Published: October 03, 2008 11:55 am      

Jags face tough Maroons

North Laurel travels to take on Pulaski Co. Friday night in football

The North Laurel Jaguars will travel to Pulaski County tonight and face the same team that defeated South Laurel 61-60 in overtime last week.

The Jaguars are coming off a loss, but an impressive 21-18 loss to a solid Letcher County Central team.

“Friday was a lot more indicative of who we are,” North Laurel coach David Abbott said. “I have challenged the team this week to improve in any area that we could have improved on during last week to get us over the hump.”

The Jaguars are still looking for their second win of the season and have shown much improvement in their offense with Adrian Wardrup moving from the quarterback position to the tailback spot.

Wardrup has also impressed Abbott with his toughness while taking several big hits while carrying the ball.

“I am most impressed with his toughness,” Abbott said. “He has surprised me, he has taken a lot of shots.”

The Jaguars offense could give the Maroons problems if they make a couple of plays in the passing game.

“North Laurel is very hard to prepare for because of their many different looks,” Pulaski County coach Johnny Hines said. “They will line up three backs and then they will spread you out. Sometimes Wardrup is at quarterback and sometimes he is at tailback. We are worried about a lot of their players, but Wardrup is the most dangerous. He is a big player.”

The Maroons are 2-2 with wins over Russell County and South Laurel and losses to Rockcastle County and Mercer County. Quarterback Chris Muse is a player to watch and is a back factor in the success of the Maroons.

Although Muse has completed 16 passes on the season for 342 yards and two touchdowns, he has also carried the ball for 420 yards and eight touchdowns.

“They are a very fast group of young men,” Abbott said. “They run the ball very well and are very aggressive on their play calling. They will spread you out and run the ball. We will have to step up our play and our success will depend on our line.”

The Jaguars will need another solid performance from their line to pick up a win, but Abbott is confident in his team and the improvements they have made.

“Both the offensive line and the defensive line stepped it up last week,” Abbott said. “It will take them stepping up again this week. There has not been an easy team on our schedule and there is not one left.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Pulaski County High School.