By Staff
The Eagles of Escambia County Middle School traveled to Daphne on Oct. 24 to face the Bayside Admirals, with the chance of an undefeated season riding on the outcome.
Bayside took the opening kick and was stopped immediately by a punishing blow from Ethan Brooks and Derrick Holland. bayside then began its only significant drive of the night.
Three first downs later, though, strong safety Willie Staples took the wind out of the Admirals sails when he intercepted a pass and ran it back 50 yards for the first Eagles touchdown of the night. Ian Martin thenn took the handoff from Kevin Green to add the two points behind the blocking of Anthony McWilliams and Daryl Leto to make the score 8-0.
Bayside then took its second possession of the night on its own 40-yard line. Four plays later, the Eagles got the ball back on the Admirals 40 following a 30-yard punt return. It took only a few plays before Ian Martin walked into the end zone on a perfectly executed play directed by quarterback Jonathan McNeil. Green then returned to the game to hook up with Staples on the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.
The Admirals again took over, but the Eagles soon put them in dry dock as Coach White's defensive line of Brandon McKenzie, Jared Hefferson, Ty Leslie, McWilliams, Leto and Skyler Lindsey dropped the opposing team for three straight losses, including a 15-yard sack which forced Bayside to punt.
The Eagles then took over and, two plays later, Michael Bexley, Ethan Brooks and David Quarker blasted a gaping hole in the Admiral defense, allowing Ian Martin to sink the Admirals ship by going 70 yards for another Eagle TD, pushing the score to 30-0 by halftime.
The opening of the second half saw Jonathan McCants outrun everyone, even his blocking, to go 70 yards for the Eagles' final score of the night.
After that score the "B" team took the field and sealed the deal by running out the clock. The "B" team kept the ball moving with the running of Paris Wiggins and Derrick Holland while the defense allowed only one touchdown when the Admirals scored an easy late touchdown.
The Eagles won by a 36-6 margin, keeping in line a tradition that has been the case all season long. ECMS outscored its opponents by a nearly four-to-one margin and average more than 300 yards of offense each game to end the season with the perfect 7-0 record.
"The players gave a great effort this year," said Coach Jones. "We have 46 on the team, and over 30 of them worked all summer in the weight room to get ready for the season.
"These guys' dedication to their goal was impressive. They also pushed each other. Skyler Lindsey and Brendon McKenzie, Michael Bexley and Ethan brooks and Jonathan McNeil and Kevin Green all had daily personal competitions with each other.
"They talked and pushed each other a lot. This was a fun group to coach and should be a great group to watch at the high school."