The Stratford Eagles go on the road Friday at Strong Rock Christian. It is the first of three straight road games for the Eagles.

Coming off a tough home loss against Mount de Sales 17-14, Head coach Mark Farriba knows there will be some challenges playing on the road the next three weeks, including the logistics and being in a different environment.

“There are a lot of external factors that guys deal with, on a regular basis, trying to get them ready to play,” Coach Farriba said.

The Eagles are 3-2 and Strong Rock is 4-2. This is a very important region game for Stratford to pick up a big road game.

Traveling to Strong Rock, located in Locust Grove, is a 90-mile round trip bus ride for Stratford. The Eagles’ next two away games — against rivals Tattnall and FPD — are a combined 8 miles in distance from the Stratford campus.

“I don’t care if you’re playing on the moon or in your back yard, it’s just trying to make sure you have guys that are ready to go play,” Coach Farriba said, “The challenges of a road game are no different than home games for me. You’re coaching guys that are 14,15,16,17,18 years old and you’re with them two hours a day, or a little more than two hours a day and you’re trying to get them ready to go play a game on Friday.”

Senior Jay Lee says there are a lot of factors going into these next few away games. 

“We had a tough loss last week, and we are ready to bounce back against Strong Rock,’’ Jay said. “We had a good week of practice, and really want to play well. Being on the road can be a little difficult without a student section.’’

Another senior, Thomas Jones, said the team understands the difficulty of going on the road and win in a hostile environment. 

“It’s definitely a lot harder to travel, sometimes hours away, and then have the same energy as a home game,’’ Thomas said. “With a home game, you have the crowd and the fans cheering you on, and overall it’s a lot more fun environment.” 

Junior quarterback Lawson Cole said playing at home is not always the easy route. In fact, the team can stay more  “focused’ when traveling.

“I think home games are the hardest to stay focused on because of all the distractions on campus,’’ Lawson said. “But on the bus with the whole team it is easier to keep everyone focused on the game. I like playing on the road.”