The Goshen Eagles lost a tough, close game last week against Abbeville in overtime. Head coach Joe Thornton and the Eagles are looking to start region play on a solid not with a victory over Zion Chapel this Friday.

“The kids came out with a positive attitude,” Thornton said. “Hopefully we have learned from what we did wrong. Practice was decent this week. I would say it was a pretty good week of practice though.”

The Eagles (0-1) are working out problems they had late in the game against Abbeville and Thornton hopes the team can use that as motivation.

“We’ll be ready mentally,” Thornton said.

Zion Chapel (0-1) is a team that mainly features the option on offense, but Thornton said they have been known to mix in the spread.

“That forces you to play assignment defense,” Thornton said. “Any time you can force a team to stay on assignment that’s always good.”

The Rebels’ defense gives multiple looks. Zion Chapel mixes defensive fronts, but Thornton believes that they are based in a four-man front.

Goshen special teams weren’t exactly rolling on all cylinders last week, but Thornton said they have worked on the areas that they lacked.

“We had a couple of bad snaps on punts, but hopefully we worked out those kinks,” Thornton said.

Injuries have already become a factor on the Eagles squad, as linebacker Marcus Jackson will sit this week to let a leg injury heal. John Bean will step in for Jackson, and Thornton hopes he can take care of business.

“He’s a young guy that needs to step up for us this week,” Thornton said. “We’re hoping he will do a good job for us.”

Goshen relied on leadership last week and through the off-season from Keyone Woods and Johnathon Ginyard.

“Keyone has rocked for us,” Thornton said. “He has always been a good leader for us. He and Ginyard have done good things for this team.”

While there may be leadership from these two players, the Eagles are hoping they all play like leaders on Friday night.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.