ELIZABETHTOWN — Pulling the plug on any drama, East Bladen gave itself a chance at the playoffs.

West Bladen, a program arisen from the cellar of the Three Rivers Conference, had little resistance to offer. Its best playmaker was done with injury by halftime, and so too were the Knights.

The Eagles kept alive their playoff hopes Friday night, throttling their rival 42-6 in Lenon Fisher Stadium in front of several hundred fans. There was no Victory Bell, but there was good sportsmanship, few penalties and a four-touchdown performance from Eagles senior Lawson Hester.

“We treated it like a playoff game,” Hester said. “It was win or go home.”

A night before the 2-A playoff brackets would be revealed, East Bladen was squarely on the bubble. They climbed to 5-5 for the season, 5-3 in the Three Rivers Conference, and posted an 18th straight win in the series. The Knights ended the season 2-8 overall, 2-6 in the league.

“We started horrible,” said Knights senior offensive lineman Nathan Landreth. “Toward the end, we came back.

“It was a lot harder than we thought it would be. They had small dudes up front, but they were fast.”

His respect for the senior defensive front of Deysias McKoy, Kaleb Robbins, Zac Hester and Jordan Stanley was well-founded. The best hits electrifying the crowd came from Robbins, senior Kasey Price, Lawson Hester and junior Josh Hayes.

Offensively, Lawson Hester’s early-season fumble problems were a distant memory. His final regular-season home game included scoring runs of 1, 5 and 70 yards, and a 31-yard reception from senior quarterback Tayshaun Berkeley.

The Eagles’ pregame ceremony was a farewell to 19 seniors, including the Hester twins, McKoy, Robbins, Stanley, Price, Berkeley, Gabe Barber, Austin Chavis, Jaylin Richardson, Orlando Murchison, Wisdom Northern, Adrien Lofton, ZaQuis Leach, Darion Herring, A.J. Thompson, Gabriel Reaves, Rashard Willis and Jay’Quan McNair.

Hester rushed for 142 yards on eight carries and junior RaSean McKoy added 88 on 10 totes, with a pair of 20-yard scoring runs less than three minutes apart. The clock ran continuously the final 21 minutes, with West Bladen held to a 31-yard touchdown run by senior Tra’shawn Ballard and only 95 yards in offense.

Senior quarterback Tyre Boykin was injured in the second quarter, made a return and was done by halftime. Standout freshman defensive lineman Deante Lacey left early in the first half.

East Bladen scored touchdowns its first six possessions and exhausted the final 6:30 with its seventh. West Bladen had four three-and-outs and went across midfield just three times.

“It’s just a rival. There’s something about them,” Willis said of the Eagles’ uptick in play when seeing purple.

Eighth-year head coach Robby Priest said his squad benefitted from the practice time in a week off caused by the late summer closure of South Robeson High School. The offensive front of Stanley, Willis, juniors Nick Norris and Hayes, sophomore Donnie Ezzell and junior tight end Zylique Lewis cleared the way for 223 first-half yards on 22 rushes.

Knights defenders Ballard, Xzavion Morrison, Davian Willis-Howard, Damarius Robinson, Roberto Muniz-Villta and Albert Polanco have been strong all season but were pummeled by a wing-T offense for the second straight week. Sophomore Devon Strange had a nice open-field touchdown saving tackle, junior Andrew Pait popped loose a fumble and Ballard had a 20-yard kickoff return in addition to his TD.

Otherwise, there were few highlights for the guests.

One of every three runs by the Eagles went for more than 10 yards and third down came up only twice for them before the mercy rule was enacted. West Bladen was without a first down from the final snap of the first quarter until the 4:39 mark of the running clock in the third.

“I think it may have been a hip-pointer,” West Bladen head coach Jon Sherman said of Boykin’s injury. “I took the decision from him. Obviously, he’s got a future playing. He wanted to go back in.”

Campbell and Fayetteville State, Sherman said, have made football offers to Boykin. He’s also a coveted basketball prospect.

The coach said the one-sided opening half was reflective more of East Bladen’s outstanding play.

“They came out ready to play,” he said. “We took it more than we delivered it. Give due credit to East Bladen on how physical they played.”

Priest praised his team, one that opened the season with losses of 44-0, 43-16 and 48-0 to Wallace-Rose Hill, Clinton and Whiteville, respectively, among its first four outings.

