East Bladen Jamarius Smith (center) being led by a convoy of teammates on a run down the field.
ELIZABETHTOWN — The East Bladen Eagles defeated the West Bladen Knights for a 49-0 victory on Friday night in a non-conference matchup.
The Eagles started the game by catching their rival by surprise with a pooch kick on the opening kickoff that was recovered close to midfield. East Bladen got their run game going early with some counters around the edge but a couple of penalties sent them backwards on their first drive.
The Knights bailed their opponents out with an offside penalty on second-and-six that would eventually lead to senior running-back Masion Brooks scampering in the endzone on a 36 yard touchdown run.
The Knights kickoff team got caught sleeping by another pooch kick and the host recovered for their second straight possession in the first quarter. East Bladen started the series off with a big run down the sideline but a yellow penalty marker was left on the ground after the play concluded for holding.
This didn’t stop the Eagles offense though and junior running-back Xavier Allen carried the ball past midfield after finding some daylight around the edge on the next play.
Brooks would go-on to bulldoze his way into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day as the Eagles went up to 14-0 with 7:46 remaining in the first quarter.
West Bladen started their first possession of the game on their own 49-yard line and were able to move the ball forward on a facemask penalty. The drive would end abruptly for the Knights after a big hit from Brooks jarred the football loose to force a fumble.
The Eagles offense came out onto the field for their third possession of the first quarter for similar results. Brooks would score his third touchdown of the game on a 53 yard touchdown run and the host would push the score 21-0 with 3:41 remaining.
The Knights came out with a purpose on their next drive and some quick throws to junior wideout Hezikiah Adams had them moving down the field with consistency.
Adams snatched a ball thrown from quarterback Hunter Hester to put the Knights in the redzone with a couple minutes remaining in the first quarter. West Bladen would get the ball to the six-yard line but would struggle to get the ball in the back of the endzone.
Adams gave his best effort in 1on1 coverage in the corner of the endzone but couldn’t haul the ball in before hitting the ground.
Hester attempted to run the ball on a quarterback draw on 3rd-and-goal but was stopped in his tracks and West Bladen sent on their field goal unit. The Eagles got a good push up front and were able to block the field goal to hold their opponents scoreless to end the first quarter.
East Bladen would march down to the goalline to start the second quarter but a fumble would see possession switch hands once more.
The Knights would start with the ball in their own endzone and they narrowly escaped the safety on the first play of the drive. Hester would roll out to his right on the next play to connect on a first down pass to get the Knights out of a cramped area.
However the West Bladen offense stalled at the 22-yard line and they were forced to punt after Brooks sacked Hester in the backfield.
The Eagles were able to put another scoring drive together after starting on a short field and this time senior running-back Matthew Kemp would run the ball into the endzone on a 27 yard carry.
West Bladen had one more opportunity to move the ball down the field before the first half came to a close but weren’t able to get any further than midfield.
The Eagles started with the ball in the third quarter with every intention of killing the game off and Allen ran the kickoff through traffic to set them up in a great position on the field.
East Bladen junior quarterback Kewone Maynor would roll out to his right on play-action and connect his pass to junior wideout Malaki Moore for a 54 yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. West Bladen failed to respond on their next possession and their opponents marched down the field once more for a touchdown from in close.
East Bladen would make the game 43-0 after converting a two-point conversion with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter. East Bladen senior Na’Toren Corbett would go-on to score the host final touchdown of the game to extend the score to 49-0.
The Eagles retain the “Battle of the Bell” for the 22nd straight year after the win over their county rivals and they improve their record to 1-1 on the season.
East Bladen’s next game will be against Wilmington-Ashley away from home this Friday in a non-conference match-up. West Bladen are now 1-1 on the season with West Columbus next up on the schedule at home this Friday.