ROCKY POINT – Senior Masion Brooks rushed for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns Friday night as East Bladen capitalized on 5 Heide Trask fumbles to defeat the Titans 28-8 in Waccamaw Conference football action.
Coach Robby Priest’s Eagles raised their record to 4-0 in league play and 5-3 overall and set up a big showdown for the top spot in the Waccamaw Friday when they host West Columbus (3-0 in league and 6-1 overall).
All 4 East Bladen touchdowns came in the 1st quarter and all 5 Titan fumbles came in a nightmarish 1st period for the home team.
The Titans fumbled the opening kickoff, and junior Xavier Allen recovered for the Eagles at the Trask 33 yard line. Brooks blasted through the line on the next play and galloped 33 yards for the touchdown. Senior Blaine Pope kicked the 1st of his 4 extra points for a 7-0 East lead.
Trask fumbled again on the next kickoff, and Allen recovered again for East at the Trask 41. Seven plays later the Eagles were in the end zone. Senior Na’Toren Corbett carried 3 times for 10 yards. Brooks plowed through the line for 16 yards then scored again on a 10-yard run. Pope tacked on the point for a 14-0 lead.
Another kickoff was bobbled by the Titans, and Corbett pounced on the ball at the Trask 44 yard line. Junior quarterback Kewone Maynor fired a 17-yard pass to junior Malaki Moore, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the Titan 13 yard line. Brooks pounded the line again on a 13-yard touchdown run, and Pope nailed the extra point to grow the lead to 21-0.
The Titans once again couldn’t secure the ball on the 4th consecutive Eagle kickoff and senior J’marius Smith recovered for East Bladen at the Eagle 40 yard line. The visitors then embarked on a 60-yard scoring drive in 7 plays.
Brooks battered the Titans on runs of 13, 7 and finally 4 yards for the touchdown, but the big play in the drive was a 34-yard pass completion from Maynor to Moore. Pope split the uprights for a 28-0 East lead.
The Titans finally were able to run a play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff. Senior Omar Hill bolted 33 yards to the East 11 yard line, but the next 3 plays lost 26 yards and senior Matthew Kemp recovered the 5th Trask fumble at the Eagle 37 yard line.
Maynor connected with senior Jadon Pridgen on an 11-yard pass play, and Brooks reeled off a pair of 12-yard runs. However Trask senior Martez Davis intercepted a pass at the Titan 28 on the last play of the 1st period to end the threat.
A 27-yard run by Trask’s Asher Eason moved the Titans to the Eagle 18 yard line, but the East Bladen defense held and took over on downs at the 11.
Titan quarterback Nick Bousquet completed passes of 17 yards to Myron McKoy and 10 yards to Davis, but the half expired with Trask at the East Bladen 20 yard line.
Brooks began the 2nd half with runs of 7, 12 and 7 yards, but the Titans recovered an East fumble to stop the drive at the Trask 20 yard line.
Trask covered the 80 yards in 6 plays as Hill popped loose and dashed 51 yards for the touchdown. Junior Sherrod Henderson ran the 2-point conversion to trim the Eagle lead to 28-8.
East senior Darius Williamson returned the Trask kickoff 26 yards, and Brooks picked up 11 yards on 1st down. However the Eagles were stopped on downs at the Trask 15 yard line.
Trask gained a pair of 1st downs, but Eagle senior Elijah Cain sacked Bousquet for an 11-yard loss and forced the punt that ended the 3rd period.
The Eagles then consumed the final quarter with a 73-yard, 13-play drive that ended the game with Maynor taking a knee twice at the Titan 8 yard line. Corbett was the workhorse of the drive carrying 7 times for 43 yards, Brooks added 26 yards on 3 attempts.
Corbett finished with 64 yards on 18 rushing attempts. Maynor completed 5 of 10 passes for 73 yards, and Moore caught 3 passes for 55 yards. The Eagles outrushed the Titans 261-144 and had a 334-169 edge in total yards.
Hill rushed 12 times for 122 yards and a touchdown to lead the Titans. Bousquet completed 3 of 4 passes for 25 yards.
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