The skill and athleticism of the East Marion Eagles was on full display in Friday night's 51-39 victory over Loyd Star to open district play, prompting even the referees on duty to note that the Eagles "definitely don't look like a 1-4 football team" and appeared to be "one of the most talented 2A teams we've seen all season."
Of course, that's nothing head coach Jerry Fletcher didn't already know. Despite dropping four of their first five games to higher-class opponents in non-district play, Fletcher and the Eagles remained confident in their ability to compete at a high level against teams within their own classification. In Week 6, they finally got their chance to prove it, and they didn't disappoint.
"That's the No. 10 ranked team in Class 2A we just beat," Fletcher said after the game. "Nobody gave this win to us. Loyd Star has a very good football team, and our guys did what they needed to do to come out on top. That's what this team can do when it's firing on all cylinders."
Although the game was packed with game-altering plays from nearly start to finish, it was the first drive that set the tone for the entire evening. After winning the coin toss, Loyd Star elected to receive the opening kickoff, which Fletcher said he and his players saw as a challenge issued to the Eagles' defense.
"That first drive was really critical for us. When they elected to receive the ball first instead of deferring to the second half, we saw that as a challenge to our defense," Fletcher said. "So we challenged our defensive line to step up and make a stop."
The Hornets saw early success on the drive, pushing the ball deep into the red zone for a chance to take the first lead of the night. With their backs against the goal line, the Eagles' defense stood its ground, holding the Hornets out of the end zone on four consecutive plays to force a turnover on downs. The Eagles' offense then marched 98 yards in only seven plays, scoring on a 6-yard run by Jadarrius "Koolaid" Mallard to claim the lead and the momentum.
Feeding off the success of its first drive, the Eagles' defense forced yet another turnover on downs on the following Hornets possession, this time deep within Hornets territory. East Marion capitalized yet again, scoring on a 13-yard pass from LJ Andrews to Chris Magee and doubling its lead.
The Hornets found success of their own in the second quarter, scoring twice in an effort to close the gap, but the Eagles matched them score for score. Mallard added two more touchdowns to his total before halftime, one from 44 yards out and one from 5 yards, and Ka'Ron Weary converted a two-point try to give the Eagles a commanding 30-13 advantage entering the locker room.
Unwilling to go down without a fight, the Hornets' offense battled back with another strong performance in the third quarter, scoring on back-to-back drives to narrow their deficit to 30-27. However, they were unsuccessful in slowing down the red-hot Eagles' offense. Big runs by Mallard set up short touchdown runs by Andrews and Cory Johnson on the following two drives to lift East Marion back into command entering the final quarter of action.
The final nail in the Hornets' coffin was driven in by Weary, who caught an interception and out raced the Hornets 52 yards to the end zone for a pick-six that put the game out of reach with time winding down. Loyd Star tacked on a couple of late scores to make the final result seem more respectable, but the damage was already done in a convincing 51-39 victory for East Marion.
"We gave up a couple scores that we shouldn't have, but for the most part, this was the most complete game we've played all season," Fletcher said. "I thought our offensive line did a tremendous job of opening holes and creating big plays for Koolaid and the offense, and our defense made a lot of plays that helped change the game over the course of the night.
"You can't help but get really excited when you play a really good football team and execute this well. There are still plenty of things for us to fix, so we don't want to get complacent, but this is a win to be proud of and hopefully we can keep building on this going forward."
Now 1-0 in district play, the Eagles will look to carry momentum from last week's win into another district home game on Friday night against Amite County, with an opportunity to pull ahead early in the Region 7-2A standings.
