Eagles offense thrives in 47-20 win over Northeast Guilford

Eastern Alamance junior varsity football players Kasen McCawley (right) and Hunter Westbrooks (right) celebrate following an Eagles touchdown. The Eagles once again put up a lot of points in Thursday night's win at Northeast Guilford, as McCawley threw for nearly 350 yards and four touchdowns. Westbrook caught three of those touchdowns, adding 143 receiving yards. The Eastern defense held Northeast off the scoreboard in the first quarter, and made numerous key plays, including a fourth down stop, as EAHS improved to 4-0 on the season.

 Photograph by Alan Pennington

Eastern Alamance’s junior varsity football team took a step forward Thursday night, as the Eagles knocked off Northeast Guilford on the road 47-20 in the Mid-State Conference opener for both schools. The Eagles, coming off a strange week in which they played a Monday September 16 makeup game but had a bye on Thursday, September 19, once again put it all together offensively against a short-handed Northeast Guilford squad that had less than 20 players. 

Quarterback Kasen McCawley enjoyed another big game, completing 12 of 18 passes for 347 yards with four touchdown passes, while adding 65 rushing yards. Three of those touchdowns went to wide receiver Hunter Westbrooks, who continued his outstanding September with 143 receiving yards and three receiving scores. Ce'Darion Williams added 109 receiving yards for the Eagles, while Triston Keck added an additional 69 yards.

Alik Lewis once again had a solid game on the ground for the Eagles, churning out 90 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards, while Bryson Vandling had 44 rushing yards. 

“The wide receivers averaged 28.9 yards per catch,” EAHS head coach Patrick Stokes said after the game. “It was a great yards after catch effort by our wide receiving corps. Unreal effort (offensively.) 547 yards of total offense. The offensive line keeps getting better and better. Lewis and Westbrooks had phenomenal nights.”

The Eagles jumped out to a 34-14 halftime lead behind excellent pass protection, pinpoint passing from McCawley, and a fine job by receivers Westbrooks, Williams, and Kick in getting separation from opposing defenders.

While the offense dominated from the opening kickoff, the EAHS defense got off to a needed good start after struggling much of the night against both Williams and Southern Alamance. By shutting out the run-oriented Rams offense in the first quarter, the Eagles were able to build a lead and set the tone for the entire night. 

“I’m proud of the defensive improvements, but our kickoff coverage still needs work,” Stokes said. 

Defensively, Eastern got solid performances from linebackers Brayden Warren and Adrian Sykes, along with defensive lineman Wesley Spear, who made a big fourth down stop to give possession back to the EAHS offense at a key point in the game. As a unit, the Eagles only allowed 22 passing yards on nine attempts, while for the game, the Rams managed just 149 yards of total offense, compared to Eastern’s 547 total offensive yards. 

The 4-0 Eagles will return home the evening of Thursday, October 3 to face Person County at Fred Brady Stadium. The Rockets got off to a 1-2 start this fall, and dropped a heartbreaking 19-18 decision on their home field this past Thursday night against league rival Morehead.