Gainesville’s Season Ends With Loss To Eastside

The Eastside Rams blasted the Gainesville Hurricanes, 42-0, at Citizens Field on Friday night.

The Rams’ senior night featured a dominant defensive showing.

Early Tradeoff, Slow Distancing

Although a rivalry match, the game opened with an exchange of gifts, as each team intercepted each other in the first few minutes. Eastside (7-3) began with the ball, but on a 3rd-and-7, Gainesville safety Kane Smith intercepted a short pass. Gainesville (1-9), however, returned the ball on the subsequent play when Eastside linebacker Demarco Daniels dove to pick off a Gainesville curl.

With the ball back, Eastside ran eight consecutive times, concluding with a 16-yard touchdown effort by running back Joshua Benjamin. With the extra point, Eastside took a 7-0 lead.

#Eastside strikes first with a 16 yard TD run by #8 Benjamin. Eastside is up 7-0 on @1900Canesville. pic.twitter.com/QGTc6V4kBZ

— Alexander Vafeas (@AlexanderVafeas) November 3, 2023

After forcing a three-and-out, the Rams offense got to work again, putting together another extended drive. After making their way to the 2-yard line, quarterback Adrian Curtis completed a pass to receiver Antonio Wilson for a touchdown. The Eastside lead increased to 13-0 after the extra-point attempt was blocked.

Eastside Close Out

With only a few minutes remaining in the half, Eastside got the ball back, looking to go into halftime with a controlling lead. It did just that. After slowly rolling down the field, the Rams faced with a fourth down at their 14-yard line. Curtis dropped back and, with pressure in his face, completed a fade in the end zone to receiver Antonio Hubbert. The score was now 21-0 entering halftime.

The second half saw Eastside continue to keep its foot on the gas.

Gainesville received the ball to start the second half, but after just two first downs, it was forced to punt. Wilson stood waiting beyond midfield, but received a short punt and took advantage. He returned the kick for another Eastside touchdown, his second of the game, which extended the lead to 28-0.

The rest of the game saw Eastside continue its chokehold on the Hurricanes, scoring twice more in garbage time while the defense held firm. As the clock struck zero, Eastside players ran onto the field to celebrate.

FINAL SCORE:#Eastside – 42#Canesville – 0
Eastside completes the shut out at Citizens Field to close out the regular season. pic.twitter.com/DWFPSqL2O2

— Alexander Vafeas (@AlexanderVafeas) November 4, 2023

Looking Back and Next Steps

Gainesville coach Ian Scott talked about the rebuilding project in his first season at the helm.

“We learned a lot of hard lessons,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at.”

He also touched on what the next steps with the Gainesville team are.

“We’ll have a long look [at what needs to be changed].”

Scott finished by saying he was grateful for being given the opportunity to coach his team, no matter the result.