Tonight, as Unaka host the Hancock Indians in Region 1-1A play, the Rangers will celebrate its three seniors.

Those seniors are Austin Taylor, Ray Combs, and Jacob Rash.

“They have been with us for four years,” said Unaka head coach Steven McKinney. “They have been through the good and bad times. They have seen what we do, and they have been a big part of it.”

When Hancock marches into Stoney Creeks, the Rangers (1-7, conference 1-2) and the Indians (3-6, conference 1-2)  will be battling it out for third place in Region 1-1A. And coach McKinney expects a stout challenge from the Indians.

“Hancock, based on of what I have seen on film, are very physical,” McKinney said. “They are big up front. They have two good running backs. They both run hard. They are a whole lot more physical than we are. Hopefully, we can come out and do some of the things that we do.”

What Unaka plans to do is what they do best, and that is to pass, said McKinney.

“We are working on our passing game,” McKinney said. “We are trying do those types of things and get it working. We don’t run the ball real well. We will be minus a tailback this week so. We have some other kids working at tailback.”

The Rangers’ aerial attack centers around QB Blake King. King has connected 82-of-173 passes this season while tossing 11 touchdowns and is about to break into the 900-yards passing mark.

King has many targets including Blake Isaacs (295 yards on 21 catches, 4 TDs) Nick Bowers (152 yards on 22 catches, 2 TDs), and Devon Jarrett (158 yards on 13 catches, 1 TD).

However, for the Rangers’ passing game to work Unaka’s frontline must fend off the Indians pass rush, and McKinney has confidence his O-line can handle the task. The Rangers’ line is made up of Bryson Street, Jacob Rash, River Campbell, Luke Thomas, Austin Taylor and Erin Carr.

“All of those guys will see playing time,” McKinney said. “They will all help us get our passing game off the ground.”

Tonight game will kick off at 7 p.m.