By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
East High co-head coach James Vann remarked Friday night that his team is too young to be nervous.
“They just wanna play football, and that’s what we love,” Vann said. “That’s what we love from them, is they just wanna get out there and play football, not worry about if it’s a sectional game. … They’re just here to play.”
The sectional playoff debut for freshman Kelvin Shepard, among others, reflected the Eagles’ blissful ignorance to the rigors of the single-elimination tournament. East produced five first-half touchdowns, three of which were caught by Shepard, and coasted to a 34-16 home victory in the Class A2 first round.
Friday’s contest contrasted from the schools’ Sept. 25 meeting, when East fended off Eastridge 19-8. East co-head coach Steve Flagler, who focuses on the offensive side of the ball, felt the Eagles “left a lot of points out there” at Eastridge and noted that the offense is prone to slow starts. He could not say the same in the rematch, as Keyon Concepcion’s punt return placed East near the red zone for their opening drive and Jah’Rel Darden, one of the team’s five seniors, rushed for the touchdown.
Darden ran in the first two touchdowns and Shepard hauled in the last three, including a 27-yard catch in the end zone on 4th and 12 that extended the lead to 20-0. Damon Brown’s interception near midfield preceded Shepard’s 31-yard catch and run, which occurred less than three minutes after the first one. Shepard caught six passes for 97 yards.
“The last time we played them, we moved the ball well but just weren’t finishing drives,” Flagler explained. “That was our big push this week: we’ve gotta finish; we’ve gotta jump [ahead] early. That energy’s contagious and it leads to good things for us. That was really it. We saw some things on the edge that looked good for us and we took advantage of that in the first half.”
East’s practices this week, Darden and Shepard noticed, were more fast-paced and intense than weeks prior.
“The first week [playing Eastridge] everybody was ‘playing,'” Darden commented. “We’re locked in now. Nothing to joke about. We’re serious; it’s time.”
“Everybody’s doing their job. Everybody’s locked in,” Shepard added. “We’re hyped, ready to play football.”
Eastridge ended East’s shutout bid just before halftime, when Sherman Carson beat his defender for a 56-yard touchdown reception. Carson recorded both of the Lancers’ touchdown receptions.
Jasson Jobson’s Eastridge squad finished the regular season winning two of its last three games. East dropped its regular season finale to Canandaigua, snapping a four-game win streak, but is back on the winning track. The Eagles’ coaching staff sees a high ceiling of potential as the team gains more big-game experience.
“Like with any team, when you’re practicing at a fast pace and you’re mentally locked in, you’re only gonna get better,” Vann assessed. “So for us, we’re just taking the chance to get better every day. Nothing’s any different than any other day.”
“A lot of these guys have never played in sectional games,” Flagler noted. “They don’t know the intensity level goes up a notch. But the sky’s the limit with a young team.”
I am very proud of the Flagler coaches. Way to go Eagles.