COVINGTON, Ga. — For the first time since 2018, the Eastside Eagles have taken down the Newton Rams.

In a week one matchup at Sharp Stadium on Friday, the Eagles pulled away with a 26-15 win in front of a packed house.

After getting the ball to start the second half, it was a pair of rushing touchdowns from Jayden Barr and Myles Mims that put the dagger in the Eagles’ win.

In particular, a 20-yard rush from Mims with two minutes left in the game put the exclamation point on Jay Cawthon’s first win over Newton as the Eagles’ head coach.

Following Friday nights' game, Cawthon spoke about what the win meant for him, the players and the program.

"Like I told them in there, 'I have never been more proud of a team in 20 years,'" Cawthon said. "Nobody was giving us a chance coming into today. I think we have a chance to be a pretty good football team. You can't put [it into words] how hard our kids play. They play so hard for each other, that's the main key. Our big motto this year is, 'Do you job.' Do your job and everything will take care of itself."

The Rams got the ball to start the game, but it was the Eagles defense that made the early statement.

Junior quarterback Deron Benson connected with Andrew Leslie, but the senior wideout coughed the ball up on the third play of the game deep in Rams’ territory.

The turnover resulted in the Eagles moving downfield to within the 10-yard line, but the Rams defense made the stand as Eastside settled for a field goal.

Sophomore Jonathan Gomez knocked down the 26-yard field goal to put Eastside ahead 3-0.

With the Eastside student section in a frenzy, Newton answered.

Benson led the offense down the field before going Leslie’s way again. This time, Leslie took it down the sideline and past two Eagles for a 20-yard touchdown. Following a botched point-after attempt, Newton held a 6-3 lead.

Early on, the Eagles and Rams defensive units held strong in the opening quarters.

Rams’ Ryshawn Perry and Christian Ingram found their ways into the Eastside backfield on multiple occasions in the first half. For the Eagles, seniors Christian Gass and Bailey Benson did their part to halt the Rams’ ground game.

With three minutes left in the half, the Rams faced a fourth and short in their own territory. Newton chose to roll the dice and go for it, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

This gave the Eagles a chance to take the lead before halftime, and they did just that.

On the nine-yard line, senior Jayden Barr took the direct snap before running around the edge and into the endzone for a touchdown.

Barr’s score put Eastside ahead 10-6, but the Rams had one more chance.

Newton methodically moved down the field in the final minute, but when they got to within the 20-yard line, time expired before they could call a play.

This set up the Eagles to go into halftime with the lead and the ball to start the third quarter.

 In the second half, the Eagles’ defense stayed stout as it prevented Newton from gaining any chunk plays. 

When the final seconds ticked off the clock and the rain began to fall, Eastside players, coaches, fans and parents began to celebrate.

The Rams will return to Sharp Stadium next Friday, Aug. 23 to face the Alcovy Tigers (0-1,0-0) in the second round of the Battle for the Newton Cup.

For the Eagles, they will travel on the road to face the Hiram Hornets Friday, Aug. 23.