Published: October 10, 2008 10:26 am         

South Laurel travels to 'Death Valley'

Cards to face Lincoln Co. tonight

The South Laurel Cardinals will fly into “Death Valley” on Friday night in hopes of snapping a three game losing streak while handing Lincoln County their sixth consecutive loss of the season.

The term must-win is tossed around a lot, but for these two teams, no game is more important than a district win while snapping a losing streak.

“We are not in any position to take anybody lightly,” South Laurel coach Jason Chappell said. “We have lost our last three games and if we don’t play better we won’t win.”

The Cardinals are coming off a much needed bye week and will be a lot healthier. Nick Miller and Jake Cobb will be ready to go on Saturday.

“Our off week happened at the right time,” Chappell said. “We are much more healthier than we were. I don’t think the off week will effect our play though. Our practices are the same as any other week.”

The Cardinals should be able to continue moving the ball with their senior quarterback Ricky Bowling, who continues to edge closer and closer to the state record for career touchdown passes, but they understand the Patriots are tougher than your typical 0-5 team.

“They play so hard all the time,” Chappell said. “They play as hard as any team we will face. They have played a tough schedule like we have. They are fast and they fly around on defense.”

Trent Edwards has taken over the quarterback position for the Patriots after playing tailback last season and brings a lot of speed and versatility to their offense, but Edwards did not play last week.

“He is one of their best running backs from last season,” Chappell said. “When he is playing they can spread you out a lot more. He is great player, we will just have to wait and see if he plays.”

The Cardinals will continue to work on their defense and look to improve their special team play in order to get over the hump.

“I still have a lot of confidence in our defense,” Chappell said. “Our main focus has been on special teams. Our special teams play has really hurt us this year.”

The Cardinals are looking to resurrect their season with a big district win and what better place to start than “Death Valley.”

Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m.

Tim Branstetter can be reached at tbranstetter@sentinel-echo.com.