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The Goshen Eagles (8-2) will hit the road this Friday, Nov. 15, to face off against the undefeated Cottonwood Bears (11-0) in the second round of the Class 2A State Playoffs.

Goshen is coming off a resounding 55-22 win over Washington County in the first round, while Cottonwood thrashed Lanett 54-16 in round one. Cottonwood has won 21 games in the past two seasons and in 2024, has had very little resistance in terms of the scoreboard.

Cottonwood has outscored its opponents 524-108 this season and only one team – Class 6A’s Rehobeth – even came within two scores of the Bears. Cottonwood holds wins over Randolph-Clay (Ga.), Ashford, Providence Christian, Houston County, Samson, Rehobeth, Geneva County, Ariton, Abbeville, GW Long and Lanett.

“They’re a good, physical football team,” Goshen Coach Don Moore said of Cottonwood. “There’s a reason they’re undefeated and ranked in the Top 10 in the state. They’re big up front, physical and they like to establish the run. They also like to throw it deep on you.

“Their defense is aggressive and they have a pretty good front seven. We have a challenge ahead of us but it’s nothing we haven’t handled before.”

Cottonwood sophomore running back King Campbell, senior quarterback Braylon Morris and senior running back Klete Meadows make up a formidable three-headed monster on offense. Campbell has already rushed for 1,220 yards and 25 touchdowns this season, while Meadows has added 573 yards and 10 scores. Morris has thrown for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns without throwing a single interception, while he’s also rushed for 871 yards and 12 touchdowns.

With Cottonwood’s explosive “single wing” style offense, Moore said they most closely resemble that of Elba’s record-setting offense when asked who he would compare them to in regards to teams Goshen has faced this season.

“Offensively they’re a lot like Elba,” Moore said. “They’re a ‘single wing’ team and they’ve got some good running backs and a good quarterback that can run it, too. They do a good job with their personnel and moving people around and shifting and making you be disciplined.”

Goshen has its own three-headed monster on offense, however. Quarterback Jayden McNabb rushed for 103 yards and four touchdowns on just four carries in the first round. He’s tallied 1,438 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing this season with 589 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception passing. Szemerick Andrews amassed 131 yards and three touchdowns in round one on just five carries, which resulted in him eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark on the season. He has 1,015 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 78 carries. Tyler McLendon has also surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards this season.

“I want to see the same thing I always want to see from our guys; compete for four full quarters and be physical,” Moore emphatically said. “That’s the name of the game and that’s what football is. We need to protect the football and go be physical and play free. That’s what I want to see from our guys this week.”

Goshen and Cottonwood have met just twice on the gridiron in the past, both Bear playoff wins, but the two sides have not played since 1997. Cottonwood defeated Goshen 48-0 in the first round of the 1984 playoffs and then beat the Eagles 12-0 in the first round of the 1997 playoffs.

Cottonwod and Goshen will play at 7 p.m. on Friday at Hicks Stadium in Cottonwood.