For the second week in a row, the W.S. Neal Eagle football team will be heading on the road to face a ranked region opponent.
The Eagles (0-2), coming off a 37-6 loss to No. 10-ranked UMS-Wright Friday night, will travel to Jackson this week to take on the No. 2 Aggies.
Eagle coach Doug Hoehn said there was improvement for his Eagle team from week one to week two, but there still are more things to improve on.
“We improved in some areas. We did not have the penalties first week, we did not have turnovers we had first week,” Hoehn said. “We did not break as many assignments, but when we broke assignments, it was costly. I think three times on third and long, UMS converted. And once on fourth and long and you can’t do that and expect to win. We have to play hard every play. We also have to play smart every play. You can’t play hard and smart for three plays and then fall asleep and expect to win ballgames. We have to improve that and start playing harder every play and stop our mistakes. We did improve from week one, but it is no where near where it needs to be.”
Jackson comes into the game with the Eagles with a 2-0 record after defeating former coach Jeff Kelly and Saraland Friday night 57-7.
“Speed is one word that can describe Jackson,” Hoehn said. “They are fast at every position on defense and they run to the ball extremely well. They are aggressive and offensively, they have very good skills people. On offense, they can run and catch. Their wingback is the best we have seen to this point and their quarterback will be the best we have seen to this point. Their quarterback (No. 11 Dustyn Moseley) is a very impressive football player and I really like him. They have a big offensive line and they are just a very good football team.”
One thing the two schools have in common is they both run a version of the spread offense.
“They spread the ball around pretty good,” Hoehn said. “They have four kids that can run and catch it at the receiver position. They have a kid at tailback that runs the ball well out of the backfield and their quarterback is the one who makes it go.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Legion Field in Jackson.