Eastside has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge The South Pointe Stallions at 7:30 a.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Eastside strolled past Wade Hampton with points to spare, taking the game 28-14.
Peyton Schrader and Noah Hunnicutt were among the main playmakers for Eastside as the former threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes and the latter picked up 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Kalvin Banks and his 82 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Eastside's win.
Another reason for the win was Eastside's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Jaquavious Dodd and his three sacks.
Meanwhile, South Pointe put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They breezed by York at home to the tune of 38-7. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 24-0.
South Pointe can attribute much of their success to Aidan Turner, who rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.0 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Marshall, who threw for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Eastside's victory was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 6-4. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Blue Ridge and 2-8 Wade Hampton (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 22.5% over those games). As for South Pointe, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Eastside has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like South Pointe struggles in that department as they've been even better at 214.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Eastside was dealt a bruising 48-0 defeat at the hands of South Pointe when the teams last played back in November of 2017. Thankfully for Eastside, Derion Kendrick (who rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 90 yards and a touchdown while completing 78.6% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
