COVINGTON, Ga. — Tough running from a trio of Eagles proved unstoppable, as Eastside erased an early 14-0 deficit to take down region foe Greenbrier 38-28 and lock down a postseason berth.
Eastside hosted the Wolfpack for its regular season finale at Sharp Stadium on Friday.
Greenbrier opened scoring up early on their first drive from scrimmage. Faced with a fourth down around midfield, the Wolfpack elected to go for it, and quarterback Brooks Pangle completed a 10-yard pass to Ty Jones over the middle to keep the drive alive. Pangle and Jones connected again later on the same drive for a touchdown reception to put Greenbrier up 7-0.
Eastside’s highly touted defense, led by Florida commit Jalen Farmer, looked porous in the first quarter. The Eagles couldn’t put pressure on Greenbrier’s quarterback and also couldn’t cover receivers. The Wolfpack scored a second time after a series of pass plays set up a 2-yard touchdown run for Malik Leverett to put Greenbrier up 14-0.
In the second quarter, the momentum shifted in favor of Eastside. The Eagles coaches put the football into the hands of senior running back Dallas Johnson. Johnson, through massive running lanes created by the offensive line, marched down the field and crossed the goal line twice in the second quarter to put the Eagles back into the game at halftime 21-14.
The Eagles defense tightened up and overpowered the Wolfpack for the rest of the game.
A poor opening kickoff by the Greenbrier kicker lead to an easy Eastside touchdown run for Dallas Johnson to tie the game 21-21.
A trio of Eastside runners including Johnson, Jayden Barr and quarterback E’Sean Arnold ran straight up Greenbrier’s gut to dominate the third quarter and take a 28-21 lead into the fourth.
A strategic eight-minute drive that spanned from the end of the third quarter to midway through the fourth quarter, stamped by a Arnold touchdown run, sealed the deal for the Eagles.
A futile touchdown by Greenbrier in the fourth quarter made the final score 38-28.
With the win, Eastside finished the regular season 7-3 (5-2) and solidifies its position in the state playoffs.