“It’s finding the right pieces,” he said. “Some of it is the trust in your teammate kind of thing, especially defensively. And holding onto the ball.”

The Knights have seen their program grow as well, even though not reflected as much in the win column as has been their rival.

“We always fight, and pull together,” Ballard said. “We stopped fussing among ourselves. When you do that, you can do anything on the field.”

Willis believes anything is possible with a playoff berth.

“We feel good about it,” he said. “I feel we’ll do good in the playoffs.

“We have to go hard every play. We’ve gotten better. A lot has changed.”

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tyre Boykin (5) looks downfield, trying to avoid the rush of Jordan Stanley (61) and Zac Hester.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-6-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tyre Boykin (5) looks downfield, trying to avoid the rush of Jordan Stanley (61) and Zac Hester.

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
East Bladen’s Lawson Hester slips past Roberto Muniz-Villta on Friday night. He ran for three touchdowns and caught a fourth in the 42-6 victory.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-1-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
East Bladen’s Lawson Hester slips past Roberto Muniz-Villta on Friday night. He ran for three touchdowns and caught a fourth in the 42-6 victory.

Lawson Hester
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_5-Lawson-Hester.jpgLawson Hester

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tra’shawn Ballard steps to avoid East Bladen’s ZaQuis Leach (34) on Friday night.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-4-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tra’shawn Ballard steps to avoid East Bladen’s ZaQuis Leach (34) on Friday night.

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
Tra’shawn Ballard of West Bladen rumbles for part of his 68 yards rushing.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-5-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
Tra’shawn Ballard of West Bladen rumbles for part of his 68 yards rushing.

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen quarterback Tyre Boykin (5) went down with an injury near the East Bladen bench, and head coach Robby Priest and trainer Lara Johnson responded immediately.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-2-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen quarterback Tyre Boykin (5) went down with an injury near the East Bladen bench, and head coach Robby Priest and trainer Lara Johnson responded immediately.

Alan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tyre Boykin (middle) and a blocker are brought down by East Bladen’s Deysias McKoy (31), Lawson Hester (5) and Raymond Autry (7). Boykin was injured on the play. Boykin was injured on the play, left the game, and returned briefly before sitting out the second half.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_prep-eb-wb-3-111219.jpgAlan Wooten | Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Tyre Boykin (middle) and a blocker are brought down by East Bladen’s Deysias McKoy (31), Lawson Hester (5) and Raymond Autry (7). Boykin was injured on the play. Boykin was injured on the play, left the game, and returned briefly before sitting out the second half.
Eagles’ win-or-else mentality spurs dominating performance

Alan Wooten

Bladen Journal

E. Bladen … 42

W. Bladen … 6

West East

7 First downs 16

30-71 Rushes-yards 29-330

24 Passing yards 31

5-7-0 Passes 1-1-0

4-30.5 Punts 0

2-0 Fumbles 1-0

2-25 Penalties 3-20

West Bladen 0 0 6 0 — 6

East Bladen 14 21 7 0 — 42

EB — Lawson Hester 1 run (run failed), 6:32, 1st.

EB — Lawson Hester 5 run (Lawson Hester run), 1:48, 1st.

EB — RaSean McKoy 20 run (Gabe Barber kick), 8:31, 2md.

EB — RaSean McKoy 20 run (Gabe Barber kick), 6:01, 2nd.

EB — Lawson Hester 31 pass from Tayshaun Berkeley (Gabe Barber kick), 1:15, 2nd.

EB — Lawson Hester 70 run (Gabe Barber kick), 9:28, 3rd.

WB — Tra’shawn Ballard 31 run (run failed), 0:42.6, 3rd.

Rushing

WB — Tra’shawn Ballard 12-68, Tyre Boykin 5-4, Gary Parker 3-3, Jerimiah Payton 1-3, Damarius Robinson 5-0, Devon Strange 3-(-4); EB — Lawson Hester 8-142, RaSean McKoy 10-88, Kasey Price 4-58, Raymond Autry 2-28, ZaQuis Leach 2-16, Darion Herring 2-(-1), team 1-(-1).

Passing

WB — Devon Strange 3-4-0, 14 yards, Tyre Boykin 2-3-0, 10 yards; EB — Tayshaun Berkeley 1-1-0, 31 yards.

Receiving

WB — Andrew Brown 1-20, Tra’shawn Ballard 2-9, Damarius Robinson 1-(-7).; EB — Lawson Hester 1-31.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.