The first installment of the Marion County Football Championship is in the books, and Chapter 2 takes place Friday night when the West Marion Trojans (2-0) travel across the river to take on the East Marion Eagles (1-1).
Columbia has the early lead after its 49-20 win over the Eagles, and the Trojans have a chance to bury East Marion and set up a Week 9, winner-take-all showdown with the Wildcats for the county title. East Marion, though, could get back in the race with its second consecutive win over the Trojans, but then it would need West Marion’s help later in the year against Columbia to take home the crown. West Marion has won it four years running and five out of the last six years.
West Marion head coach Brad Duncan said everything can be thrown out the window when it comes to East vs. West.
“They’re going to be hungry to bounce back. (East Marion) Coach (Kevin) Jackson is going to do a heck of a job getting those guys ready. It’s a county rivalry — they always play us tough,” he said. “The kids go to school together at vo-tech, and they have relatives there. Tonight doesn’t mean anything. Next week could be a really good one. I think that our kids will show up and compete and make West Marion’s side proud.”
Similarly, Jackson knows the Trojans are going to be amped for the matchup and said East Marion needs to focus on improving itself.
“There’s some things we have to do get ourselves better. That’s the bottom line. We have to look at ourselves and do some things to help us get better,” he said. “West Marion, of course, is going to come ready to play. Hopefully we’ll get ready to play this week and work on ourselves to get better with blocking, tackling and running.”
The Eagles were dominated at the line of scrimmage against Columbia, and Jackson said the only way to make improvements is to work.
“We just have to work on the offensive line and work a lot on one-on-ones. Really, we just need to practice — practice to try to get better, practice to try to prepare,” he said. “We have to be ready for the blitzes when they bring them.”
Where the matchup gets interesting is the East Marion passing game against West Marion’s secondary. The Trojans haven’t been tested on the back end through the first two games and are without their best player in injured free safety Qavonte Swanigan, who had four interceptions last season and has been replaced by Jartavious Martin.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have been feasting over the middle of the field in the passing game this year. Jacob Johnson continuously has found holes between the linebackers and safeties on seam and dig routes to the tune of eight receptions for 98 yards, while Flenard McLin flashed his ability to make deep plays in the middle third with a 48-yard touchdown on a skinny post against Columbia.
It’s a change in philosophy from Devin Daniels’ first two seasons as the starting quarterback as the vast majority of his completions came on scrambles outside of the pocket and deep balls on the perimeter. Standing just 5-foot-7 has hindered his ability to win within the pocket in the past, but Daniels has taken a step forward with his anticipation, touch and presence as a pocket passer in 2018. The Eagles rushing attack has struggled to find traction in the early going, so East Marion will need Daniels’ right arm to make big plays for them.
Martin, meanwhile, will face his first big test as the starting safety alongside fellow safety Ott Mitchell. Martin will have to diagnose route combinations quickly and play with his eyes to keep the Eagles from marching the ball down field. Mitchell started and played well last year but has been more of a box safety who comes down and makes plays in the running game.
Both programs will treat this game as if it’s for the state championship, and it could come down to the wire like it did last year when the Eagles scored in the final moments to win 18-14. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Pictured Above: East Marion wide receiver Jacob Johnson catches a pass over the middle against Columbia Friday night. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
