A week after taking on a Class 4A squad in Northeast Jones, East Marion will be back to punching in its own weight class Friday when the Eagles open up their district schedule with Loyd Star on the road.
“We’re getting better at the right time as we start district play,” head coach Brad Hughes said. “We’ve played a 6A, a 3A and a 4A, so hopefully we’re ready to go into 2A.”
Loyd Star (6-0) hasn’t had a completely easy route to remaining undefeated, but its record comes with an asterisk, just like East Marion’s. Two of the Hornets’ six wins came via forfeit, just like two of East Marion’s four losses.
But apart from a 26-23 overtime win over St. Andrew’s Episcopal, Loyd Star has blown out every other team it’s played with wins over McLaurin (48-14), Salem (54-14) and Stringer (33-15).
While the Hornets can throw it around the yard, averaging 11.5 pass attempts and 104.5 yards per game, their offense is centered around the running game and a pair of dynamic backs. Both Bryce Ford and James Goodwin are averaging better than nine yards per carry and have combined for nine touchdowns.
Hughes said the Hornets run a variation of the Wing T, but it’s not as traditional as the one East Marion faced last week against Northeast Jones.
Loyd Star’s defense has also proven to be good at taking the ball away with seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Turnovers and penalties have held East Marion back in several games already this season, so it will need to reverse course to hang with the Hornets.
“The biggest thing we have to do offensively is execute better,” Hughes said. “We’ll have to execute to be able to beat them.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
