The Goshen Eagles kicked off the Daniel Powell era with a 54-52 win over Houston Academy on Monday night. They hope it’s a sign of things to come during the 2018-2019 season.

During the offseason, the Eagles said goodbye to former coach Ethan Carroll and said hello to coach Powell. On Monday night, he saw his first game action as a varsity head coach.

“It was very exciting,” Powell said. “I was anticipating it. It was my first game as a head coach. I was glad to get the first game under my belt. I was glad it turned out to be a win.”

After working with the team throughout the offseason, Powell expects his team to be scrappy.

“We are going to fight hard and fight for loose balls,” Powell said. “We are going to play fast paced. We are going to get out in transition and play good solid defense.”

When it comes to who to watch out for, Powell suggests Dakari Pelton.

“He is going to be a superstar,” Powell said. “He is going to be our floor general and coach on the floor and the glue for our team.”
Junior RaQuan Martin will be looked upon to be the sharpshooter for the Goshen offense.

“He is going to be a dynamic shooter, shooting from the outside, shooting three-pointers,” Powell said.

Inside, the Eagles will look to the brother combination of Caleb and Dante Dawson.

“Caleb is going to be our enforcer in the paint,” Powell said. “He’s going to hold down the paint on defense. Dante is going to give us solid post play.”

Until the Eagles get into the meat of their area schedule, Powell will continue to take the time to figure out the roles of some key players.

“We need to get everybody back in the swing of playing basketball,” Powell said. “We need to find a solid two-guard. I have Seth Elmore and I have Michael McBryde. I am trying to find out who is going to be a solid two-guard. I have Tre Dix and Tamarcus Shipman and I am trying to find roles for them. Being new, I have to figure out each player and how they can contribute to the team.”

The Eagles will take on Highland Home next; the exact date is still to be determined due to football season.