COVINGTON, Ga — The Eastside Eagles ran away with the win early on Saturday night as they defeated the Walnut Grove Warriors 41-7 in a Region 8-AAAA contest.
The matchup between the Eagles and Warriors was originally set to take place Thursday night, but the game was moved to Saturday due to lingering effects from the BioLab fire in Rockdale County.
This week marked the second consecutive week that the Eagles had to change the date of their football game. With all the changes, Eastside head coach Jay Cawthon was more than pleased with how ready his team was for Saturday.
“You know, that’s what I talked about — how mature they handled everything,” Cawthon said. “A lot of teenagers can’t handle changing routine, but that shows the maturity of our football team. I was so proud of them for coming out here fast. I didn’t even have to go in there and give a pregame speech. I knew they were ready.”
Eastside’s offense rolls early
When game time came around, it was all Eagles.
Eastside quarterback Payton Shaw wasted no time as the junior connected with Michael Kenon Jr. in the flats before the senior wideout took it 54 yards for the opening score.
The Shaw-Kenon connection set up a slew of scores for Eastside. Saturday’s matchup was the fourth time this season that the Eagles eclipsed the 40-point mark.
Following the game, Shaw spoke about what he believes has led to the success offensively.
“I think [it’s our] chemistry,” Shaw said. “All of us have been playing for three or four years and over the summer we just grind — every day, every morning, nine o’clock. Just grinding and having fun playing with each other. I think that’s the big key.”
After a quick stop by the Eastside defensive unit, running back Tyler Solomon gave the Eagles another score.
Solomon took the carry from 25-yards out and broke numerous tackles on his way to the pylon for a touchdown to put Eastside ahead 13-0.
Solomon was one of three Eastside tailbacks that came away with a touchdown on Saturday.
Later in the first quarter, Georgia Tech commit Jayden Barr took the ball up the middle before crossing the goal line on a 19-yard touchdown.
On Eastside’s last drive of the first half, the Eagles’ offense capped off a long drive with a two-yard touchdown rush from Myles Mims.
Mims’ score gave Eastside a 41-0 lead going into the intermission.
With all three Eastside running backs earning a touchdown on Saturday, Cawthon did not shy away from his thoughts on his trio in the backfield.
“I’d like to see three better running backs than the ones we have in the state of Georgia,” Cawthon said. “But it all starts up front and with our sniffers and our wideouts. All three running backs will tell you that, too.”
Cawthon’s sentiment is shared by his quarterback, too.
“It’s great. You know, it’s kind of bad for me as a quarterback because we got a three headed monster and they could run the ball all night, but it is great,” Shaw joked. “It’s a blessing to have all three of those guys be able to run the ball all over the place.”
Eagles get a pair of defensive touchdowns
With all the success on the ground, Eastside’s defense came away with two touchdowns of its own despite senior Christian Gass not playing.
Early in the first quarter, senior Marion Eubanks Jr. did what he did many times last season — get the interception.
On a third down, Eubanks intercepted Billy Hendrix’s pass and took it all the way down the sideline for the pick six.
Late in the second quarter, Hendrix threw a second pick six. This time, it was Elijah Davis that made the heads up play for the defensive score.
Warriors’ offensive struggles
Walnut Grove entered the game without its top offensive weapon, running back Emadd Howard.
Going into Saturday, Howard led the team with an average of 195 yards and three touchdowns per game.
The Warriors’ lone score of the night came on the team’s first drive of the second half.
Walnut Grove mounted a 10 minute drive to open the half that ended with a two-yard touchdown rush from Colin Kimsey.
Upcoming matchups
Walnut Grove fell to 4-2 on the year with a 1-1 record in region play. The Warriors will be at home next Friday to take on the East Forsyth Broncos (6-1, 2-1).
The Eagles stayed perfect with the win as they moved them to 7-0 and 3-0 in region play. Eastside will face its toughest Region 8-AAAA test of the year next Friday when it goes on the road to face the undefeated North Oconee Titans (7-0, 3-0).
