Another Friday night and another long road trip awaits the Trion Bulldogs.  However, you won't find many Trion fans complaining about the five hour, 285 mile trip to Twin Cities, GA because the Bulldogs are still alive in the state playoffs.  

Last week, the Bulldogs made a journey of similar distance to Irwin County to take on the 6th ranked team in the state.  Not many of the "experts" gave Trion a chance against the Irwin County Indians.  The Bulldogs responded to their critics with a dominating 31-6 victory over the home standing Indians.  The victory was Trion's first road playoff win since 1981 when Tab Gable's team knocked off Greenville 21-13 in game that was played in Manchester, GA.  

However, this week the competition jumps up another notch.  Trion will face off against another band of Bulldogs…the Emanuel County Institute (ECI) Bulldogs.  ECI is ranked # 3 in the state and are considered by many to a heavy contender for the state championship.  The Bulldogs of ECI are 10-1 on the season.  Their only loss came in week 2 of the season on the road at Washington County by the score of 48-22.  Washington County is a AAA team that is still alive in the state playoffs.  ECI is just a week removed from dominating Gordon Lee in the first round of the playoffs by a 46-12 margin, the same Gordon Lee that Trion defeated earlier in the season 6-0.

ECI runs the ball and runs the ball well.  They also play great defense.  Here are some stats to familiarize yourself with the ECI Bulldogs:

– average 43 points per game on offense

– only give up an average of 11 points on defense

– 4 running backs with each having a minimum of 400 yards rushing in their Wing-T offense

– of those 4 running backs, their average yards per carry are 8.3, 11.9, 6.9 and 10.6

Not only will Trion have to face a very tough ECI team, they are also dealing with flu that has affected a large portion of their team this week limiting practice and preparations for ECI.  Can the Bulldogs overcome the flu, a potent ECI run game and dominating defense?  Not many people are picking Trion to pull out the victory this week. Not many people picked Trion last week either.

If you are not going to make the 5 hour trip to Twin City, you can listen to the game live here on AM 1180 and online at www.chattoogainfo.com.  Ben Groce and Jeremy Burke will call the action for the Bulldogs.  Be sure to tune in to pregame coverage beginning at 7 pm.  Ben and Jeremy will have a 15 minute interview with Coach Justin Brown that can be heard on the pregame show.   Kickoff will follow at 7:30.