2-0 Leopards on the prowl for EJ Eagles

The Banks County Leopards moved to 2-0 on Friday night with a first half push to overcome the Riverside Eagles.

With their second win in as many weeks, the Leopards now prepare to face off against a team that matters long term – East Jackson in the region crossover game.

While the team is excited and pumped up after accomplishing something that the team hasn’t done in years, head coach Blair Armstrong is looking ahead to Friday’s game and a challenge.

“It is a great feeling to start out of the gate like we have and it gives us some confidence going into this tough game this week. East Jackson has played two AAA schools and we have played two A schools, so I would say we are going to play a pretty well matched game. They are talented and have good speed, coming off a great season last year. It will be a good contest. They are well balanced (passing and rushing.) They lull you to sleep doing certain things then all of a sudden come up with a play to score real quick. East Jackson has some really good running backs and receivers, and a strong quarterback,” Armstrong said.

While Banks County is expecting a high energy East Jackson team with a large number of fans to support them, East Jackson is coming into the game with plenty of respect for the Leopards.

"They should be a very well coached, well prepared, hard nosed football team. That’s the way they are. Blair does a great job with them. I think that they’re definitely the team to beat in the north half after watching them on film. They’re going in the right direction and they’re doing a lot of good things. I have a lot of respect for them and their coaches," said East Jackson head coach Frank Caputo.

Banks County is looking for its third win while East Jackson is still looking to make it into the win column.

The Leopards, according to Armstrong, are feeling good and have built up confidence following these first two wins, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1997.

A win over East Jackson would be three fold for Banks County. A step up on the important region play-in game in November, it would shine the spotlight onto the Leopards as a true force to be contented with in the north sub-region by defeating last year’s number two team in 8-AA, and put the record back into the Leopards favor over the third year rival.

While things are off to a better start than in previous seasons, Armstrong is well aware that the Leopards still have to come out and play hard.

“[Against Riverside] we relaxed a little bit after getting ahead,” Armstrong said. “If we do that against East Jackson, we will lose. We have to finish what we start.”

Banks County hosts the Eagles on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled start.