With its 36-7 win over Resurrection Catholic Friday night, East Marion (6-5) earned the Region 4-1A No. 3 seed and will take on Noxapater (10-2) in the first round of the playoffs.
The Tigers offense causes problems for defenses as it operates out of a pistol version of the Wing-T and disguises its plays very well. Noxapater has four players with between 89 and 123 carries on the season, with freshman quarterback KD Carter at the forefront with 1,089 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns. Wingbacks Joshua McClendon — 103 carries, 723 yards and four touchdowns — and Raheem Hathorn — 89 carries, 642 yards and five touchdowns — join fullback Chase Ray — 96 carries, 360 yards and six touchdowns — in the backfield.
“It’s super important every week for our guys to read and trust their keys and try to play fast to the football, but it’s more important this week with them being a Wing-T team,” head coach Kevin Jackson said. “They have a lot of guys going in a lot of different directions. There’s certain keys you need to pay attention to and believe and trust your keys and play full speed to them.”
Defensively, the Tigers have forced 25 turnovers and tallied 80 tackles for loss and are an opportunistic defense that feeds off offensive miscues. While East Marion’s offense has been explosive more often than not, it has struggled with self-inflicted turnovers and penalties that have cost the Eagles games against West Marion, Richton and Stringer. Keeping the mistakes to a minimum will be crucial for the Eagles Friday night at Noxapater.
“It’s super important this week because it’s the playoffs, and if you don’t take care of them it can cause you to lose a game. If you lose in the playoffs, you don’t play anymore. It’s important to take care of the football and eliminate those plays for a loss, always stay in front of the sticks and always have positive gains.”
For the Eagles to win they will need quarterback Devin Daniels and running back Wanya Cook to have big games. The duo has combined for more than 1,200 rushing yards, 8.5 yards per carry and 25 touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, Daniels has also completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,468 yards and 13 touchdowns and will need to be efficient with both his arm and his legs. However, it’s in the trenches where Jackson believes the Eagles could win the battle with experience coming from Cook, who also plays defensive tackle, Charles Cowart, Martez Mikell, Elijah Brown and Jaheim Burkett.
“I believe our offensive and defensive fronts will be a big plus for us this week,” Jackson said. “They’re a pretty experienced group that we have, and they’ve gotten better throughout the year. It’s going to be super important for them to be good this Friday.”
With a victory East Marion would play either Lumberton or Leake County in the quarterfinals.
Pictured Above: East Marion head coach Kevin Jackson talks to the referees during Friday's game against Resurrection Catholic. | Photo by Buster Wolfe
