With a homecoming win this Friday night against the Opp Bobcats, the W.S. Neal can clinch their first playoff berth since the 2007 season.
As of right now, the Eagles of East Brewton stand in third place in the region behind T.R. Miller and Straughn. Opp is in fifth place behind W.S. Neal (third place) and Bayside (fourth place).
W.S. Neal is currently 6-1 overall this season and is 4-1 in region play after taking down No. 9 Bayside Academy last Friday night at home 44-42.
W.S. Neal head coach Doug Hoehn said he was proud of his kids for getting the win Friday.
“It was a lot of changes in the game as far as who had the swing of momentum,” Hoehn said. “I told the kids I thought the game would end up like that so I was proud of them for the way they responded to it. I think we played hard football, smart football…and those were plusses. Like every game, there are things you want to work on and again we want to work on our turnovers that dug us in a hole a little bit.”
Hoehn said Marquese Banks had a good game in the win, running the ball hard for the Eagles.
“He had 209 yard rushing and Josiah Nettles had 159 yards rushing,” Hoehn said. “Josiah had one touchdown and Marquese had two. Quinton Samuels had 104 yards rushing and three touchdowns. I think our offensive line played very well. We are certainly not rushing for all those yards without our offensive line. Our backs are only as good as our line.”
On defense for the Eagles, Hoehn said Khadarrius Taylor had a good game.
“Malcolm Hawthorne had a good game also for us as did Orlando Smith and D.J. Hodges,” Hoehn said. “D.J. had some very good sacks for us.”
Opp is 4-3 overall and is 3-2 in region play. W.S. Neal and Opp have met 15 times with Opp winning 10 games and W.S. Neal winning five. In the last meeting between the two teams in 2007, W.S. Neal lost to Opp 16-14.
“Opp is a very physical football team,” Hoehn said. “They are well-coached. Their staff does a good job of having their kids prepared every week. We have watched them on film and they are prepared for everyone they face. They have good schemes on offense and defense. They are coming off a win and we have homecoming. Homecoming is a good time of the year, but it can also be a distraction for the game. We are going to work really hard to make sure that does not happen. Opp is a team that you are going to have to play your very best to have a chance to beat.”
After starting the season 2-3 through their first have games, Opp has won two straight games.
“They are improving,” Hoehn said. “They have got better over the course of the year and are improving every game. I think they are a much-better football now than they were at the beginning of the year. I think earlier in the year, they had some kids injured. Now, some of those kids that were injured are making plays for them now.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. in East Brewton with homecoming festivities planned throughout the day. The game is the last regular season home game for the Eagles.