Although they hung tough and never quit, the East Marion Eagles couldn’t get out of their own Friday night in an ugly 25-0 home loss to Morton.
The Eagles offense had a rough night, totaling just 22 yards, and with the penalty yardage they piled up added in they had negative-49 yards. The Eagles rushed for 32 yards on 26 carries, but one of those carries actually went for 32 yards with other 25 gaining nothing. They also fumbled five times, three times on attempted handoffs. Head coach Brad Hughes said the inexperienced Eagles just need time to work out the kinks.
“We’re just going to have to keep repping it,” Hughes said. “It’s going to take some time to develop. Once we get it, we’ll get it.”
Hughes said the lack of success in the running game can be attributed to the youth the Eagles have on the line and in the backfield. He added the mixture of the line missing blocks and the backs trying to create big plays rather than picking up what’s available has led to the losses.
East Marion had eight different players run the ball, and Hughes said he’s still trying to figure out which one is best to lead the backfield. He added he may have to give more players some opportunities at quarterback as well.
“We have to figure out a way to make things happen offensively,” he said.
East Marion’s defense got a quick stop to open the game, but a bad snap on Morton’s punt led to the Eagles trying to tackle the punter. But he was able to get the kick off as he was hit, leading to a roughing the kicker penalty to extend the drive. The Eagles still were able to force a turnover on downs a few plays later, but that miscue set the tone for the night.
East Marion was forced to punt on its opening drive, leading to the first score of the game. Morton’s Robert Jennings connected with Jonathan Edmond for a 26-yard touchdown in triple coverage to give the Panthers the early 6-0 lead.
The Eagles then turned it over on the first play of the ensuing drive as the handoff from quarterback Demetrius Allen to Deundre Ruffin was fumbled, which the Panthers recovered. The two sides then traded punts well into the second quarter when a pair of penalties flipped field position in Morton’s favor.
The Eagles got backed into a fourth-and-26 from their own 4, which gave the Panthers the ball inside East Marion territory after punt. A few plays later, Morton’s Brandon White plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out to make it 12-0 going into halftime.
Sophomore running back Jadarrius Mallard broke off a 32-yard run to begin the second half for the Eagles, but they quickly turned it over on downs four plays later. On Morton’s first play from scrimmage of the second half, Tay Simms burst through a huge hole on a counter and ran 56 yards to the house to make it 18-0.
On the ensuing drive, Allen was hit as he turned around to hand the ball off and fumbled, and Morton recovered it.
The Eagles forced a three-and-out then recovered a muffed punt to give them their best scoring opportunity at the Morton 30, but it would be for naught. A fumbled pitch, which the Eagles were able to recover, set East Marion back seven yards, and it wasn’t able to overcome it as it turned it over on downs yet again.
The Panthers added one more scored on the next drive with Jennings running in a 4-yard touchdown on a quarterback power to make it 25-0. East Marion fumbled once more, losing a snap that Morton recovered.
Although it surrendered more than 400 total yards, Hughes said he liked the mentality the East Marion defense played with.
“We gave up a couple of big plays that hurt us and had to deal with some short fields, but other than that I’m proud of the aggressiveness we played with defensively. We showed a lot more heart,” he said.
One of East Marion’s best players, senior linebacker Marteze Mikell, fractured his sternum and is going to miss a significant amount of time, according to Hughes.
The Eagles take on Jefferson County (1-1) Friday night on the road, and Hughes said the Eagles have to be able to defend the pass and pick up the blitz.
“The quarterback throws it well and has got a cannon. He can just flick it 50 yards with no problem and is pretty accurate. We’re going to have to be able to get some pressure on him defensively,” he said. “Offensively, they run that 3-5 stack and try to send a lot of pressure to put pressure on your offense. We’re going to have to be able to pick those blitzes up to get things going offensively.”
Hughes said the Eagles offensive line is going to try switching from a three-point stance to a two-point stance so they can see blitzers better.
