Week 1 features a doozy of a matchup for Marion County fans with the East Marion Eagles making the short trek over the Pearl River to Foxworth to face their bitter rival, the West Marion Trojans. The matchup is typically played in Week 2 or 3, but the two head coaches decided to spice it up this year and make it the season opener.
First-year Trojans head coach Brandon Thornhill said it’s exciting to open the season with a rivalry game, especially after the 2020 season that forced limits on how many fans could attend. East Marion head coach Brad Hughes echoed Thornhill’s sentiment and said it’s going to be a fun week.
“We’re looking forward to the game Friday and hope it’s a good one that we can play up to our potential and give them a run for it,” Hughes said.
The Trojans have owned the series as of late, winning five of the past six, including a 40-6 beat down last season and a 20-0 shutout in 2019. Thornhill said he believes East Marion will be much improved this season, though, but added the Eagles’ scrimmage against Lumberton didn’t shed much light on what to expect.
“They look better physically and have more (good) players than they’ve had in the past years. It’s going to be a real challenge for us,” he said.
If the Eagles can protect quarterback LJ Andrews up front, he could have a big game attacking the Trojans downfield. West Marion’s secondary struggled mightily in its jamboree Friday against both Scott Central and Enterprise-Clarke, while the front six were lights out stopping the run. Coincidentally, East Marion struggled to run the ball in its scrimmage against Lumberton and had all of its big plays through the air.
“They want to throw the ball down the field, and that’s kind of what we struggled with the other night (in the jamboree),” Thornhill said. “We didn’t develop any pass rush against Scott Central, so we have to improve there.”
On the other side, the matchup favors West Marion quarterback Larry Magee potentially having a big game on the ground and throwing on the move. East Marion struggled containing Lumberton’s quarterback when he scrambled outside the pocket, which is Magee’s greatest strength. Magee is a much more explosive athlete than Lumberton’s quarterback as well, so he could have a field day Friday in his debut as the signal caller.
“They’ve got some speed (offensively), so you definitely have to try to contain those guys,” Hughes said.
Hughes wants to be able to establish the Eagles running game but acknowledged that could be playing directly into West Marion’s strength.
“Defensively, they’re still pretty good in the box. They’re going to get after you and do things well, and that’s just typical West Marion football,” he said. “They’re going to hit you, so I’m looking forward to it being a pretty physical game.”
Each year, regardless of the final score, the West Marion-East Marion game is always one of the toughest and most physical games played all season in
Marion County. Friday night will likely be more of the same, and it all gets started with a 7 p.m. kickoff in Foxworth.
