Long road trip to Lebanon a tough task for the Eagles

Story courtesy of The Pilot News.

PLYMOUTH — Culver Academy’s Eagles are hitting stride at the perfect part of the season as they head into the tournament on a five-game win streak and an offense that has been hitting on all cylinders since week one and has only gotten better.
The Eagles are scoring 36 points a game and haven’t been under 30 since scoring 28 in week two against Marian.
The defense has had its ups and downs giving up just over 25 a game, but has come up with big play, after big play to give the team wins.
“We’ve given up yards on defense, but we’ve been very opportunistic,” said CMA head coach Andy Dorrel. “We’ve forced 28 turnovers on the season and only given up three. Our quarterback has thrown 25 touchdowns and had two interceptions. Any time you can put up numbers like that you are going to have an exciting season. The fact that I believe that we are playing the best football we have all year right now it’s exciting to be a part of this program.”
With the game on the line, time and again the defense has come through.
“I like to think that it’s that they trust their keys and trust their reads, the game is slowing down, and they are focused on what they need to be focused on to make a play when it’s most important,” said Dorrel. “Our mantra the past few weeks is that we don’t have to be perfect to be successful and just give our best effort.
CMA sports an explosive offense with a number of outstanding athletes who could score anytime they have the ball in their hand.
“We are very fortunate to have dynamic athletes on that side of the ball,” said Dorrel. “Michael McColgan does a good job of distributing the ball. Tay Rodriguez is a legitimate threat out of the backfield to take it the distance any time he touches it.”
They will need all of those weapons this week as a long road trip to Lebanon will open sectional play for CMA.
The Tigers are 7-2 and they as well have a dynamic offense averaging 38 points a game.
“They have a quarterback (Jackson Folden) who is very efficient with the football, they have a solid running game, they are big up front, and they have some dynamic receivers,” said Dorrel.
Lebanon has four receivers with double-digit receptions on the season led by Kaden Lark with 54 and averaging over 80 yards per game.
“They are big on throwing the ball short and catching it in space and letting their receivers gain yards after the catch,” said Dorrel. “We aren’t as concerned about them throwing it over our head, but we are concerned about tackling in space.”
Defensively the Tigers are aggressive.
“They jump in and out of a three-man front, a four-man front trying to give offenses a different look and try and confuse the lineman,” said Dorrel. “They are talented enough with their skill guys they can play man coverage but they are also very good in zone.
Game time at Lebanon on Friday is 7 p.m.