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PREP FOOTBALL: Eagles whip Wolfpack on road
Eastside finishes 8-2 (6-1); will host playoff game next week
Eastside vs Greenbrier
Eastside’s defense wreaked havoc on Greenbrier’s offense in a 44-7 victory to close out the regular season. With the win, the Eagles finish 8-2 (6-1) and No. 2 in the region. (Garrett Pitts | The Covington News)

EVANS, Ga. — The Eagles tamed the Wolfpack Friday night as big games from both sides of the ball propelled Eastside to the win over Greenbrier in the final game of the regular season.

The Eagles won by a score of 44-7, as they capped off a dominant regular season with a big region win.

After receiving the opening kickoff, a solid drive led by good passing from senior quarterback Jaylen Woods led to a 38-yard field goal from Jayden Fain to give the Eagles the early 3-0 lead. 

The Wolfpack did not have it as easy in the first quarter on offense, as the Eagles applied constant pressure on Greenbrier quarterback Brooks Pangle and allowed barely any production early.

With the first quarter coming to a close, junior Dallas Johnson ripped off a big 32-yard run to put the Eagles in the red zone to open the second quarter. It only took one play into the new quarter for Eastside to score as Woods connected with senior wideout Dayton Green in the corner of the end zone for the 18-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 10-0.

“[Jaylen] is getting more comfortable in the offense,” head coach Troy Hoff said. “We did not have him [playing] for so long and he has done really well.”

After forcing another Greenbrier punt, Woods connected with junior tight end Cole Shannon on back to back plays for 39-yards which set up an 18-yard touchdown run from senior halfback Sincere Johnson to bring the lead to 17-0.

Just as it has been all season, the backfield duo of Dallas Johnson and Sincere Johnson made for a rough day for the Wolfpack, and it only got worse.

The Eagles defense continued to dominate the line of scrimmage as the Wolfpack was forced to punt for a fourth straight time to start the game.

“Being manageable on third downs and only allowing short yardage allowed us to have the whole play calling open,” Hoff said. “We put them in long situations, and we turned the pass rush loose and we got after the quarterback tonight.”

On Eastside’s next drive, a big pass from Woods to sophomore wideout Saabir Berrian would put the offense on the one-yard line, which allowed Sincere Johnson to take a direct snap on the next play for the one-yard score to put the Eagles up 24-0.

Before halftime, the Eastside defense went out on top as senior linebacker Devin Brown picked off Pangle to force the first turnover of the game.

The second half started off right where the first half ended as Eastside would force a three and out immediately.

After crossing into Wolfpack territory, Sincere Johnson took the direct snap 30 yards for the score as his third touchdown of the day put the Eagles up 30-0 to start the third quarter.

Greenbrier got their first points of the game on the next drive as Pangle found Brayden Collett for a 39-yard touchdown pass to cut the Eagles lead to 30-7.

Eastside answered on the very next play as Dallas Johnson took the ball 52 yards to the house to extend the Eagles lead to 37-7 halfway through the third quarter. 

The Eagles added one more touchdown on a two-yard run by sophomore running back Kenai Grier to put the Eagles up 44-7.

A big game from Sincere Johnson finished with 87 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Dallas Johnson finished with 124 yards and one touchdown. 

Woods finished 19-of-23 passing for 242 yards and one touchdown.

The Eagles capped off their 2020 regular season with a 8-2 record while going 5-1 in Region 8-AAAAA.

After a dominant game on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, Hoff will use the time off to prepare the team as they look ahead to the playoffs in the coming weeks.