Heading into the 2020 season, the Eastbrook Panthers certainly had plenty of reasons for optimism.
Not only have they brought back a superb group of young talent, one that became a key part of their success and played a significant role in their run to the Class 2A state final game last November, but they also have added a dynamic athlete at the quarterback position, one with local ties and a strong football background.
After an efficient performance in all three phases on Friday night against Marion, the Panthers took the first step in their quest towards Indianapolis – and possible redemption.
Junior transfer Jett Engle put together a stellar debut, the running game was clicking on all cylinders, and the Panthers used a fast start and a dominant first half to defeat the Giants 39-18 at Jeff Adamson Stadium.
Eastbrook outgained Marion in total yardage, 349-302, while the Panthers’ ground attack accumulated 220 yards of offense. Engle, in his first game under center for the Panthers, completed six of his eight passes for 129 yards, three of which went for touchdowns.
“He’s a great teammate,” Eastbrook Head Coach Jeff Adamson said of Engle. “He’s really good with the other guys and he fit in right away. He is a football junkie. His dad’s been a coach, and he just understands things. He is going to continue to get better and better as he keeps understanding what we are doing on offense a little bit more.”
Logan Collins led the Eastbrook running back rotation with 71 yards on 10 carries, while Alden Miller finished with 57 yards on 14 totes. Isaiah Dalton and Jason Hale combined for 59 rushing yards, while Justin Starr recorded a pair of big runs on Eastbrook’s final drive to put the game away.
“Each one of them has a different running style, and it’s nice,” Adamson said. “Hale is kind of a bulldozer, Alden has a little more speed at fullback, and Starr is [also] a bulldozer. It’s good having that diversity.”
Eastbrook’s defense was sturdy throughout the evening as well, forcing a pair of fumbles, collecting an interception, and stifling any sort of momentum that Marion tried to build as the game progressed.
“We had some miscues. We had some fumbles. We had some miscues in the kicking game. You can’t have those things,” Marion Head Coach James Bells said. “We just need to keep working and keep emphasizing the fundamentals. We just have to get better.”
The Panthers, mostly did an excellent job of keeping the Marion offense under wraps, using their speed on the outside and their size on the inside to keep the Giants’ running game from establishing any sort of rhythm.
“At times, we did all of those things really well, and then there were other times where you could tell we had cement shoes on,” Adamson said. “We were just trying to contain the bootlegs and keep things on one side of the field as best we could.”
Cain Richardson and Cubie Jones combined to complete nine passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns for the Giants, while Jones also recorded a receiving touchdown. Malachi Silmons led the Giants with 62 rushing yards on six carries, while Marques Smith collected a touchdown reception.
The Panthers wasted little time putting up points on the scoreboard.
After forcing the Marion offense to go three-and-out, a fumbled snap on the ensuing point led to great field position for the Panthers. Four plays later, Collins scored from seven yards out to give Eastbrook an early 7-0 lead. Ninety seconds later, the Panthers added to their advantage, as Miller collected a Marion punt at midfield and rumbled 50 yards to the endzone, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 13-0.
Miller’s punt return touchdown put the Panthers in the drivers’ seats, and the Giants were unable to recover.
“I’m just really happy that the guys were fired up to play,” Adamson said. “It was really exciting to get out and go. We took advantage of the field position and got a couple of those quick scores.”
While the Giants lost a lot of speed and agility in Keshaun Taylor and JK Thomas, Jones has all those same traits, and it showed on Marion’s third drive of the contest. Starting at their own 31-yard line, Marion countered with an eight-play, 69-yard drive, capping it with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Richardson to Jones, who streaked through the Eastbrook secondary untouched.
That, however, was as close as the Giants would get the rest of the way, as Eastbrook responded with another touchdown drive to go up 19-7 in the latter stages of the first quarter. Engle finished the possession with his best throw of the night – a perfectly placed, 29-yard touchdown pass to Dalton on 4th-and-15.
Kyle Coryea cut the Panthers’ advantage to nine on a 22-yard field goal on Marion’s next drive, but a one-yard touchdown plunge from Miller and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Engle to Hale over Eastbrook’s final three possessions of the first half put the Panthers up 32-10 at the halftime break.
Eastbrook put a stranglehold on the contest early in the third quarter. After the defense recovered a Richardson fumble, Engle found Raikes for a 49-yard score to put the contest out of reach.
Smith’s 35-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter brought the Giants to within three possessions, but the Eastbrook defense shut the door the rest of the way, securing the victory.
The Panthers will face Delta at home in week two, while the Giants, and Bell, will look to correct their mistakes heading into their showdown with Lawrence North at Dick Lootens Stadium next Friday night.
“We had too much lack of focus,” Bell said. “We have to learn to be more physical at the point of attack. That’s what we have to work on.”
