BOWL LOSS

Williamsburg Coach Jerry Herron knew it was going to be a tough task taking a “W” from the North Laurel Jaguars Saturday night. And with three turnovers in their first three possessions, it turned into a long night for the Yellow Jackets, who lost the game 41-20.

Don’t let the score fool you; the Jaguars had a tough time putting the Yellow Jackets away. “Those three turnovers really hurt us,” Herron said.

North Laurel (1-1) scored on its first possession of the game on a one-yard run by quarterback Johnny Fugate to take the lead for good. Williamsburg took their first possession at their own 49-yard line and moved the ball with ease against the North Laurel defense.

A 19-yard run by senior Chris Lowrie followed by a three-yard run had the Yellow Jackets at the North Laurel 32. On his third carry, Lowrie broke loose for another long gainer, but fumbled the ball at the 12-yard line.

North Laurel again drove the ball down the field behind Hughie Wagers and Johnny Fugate. The Yellow Jackets defense gathered their composure and stopped the Jaguars, taking over at the Williamsburg 38-yard line.

Facing a third-and-13 from the 35, Lowrie got through the Jaguars defense for a 25-yard carry to the North Laurel 40. On first down he went back to pass and was picked off by Michael Nelson with 2:39 left in the quarter,

North Laurel added their second touchdown off the miscue with 8:57 in the second period when Wagers took the ball in from one-yard out. Ronnie Rotondi added the point after for a 14-0 lead.

Possession three started with a kickoff return to the Yellow Jackets 42-yard line. A short pass from Lowrie to J.P. Payne pushed the ball to the 45-yard line. Kevin Hoffman broke through the Jaguars’ defense for a 25-yard run before he lost the ball at the North Laurel 30-yard line.

“I was pleased with the way we were running the ball, but we have to hold onto it and not make those fumbles,” added Herron.

However, this time the Williamsburg defense held and North Laurel turned the ball back over to Williamsburg. The series was short-lived and the Jackets handed the ball back to the Jaguars.

The final TD of the half came with no time left on the scoreboard when Fugate hit Michael Nelson on a 30-yard play in the left corner of the end zone. Rotondi’s kick allowed the Jaguars to head to the dressing room with a 21-0 lead.

It was an even ballgame from that point on. The Yellow Jackets failed to score on their first possession of the third quarter and North Laurel hit paydirt with 6:15 on the clock when Fugate teamed up with senior Andrew Massey on a 26-yard pass play for six points. The Jaguars moved ahead 28-0 on the score.

Williamsburg finally put it all together after a kickoff return by Lowrie to the Yellow Jackets 44-yard line. Lowrie took the ball into North Laurel territory to the 48-yard line before a penalty gave the Yellow Jackets a first-down at the 43-yard line.

Ethan Powers scampered down the field to the 26-yard before a series of penalties pushed the ball back to the 36-yard marker. However, a roughing the passer penalty by the Jaguars gave Williamsburg a first down at the North Laurel 21-yard line. Two plays later Hoffman scored from 21-yards out to get Williamsburg on the scoreboard.

The teams went to the fourth quarter with North Laurel leading 28-6.

Williamsburg scored two touchdowns in the final period. Hoffman scored on a 50-yard run and Powers hit Payne on a 43-yard pass play. Hoffman added a two-point conversion to account for the final margin.

“We played well at times,” said Herron. “We’ve just got to come together than we will be all right.”

Hoffman led the Yellow Jackets offense with 102 yards while Lowrie added 73 yards.

Williamsburg will be home Friday night to take on the Harlan Green Dragons. “Coach Donahue of Harlan City does a good job, he’s been a good coach, he took them to the regional final last year and had a big year last season,” said Herron.

“He will have them ready to play,” added Herron. “They are a young team in the backfield. They like to spread the field and make you make mistakes. They will be strong and run at you.”

“We know they will bring pressure to the quarterback and make us make mistakes on defense,” said Herron. “They will be a solid team that will be ready to get after us.”

Demarcus Williams led the Dragons in a 52-14 loss to Corbin last week with 109 yards, including a 52-yarder that set up a touchdown.

Quarterback Ty Saragas was 10 of 21, but was picked off four times.

“With a young team like they have, if you can not make mistakes yourself and jump out on them early that would be a great thing,” he said. “Sometimes our inexperience and lack of playing time hurts us and that what we have shown early the last couple of weeks in our games.”

North Laurel 41, Williamsburg 20

Williamsburg      7   14    7  13- 41     

North Laurel      0      0   6  14- 20

NL- Johnny Fugate 1 run (Ronnie Rotondi kick)

NL- Hughie Wagers 1 run (Rotondi kick)

NL- Michael Nelson 30 pass from Fugate (Rotondi kick)

NL- Andrew Massey 26 pass from Fugate (Rotondi kick)

W- Kevin Hoffman 21 run (pass failed)

NL- Wagers 22 run (kick blocked)

W- Hoffman 50 run (pass failed)

NL-Jason Williams 11 run (Rotondi kick)

W- JP Payne 43 pass from Ethan Powers (Hoffman run)