The Eagles hold their own playoff fates in their hands Thursday night when they play host to West Lincoln in their regular season finale.
East Marion (2-7, 1-2) could still finish in the top-4 of its district with a loss, but it can guarantee a playoff berth with a victory in Brookhaven. While West Lincoln has yet to win a game this season, East Marion head coach Brad Hughes said the Bears’ record is deceptive.
“Looking at them, they’re a lot like us. They’re 0-8 and we’ve won two, but they’ve been right there in a lot of their games, a lot like us,” he said. “They’ve been real close. They’ve lost some by just a few points. They’re going to come play because they’re fighting to get in, too. We’re really going to have to focus this week.”
One of the biggest things that stands out about West Lincoln is its size with several players tipping the scales at 300-plus pounds.
“They are huge up front. It may be the biggest line we’ve seen this year with the exception of Harrison Central. They are big,” Hughes emphasized. “They run the ball better than anything and try to formation you with tight end and H-back sets and spread it out sometimes.”
West Lincoln’s rushing attack is nothing to sneeze as the Bears average 6.7 yards per carry as a team, and their leading rusher, Enrico Price, averages 8.0 yards per carry. However, the Bears struggle to throw the ball, completing just 32% of their passes for no touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Defensively, the Bears don’t run a lot of blitzes and typically stick to their base 3-4 defense, according to Hughes.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
