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Cardinals ready to contend for district and region crowns

les dixon, the sentinel echo, london, ky.
·4 min read

Nov. 28—LONDON — For the second straight season, the South Laurel Cardinals will have to replace its leading scorer from the year before.

With Micah Anders graduating along with a 12.7 scoring average, South Laurel coach Jeff Davis is left searching for another scorer.

But the cupboard is far from being bare.

South Laurel captured its third consecutive 50th District Tournament championship last season before falling to Clay County, 39-35, during the first round action of the 13th Region Tournament.

The Cardinals return a solid core of talented players that will once again compete for the 50th District and 13th Region crowns.

"We lost Micah, who was our leading scorer, so replacing him and everything he did for us, just not scoring, will be a big void to fill," Davis said. "I think this year, we can play a lot of different ways and different lineups each game. The thing we have to do is get more consistent scoring. We have too many run lapses were with go without scoring or not get a shot."

South returns four starters from last season's 18-6 squad and three seniors — Rhys England (7.8, 3.9), Brayden Reed (7.8, 3.8), and Jacob Steele (0.8, 0.9).

"We have four guys that started last year returning and four or five guys that played last year of the bench," Davis said. "Just like last year, it is going to take a whole group of us to be able to compete and have a chance to win every night."

Davis said the key to his team's success relies on its defensive play. Last season, the Cardinals allowed a 13th Region-best 49.8 points per game.

Players such as Parker Payne (12.3, 4.2), Caden Jones (6.8, 3.1), and Eli Gover (8.5 1,9) will be expected to contribute once again this season.

"It all starts on the defensive end for us," Davis admitted. "Losing Micah was a big void for us on the defensive end. He guarded the other teams' best scorer and did an outstanding job of that, so finding someone that can do that will be a huge task for us. Parker has gotten better at staying under control on the defensive end but we need someone else to help him guard on the perimeter.

"I like what our bigs bring on both ends," he added. "Brayden, Caden, and Rhys work so well together and each gives us something different which allows us to do more things. But our success is going to rely on how deep our bench is. I think we could have a deeper bench and a more experienced bench than we had last year."

Davis has put together another challenging schedule for his team which will prepare South Laurel for a deep postseason run.

The Cardinals play Covington Holmes in the 13th Region Media/Ted Cook Classic while also playing West Jessamine, North Laurel (twice), Newport Central Catholic, Rowan County, Fredrick Douglas, Madison Central, Lexington Christian, Madison Southern, and three-time defending 13th Region champion Knox Central just to name a few.

Many prognosticators are tagging the Cardinals the team to beat in the 50th District with Corbin, Whitley County, and Williamsburg not far behind.

"This year maybe like 2014 and 2015 when the district was so tough that anyone could come out of our district," Davis said. "Corbin has everyone back and a year of experience. I believe people will see just how good Hayden Llewellyn is. I think last year he was learning a new system, new teammates, and probably the biggest thing is the way the game is played and called in Kentucky. He is going to have a Huge year. I think Whitley Co and Williamsburg are both going to be very good. Both are in year two with new coaches and very talented teams returning.

"Whitley had a rough year as it seemed like every game they were without someone which made it hard for them to get any rhythm," he added. "But you look at how well they played towards the end and how they played in the District Tournament. Williamsburg is returning a top player in the region as well and a lot of good young players that will compete and they can score. Coach (Eric) Swords does a great job of preparing them and they will be right there fighting for the district."

The Cardinals are expected to be in the thick of things when it comes down to who will be crowned 13th Region champion this March.

"I think you have three or four teams that you would have to say can win three games and make it to Rupp. But I also think you have a bunch of teams that can knock off anyone on any night. We will see where we stack up but I feel that we have a group that will play hard, compete, and not back down to anyone. We just have to avoid those lapses that we talked about."