The Airport High School football team are set to host Marlboro County in the first round of the South Carolina High School League Class 4A playoffs this Friday.

The Eagles (7-3) won a share of the Region 5-4A title with North Augusta after the team’s 38-27 Week 10 win over rival Brookland-Cayce.

“We’ve been getting better every week, and our guys were excited to be in that spot in Week 10,” head coach Kirk Burnett told me in a phone interview.

Eagles quarterback Brandon Caughman was injured in the third quarter of that victory over Brookland-Cayce, but Burnett isn’t worried about Caughman’s status heading into the playoffs.

“He missed one day of practice, but he practiced fully the next two days,” he said. “So, I expect him to be close to 100% (for Marlboro County).”

The biggest key for Airport’s turnaround in winning five of its last six games has been the maturation of their defense throughout the course of the season. Over the last three games, the Eagles’ defense has forced 12 turnovers, four against Brookland-Cayce, and given the offense several short fields.

“Our defense has done a much better job of recognizing what’s in front of them,” Burnett said. “Our coaches have done a great job of helping them improve.”

Burnett also mentioned that having an offense that can score consistently helps the defense play with confidence.

There is excitement surrounding the Airport football program that historically should have been expected.

“In the time I’ve been here, we’ve had three bad seasons where the next year, we rebounded well,” Burnett said. “I’ve had the same staff for many years and that just shows our resilience and ability of our players to respond.”

Heading into their first round matchup with Marlboro County (7-3), Burnett feels the Eagles have the advantage at the skill positions.

However, he believes Marlboro County is very strong up front.

“We have to be balanced and (running back) Nanders Lawrence has to get his touches,” Burnett said. “And on the RPO, Brandon makes good reads off of those, so we just need to be consistent and balanced on offense.”

Burnett feels confident in the ability of his team to win close games and make plays to secure a berth in round two of the playoffs.

The winner will face either Myrtle Beach or Dreher in the second round. Airport would get another home contest should the Blue Devils pull the upset against the second-seed Seahawks.