By By Matthew Nascone
Barry Meeks rushed for 247 yards in Patrician Academy's opening game loss to Clarke Prep. He had three runs of 60-plus yards and he is coming to Canoe Friday night.
"If we can stop Barry Meeks, we will have a chance to win this week," EA head coach Heath Gibson said.
The Cougars square off against Patrician at 7 p.m. Friday night and Gibson said the Saints will invade Canoe and run the ball right at the Cougars defensive line.
"(Meeks) is the key for them and if we stop him, we will be all right," Gibson said. "He had runs of 90-, 70- and 60-something yards and if we can stop the big play we will be OK. We will take the runs of five or six yards, just not the big one that scores a touchdown."
Gibson also believes the spirit of the Saints will be a tough aspect to overcome.
"Clarke Prep was whipping them physically, but they kept on moving forward and they were still alive in the fourth quarter," he said. "The only reason they were still in the game was that they believed they belonged in the game. And that is why I believe we are in for a 48-minute battle this week.
Patrician head coach Jim Archibald couldn't agree more.
"I don't know how this game is going to play out, but I do know that it will be a defensive battle and it may be difficult for either team to score," he said.
Archibald said his team is going to have to watch out for the speed of the Cougars.
"They look like a fairly good team and they have some quick boys over there," Archibald said. "They have the makings of a good team."
Gibson said he is trying to mold his group of players into a good team.
"We had a senior meeting yesterday and I told those guys that we have a young group, so we need to stay positive out there," Gibson said. "If we become negative then it will go bad and these guys will believe we are a bad team. We need to help them as much as we can."
Kickoff is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Batchelor Field.