COVINGTON, Ga. — Eastside green graced the screen Thursday morning as the Eagles’ football team was recognized by Fox 5 News as the High 5 Sports Team of the Week.
As students were getting settled in for their first period class, Eastside coaches and players from each of the school’s fall sports were in the gym as Paul Milliken and his crew were live presenting the trophy and showing off the Eagles.
Eastside’s football, softball, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading teams were there along with the Pride of Eastside marching band.
Before the football team received its trophy, Milliken spent time on air speaking to two athletes from each sport as each team had an opportunity to discuss their respective seasons and their excitement on the day.
The selection came after a 4-0 start for the Eastside football program.
The team currently sits on a bye week after collecting wins over Newton (W 26-15), Hiram (W 48-21), Alcovy (W 54-9) and Archer (W 34-16).
As the Eastside football team gathered in the center of the court with the other teams behind cheering, Millken spoke with head coach Jay Cawthon and senior Jayden Barr before crowning the Eagles’ as the High 5 Sports Team of the Week.
Although the event was put on for the football team, Cawthon spoke about how special it was for the school and Eastside athletics as a whole.
“We talked about it this week with the team, it is a great accomplishment,” Cawthon said. “It is great for our school. It is great for the community because we have a great athletic program overall here at Eastside and I am proud they are getting recognized also.”
After the conclusion of the event, Eastside principal Dr. Jeff Cher spoke to the crowd and how there was one more surprise before everyone dispersed.
As he said that, members of Newton County’s Board of Education (BOE) entered the gym with balloons and flowers as Cher handed the mic over to Superintendent Dr. Duke Bradley III.
Bradley spoke about how special the event was before turning his attention to Eastside softball coach Heather Wood, who was then announced one of the county’s finalists for Teacher of the Year.
Along with the BOE, Wood’s family also surprised her at center court as the Eastside faithful cheered on.
Seeing Eastside’s sports and faculty get recognized all the way around was a surreal sight for athletic director Champ Young, who spoke with The News following the event.
“It is amazing,” Young said. “We have such great kids. We have a great community. It is great Dr. Cher honored our staff down here as well. It is a great day to be an Eagle.”
