Sports Editor

Goshen boy’s head coach Major Lane has the blueprint for a return trip to the Class 2A Final Four in Birmingham.

He’s just hoping his Eagles have all the tools.

"We have the nucleus for an outstanding team this year," said Lane. "We’ve got a solid group of guys because they’ve been there, they’ve played. They’ve watched and had to perform. They believe in themselves and that’s something you have to have. You can’t be worried about what people think about you, but what you think about yourself."

The Eagles opened the season with a 72-38 trouncing of Luverne on Tuesday night.

Lane, however, wasn’t satisfied with his team’s performance.

"I wasn’t too impressed with our offense and really wasn’t too impressed with our intensity," he said. "But we did do a good job of getting baskets on the inside when we needed them, so I was pleased with that."

From outside the arc, though, Goshen was lifeless, hitting just two three-pointer’s in the game.

"We were pressing a little bit and we had several of our players attacking the basket," Lane said. "But that’s something we’re looking to improve on."

But Lane said he expects his team to suffer in certain aspects of the game as the season progresses.

Like last year, Lane would like Goshen to be playing its best basketball in late January and early February.

"We’re not so much concerned with winning or losing, but how we’re playing right now," said Lane. "I don’t care about early in the year. Sometimes you start out playing good ball and then you regress as the year goes on. But last year, we played our best ball late and that’s what I’m trying to do with these kids this year. We may be a little ragged at times, but that’s okay. If Goshen plays the way Goshen is capable of playing then we’re going to have an outstanding year."

First-year girl’s head coach James Pair and his Lady Eagles also picked up a win over Luverne. Goshen won 30-18 in the girl’s varsity game.

Pair called the win "ugly", but said he was pleased with his team’s defensive performance.

"We played good defense," he said. "They had a lot of shots that wouldn’t go down for them, but they were bad shots. We got a lot of turnovers in transition, but we didn’t get many rebounds. Of course, it’s difficult to get rebounds when you’re playing man-to-man defense."

Goshen plays at Georgiana on Friday night. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.