Somerset travels east on Highway 80 to play East Ridge in the opener of the 2025 South Laurel Bowl at 530pm on Friday. The Briar Jumpers are coming off of a disastrous 33-22 loss in their opening game against the host of this Bowl Game, South Laurel.  A loss to a veteran Cardinals team wasn't the disaster  They also may have potentially lost their starting quarterback, Shannon Lofton.  The sophomore went out of the game in the 4th quarter with what looked like a leg injury, and did not return.  To further complicate the situation, the second string quarterback had left the team earlier in the week.  The Jumpers will have a tough decision to make: Do they play their main playmaker Kris Hughes at quarterback? That would put the ball in the hands of their best offensive player on every play. But it would also make it easier for the defense to key on him.  

I'm addition to the loss of Lofton, the defense, which was thought to be the strength of the team was shredded by the Cardinals senior quarterback Mason Griffin, who passed for 316 yards, and 3 touchdowns against Somerset, connecting on 29 out of 34 attempts.  

Whatever his position is Friday, the Briar Jumpers will be depending on Hughes more than ever.  

East Ridge, meanwhile, will come into the game 1-0 after winning their opener at home against Morgan County 22-6.  In the Warriors win they rolled to 299 yards on the ground on 46 carries. The different players for East Ridge went over 80 yards rushing, led by Freshman quarterback Canaan Ramey.  Ramey finished with 95 yards on only 13 carries.  He added 112 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air.  Both of those touchdowns went to sophomore receiver Ayden Mullins, who hauled in 4 receptions for 86 yards and those 2 scores.  East Ridge will give Somerset's reeling defense a lot of threats try and stop.  

Does Somerset get things figured out, and get into the win column, or do the Warriors run their record to 2-0? 

Somerset 28-7.

Survey says... Somerset wins big.

I get they struggled last week vs. SL but they did crawl back into the game and had a good chance to pull off the comeback until the 50-yard gut punch. Coach Clevenger noted a few bad breaks and mental miscues resulted in 21 points for the opposition. Two lost fumbles, two fourth down penalties to keep the Cardinal offense on the field, one coming after SL's QB Griffin had a snap fly over his head, recover it then lose it again while he was getting sacked several yards behind the line of scrimmage only for it to fall into his hand mid-sack. Hines' offense was clicking, and they definitely exploited the weaknesses of the undermanned and youthful Somerset defensemen. I predicted a SL win last week due to experience, roster size, and SL passing O vs SHS passing D. I think there are a lot of overreactions around the region to seeing the score online without watching the game and knowing the storylines for the two teams.

When Somerset got back to their bread and butter (power run) they were moving the ball almost unopposed. Methodical drives and a good mix of modest to chunk gains. Somerset's offense has overcome slow starts in 2023 and 2024 and seems to settle into a groove by district play. I expect much of the same this season. 

This week will present its own challenges, as they lost their starting QB for the year and will move forward with Kris Hughes and perhaps install another young player at the position if they want to shake things up. Not familiar with East Ridge but given the numbers I expect the Jumpers to come home with a 3-score victory.

 

Final prediction: Somerset 35, East Ridge 10

Is this streaming anywhere? 

Lake Cumberland Sports Stream will be available on our website at lakecumberlandsports3 | 2025 Somerset Football - at East Ridge

35-0, with a running clock by agreement, in the 2nd quarter.  Lots of reserves in the game.  Xavier Wooldridge has moved from wide receiver to take over at quarterback for the Jumpers.