Goshen hosts Washington County in the first round of the 2A Playoff this Friday – Troy Messenger

The Goshen Eagles (7-2) will host a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2019 this Friday, Nov. 8, against the Washington County Bulldogs (6-4) in the first round of the Class 2A State Playoffs.

Goshen enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak as the No. 2 seed in Region 3 and fresh off a 33-21 win over Class 4A Straughn last Friday.

“I thought we played extremely well at times,” GHS coach Don Moore said of the win over Straughn. “We had to fight some things, some injuries and some other guys had to play that we didn’t expect to use. It’s part of everything and they were ready to play and it was good for them to get that experience in that kind of game and that kind of atmosphere. They played pretty well and I think we handled the adversity pretty well for the environment we were in.”

During the regular season, Goshen quarterback Jaden McNabb threw for 517 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception, along with 1,335 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Running back Shemerick Andrews amassed 884 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 73 carries. He also scored two receiving touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown. Receiver Tyler McLendon has caught 17 passes for 381 yards and six touchdowns with 10 total touchdowns on the season, including two kickoff returns for scores.

On the defensive side, McNabb, Andrews and McLendon were strong there, as were linebacker Landon Chandler and linebacker Jacoby Brunson. Chandler had 20 tackles and two tackles for loss against Strawn last week, while Brunson had 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and a safety.

Goshen’s first-round playoff opponent is Washington County after a 47-13 win over Fruitdale on Oct. 31. Washington County finished as the No. 3 seed in Region 1 and holds wins over Cottage Hill Christian Academy, St. Lux, Chickasaw, Central Hayneville, Bayshore Christian and Fruitdale.

“They’re pretty big up front, they have an offensive approach with four or five Division I offers; he’s a big kid,” Moore said of Washington County. “They want to establish the run and have some weapons on the outside that they can throw it to. We have to be disciplined and match their physicality up front for sure. We also have to be able to be disciplined on the edges and not bite their actions (passes).”

Moore said Washington County’s defense also brings a lot of physicality.

“Defensively, they run a traditional 4-3 scheme and a lot of those same guys that play on offense play on the defensive line,” he said. “They’re physical on both sides of the ball and we’re going to have to be able to match what they bring there.”

Washington County was a perennial power in both 2A and 3A from 2000 to 2016, earning two state runner-up finishes and two more semifinal appearances during that span.

From 2017 to 2022, the Bulldogs didn’t make a single playoff appearance, but former head coach Johnny Carpenter helped turn things around in recent years, much like Moore did at Goshen. Washington County made its first playoff appearance since 2016 last season and is back in the playoffs again with its best record since 2016.

Similarities between Goshen and Washington County are also reflected in the records. Washington County went 1-9 in Carpenter’s first year at the helm and then improved to 4-7 in 2023 and 6-4 this season. Meanwhile in Goshen, the Eagles went 1-9 in Moore’s first season and then improved to 6-4 the following year, 9-3 last season and are 7-2 this season. In late October, however, Carpenter abruptly resigned as head coach at Washington County.

Washington County and Goshen have met just once in the past, a 39-0 Bulldog victory in the first round of the 2015 2A playoffs.

“This week I want to see the same thing I want to see from our guys every week; be physical and compete for four full quarters,” Moore said. “That’s the most important thing for us and to play together. We’ve been doing really well the last few weeks and I just want to see that trend continue.”

Goshen hosts Washington County at Eagle Stadium on Friday night at 7 p.m.