gus Sulfridge will be asked to step in and fill the shoes of White, but Abbott admits it will take a team effort to pick up a win against the Colonels.

“It’s not a tennis match or a golf match, it is a team sport,” Abbott said. “There are 11 guys out there. Gus has been a fine player for us. He is a sophomore and I am very comfortable with him. Steven (White) ran the ball well for us well, but we have other guys that run the ball well. The team will have to fill in those gaps.”

Although Abbott admits losing White is a difficult pill to swallow, he expects his team to step up to the challenge and rally to turn the season around.

“We are going to miss him a lot on the field,” Abbott said. “Not only his play but his senior leadership and his presence, but it will give us something to fight for. He is a huge part of what we do, but that is the thing about football, it is a team. The rest of the team will pick it up and fill in that gap and we will be fine. You are going to get some bad breaks, but you can’t lie there and cry about it. You have to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward and that is what this team is going to do.”

Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight at The Jungle.