Eastside Prepares For Playoffs With Defeat Of Gainesville

Eastside took down the Gainesville Hurricanes 42-0 in a city rivalry game Friday night at Citizens Field.

The Rams (7-3)  celebrated senior night and prepared for postseason play this week.

Gainesville’s season has come to end. Eastside, the Class 2S-District 7 champion, will play Palatka (7-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at Citizens Field in the first round of the FHSAA football playoffs.

“It’s a new season. Right now we [are] 0-0,” Eastside coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins told his team. “Everybody is 0-0 after tonight.”

Battling Defenses

The ‘Canes (1-9) came up with the first big play of the game when senior Kane Smith made an interception on Eastside’s opening drive.

The celebration was short lived as Rams’ Demarco Daniels intercepted the ball soon after.

Each team recorded one sack on the night. Senior Jeremy Figueroa made the sack for the ‘Canes, and Eastside’s came off of a fumble by Gainesville’s quarterback.

Numerous Penalties

This heated matchup resulted in a large number of flags thrown by officials. Hoskins said the Rams must clean up mistakes going into the playoffs.

“We got to get better,” he said. “We’ll watch the film and fix those mental errors and just get back to the basics.”

Rams’ Offensive Explosion

Eastside’s offense was electric and showed no signs of slowing down after scoring six touchdowns. The defense is stepping up with its third consecutive shutout and sixth of the season.

Hoskins attributes his team’s high scoring season to the time spent preparing off the field.

“Hard work during the week: Monday through Thursday,” he said. “The guys [are] coming out here and executing the game plan.”

Antonio Hubbert recorded two touchdowns vs. GHS, one in each half. His second score came off of a punt return that he ran in for a 57-yard touchdown.

The Rams wide receiver was excited that his team came out on top.

“I’m extremely happy right now,” Hubbert said. “I have so much energy, I might not go to sleep tonight.”