BUENA VISTA — The Marion County Eagles have been busy at work preparing for their first ever quarterfinal match-up with an extremely talented Wilcox County Patriot team. On Friday night, the Eagles will have the opportunity to put their preparation to the test as they travel to Rochelle to take on the Patriots with an opportunity to advance to the GHSA Class A Semifinals on the line.
The Eagles are riding high after coming off arguably their most impressive playoff victory in the school’s history. Marion County defeated a Charlton County Indian team rich in football success handedly last week 31-12 at Eagle Field to advance to the school’s first ever quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The win put the Eagles at 9-2 on the season, which is the same record that the Patriots will bring into the contest. After having big nights from running back James Taylor, kicker/punter A.J. Wells, and defender Keon Dixon among others, Marion County will be attempting to keep on their positive momentum going in each phase of the game. It will take a complete effort from the Eagles to take down a tough Patriot team, but with the talent on both sides of the ball it is very possible.
Wilcox County won Region 2-A after defeating the second place Irwin County Indians on November 2. The Patriots claimed the Region 2-A Title with a 5-1 region record, and their only loss coming ironically to Charlton County. Wilcox has had a very impressive season with several quality wins including an early season victory over Region 4-A powerhouse and Marion County foe Dooly County.
The Indians of Charlton proved that Wilcox County is beatable, but it is far from an easy task as the Eagles will have to travel to Rochelle for the tough contest. Statistically, the Eagles and Patriots match-up very well on both sides of the ball. Marion County is averaging 32.5 points per game on offense while only surrendering 14.7 points per game on defense. Wilcox averages nearly the same amount of points on offense with 32.1 points on offense, while surrendering slightly more points per game on defense with 16.3.
Each of these teams plays in a very difficult region in Class A, and each team matches up very well with their opponent on each side of the ball. This very intriguing quarterfinal match-up could go either direction depending on which team shows up to play and brings there best game. There are sure to be a lot of fireworks, so if at all possible do not miss this game! If you are unable to attend, check the Americus Times-Recorder’s Facebook page with live scoring updates from what promises to be a game for the ages! The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
