The Eastside Rams will face off against the Bishop Moore Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Eastside is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 42-15 win over South Sumter. Winning may never get old, but the Rams sure are getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Javaris Gardner
| 11/14/25 vs South Sumter | 164 |
| 10/31/25 vs Gainesville | 134 |
| 10/24/25 vs North Marion | 120 |
| 10/17/25 @ Sandalwood | 142 |
| 10/10/25 vs South Sumter | 152 |
| + 3 more games |
Eastside's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Javaris Gardner led the charge by rushing for 164 yards and two TDs while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Gardner has posted since back in September. Another passer making a difference was Nelson Tambling, who threw for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Eastside proved: they limited South Sumter to a paltry -0.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Demarco Daniels for the heroic effort on defense: he. Eastside didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.1.
Eastside's defense didn't let Milo Patterson, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. South Sumter's QB won't forget Chad Hall anytime soon given he sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Bishop Moore's strategy against Hernando on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Hornets blew the Leopards out of the water with a 61-6 final score. With the Hornets ahead 52-6 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Eastside better focus on containing Blake McCullough and Amar'E Johnson as the pair were huge in Bishop Moore's win. McCullough threw for 147 yards and five TDs while completing 92.3% of his passes, while Johnson rushed for 108 yards and one score on only eight carries. McCullough has been hot, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last five times he's played.
Eastside's record now sits at 9-2. As for Bishop Moore, their record is now 10-1.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Eastside has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 154.4 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Bishop Moore has preferred to attack from the air: they average 289.9 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Eastside was dealt a bruising 35-6 loss at the hands of Bishop Moore in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. Can the Rams avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
