(Atlantic) Atlantic takes to the road Friday night for a third-round matchup at State Center to take on West Marshall. The Trojans drew a bye in the first round and shut out Des Moines, Christian last week 21-0. West Marshall, a district champion, also drew a buy in the first round and blanked Centerville last week 60-0.
The Trojan football team enters the game with heavy hearts after losing starting defensive tackle Steele McLaren, hospitalized with a serious head injury following an accident on Sunday afternoon.
Atlantic Head Football Coach Mike McDermott says the Trojans face a large West Marshall team with an outstanding running back in Preston Pope. The junior has rushed for 1,587 yards with a per-carry average of 8.3 yards.
The signal-caller for West Marshall is Peyton Hart. The sophomore QB has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 736 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just one interception.
McDermott says it’s going to be critical to force West Marshall’s offense to three and out situations; otherwise, they will methodically move the ball on the ground down the field and wear down the defense.
In comparison, West Marshall has compiled 2,647 yards rushing and 736 passing. Atlantic has 1,348 yards rushing and 916 yards passing. When it comes to takeaways, Atlantic has 19 interceptions and six fumble recoveries, compared to West Marshall’s nine fumble recoveries and seven interceptions.
The kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. We will have the broadcast on 95.7 F.M. Pre-game starts at 6:00 p.m.
