The Goshen Eagles are off to their first 3-0 start since 2000, and that momentum has the Eagles looking to upset Class 2A’s top ranked team team.

“It’s a big one,” said Eagles head coach Bart Snyder. “Elba is the number one team in the state. They won 2A last year and they’re good again this year. Playing them and understanding what it would mean to knock them off is a real confidence thing for us.”

Goshen travels to Elba, (3-0), and the Eagles know how significant a win could be.

“It would be really big,” said junior defensive back and slot back Cory Peterson. “It would help us to host the playoffs here. It will boost us up, and we will be ready.”

Elba brings a disciplined team into the contest, one of the things that Snyder credits for their success.

“They are really well coached,” Snyder said. “They have athletes on both sides of the ball. They just don’t make any mental mistakes. They don’t throw the ball away. They are just a disciplined team and well coached.”

The Eagle offense has averaged 37 points per game, and is led by a strong running attack that features Damion Passmore, Zack Alford and Daquan Foster.

“Everybody is blocking, and we are spreading out the ball,” Peterson said. “We are not just targeting one player. We are letting everyone touch the ball, and we are being smart.”

The Eagle defense has allowed only 11 points per game this year.

“They are very receptive to being coached,” Snyder said. “They do their assignments. We felt like we had a few letdowns last week that allowed Luverne to score. That was a good Luverne team. Our guys played their assignments and it paid off in the third and fourth quarters.”

“We are being physical and flying to the ball,” Peterson said. “We are doing our assignments.”

One of the keys to the game on Friday will be winning the turnover battle and forcing Elba to make mistakes.

“That would be huge,” Snyder said. “Anytime you can beat someone in the turnover battle gives you the opportunity to win a ball game. It’s going to take us not making any mistakes and forcing Elba to make mistakes.”

There will be no moral victories on Friday night, the Eagles are heading to Elba to win.

“We are really excited and ready to get after them,” said senior kicker and wide receiver Brian Redmon. “Winning is everything. We want to win and not just come up short, we want to come up big.”

Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium in Elba.