Derrick Webb, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
BEAVER — It’s not a coincidence that Eastern has now scored 74 points in two weeks.
The Eagles’ offense is filled to the brim with experienced talent that has played in big games before — after all, Eastern is trying to defend its Southern Ohio Conference I title this fall.
So don’t be surprised that Eastern (2-0) handed Huntington a 31-14 loss on Friday, staying undefeated and furthering a statement that says, “We’re the team to beat in the SOC I.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“All offseason, we’ve been working in the weight room,” Eastern senior Jace White said. “I know we’ve got weapons, but we knew we had to step on defense and get stops. That’s what we did. We stepped up and held them to 14 points. That was our plan. It worked out.”
Similar to the team’s Week 1 win over Miller, White led the offensive charge. The senior was phenomenal, recovering an onside kick, scoring on a five-yard rush and logging a second touchdown — the knockout blow — by catching a three-yard touchdown toss.
Meanwhile, running back Landyn Reinsmith was his partner in crime.
Reinsmith ran like his hair was on fire all night long, shedding would-be tacklers and often lowering his shoulder to initiate contact.
“My offensive line does everything for me,” Reinsmith said. “I stay behind my lead blockers and get it done.”
Tale of the tape
The entire first quarter featured several punts from each team as defense took center stage.
That trend continued until the 7:20 mark in the second when Eastern finally lit up the scoreboard with a 10-yard touchdown run from Reinsmith, capping a 36-yard scoring drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, White collected a loose football to give the Eagles the football again. A little over two minutes later, Brewer Tomlison reached the end zone from six yards out to put the Eagles in front 12-0.
PHOTOS: Images from Eastern’s win over Huntington
On Huntington’s next possession, Eastern’s defense forced and pounced on a fumble at midfield, giving the offense yet another chance to score. With 1:12 in the quarter, White made the Huntsmen pay for another mistake by logging a six-yard score to make it an 18-0 tally.
“We had made some adjustments and we knew if we kept them [in check], they’d probably eventually make some mistakes,” White said. “They had a couple of fumbles, we recovered a couple of onside kicks, and it worked out.”
Huntington, however, refused to quit.
The Eagles held the football for the opening 8:11 of the third quarter and cashed in on a 15-yard touchdown run from Teagan Werner to go ahead 25-0.
At that point, the Huntsmen (0-2) could’ve very easily hung their heads in defeat and thrown in the towel. Instead, they chose to fight back.
A 41-yard run from senior quarterback Noah Potter set up senior DJ Crocker for a five-yard score with 36.1 seconds left. Then, after forcing a punt, Crocker took a screen pass — on a 4th and 4 play — 63 yards to the house, cutting the deficit to 25-14 with 5:07 remaining.
“Small victories,” Huntington coach Clay Beeler said. “We could’ve easily laid down in the second half and we didn’t. The offense got moving and we really needed to score offensively to build confidence. We don’t have a lot of seniors but we have good senior leadership. I think it just shows our toughness and determination to keep playing. We’re not going to give up.”
In the end, though, Eastern’s lead was too sizable to overcome.
At the 2:08 mark, White caught a three-yard touchdown pass to cap the night’s scoring and put the win on ice.
“We wanted to take the top out of the game and make sure [Eastern] didn’t get any cheap points,” Beeler said. “I thought we did that. But up front, we’re young and they got to us. [Eastern] coach [Scott] Tomlison is a great coach and his kids played hard. We hit them in the mouth early and they didn’t quit. They’re a good team.”
What’s on tap
While Huntington continues to search for its first win next week at Northwest, Eastern will look to remain undefeated at Southeastern.
The Panthers’ only win in 2022 was over the Eagles — a 40-22 victory on Sept. 2. Southeastern is also coming off its first win of the season, a 27-6 decision over Madison Plains on Friday.
Revenge will certainly be on the Eagles’ collective mindset.
“We just have to keep the same mentality,” White said. “No mistakes and force [the opponent] to mess up. We just have to keep making long drives happen and no loafing. Just keep working.”
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