Marengo Academy head coach Robby James said he was pleasantly surprised when he viewed the tape of his team’s most recent defeat. Despite a 27-7 loss to region foe Morgan Academy last week, James said his squad did not perform poorly.

“We didn’t do as bad as I thought we did,” James said. “We gave up two long passes in the first quarter. We had guys covered. We have a problem just making a play on the ball or making a tackle.”

The Longhorns entered the locker room down 21-0 against Morgan but fared better in the second half. James hopes his team can build on some of that momentum as it looks to its second region game of the season this Friday night against Kingwood Christian.

James said Kingwood will come to Linden with a pair of talented skill players who could make for a long night for the Longhorn defense if it is unprepared. Quarterback Daniel Reeves and tailback Tyrone Pope figure to see their fair share of touches against Marengo.

“He’s a pretty tough kid. He throws the ball well,” James said of Reeves, who also plays linebacker. “You’re going to have to know where they are. Our defense is going to have to play well against them.”

After opening their season with a 30-21 loss to Patrician, the Longhorns dropped Glenwood at home in overtime. Since that win, Marengo Academy is 0-2 with road losses to Macon-East Montgomery and Morgan. Still, in spite of their record, James is comfortable with where the Longhorns stand in the region.

“We’ve got one region loss. I still think we’re going to be okay,” James said before acknowledging the boost his team would get by picking up its first region win. “We need a victory pretty badly. Maybe we’ll get us one this week.”