The Goshen Eagles close out the regular season on Friday night against the 1A Brantley Bulldogs at Eagles Stadium.

The Eagles will celebrate their seniors prior to kickoff against the Bulldogs.

“For these young men who spent the time that they have, it’s a great moment for them,” head coach Bart Snyder said. “It’s a sad moment, too, because they know, other than the playoffs, this is their last moment to ever get to play.”

The Eagles are coming off a loss to Highland Home a week ago in a game that saw the Eagles try to mount a second half comeback. In the end, the Eagles fell to the Flying Squadron 35-21.

“It happens in all sports – sometimes things don’t bounce your way,” Snyder said. “Someone once told me that a lot of times, we play like an old car on a cold day. It took us two and a half quarters to get going. We didn’t come out and play our game the way we are capable of playing.

“We had our opportunities to win the game and we should have won the game. Highland Home is a good ball team. When you play teams like that, you have to come in with the proper mindset.”

Putting together four good quarters has been a struggle for the Eagles this season. Snyder believes the only time they have accomplished that this season came in the season opener against Ariton.

“The best ballgame we have played this year was against Ariton,” Snyder said. “We played a great second half against Luverne. We played a great quarter against Samson. We played a great quarter and a half against Highland Home. To win a football game, you have to play the whole game.”

The Eagles have wrapped up a second place finish in the region heading into the postseason.

The Eagles still have one game remaining in the regular season and they will use that game to get healthy and get some of their younger players more experience.

“For the first time this year, we are a little banged up,” Snyder said. “We will be without some people. We are going to have to get other people in and get ready. That can be a plus, because now these guys can get some experience and, when it comes to the playoffs, they can play in different positions.”

The Bulldogs come into the game with an 8-1 record, their only blemish coming against Luverne. They have held their last two opponents to a total of six points. They shut out Pleasant Home last week 35-0.

“Coach Jones and his group is always going to be prepared to play,” Snyder said. “Brantley has always had a great ball team. They make the playoffs every year. When you’re as close to Crenshaw County, our kids know one another. They play ball baseball and basketball with one another. We are 0-2 against Crenshaw County schools right now. It would be nice to have at least one win. It will be a good ball team that we will be playing.”

The Eagles will honor their Coach Bob Boothe and all his of his teams. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of Boothe’s Eagles team that won the 1979 Lions Bowl championship. For those interested in taking part in the celebration, meet in the south endzone.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.