Last week, Eastside head coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins expressed his displeasure with the Rams’ efforts despite a 30-7 win over Belleview due to undisciplined plays and too many penalties.
On Thursday night, Eastside looked like a new team, at least for a half.
Trailing 19-0 after the first play of the third quarter, the Rams rallied back, defeating Rickards (Tallahassee), 28-25, to move to 2-0 on the season.
“Honestly, probably one of the most impressive wins that I’ve had as a head coach,” Hoskins said. “The way the guys kept fighting, kept fighting, chopping wood, didn’t give up, didn’t quit down 19-0, that’s a lot.”
Special teams made special plays on multiple occasions.
Already with two blocked kicks, including a field goal block at the end of the first half and a forced missed extra point, the Rams completely turned the momentum in their favor by forcing a fumble on a kickoff, which was returned for a touchdown by Braden Brockington.
“I think it changed the whole game for both of us,” Hoskins said.
The score, which came with 4:01 left in the third quarter, was Eastside’s second touchdown in 12 seconds after running back Javaris Gardner scored from 10 yards out to put the Rams on the board.
Suddenly, a 19-0 near-insurmountable lead for Rickards became a five-point deficit for Eastside with momentum on the Rams’ side.
Nearly nine minutes later, the Eastside erased the three-score deficit.
Senior quarterback Nelson Tambling hit running back Kamariyon Mack for a short gain, and Mack broke multiple tackles on his way to a 44-yard touchdown. Elijah Dressel hit his third extra point of the night to give Eastside a 21-19 lead.
“He’s a dog,” Tambling said of Mack. “That guy, he’s just a guy that will fight through everything.”
After forcing a quick turnover on downs, Eastside’s lead quickly grew with a 42-yard touchdown rush from Gardner, extending the Rams’ lead to 28-19 with 4:43 left.
Rickards would go on a long touchdown drive to make it a three-point game, but an onside recovery for Eastside, plus a quarterback sneak from Tambling on fourth-and-one, sealed the win.
“We played a half of good football, and we were able to win this game,” Hoskins said. “Lets you know the potential we have as a football team that we could play a full four quarters of clean football, that we could be a really good football team.”
Eastside (2-0) returns to Citizens Field at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 5, albeit as the away team, for its annual cross-town rivalry game against Buchholz (1-0). The Rams will go for their first 3-0 start in over 20 years and first win over the Bobcats since 2012.
