The Goshen Eagles may have been down, but they are far from out.

After losing its first region game of the year to Elba, GHS head coach Bart Snyder said his team needed to come back and play strong the following week against Red Level.

Which is exactly what the Eagles did, soaring to a huge 45-7 home victory.

“It was real big,” the coach said about the region win.

“The kids were a little down (after the Elba loss). We had to come back strong, we had to pull out a victory.”

One of the biggest contributing factors to the big Eagle win Friday night was one that not many people knew about, going into the game.

While junior quarterback Jerome Lawrence may be over shadowed by his running back counterparts, Marcus Foster and Reginald Foster, at times, the second-year quarterback was the star attraction against the Tigers.

Lawrence completed 7-of-8 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

“People have been stacking up the line against,” Snyder said. “But I don’t think they know that we have the ability to throw the ball.

“And I think now, teams will start respecting our passing game.”

The win evened the team’s record in 2A Region 2 to 1-1, however, GHS trails both Elba and Samson who are currently 2-0.

The two region leaders will meet in Samson on Friday night, and an Eagle win would have it tied for second place with the loser of that game.

GHS has to win first though.

Standing in the Eagles way is New Brockton, who was a playoff team in 2009 while in the old 2A Region 2.

This season, the Gamecocks are 1-2, with losses to Providence Christian and Red Level, both of which came on the road.

This is the first time the both GHS and NBHS have met in more than half a decade.

Despite the losing record, Snyder said his defense is going to have to be ready to play.

“They are able to do a lot of things offensively,” Snyder said.

“They can run the spread, they can line up in the I-formation and the power-I. Plus, they have very good athletes.”

The Gamecocks the coach specifically talked about were quarterback Chris Green and running back Michael Hayes.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Green, who was a wide receiver last year, is behind center for the first time this season, while Hayes will be the main running attack for the Gamecocks.

Like GHS, NDHS got its first region win after taking down Highland Home on the road, winning 28-21.

While the Eagles have been wining, Snyder said his team has focused on what is really important.

“Our guys have done a great job of focusing on the task at hand, focusing on the upcoming game and not the one before it or after it,” Snyder said. “And I am proud of the guys for that.

“The past can’t hurt you unless you dwell it, on regardless of whether it was a win or a loss. We have preached to the guys to stay focused on what’s important, and they have done a good job understand what we want out of them,” he added.

The Eagles will continue to focus on the task at hand as they prepare for a road matchup with New Brockton.

The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.