East Limestone’s last two games have proven what a difference turnovers can make. Two weeks ago, the Indians had four turnovers that led to 28 points in a 49-21 loss to Madison Academy. Last week, East had no turnovers and cruised to a 48-14 win over Madison County.

“That makes a lot of difference,” East Limestone coach Jeff Pugh said. “Against Madison Academy, we got beat by 28 points, and those four turnovers accounted for every touchdown we got beat by. Last week, we didn’t turn the ball over. You eliminate those mistakes and you find out you can be pretty good team.”

Another key for East Limestone’s success is the play of quarterback Andrew Parris. The senior threw for 228 yards and ran for another 84 against Madison County last Friday, and Pugh said Parris’ improvement this season has been outstanding.

“He’s been a surprise as far as how well he is reading coverages,” Pugh said. “He’s going through his reads and is able to go through his progressions and throw to the second or third receiver. He’s thrown three touchdown passes this year, and all of them have not been to the primary receiver on the play.”

Pugh said Parris’ maturity and ability to read defenses has really helped the offense, especially with defenses willing to double-cover top receiver C.J. Yarbrough. Instead of forcing the ball to Yarbrough, Pugh said Parris is finding secondary receivers who are left open due to the double coverage on Yarbrough.

“People are thinking C.J. is who we’re going to throw to a lot, so they double-cover him,” Pugh said. “When they double him, Andrew is able to check off and go to someone else, and that has hurt defenses. I’m really pleased with how he’s done and the improvement he’s made.”

Parris will need to be sharp on the road against Scottsboro Friday night, as the Wildcats will bring a stingy defense into the game, allowing fewer than 14 points per game.

Scottsboro suffered a surprising 21-7 loss to Guntersville last week to drop them to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in Class 5A, Region 8. East Limestone also brings a 2-1 overall and 1-1 region record into Friday’s game.

“They’ve got a lot of size,” Pugh said of Scottsboro. “Their offensive line is huge, and their defensive line is big and physical. They don’t have hardly anybody that plays both ways (offense and defense) and that’s going to be where they’ve got an advantage. They’ve got almost 90 players and we’re sitting here with 50. That’s a big advantage for them.

“I feel like Scottsboro is one of the better teams in the region, and we’re going to have to play really well this week to win this game.”

With both teams sitting at 1-1 in region play, Friday’s game will be critical as neither team wants to pick up a second region loss so early in the season.

“Getting a second region loss now sets you up to where you basically have to win out to make the playoffs,” Pugh said. “We don’t want to get behind the 8-ball. We definitely want to be ahead of schedule region-wise in order to make sure we get into the playoffs.”