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Both the Zion Chapel High School and Goshen High School football teams will cap off spring practices this year with spring games.

The Zion Chapel Rebels will host Class 1A county foe Kinston at home on May 19 at 6 p.m. Zion Chapel is coming off a 3-7 season in 2022 that saw the Rebels win more games than the previous two seasons combined.

ZCHS returns a young Rebel squad that features sophomore linebacker Brayden Benbow (80 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss and three sacks), junior receiver Joseph LeGear (219 yards and three touchdowns), senior defensive back Jackson Adcock (32 tackles and four interceptions) and senior quarterback Mason Stuart.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-6 season last year. Zion Chapel and Kinston are longtime Coffee County rivals. The two sides have met 47 times in the regular season with ZCHS holding the edge in the series 25-22.

The Goshen Eagles will be playing both 1A’s Elba Tigers and 5A’s Carroll Eagles on May 18 starting at 6 p.m. in Elba. The two sides will alternate quarters playing one another.

Goshen is coming off a 6-4 season in 2022, after winning just one game in the previous two seasons combined. The Eagles return a number of weapons from the 2022 team including junior running back/defensive back Szemerick Andrews (878 yards, 11 touchdowns rushing and 55 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss on defense), senior running back Jamari McClure (1,173 yards, 16 touchdowns rushing and 354 yards, seven touchdowns receiving) and junior receiver Tyler McLendon (571 yards, eight touchdowns receiving). All three of those Goshen returners earned All-Messenger honors in 2022.

Elba is a traditional power in Class 1A with seven total state championships, coming off an 11-1 season last year. The Tigers boast one of the top college football prospects in the entire country in running back Alvin Henderson, who rushed for a staggering 2,636 yards and 46 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022.

Carroll is coming off a 5-6 season in 2022, making the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Eagles return starting quarterback Keyshawn Cole, who earned Dothan Eagle Super 12 honorable mention last season.

While Goshen and Carroll have never played in a regular season game, Goshen has played Elba a total of eight times during the regular season with the Tigers winning all of those matchups.