COVINGTON, Ga. — It is no secret that all athletic seasons were drastically altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This year, however, it’s been business as usual — for the most part. 

The same is true for the Eastside High School Eagles. 

Athletic Director Phil Davidson highlighted that it’s been “nice to get back to normal” over the offseason. 

“We’re looking forward to filling the stands this season,” Davidson said. “We want to play regular sports and compete the best we can. We’re ready to get back to normal.” 

Though it’s been a short offseason, the Eagles have continued to make progress in their sports. 

There’ll be a couple of changes to expect, too. 

Football has a new head coach in Jay Cawthon. He was the offensive coordinator under former head coach Troy Huff. Baseball made a change at its helm with Brandon Davis as its new head coach. Davis comes from Locust Grove. 

For the most part, though, things will be the same for Eagles athletics. 

Eastside returns a lot of veteran coaches who’ve invested lots of time as Eagles. According to Davidson, that’s what the program plans to hang its hat on this year. 

“Our principal Jeff Cher has hired some good teachers and good coaches,” Davidson said. “I think that’s why these coaches have stayed here.” 

A few programs had great success last year. For instance, the football team advanced to the Elite Eight and basketball had a stellar year under first-year head coach Dorrian Randolph. 

Even so, there’s still some looming uncertainty surrounding the program as a result of COVID-19. 

Davidson said he still can’t estimate where each team is at heading into the school year. 

“It’s hard to guess where we’ll be,” Davidson said. “Last year was such a strange year, and we had a good graduating class. So, I’m hoping we’ll be competitive.” 

That hasn’t deterred the plan moving forward, though. 

Above all, Davidson is hopeful to see the Eagle faithful out at all sporting events in the 2021-22 school year. 

“We take a lot of pride in everything we do,” Davidson said. “We have a few sayings here like ‘it’s a great day to be an Eagle.’ This is a great community. You’ve got a lot of people who’s been here a long time. We’ve got a lot of Eagle pride, both academically and athletically.”