Banks for the Memories: Kalvin Banks’ 4 TDs lift Eastside over Laurens on senior night

It had to be him.

On senior night at Eastside, everyone in the stadium knew who'd be tasked with leading Eastside's offensive charge.

For four years, senior running back Kalvin Banks has done it better than anyone to put on the jersey.

With his 187 rushing and four touchdowns against Laurens Friday night, he reminded folks why he'll go down as the best running back in Eastside program history. His game totals brought his career numbers to 3868 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns.

Banks led the Eagles (5-4, 1-2 region) to a wild 36-34 victory over the visiting Laurens Raiders. The win marked the program's first in region play since 2019.

 "It's senior night," said Banks. "It was pretty much mandatory to come out here and get a win because that's the win you're going to remember most."

The reality set in for Banks before the game, as he and his fellow seniors walked the field with family and began saying goodbye to coaches, teammates, and supporters. The ride’s not over quite yet, but Banks was admittedly emotional taking it all in for one of the last times.

"I'm going to miss this," Banks said after the game. "The family aspect of this program, the way people from the community — old and young — come out to these games to watch us, the students that support us, all of it."

"This senior class is always going to be a special one for me," said Eastside head coach Andre Woolcock. "Because when life wasn't good around here, they didn't run away. They went through the process with me.”

THE RUNDOWN

Banks' touchdown runs helped power the Eagles out to a 24-0 halftime lead, and a 30-8 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

A Mal Brown touchdown run of 12 yards pushed Eastside’s lead to 36-8 with 11:55 left in the game.

That’s when things got crazy.

Laurens quarterback Nick Danciu flipped a switch. He’d been trying to work his receivers open down the field all game long, to no avail. But Danciu finally opened the floodgates in the final frame. His heroics kickstarted a furious Laurens rally. 

Laurens got the ball four times in the fourth quarter as Eastside’s offense shut down. Danciu took the Raiders down the field and found the end zone all four times. On the first two trips, Danciu found Raider receivers through the air to tighten the score to 36-22.

On the following drive — after another Eastside three-and-out — Danciu made the play of the game with his legs from the Eagles’ 20-yard line. He was grabbed in the backfield by two Eagle defensive linemen and nearly slung to the ground, but somehow Danciu escaped the pocket. He galloped down the field, eluding two more Eagle defenses along the way, before stumbling across the goal line to make the score 36-28.

The extra point was blocked, however. And it proved to be crucial.

Because when Danciu yet again led Laurens down the field — scoring on a two-yard touchdown plunge with 2:05 remaining — the Raiders were forced to go for two. 36-34.

At that point, the Eagle defense was stunned and void of answers. They’d shut the Raider offense down through the first three quarters, but couldn’t stop a thing in the fourth. What was once a rowdy, pinked-out Eastside student section went dead silent.

“We just got too comfortable in the fourth,” said Woolcock. “That’s all I can think of. We’ve got to understand the importance of not letting our foot off the gas, because these other teams aren’t going to let theirs off the gas. They’re going to keep fighting like Laurens did.”

MR. MCMAHAN

At that point, every bit of the game’s momentum pointed to Laurens converting the two and somehow pulling off the miraculous fourth-quarter comeback.

Elijah McMahan had other plans.

On the Raider two-point attempt, Danciu again kept the ball, racing toward the right corner of the end zone. He looked to have a clear path to the pylon.

But McMahan — junior defensive back for Eastside — pulled off his coverage at the last minute and laid his shoulder pads straight into Danciu as the quarterback dived for the pylon.

McMahan’s hit knocked the ball out of Danciu’s hands. It fell out of bounds, short of the goal line.

“I had man coverage on my receiver, but I saw the quarterback coming around,” said McMahan. “The receiver tried to block me but I got off his block. I laid into the QB and just made a big play for the team.”

McMahan — who’s listed at just 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds — put all his force into the hit on the much bigger Danciu. Danciu — 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds — lost the ball and went flying out of bounds.

“People can say that I’m a small guy or that I’m skinny, but I’m always going to bring pressure,” said McMahan. “I just knew I had to stop him. We had to get off that field without them getting in.”

“What Elijah did was textbook,” said Woolcock. “That was a textbook tackle and I’m thankful that ball popped out. I’m proud of Elijah for the strides he’s making on and off the field. He stood up and made a huge play for us.”

After the Raiders’ onside kick attempt bounced out of bounds, the Eagles were able to run out the clock.

It was far more intense than it needed to be, but Eastside got the job done on senior night and came away with a crucial win.

“Those Laurens kids, they did a great job. That program has zero quit,” said Woolcock. “They just kept fighting and fighting to the point where I probably had several heart attacks on the sideline.

“We’ve just got to move forward and focus on being better late in games and not letting up.”

UP NEXT

It all comes down to this week for Eastside as they welcome Wade Hampton (2-7, 0-3 region) to town.

With a win, the Eagles lock up the No. 3 seed out of Class 4-A Region 2 and the team’s first playoff berth since 2019. A loss, and Eastside would fail to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

“It’s win or go home. That’s the mentality we’ve had since the Riverside game last week,” said Woolcock. “If we want to continue this thing, we’ve got to win. Losing’s not an option for us.”

SCORE BY QUARTER

Eastside        8          16        6          6          36

Laurens        0          0          8          26        34

EASTSIDE STAT LEADERS

Passing: Schrader 12-17, 79 yds

Rushing: Banks 33 rushes, 187 yds, 4 TDs | Schrader 15 rushes, 106 yds | Brown 4 rushes, 11 yds, TD

Receiving: Hyde 6 rec, 35 yds | Clint 1 rec, 20 yds | Odom 3 rec, 15 yds | Hunnicut 2 rec 9 yds