The Goshen Eagles entered the offseason with a lot of questions on both sides of the ball. On Friday night, they finally get to see if they found the solutions when they open up the 2016 season against Ariton.

The Eagles had a sneak peak last Friday by competing in the Elba Jamboree, and after a tough week of practice dealing with the heat, the Eagles are ready for the Purple Cats.

“We are seeing the sense of urgency from several players,” said Eagles head coach Bart Snyder. “There are no excuses. It’s hot out here, it’s hot in Ariton, it’s hot at Pike County and it’s hot at Charles Henderson. It’s hot everywhere. Our guys are going to have to suck it up and go.”

The Patriots welcome in a new offensive line this season and so far it’s been a slow process getting them prepared, but Snyder has seen the progress.

“They are still going through their growing pains,” Snyder said. “There are times when we do really good and there are times we don’t do good. We have to understand that now it’s time to go.”

All summer long the Eagles have relied on their more experienced leaders to set the tone and the example for the younger players on the field, and that is something they want to see continue on Friday night.

“The veterans at the skilled positions are doing a real good job,” Snyder said. “They are working hard and trying to challenge the others.”

The Purple Cats enter the opening game coming off a 5-6 record and a trip to the postseason.

“We can’t make any mistakes,” Snyder said. “They are a really disciplined ball team. They came out last week and looked like they have been playing for five ball games. They are really well-coached and a team that wants to play and win. We have to get that same mentality.”

Last season the Eagles got off to a 1-5 start and had to fight to make it the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. This season, the Eagles know the importance of a good start.

“We need that– there is no doubt about that,” Snyder said. “Our schedule is balanced pretty well this year. We just have to get better at each thing we do and every day that we do it.”

The Purple Cats and the Eagles will begin the season at 7 p.m. Friday night at Eagles Stadium.

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