The Skinny
The Class A Public title will feature the Irwin County Indians and the Marion County Eagles. The Indians will be playing to win the schools first state title since 1975 while the Marion County Eagles will be playing to win their first title since 2013.
The Irwin County Indians have advanced to the finals for the fifth time in six years. The Indians are 19-0 in regular season games over the past two years and are 9-2 in the playoffs since 2017. Last week, Irwin County was aided by two defensive touchdowns and DJ Lundy’s two rushing touchdowns to lead the Indians back into the finals. Irwin County has defeated The No. 17 seed, the No. 9 seed and the No. 4 seed on their march to the finals. In three playoff games, the Indians are averaging 45.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 11.3 points per game. The Irwin County defense has now recorded seven shutouts on the season. While the defense has been downright nasty, the Indians offense is very good as well. Running backs D.J. Lundy, Kam Ward and Gabriel Benyard provide the foundation for a very strong ground game. A win this week would earn Irwin County their second title in school history and first since 1975.
The Marion County Eagles are in the finals for the first time since 2013. The Eagles are winners of their last eight games coming into the finals. Trice McCannon threw for 231 yards, rushed for 80 yards and accounted for 4-TDs, while Brandon Thomas rushed for 105 yards and 2-TDs on 10 carries as the Eagles bounced back from a third quarter deficit to advance. In their playoff run, the Eagles have defeated the No. 18 seed, No. 7 seed and No. 6 seed. In their three-playoff games, they are averaging 35 points per game while the defense is allowing 24.3 points per game. McCannon has thrown for 2,185 yards and rushed for 974 yards and accounted for 48 total TDs while Thomas has rushed for 991 yards and 8-TDs. Thomas also has caught 40 passes for 603 yards and 10-TDs while Jamil King has caught 45 passes for 705 yards and 8-TDs. Kendrick Hawkins leads the Eagles in total tackles with 149 and Dayterious Chinn has 130 total tackles. A win this week would earn the Eagles their second title in school history and first since 2013.
Irwin County has been on the short end of the stick in their four most recent playoff appearances. While we believe McCannon can do enough to keep the Eagles in the game, Irwin County has too many weapons to slow down and a defense that is dominant. We like the Indians by two touchdowns this week.