BLADENBORO – Junior Masion Brooks rushed 24 times for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead East Bladen to a 42-0 Southeastern Athletic Conference football victory over West Bladen Monday night in the “Battle For The Bell.”
“Masion’s a big part of our offense,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest. “We have always relied on a big, bruising type of runner, and Masion fits that mold.”
Bobbles and fumbles stymied West Bladen on the game’s 1st possession, but sophomore Cade Allen drilled a 57-yard punt that backed the Eagles up to their own 9 yard line.
However with Brooks breaking free for runs of 11, 18, 21 and 10 yards, the Eagles covered the 91 yards in 12 plays. Brooks powered into the end zone from 6 yards out for the touchdown and totaled 75 yards on the drive. Junior Blaine Pope booted the 1st of 6 straight conversions for a 7-0 lead at the 3:34 mark.
Pope’s hard low kickoff ricocheted off a Knight and right back to East junior Kalec Autry who dove on the ball at the Knight 41 yard line. Brooks rambled 29 yards, then picked up 6 more before senior Jordan Mathis carried 6 yards for the touchdown. Pope tacked on the point for a 14-0 lead with 2:06 on the clock.
Brooks blasted through the line for 48 yards to ignite a 76-yard scoring drive that consumed 9 plays. Autry popped free for 10 yards, and Brooks pounded the line for 16 more, before penalties on each side slowed the march. Junior quarterback Peyton Tatum tossed a 7-yard TD pass to junior Chris Harding on 4th down, and Pope’s conversion grew the lead to 21-0.
Senior Zamar Lewis intercepted a Knight pass moments later and returned it 12 yards to the West 38 yard line. Junior Darius Williams scooted 33 yards, before Autry bolted 9 yards for the touchdown. Pope’s conversion kick made it 28-0 6:12 before halftime.
With senior Tydrick Stewart darting 10 yards on a run then scooting 9 yards with a pass from freshman quarterback Hunter Hester, the Knights reached the East 36 yard line. Stewart bobbed thru the defense for 16 more yards but the ball popped free and East junior Joe Johnson recovered at the Eagle16 yard line.
East Bladen opened the 2nd half with a 62-yard drive in 10 plays. Brooks reeled off runs of 8, 10 and 7 yards before scoring from 3 yards out. Williams had runs of 9 and 11 yards on the drive. Pope’s conversion pushed the lead to 35-0.
Knight sophomore Hezekiah Adams scooped up the kickoff and raced 37 yards to the Eagle 26 yard line. Stewart picked up 9 yards to the 17, but a couple of miscues on offense lost 9 yards and West turned the ball over on downs at the 26.
West senior Deonte Lacey recovered an Eagle fumble near midfield, and a face mask penalty gave the Knights a 1st down at the East 29 yard line. However the drive stalled and a personal foul penalty backed the Knights up.
Allen’s 44-yard punt pushed the Eagles back to their 4 yard line, but Brooks busted loose for runs of 31 and 22 yards as East marched 96 yards in 8 plays. Autry contributed a 26-yard run to the drive, and Williams scampered 16 yards before diving 1 yard for the score. Pope converted for the final 42-0 margin with 7:47 left.
Autry carried 8 times for 71 yards, and Williams ran 10 times for 57 yards as the Eagles piled up 411 yards rushing and 434 total yards. Stewart totaled 39 yards rushing on 8 carries and caught 2 passes for 10 more yards to lead West.
“The defense was outstanding,” said Priest. “Jaydon Pridgen is just getting better and better at middle linebacker, and ‘Zee’ (Zamar Lewis) has been steady and might be the best player on the field for us. He listens, does what you tell him and is very coachable.”
“It seemed like we had a lot of penalties tonight –more than usual,” said West Coach Stanley Williams. “Penalties (9 for 85 yards) and turnovers (4). We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The Eagles improve to 1-2 in the SAC-7 and 2-5 overall and have an open date Friday. West Bladen, now 0-2 in SAC-7 and 1-5 overall, will travel to Fairmont Friday night.
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