JEFFERSON, Ga. — The Eastside Eagles' regular season ended with a whimper losing 35-7 to the Jefferson Dragons Friday night. 

Eastside put together a valiant effort out of the gate. Particularly, on the third drive of the game when head coach Jay Cawthon inserted freshman Payton Shaw at quarterback. 

The freshman gunslinger seemed to provide the Eagles a little momentum and led drives into Jefferson territory. 

With 1:43 left in the opening quarter, Eastside had the ball at Jefferson’s 30-yard line facing a 4th and short. Cawthon elected for the fake punt, which was unsuccessful and caused a turnover on downs. 

Then, in the closing seconds of the first half, Eastside once again had the ball deep onto the Dragons' side of the field. 

However, another turnover on downs ensued when Kenai Grier was marked just short of the first down. 

The Eagles' defense started strong, too, creating a turnover on Jefferson's first drive of the contest. 

Bailey Benson pressured Max Aldridge and tipped the pass in the air. Jean Claude Joseph III collected the deflection for the interception. 

But, following a scoreless first quarter, Sammy Brown made his presence known. 

Brown scored a hat trick in the first half with three touchdowns from 20, 39 and four yards out. He scored his fourth of the night less than three minutes into the second half when Brown ripped off a 57-yard score. 

Max Aldridge was the only other player to score for Jefferson. He scored from three yards out to conclude the Dragons scoring. 

Kaden Elkins got Eastside on the board to avoid the shutout off a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:10 left in the game.

Eastside enters the Class AAAAA state playoffs for the seventh consecutive season next Friday on the road. The Eagles will face Region 7-AAAAA No. 1 seed Calhoun (7-3, 4-1).