COVINGTON, Ga. — Almost a month’s rest did not hinder the Eastside Eagles Friday night as they took an early lead and never looked back in their 42-0 win over Hampton in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

Eastside wrapped up its final regular season game with a win over Cedar Shoals on Oct. 24. This set up the Eagles to have multiple weeks off ahead of its first round matchup with the Hornets.

With the Eagles finishing as the No. 2 seed in Region 8-AAAA, this meant that they would host the first round for the second consecutive year.

When the game began, it was all Eagles.

Eastside gets ahead, then stays ahead

The first drive of the game was almost perfect for the Eagles. Multiple plays of positive yardage led to Eastside cashing in with a 11-yard touchdown run from No. 11, Jayden Barr.

With a score on the team’s first series of football in weeks, head coach Jay Cawthon was pleased with the way his team showed up for the first round.

“We were really worried about how we were going to come out after a 21 day layoff, but I think the way we practiced over the layoff really showed. It really helped getting that touchdown on the first series,” Cawthon said. “That gave us some confidence right there.”

Later in the opening quarter, Eastside quarterback Payton Shaw connected with Michael Kenon on a 51-yard pass to set up the Eagles’ offense inside the Hampton 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Barr rushed for his second touchdown of the game to put Eastside up 14-0.

After just missing a touchdown on his connection with Kenon, Shaw found the endzone early in the second quarter.

Shaw looked for Chase Jordan across the middle in the endzone, but Jordan slipped on the route which caused the Eagles’ quarterback to escape the pocket.

However, Jordan quickly got back up and found open space to catch Shaw’s pass for a touchdown. The Shaw-Jordan connection gave the Eagles a 21-0 advantage.

A few plays later, Barr got his third touchdown of the game. This time, it came on defense.

Barr jumped the route and picked off Hampton’s Tristan Park for an interception-return touchdown.

The 28-0 lead for Eastside stood until halftime.

When the clock began on the second half, Eastside’s success on both sides of the ball stayed put.

After the teams traded empty drives on offense, Eastside found itself in good position to score when Barr ripped off a run that went well over 50 yards to put the Eagles inside of Hampton's six-yard line. 

A few plays later, Barr scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a three-yard rush.

On Eastside’s next drive, it scored again on a three-yard rush from Tyler Solomon that saw the junior truck a Hornet’s defender as he crossed over the goal line for the score.

Solomon’s touchdown gave Eastside a 42-0 lead — the score that stood till the final whistle.

In this first round matchup, the run game was the story for the Eagles.

The three-man backfield of Barr, Solomon and Myles Mims showed out once again. The three backs combined for 263 yards and averaged 7.5 yards a carry.

Although he did not get a touchdown like the other two Eastside backs, Mims led the team in carries (17) and yards (104) on the ground. Barr and Solomon ended the game with 94 and 65 yards, respectively.

According to Cawthon, the success in the run game started up front.

“They [offensive line] have been doing it all year long, and our running backs will tell you that,” Cawthon said. “They couldn't do what they do without them up there — and the sniffers and the wideouts — it’s the whole package that makes this offense go.”

Cawthon’s statement proved to be correct, as Mims gave all the credit to the guys up front following Eastside’s win.

“All thanks to the linemen,” Mims said. “It’s everything they do. Once we block well it opens holes for us and I just have to do my job. I give all of them praise and all the coaches [praise] for making the calls and putting me in position.”

What’s Next

The win over Hampton advances the Eagles to the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs and marks the second consecutive year they have moved on past the first round.

Eastside will play its second round matchup against the winner of Perry and St. Pius X. 

With the team set to play the next round on normal rest, Mims emphasized the importance of playing to Eastside standard.

“We know our standard, we know what we need to do,” Mims said. “At the end of the day we know we have to dominate and play high level football. No matter what we go through with adversity. We have been facing adversity all year with the BioLab [explosion] and many other things but we got to play our game and be up to our standard. As long as we do that, we can compete with any team in Georgia.”