North Laurel reclaims First Priority Bowl trophy, defeats South Laurel 21-3

North Laurel head coach Steve Nelson came into Friday’s KSR Game of the Week with a hefty challenge: contain KY’s passing leader, Mason Griffin. Nelson delivered, as his Jaguars forced three turnovers from the quarterback and allowed as many points from the Cardinals’ offense.

The Jaguars (7-2) dominated on defense and the time of possession battle to beat South Laurel (8-2) in the First Priority Bowl by a final score of 21-3, avenging their loss from last year.

“As a North Laurel alumni, you got to live with that for a year, and it was a year of misery,” Nelson said about how important this rivalry is. “I just want to beat them.”

The scoring doesn’t start until the 2nd quarter, where a shanked North Laurel punt gave South Laurel the ball inside the Jaguars’ 15-yard line. From there, they nailed a field goal for the first points of the game from either team.

But that would be the last of the scoring from the Cardinals. The Jaguars were led by the legs of bowl MVP Cooper Robinson, as he rushed for his first touchdown to give North Laurel a 7-3 lead late in the 2nd quarter.

With about a minute left in the first half, South Laurel looked to work a quick drive to score before the break, but those plans were thwarted by Jaguars’ Bryson Nantz, who forced a fumble which led to his teammate Gage Baker picking up the ball and rumbling to the end zone, extending the lead to 14-3 at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, with South Laurel looking to come back, Griffin threw an interception to Colton Gilbert. From there, the Jaguars pieced together a long drive, capped off by Robinson’s second rushing touchdown, and ultimately the last score of the game.

”I couldn’t have done it without my lineman,” Robinson said of his MVP-winning performance. “It’s really a mentality. You get down and get back up again. You just got to keep fighting and fighting, and that’s what this whole team does.”

North Laurel won the yardage battle 252-112, gaining all of their yards on the ground.

Playoff Implications:

• North Laurel clinched the No. 2 seed in the district and a home playoff game.
• South Laurel’s regular season ends.