BURGAW – Senior Ethan Hines rushed for 173 yards and scored 4 touchdowns to lead East Bladen’s Eagles to a 41-3 Four County Conference football victory over Pender Thursday night.
Ethan Hines scored on rushing touchdows of 16, 9 and 33 yards and also hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Quinton Bedsole.
“Everytime he touched it, he got loose and was gone,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest.
A solid run by junior Xavier Wooten set up the first Ethan Hines touchdown. Hines darted around the left side for the touchdown on a 16-yard run with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Sophmore Pierce Melvin who connected on 5 of 6 extra point kicks tacked on the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Ethan Hines dashed 9 yards for another touchdown. Melvin added the extra point, and the Eagles led 14-0 with 8:45 on the first half clock.
Later in the half, Bedsole hurled an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Hines. Melvin booted the extra point for a 21-0 Eagle lead 2:44 before halftime. “Quinton played better this week,” said Coach Priest. “He hit Ethan in stride on a third-and-seven play for the touchdown.”
The Eagles quickly got the ball back, and Ethan Hines bolted 33 yards for his fourth touchdown with 1:09 left. The conversion failed and East Bladen led 27-0.
Pender answered quickly as Matthew Ezzell booted a 34-yard field goal 27 ticks before halftime to close the margin to 27-3.
Wooten capped the first Eagle drive of the second half with a 12-yard touchdown run. Melvin converted the extra point for a 34-3 East Bladen lead.
Ethan’s twin brother, Eian Hines, scooted 16 yards for the final Eagle touchdown. Melvin split the uprights for a 41-3 lead with 4:23 left in the third quarter.
The Eagle offense piled up 353 rushing yards and 371 total yards. Wooten finished with 77 yards rushing on ten carries. Sophmore James Higgins racked up 49 rushing yards on 8 carries.
“The backs hit the hole hard, and the line played a little bit better,” said Coach Priest. “The defense is starting to play downhill and fly around. Everybody got to play. We kept it inside in the fourth quarter.”
Justin Hooper rushed for 86 yards to lead the Pender offense. The Patriots only managed 122 total yards in the game.
The Eagles improved to 2-1 in the Four County and 4-3 overall. East Bladen will host Heide Trask next Friday.
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