After jumping out to a 4-0 start to the 2023 season, the Kirk Academy Raiders return to Class AAA, District 1 play Friday night with a home contest against perennial power Marshall. It’s another challenge for Coach Colin Boone’s varsity football club.
“They are a program that has been at or near the top of the district standings year in and year out,” Boone said. “Marshall Academy has an outstanding tradition with their football program for as long as I can remember.”
Marshall has been playing football since 1969 and has won 12 district championships during that span. The Patriots hold a 25-14 series advantage against the Raiders. Last season, Marshall won a 54-20 contest in Holly Springs.
Boone and his Raiders face a Marshall team that stands 2-2 on the season. He said that record is misleading as Coach Ben Durham’s Patriots lost a 50-6 contest to Class AAA power Greenville Christian and a 41-6 decision to Class AAAAA Magnolia Heights.
“Their record is deceiving,” Boone said. “When you look at their losses, Greenville Christian may be one of the favorites to play for the state championship and Magnolia Heights is a Class AAAAA team, that has beaten everyone this season. The two wins are against a well-coached Oak Hill team and an improved North Delta team. Marshall Academy is a very good football team on defense and they have speed on both sides of the football. They are one of the Top 3 teams on our schedule.”
The Patriots are led by running back/linebacker Eli Gurley (6-foot-1, 208). Junior Carson Ormon (6-foot-1, 170) leads the offense from the quarterback position and senior Kegan Bryson (6-foot-2, 270) disrupts opposing offenses from his nose guard position. Senior safety Conner Todd (5-foot11, 160) has been solid.
“We hope he (Gurley) doesn’t get on the bus,” Boone said. “Gurley and Bryson could play for any Class 7A. They are difference makers and create a lot of problems on both sides of the football. We will have to know where they are on the field at all times.”
One of the biggest concerns for Kirk has been penalties. The Raiders have averaged double-digit this season.
“Penalties are still an issue for us,” Boone added. “As coaches, we need to continue to teach them the right way to play the game. A lot of the penalties tend to happen on special teams when we are about to get the ball back. We have to make sure we take care of the football and not shoot ourselves in the foot with costly penalties.”
Another area of improvement is blocking, according to Boone.
“We would like to see our blocking be a little more crisp; staying on our blocks longer,” he said. “Last week, we did much better sustaining drives than we had in the prior three games. We just want to continue to be consistent offensively and cutout the penalties that put us in long yardage situations.”
After shocking Lee Academy 43-36 last week on the road, opponents won’t take Kirk lightly this season. The story of the contest for the Raiders was a career performance from senior quarterback Carter Hathcock, who threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 190 yards and scored twice, including the game-winning points with 14 seconds left.
Boone is proud of the 4-0 start, but knows that there still is plenty room for improvement. A win Friday would give Kirk its first 5-0 start since 2003 when he was just 9-years-old.
“I know we have a good football team,” he concluded. “There is a lot of room for improvement for us to get to the point of where we want to be as a team. We still have some good teams left on our schedule as we head toward the end. It’s a process that is still far from complete. We are not going to sneak up on anybody and it’s going to boil down to who is more prepared and who is healthier.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Raider Field.
