With a playoff berth already wrapped up, the Goshen Eagles will look to take a step toward securing a first-round home game when they take on the Highland Home Flying Squadron tonight in Goshen.

On paper, the Flying Squadron (1-6, 1-4) does not appear to pose much of a threat to Goshen’s hopes of playing at home in the playoffs.

HHHS has scored just 49 points all season, and has lost by an average score of roughly 33-7.

Still, GHS head coach Bart Snyder said he expects the Flying Squadron to be competitive.

“I look for them to play real well,” Snyder said. “They got a win against Marion a couple of weeks ago, and played Reeltown real hard, so they’re starting to get things going.”

Despite its high-flying moniker, the Flying Squadron is largely a run-first team.

“They move back and forth offensively between a wing-T and a wishbone,” Snyder said. “They have a good offensive line, so they’ll try to do some things behind that.”

While the HHHS defense has struggled this season, Snyder expects it to play physically against the Eagle running attack.

“Their defense is real scrappy and they’ll play real hard, so we have to be ready for that,” Snyder said.

However, the Eagles will still look to run the football first and foremost, much as they have done all season.

“We’re just going to try to keep the ball in the hands of our running backs,” Snyder said. “We feel like that gives us a chance to be successful. Reginald Foster and Marcus Jackson really have that ability where they are capable of breaking a long one at any moment.”

Despite Goshen being the favorite, Snyder said the team has done a good job of not looking past the Flying Squadron.

“We’re very proud of our guys and their ability to stay focused on the task at hand,” Snyder said. “Our group has not even considered what’s going on next week.”

Part of that focus can be attributed to the fact that Goshen knows Highland Home is capable of playing good football.

“If we go in with the wrong attitude, we know they can beat us, so we are just doing our best to keep the right mentality,” Snyder said.

A win for Goshen would be its third straight, something the Eagles have failed to do as of yet this season.

“We are really starting to gain some confidence in what we do,” Snyder said. “We’re a young, inexperienced team, but these kids are really starting to believe in what they can do.”

The Eagles and the Flying Squadron kick off tonight at 7 p.m. at the Eagle’s Nest.