The Eastmark Firebirds had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They breezed by Buckeye at home to the tune of 48-14. Considering Eastmark has won seven contests by more than 20 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Coleman Samples had a dynamite game for Eastmark, rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Jared Hinton, who rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
The victory was the sixth in a row for Eastmark, bringing their record for this year to 9-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Apache Junction and 1-9 Desert Sunrise (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 40.3% over those games). As for Buckeye, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-4.
Eastmark will head out on the road to face off against Yuma Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on November 17th. Yuma Catholic is on a five-game streak of home wins, Eastmark a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. Buckeye does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
