The South Pike football team is 2-0 under first-year head coach Brinson Wall and is attempting to remain undefeated when it travels to 0-2 Amite County at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Eagles have used their youth and speed to win their first two games.
“I think the young ones now see that they can compete,” Wall said. “Now I want to see them pay more attention to detail.”
Wall said he has emphasized the importance of cutting down on penalties and the Eagles need to stop the Trojans’ big-play receivers.
“We have to stop their vertical passing attack,” he said. “They have a couple of big receivers that will cause us matchup problems. We have to win the turnover battle.”
The Trojans plan to use the home crowd, atmosphere and rivalry to get back on track.
“We’ve had our best practice this week,” Amite County head coach Sedric D. Cain said. “Some of these guys live next door to each other, so they’re amped up to play.”
Trojans lineman Jamal Willis will be out this week. Amite County will be looking to stop multiple players on South Pike's offense.
“We don’t have our eye on one guy,” Cain said. “They’re all good. We want to respect everyone we play like that. If we focus on our mistakes we will compete.”
The Trojans have 13 turnovers in their two losses, but starting quarterback Tre Clark, who has committed to Jackson State University, will be back from injury.
“We normally start off slow on the road,” Cain said. “We usually get off to a better start at home.”
