PERRY, Ga. — For the second consecutive week, Eastside has won a playoff game by multiple scores. The Eagles went on the road Friday night and took down the Perry Panthers 21-10 in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

The Eagles clinched a spot in the Sweet 16 after a 42-0 rout of Hampton in the opening round. This paired them with the Panthers, who defeated St. Pius X in their first round game.

After taking the long trip south, it only took one play for Eastside to set the tone.

Barr delivers another standout performance to put Eastside ahead

The Panthers won the toss and chose to defer, a choice that backfired shortly after. 

On the opening kickoff, Eastside senior and Georgia Tech commit Jayden Barr took the return all the way in for an Eagles touchdown to open the game.

After the win, head coach Jay Cawthon spoke about the impact the opening kickoff had on Friday night’s game.

“[The kickoff] set the freaking tone,” Cawthon said. “I don't know why you would kick it No. 11, but I sure am glad they did.”

Following a quick stop from their defense, the Eagles kept the momentum going.

Eastside capped off a long second drive on a five-yard touchdown from Barr, who took the ball on a direct snap.

Barr’s second score gave the Eagles a 14-0 advantage.

Later in the second half, Eastside made it a 21-0 lead when quarterback Payton Shaw connected with Michael Kenon Jr. on a 38-yard touchdown reception.

Kenon beat his man by multiple yards to secure the easy grab and score for Eastside.

The Shaw-Kenon connection was all the Eagles were able to do in the opening half.

Shaw only threw for three passes during the first half, and he connected on all of them to Kenon for 55 yards and the touchdown.

Even though the team did not pass a ton Friday night, Kenon was on the receiving end of almost every pass. After the game, Kenon spoke about what the offense saw from the Panthers and what he saw on his touchdown play in particular.

“We saw that they love to give a lot of cushion. 
So, we took advantage of it real quick,” Kenon said. “They loved to bite on short routes, so we fed the short routes and then we did a hitch and go.

“He bit on it real hard. [He] gave me a free touchdown and all we had to do was punch them in the mouth with a run game for the rest of the game.”

Before the teams went into the locker room for halftime, Perry running back Ahmad Gordon scored on a one-yard rush.

The scoring opportunity was only possible due to a costly Eastside penalty following a third down stop earlier in the drive. The penalty allowed the drive to continue, which led to the score.

Defensive showdown in the second half

After a total of 28 points in the first half, the final two quarters featured only three points as both defenses took control.

Following back-to-back punts from both teams, Eastside got the firs turnover of the game on a Jameel McMichael interception.

However, the turnover led to an empty drive as the Eagles were held on fourth and short to turn the ball over on downs.

The three points in the second half came on the final drive of the third quarter with the Panthers marching.

Eastside ultimately held Perry to a 24-yard field goal courtesy of Carson Camp.

Camp’s field goal trimmed Eastside’s lead down to 21-10. But, the next drive served to be crucial for the Eagles.

Although the drive resulted in a punt, the Eagles took seven minutes off the clock to begin the fourth quarter with Perry still needing two scores. The Eagles continued to run the ball throughout the drive with success to chew the clock.

Cawthon credited the opening drive of the final quarter to not only the team’s win, but the style the team wants to play with.

“That was the game plan,” Cawthon said. “We were gonna play in a phonebooth tonight because we thought we were pretty physical up front and uh we got three good running backs.”

Things went from bad to worse for the Panthers as the eventual field goal was mishandled on the snap. This led the a kick that was well short of the field goal with only 2:30 left in the game. 

On Eastside’s final offensive drive of the game, it ended up punting it back to Perry with only 58 seconds left.

The Panthers found their way down into the red zone, but Eagles’ senior Kalen Stapp picked off Reid Ginn in the end zone to serve as the dagger in Eastside’s 21-10 win.

What’s Next

With the win, Eastside moves to 11-1 as it turns its attention to the Elite Eight, where it will go on the road again to face the Creekside Seminoles(9-2).

“Hey, as long as we stay focused, as long as we stay consistent, I believe we can make it all the way,” Kenon said.