Suddenly, the opponents’ names didn’t change but the perspective sure did.
One week into the Three Rivers Conference season, East Bladen will be home to South Columbus and West Bladen will be traveling to Red Springs. Both local teams are winless on the season, but this second week of league play isn’t what it was thought to be not so very long ago.
Last week, Red Springs won 49-7 at South Columbus, a program that has won or shared its last four league titles. So while the Red Devils were considered a solid foe and the Stallions among the league’s front-runners, now it’s the Robeson County gridders being talked about as a top contender to this year’s crown.
Whiteville, which routed the Eagles a week ago, figures to have something to say about it, too.
“They’re athletic in all the right places,” East Bladen eighth-year head coach Robby Priest said of the Stallions. “I like how the defense flies around. I like the team speed. They do have some dudes that can fly.”
Among those speedsters he saw on film are Rajon Graham, Xavier Benton, Chris Ellerby, Jaquan Jordan and sophomore quarterback Treshawn Grate. The Stallions listed 23 seniors on their 2018 roster, a team that went unbeaten in the league and 12-1 overall.
Last year’s clash between the programs was postponed by Hurricane Florence, pushed to the final week of an extended regular season. Both teams entered that fray unbeaten in the Three Rivers. East Bladen had its nine-game winning streak snapped and hasn’t won since.
The Eagles (0-3) have opened this season yielding 44, 43 and 48 points to Wallace-Rose Hill, Clinton and Whiteville, respectively. South Columbus, coached by Bladenboro native Russell Dove, whipped Wilmington Ashley but has lost twice since.
“We’re going to make some changes, try to get a little quicker on defense,” Priest said. “We’ll try and start spreading the field a little bit more offensively — get our playmakers out in space.”
Senior Tayshaun Berkeley quarterbacks the Eagles; junior RaSean McKoy and senior ZaQuis Leach have been running threats. The Eagles have gone with Leach, seniors Jordan Stanley and Rashard Willis, and junior Josh Hayes up front defensively. Senior Desyias McKoy is key at middle linebacker.
At West Bladen, head coach Jon Sherman indicates Red Springs is every bit as good as their success last week would indicate. That said, he’s not one to put much stock in scores – he came from a league that included 4-A juggernauts Scotland County and Richmond County.
The Red Devils, he assured, are strong and play physical football.
“They’re a solid team with a simple offense that is effective,” Sherman said. “It’s one of those offenses where you’re going to step up, or you’re not going to step up. They’re going to pound it at you, counter you, pound at you, toss you, and once in a while throw a pass to see if you’re paying attention. I mean, it’s very simple but effective.”
He deems the defense aggressive, and “all over the place.”
“They’re Robeson County kids, coming downhill and will play you,” Sherman said.
The coach said his team has been challenged this week to meet the physical play with heart, and to deliver the hits rather than to absorb them. They’ve also worked tirelessly on blocking and tackling.
“I thought the defense played well, and we were in the right position,” he said of a 46-0 loss to Fairmont that was just 22-0 through three quarters. “That wasn’t the issue last week. I thought we just didn’t make the play sometimes.”
Senior Nathan Landreth, juniors Kai Belle, Nick Morales and Xzavion Morrison, and freshman Deante Lacey aim to give the Knights more punch in the ground game. Senior quarterback Tyre Boykin was benched the first half last week, then drew the most attention from the defense when he played in the second half.
“We’ve worked with the offensive line extensively, trying to get them on the spot where they’re making sure blocks and making plays,” Sherman said. “I feel like guys want it. They want it bad. We did really well at Ashley blocking the right things.
“The effort is there but we’re not making plays.”
They’ll face a program that had not won in Tabor City since 1975. Sherman doesn’t expect to catch the Red Devils still celebrating.
“Red Springs is a very talented team,” Sherman said. “They’ve done a great job. They slayed their dragon and they’re ready to go through the rest of the conference. So hopefully we’ll be a stumbling block for them. I’m looking forward to it Friday night.”
