The East Marion Eagles are entering a new era on the football field and showed a glimpse of what’s to come in Foxworth in 7-on-7 action against Tylertown and West Marion June 21.
With former star running back Jarveon Howard, who accounted for more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and 25 touchdowns last season, gone to Syracuse, it will be up to former secondary playmakers to step into the forefront. They include Lawrence Lambert, Darrin Haines, Wanya Cook, Flenard McLin and, of course, quarterback Devin Daniels.
In their first matchup of the morning against Tylertown, the Eagles receivers held the offense hostage to a small degree with three critical drops — one that would have been a sure touchdown — but it was clear the offense as a whole was really just testing some things out. Head coach Kevin Jackson chalked up the drops to being a little tight going against another opponent for the first time in months.
“I think we may have just had some jitters early on. Later on we caught some of those balls, and I think it was just a matter of being in a game-like situation and being a little nervous and uptight,” he said.
Daniels connected with Jacob Johnson, however, for the Eagles lone score in the matchup on a quick out route in the red zone. Daniels completed 8-of-18 pass attempts with a touchdown and two interceptions that were more a result of miscommunication than poor throws.
On the other side of the ball the Eagles gave up three touchdowns that included a deep fade and a tipped pass that was more lucky than good. Head coach Kevin Jackson said he thought the defense played “OK.”
“We have to get better there. We did blow some coverages and let some guys run open, but I think we’re on track to be OK there as well,” he said. “We have some guys who can cover back there pretty well, but they just threw some looks at us we hadn’t talked about covering.”
One of those looks Jackson referred to was a three-by-one look Tylertown gave the secondary with a tight end as the only receiver to the field side. The Chiefs were able to exploit that look on their second touchdown when Stephen Tisdale ran a quick 5-yard out against man coverage on a linebacker and was able to win a foot race to the end zone untouched.
In their second matchup of the day against their cross-county rival West Marion, the Eagles found their groove offensively. On their first possession the Eagles marched down the field with ease and capped the drive off with a
20-yard touchdown pass to Lambert. Lambert ran a deep post to the center of the field, but the safety had inside leverage. Daniels threw a beautiful pass to the outside where only Lambert could come down with it on a leaping grab.
“Devin looked really well. He threw some really good balls, and there were some deep balls he threw really well,” Jackson said. “He hit his short and intermediate routes pretty well and threw into some tight windows. He did a good job. Hopefully we can complete some of those passes when we put the pads on in August.”
East Marion will need more throws like that from Daniels this season with Jackson saying the Eagles will “without a doubt” rely on the passing game more than last year.
“To lose Jarveon, one of the better backs in the state who was a major part of our running game last year, we’re going to have to throw the ball a little bit more than last year,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have some people to throw it to, and hopefully we’ll be able to deliver the ball on time and on the money.”
After the Trojans rallied for three consecutive touchdowns to take a two-score lead, the Eagles answered with two more touchdowns of their own to Lambert and McLin to end the scrimmage in a tie. Jackson was highly encouraged by his squad fighting to come back.
“That was big time. That was our first outing against another opponent, and for us to compete for the entire 30 minutes was awesome,” he said. “That’s what it has to be about on Friday nights. I hope it’s a lesson learned for our kids to always keep fighting until the end.”
While the Eagles only spent an hour on the field altogether between the two 30-minute scrimmages, Jackson was pleased with the results.
“It was our first 7-on-7 against someone other than ourselves, and I think we did well,” he said.
Pictured Above: Devin Daniels scans the field for an open receiver. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
