PREVIEW: Cardinals hoping to get first win Friday against Rockcastle County

Les Dixon, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Sep. 16—LONDON — South Laurel saw its losing skid run to 18 games after dropping a 69-6 decision to Madison Central last week.

Despite the loss, Jep Irwin's Cardinals (0-4) continue to move forward with hopes of capturing their first win of the season. South Laurel will host Rockcastle County (2-2) Friday at home at 7:30 p.m.

"Madison Central is a very good team," Irwin said. "We did not match up well in terms of numbers, size, experience, or talent. Still, we did not play well and that was the one thing we have control over — our toughness, effort, and attention to detail should not be affected by your opponent or the score. It was very disappointing.

"We did not play well in any phase of the game," he added. "We make too many mistakes to give ourselves a chance to succeed. That comes down to 1. Coaching and 2. Experience. We have to find a way as coaches to get our players doing their job better and more consistently. The players have to take ownership and have pride in performing their job and not hurting the team with mental mistakes. Until that changes, we will not be competitive. We have to have a sense of urgency to improve at every position."

Irwin said positives are coming into Friday's game against the Rockets. His coaching staff should be back to full strength but some players will miss the game due to injuries they sustained last week.

"This is a similar situation to when I first took over as head coach in 2002, but we are probably even less experienced and our schedule is tough," Irwin said. "Not making excuses, but it is a fact. We have our work cut out for us. The only way out is to improve, stay positive, and stay tight as a team."