Monarchs to battle Clinton

 Northside and Clinton have been rivals in the East Central 2-A Conference from the start.

And majority of those years, the conference title came down between them. They will battle once again Friday night at Northside High School.

"It's a big game," said Monarchs head coach Bob Eason. "It will be our 100th game ever and it's always been good competition."

The last time both teams hooked up, the Monarchs (5-0, 1-0 ECC) dominated the Dark Horses with a 41-0 blowout last year at Clinton.

"We took a good pounding last year," said Clinton head coach Steve Mallard. "They (the Dark Horses) are more mature and it made us a little bit hungrier to prepare for Northside.

"They (the Monarchs) have been to three (NCHSAA 2-A Eastern) Regional Championships. They have some great athletes coming through the program. Coach Eason has done a good job there."

And Mallard knows about Northside's talent, especially on the offensive side. His challenge is to find a way to slow down Northside's offense since Northside has outscored its opponents 191-19. Controlling the clock and taking advantage of opportunities will be a key factor in winning.

"For us we going to have to keep it out of the offense's hands," Mallard said. "Our offense has to stay on the field and we can't turn the ball over. If we get into the red zone, we have to put points on the board. They have some good running backs and their offensive line is good."

Likewise, Eason isn't looking down at the Dark Horses (2-3, 1-0). He knows Clinton has competed in a tough non-conference schedule and has improved from last year.

"They started to play better football," Eason said. "Some of their games they could have won. Their defense is strong and they are well-coached. Their offense is good at executing."

It's why Eason said his players need to be ready to go against Clinton. So far, the Monarchs have gone through their schedule with ease, but Eason sees Clinton as a test on how his team can respond to an even tougher competitor.

"We got to come ready to play," he said. "Up to this point we had an easy time, but now its how we have to respond to a big game."

Eason said he was glad to earn his 70th win last week, but has already put it to the side in preparation for Clinton.

"We're excited," Eason said. "We've been working hard to get up to this point. It says a lot about the program, but this Friday we have to take care of business."