Eastside football may have its problems this year. Injuries and suspensions, a talent drain on the offensive line and a new quarterback come to mid. But at least the Eagles don’t have to deal with what the Denver Broncos are going through with Tim Tebow.

I bring up Tebow only because Eastside made a switch at quarterback last week and as we all know, QB changes are the worst thing a football team has to go through. When it happens it’s usually because the quarterback play has necessitated a change. Rarely do they happen on a team in the playoff hunt but that’s exactly what Eastside is going through.

Demario Terrell made his first start last Friday and he took advantage of his opportunity. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 178 yards and threw three touchdowns. Not a bad debut. But, and there’s always a but, how much stock should we take in one start?

It’s important to look at Terrell’s performance with cautious optimism. The truth is, Eagles Landing is a terrible football team. Eastside exploited every weakness on the field and there were plenty. Still, it was the perfect scenario. Get the kid his first start after a bye against a team he could be successful against. All Terrell has is positive feelings and that can only breed confidence. Going into the season finale, with everything on the line, you’d want to have a confident quarterback.

Ultimately Terrell played very well and right now Eastside coach Rick Hurst looks like Bill Walsh with Joe Montana. Walsh worked Montana into the fray slowly and made sure he put his young quarterback into situations he could be successful in. It turned out to be the smartest thing Walsh ever did — and that’s talking about the man who invented the West Coast offense — the style of offensive football we see in the NFL to this day. Like Walsh, Hurst made the change against the best team (for Terrell to be successful against) he could.

Of course Hurst made the change in a desperate move to save Eastside’s season and try and spark his team. He hopes the move will propel the Eagles to a fourth straight playoff run. So we really can’t say his move mirrors what Walsh did with Montana. But it may turn out paying off much like it did for the 49ers all those years ago.

Will the move to Terrell be the defining point of Eastside’s season? Can the sophomore play just as well against a tougher Henry County team this week with the pressure of a playoff berth on the line? Is the Eagles do win, can Terrell be an effective quarterback in the playoffs? And if Eastside wins a state championship this year, do we elevate Hurst to the genius status of a Bill Walsh?

These are all good questions. They’re questions we’re going to get the answers to soon. The reality is, Eastside needed something and so far Terrell’s insertion at quarterback is working. That’s all you can ask for at this point. Although, I’m sure Eastside wouldn’t mind having Tim Tebow right now.