East Bladen’s revamped backfield piled up 535 yards of offense Friday night as the Eagles celebrated Homecoming with a 49-0 Four County Conference victory over Pender.
The Eagles moved senior quarterback Tyquan McMillian to halfback. Senior Alex Coates started in his place at quarterback, junior Kyle Tatum at the other halfback and sophomore Xavia McDowell at fullback.
Tatum carried the ball 15 times for 219 yards and 4 touchdowns. McDowell rushed 9 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. McMillian ran 9 times for 52 yards, before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter. Sophomore Bernard Robinson replaced McMillian and ran 4 times for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Coates completed all four of his pass attempts for 114 yards and a touchdown. Senior tight end Zachary Johnson caught 3 of those passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Sincere Smith snagged one pass for 25 yards and also had a pass interception on defense.
“With some injuries that we had, we had to shake things up,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest. “Kyle ran the ball hard, Xavia ran hard, Ty ran hard. Alex threw the ball really well.”
The Eagles flew 79 yards down the field in just 4 plays on their first possession. Tatum dashed 23 yards on the first play, and McDowell charged through the middle for 45 yards.
McMillian picked up 7, before Tatum capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. After an offside penalty on the conversion, Tatum rammed into the end zone for the 2 points and an 8-0 lead at the 10:36 mark.
After a Pender 3-and-out, East Bladen covered 63 yards in 4 plays. McMillian darted 12 yards, McDowell plowed through the line for 15 more, and Tatum circled right end and tight-roped the sideline for 20 yards. Tatum bolted 16 yards for the touchdown, but the conversion kick was low and East led 14-0 with 7:01 left in the quarter.
The Patriots mounted a 51-yard drive to the East 14 yard line behind the running of junior Justin Hooper who carried 9 times for 49 yards during the march. On the first play of the second quarter, senior Chris Cromartie tackled Pender’s Latrell Brown on fourth down for a 7-yard loss to end the threat.
The Eagles answered with a 79-yard, 8-play drive that featured runs of 13 and 11 yards by Tatum and 11 yards by McMillian and a 22-yard pass from Coates to Johnson. McDowell busted through the middle for the touchdown on a 16-yard run. Junior Jesus Ramos booted the extra point for a 21-0 lead 7:36 before halftime.
Following a Pender punt, East Bladen drove 76 yards in 9 plays. Tatum popped free for a 17-yard gain, and Coates rolled right and hit Johnson with a 29-yard strike. Four plays later Tatum banged into the line and scored from a yard out. Ramos tacked on the point for a 28-0 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
Smith intercepted a Pender pass on the third play of the second half. Coates connected with Smith for a 25-yard gain, and two plays later, Coates found Johnson on a crossing pattern at the Pender 25, and the senior end grabbed the pass and galloped to the end zone to complete the 38-yard touchdown play. The Ramos kick made it 35-0 at the 9:12 mark.
After another Patriot 3-and-out, The Eagles moved 78 yards in 9 plays. Tatum scampered 39 yards to the Pender 37 on a counter-play. Robinson scooted 13 yards, and McDowell bulled his way for 11 more. Robinson finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. Ramos tacked on the point for a 42-0 lead with 2:33 remaining in the third. That started the continuous running clock.
On the second play of the next Eagle possession, McDowell slammed into the line for 16 yards. On the next play, Tatum sprinted around the right side, sped down the sideline and cut back toward the middle to finish a 63-yard touchdown run. Ramos added his fifth conversion for the final 49-0 margin with 9:03 left.
Pender’s carried 7 times for 59 yards as the Patriots reached the Eagle 5 yard line in the closing minute, but Hooper fumbled on fourth down and East Bladen junior Aaron Laforte recovered at the Eagle ten.
Hooper finished with 108 yards rushing on 27 carries. The Pender offense only managed 115 total yards.
The Eagles finished with 421 yards rushing. “I liked the intensity and our focus,” said Coach Priest. “This helps get the bad taste out of our mouth from last week. Not completely, but it helps.”
“I think we got everybody in tonight,” continued Coach Priest. “That’s a big part of Homecoming.”
As for questions about next week’s backfield against Heide Trask, Coach Priest responded, ”Whoever is able to practice on Monday, that is who will play next week.”
The Eagles improved to 2-1 in the Four County and 6-1 overall.
Scoring Summary
Pender 0 – 0 – 0– 0 – 0
East Bladen 14–14- 14 -7 – 49
EB –Kyle Tatum 4 run (Tatum run)
EB – Tatum 16 run (kick failed)
EB – Xavia McDowell 16 run (Jesus Ramos kick)
EB – Tatum 1 run (Ramos kick)
EB – Zachary Johnson 38 pass from Alex Coates (Ramos kick)
EB – Bernard Robinson 7 run (Ramos kick)
EB – Tatum 63 run (Ramos kick)
Rushing: Pen – Justin Hooper 27-108, Chris Devane 2-7, Isaiah Sargeant 2-4, Latrell Brown 5- (-4); EB – Tatum 15-219, McDowell 9-122, Tyquan McMillian 9-52, Robinson 4-25, C. J. Murphy 1-3.
Passing: Pen – Rawls 0-4-1, 0; EB – Coates 4-4-0, 114.
Receiving: EB– Johnson 3-89, Sincere Smith 1-25.
Records: Pender 0-3, 1-6; East Bladen 2-1, 6-1.
Next Game: Pender at West Bladen; East Bladen at Heide Trask.
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