Of the three public schools in Marion County, East Marion drew the most difficult first-round opponent to begin the playoffs. The Eagles will be heading to Camden Friday to take on a very talented Velma Jackson squad.
On paper, the matchup favors the Falcons (7-2), but East Marion head coach Brad Hughes said he is optimistic that the Eagles (3-7) can win.
“They’ve got some speed, and they’re going to play hard. They’re well coached, and they’re going to get after it. We just have to go up there and continue what we started last week, and hopefully we’ll come out on top,” he said. “We’re the underdog obviously being the No. 3 seed from our district and them being the No. 2 seed from their district, but I think if we go up there and play hard, anything can happen.”
Velma Jackson’s offense is all about stopping quarterback Terrance Mack and running back Gavin Griffin on the ground. While the Falcons line up in the spread with four receivers and can hurt defense through the air, they are far more potent running the ball with 2,511 yards and 30 touchdowns.
One thing working in East Marion’s favor is it has the same calling card as Velma Jackson — speed. If the Eagles can limit their mistakes, they can compete with the Falcons athletically man for man.
East Marion operated strictly out of the Wing T against West Lincoln last week, and while the Wing T will remain its base formation, Hughes said the Eagles still may jump in the spread some to give the defense a different look. He added the Falcons offense can’t score if it’s on the sidelines, so he hopes to use some long drives to keep it off the field.
“That’s kind of our plan right now, to keep that ball, eat up some clock and capitalize,” he said.
With a win over Velma Jackson, the Eagles would play either Kemper County (7-3) or Collins (3-6) in the second round.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
