ELIZABETHTOWN — After snapping a six-game losing streak, Fairmont will look to continue the momentum this week when the Golden Tornadoes travel to East Bladen for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Fairmont (2-6, 1-3 Southeastern) beat West Bladen 18-0 last week, a similar contest to last year’s 20-8 win over East Bladen which was coach Lonnie Cox’s first with the program. That victory ended a 16-game East Bladen winning streak in the series, in which the Eagles lead 30-11 overall and 19-8 as conference foes.
East Bladen (2-5, 1-2 Southeastern) hasn’t played since a 42-0 win over West Bladen on Oct. 3, the Eagles’ first conference win after a 23-22 loss to Midway and a lopsided loss to Clinton. The Eagles are coming off a bye week and hope to keep the momentum going into this Friday. “We’ve been focused on getting healthy and bringing some guys back from injuries,” said Coach Priest.
Masion Brooks and Darius Williamson are the Eagles’ leading rushers; Kewane Maynor starts at quarterback with Malikah Moore and Christopher Harding as key targets on the perimeter. The Eagles have had a busy week of homecoming activities and Coach Priest hopes his team hasn’t been too distracted. “I want to see my team come out in the first 10 minutes of the game playing hardnose football.”
The Eagles have had an up-and-down season so far but Priest wants to see his team finish the rest of the season strong. “The stuff we’ve worked on all season in practice is finally clicking and I can see my team turning a corner.”
The Eagles defense will have to be wary of the Golden Tornados’ passing attack and contain their athletes from breaking away for big plays. East Bladen is currently sitting in the fourth spot of the conference and has a chance to keep their season alive by winning out.
Red Springs at West Bladen
BLADENBORO — Two teams each seeking their first conference win will meet Friday in Dublin when West Bladen hosts Red Springs at 7 p.m. West Bladen (1-6, 0-3 Southeastern) lost 18-0 to Fairmont last week and hasn’t scored in three conference games, also falling to Clinton and East Bladen. The Knights’ lone win was a 23-0 nonconference victory against East Columbus. Coach Williams is proud of his team for not quitting on the season despite the lack of success. “A lot of times kids will give up when things aren’t going their way and abandon ship but my kids come to practice every day wanting to get better,” said Williams.
Running back Tydrick Stewart (322 rushing yards, three touchdowns) leads the offensive production for the Knights. Williams liked the effort from his defense in their 18-0 loss last Friday and felt his guys battled on the defensive side. The Knights have had trouble moving the ball this season and injuries on the offensive line have hurt them. “Offensively we need to get push on our front line in order to be successful,” said Williams. “Our starting center was out last week with appendicitis so we have been monitoring him closely to see if he can come back this Friday.”
Red Springs (0-7, 0-3 Southeastern) has completed a gauntlet run of the Southeastern’s top three teams in its last three games, falling 54-14 to Clinton last week. Despite being winless this season they have the edge in every statistical category against their opponents. The Red Devils will look to snap a 13-game losing streak and spoil the Knights’ homecoming.
The all-time series is tied 7-7; West Bladen won last year’s matchup 44-21 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Red Devils.
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