Banks stands alone as Eastside wins fourth straight, beats Emerald 35-12

Kalvin Banks rushed for 222 yards and three scores in Eastside’s win over Emerald, setting records in the process.

After Kalvin Banks scored his first touchdown against Emerald, he was mobbed and congratulated by his teammates on the sidelines.

Not like usual, though. These celebrations were more extravagant than normal. Banks was confused.

“Everybody was telling me congratulations, and I was like, ‘Congratulations for what? I score touchdowns all the time.’”

That’s when they told Banks the news. That short touchdown run was the 34th of Banks’ Eastside career, the most career rushing touchdowns in Eagles’ history.

“I was like, ‘Oh, that’s whats up.’ But it was only the first quarter of the game. So I was happy, but I had to move on quickly from it.”

He wasn’t done yet, either.

Banks powered Eastside (4-2) to a 35-12 romp over Emerald with 222 yards and three touchdowns. His 222 yards brought his career total to 3,684 — giving him the Eagle record for most career rushing yards.

Banks now stands alone at the top. The senior holds every rushing record in Eastside’s books, his name immortalized next to each of them.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m probably going to be a little depressed when Kalvin walks across the stage and gets his diploma,” said Eastside head coach Andre Woolcock. “I love him not just as a player, but as a person.

“I’ve been coaching for 14 years now, and you just don’t get kids like Kalvin a lot. You can’t take someone like him for granted. I may drop a tear or two for him whenever this year’s over.”

In breaking the final two Eastside rushing records, Banks destroyed Emerald’s defense. He broke off several big runs, including a 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give the Eagles a 21-6 lead.

Banks credited stellar offensive line play for his success, and for driving the Eagles to their fourth-straight win.

“The only reason I keep putting these games together is because of my offensive line,” said Banks. “They work their tails off, going out there and blocking for me week in and week out. That allows me to get in space and for us to keep racking up wins.”

QB SWITCH

Eastside made a change at quarterback this week, going with sophomore Peyton Schrader under center.

In his first career start, Schrader was steady for the Eagles. He completed 12 of his 17 pass attempts for 106 yards. Schrader got several different targets involved and got the ball out quickly, keeping the Emerald defense honest to help open up Eastside’s rushing attack.

Woolcock was pleased with what he saw from Schrader in his starting debut.

“[Peyton] was very poised. He kept good control of the offense,” Woolcock said. “He was a field general out there for us, making sure guys knew what they were doing and holding them accountable.
“He made it to where they couldn’t just load the box against Kalvin, because he was getting it to our playmakers out wide.”

Schrader, who found out he’d be starting two days before the game, said his game plan was not to do too much and to simply play his part.

“My mindset going into it was just to stay focused, know what I need to do, but not try to do too much,” Schrader said. “I had faith in my teammates and my coaches, so I knew that if I did my job, everyone else would do theirs.”

Even as a sophomore, Schrader’s never had an issue performing in big moments. He’s a state-champion wrestler for Eastside, and on the gridiron, he’s already made his presence felt this season as a safety. He played both quarterback and safety for the Eagles on Friday.

Eastside quarterback Peyton Schrader scrambles during the second quarter vs. Emerald. In Schrader's first career start, the sophomore completed 12 of 17 passes for 106 yards, helping lead the Eagles to their fourth straight win.

“He was all over the place for us,” said Woolcock. “Peyton knows what it takes to win. He’s been on a big stage before and come out on top. When you have someone like that in your program, it’s awesome.”

“I just tried to be relaxed,” said Schrader. “I have confidence in myself and if I play relaxed, I know what I can do. It’s really simple once you just relax and let everything happen.”

LIVING ON THE EDGE

After giving up a combined 163 points through their first four games, the Eagles have allowed just 27 between their last two.

A huge part of that has been thanks to Eastside’s edge-rushing duo — Quay Dodd and MJ Posey.

Facing Travelers Rest two weeks ago, Dodd made the game-sealing sack with time winding down in the fourth quarter.

Against Emerald, Posey’s 44-yard pick-six gave the Eagles a 15-6 lead right out of halftime. It handed Eastside every ounce of momentum en route to a dominant second-half performance.

“Those two guys, they’re blossoming in front of us,” said Woolcock. “They’re doing some really good things on the field. We’re excited about the production they’re bringing to the table.”

Dodd collected three tackles for loss against Emerald. Posey, along with his interception touchdown, had a tackle for loss and a sack.

He described what he saw on the game-changing pick-six.

“They were around midfield, and when we ran the play I had the [Emerald] tackle on me. I just threw him off of me as soon as I saw the ball in the air,” Posey said. “I grabbed it out of the air, and all I could think about was just ‘run, run, run.’”

It was Posey’s first career interception and touchdown. The sophomore defensive end said that as soon as he made that play, he knew the game was over.

“After that, I knew it was done. At that point, I knew my team was fixing to turn up. We were going to win that game.”

Posey said the entire defense has been “bought-in” and coming together as a unit, which has contributed to the Eagles’ recent run of form.

“We’ve just been believing in each other and communicating,” Posey said. “We’re making sure everyone stays in tact and everyone knows their job. We’ve all been playing our roles really well lately.”

UP NEXT

The Eagles will travel to Dooley Field this week to face Greer. It will be the first region matchup for the Eagles, whereas the Jackets are already off to a hot start, having demolished Laurens 49-7 last week.

“You can’t leave any rocks unturned preparing for that team,” said Woolcock of Greer. “That’s a well-coached team with some really great athletes. We’re combing through everything.”

Woolcock knows an away game against the Jackets is never easy.

“If you pay attention to Greer football, you know that ‘G’ means something to that town and those fans. And if you’ve ever been to Dooley Field, you know that it’s a different kind of environment,” he said.
“So you better be ready to play when you get off that bus.”

GAME SUMMARY

Eastside 8 0 13 14 - 35
Emerald 6 0 0 6 - 12

EASTSIDE STAT LEADERS

Passing: Peyton Schrader 12/17/106/0TD/0Int

Rushing: Kalvin Banks 26/222/3TD/long 73 | Mal Brown 10/54 |Peyton Schrader 7/29

Receiving: Fin Hyde 3/50 | Baron Leonard 3/18| Kalvin Banks 2/5 |Noah Hunnicutt 1/33