Teams to watch: Gilmer Harmony Eagles

After a 3-7 season in 2014, Gilmer Harmony has advanced to the second round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons while developing into an annual east Texas contender. But the Eagles have their sights set far past the second round this year. Harmony doesn’t have the look of a team that will be bounced early in the postseason. With seven straight wins to open the year, the Eagles have raised their expectations with the postseason rapidly approaching. “I’m very real with our players,” Harmony coach Tim Russell said. “Some years, I don’t even mention a state championship. But when we sat down as a coaching staff with the captains, we put the goal on the board of winning a state title. I think that’s something we’re shooting for.” Through seven games, the Eagles have outscored their opponents by an average of more than 42 points. The high-powered offense, headlined by four-year starting quarterback Spencer Seahorn (903 total yards, 14 TDs) and RB Barrett Hill (1,206 yards, 13 TDs), has scored 60 or more points four times. Seahorn’s experience is a vital part of Harmony’s hopes this season and Hill has put up impressive numbers thus far. But Russell said what makes the Eagles standout is a dominant offensive line. The big guys in the trenches, headlined by four-year starters Conner Henson and Noah Taylor, has controlled opponents time and time again. Returning starters Brody Chatham and Cesar Arreola join Henson and Taylor to make life easy on Seahorn and Hill in the backfield. “This past Monday, the quarterbacks and running backs cooked for the offensive line and served them because they know where their bread is buttered,” Russell said. “We give the offensive line a lot of love in practice even if they don’t get it in the statistics.” Much like the offense, the defense has thrived behind the leadership of players like D.J. Click (67 tackles, 20 TFL, 4 FF), Drew McNeel (55 tackles, 2 INTs), Konrad Eichelman (43 tackles, 2 INTs, and Easton Blackstone (48 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 FR). The Eagles made the switch from a 4-2-5 look to a 3-4 front this season, and the move has paid off. Harmony is giving up an average of less than 13 points per game and has three shutouts to its name. “It’s a lot of fun to see the energy and effort we’re playing with,” Russell said. “When I see that, regardless of the defense we’re in, that’s a key component. Nobody is playing harder than us defensively right now.” After last week’s 42-0 win over Como-Pickton, Harmony enters Friday night’s game against Alba-Golden as a heavy favorite again. The Eagles are well on their way to a District 8-3A championship after defeating last year’s No. 1 seed, Edgewood, 74-20 in the district opener. Edgewood knocked off Harmony 44-34 last year, so the blowout win on Oct. 13 this season set the tone for what the Eagles hope will be a long postseason run. “I know in the back of our guy’s minds, they couldn’t wait to play Edgewood,” Russell said. “The guys played with a high level of intensity and this is a group that does that. Our guys really play up to the seriousness of the moment.”

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