Eastside victory marred by violence
On Friday night, the Eastside Class of 1994, also known as "The Dirty 30," was recognized early in the Eastside-Williston football game, but what Williston senior defensive lineman Jayveon Donald did was downright dirty.
The Rams won a defensive battle against visiting Williston, 21-14, at Citizens Field to get above .500 at 3-2.
But after a quick celebration in the endzone, all the attention turned to Eastside sophomore right tackle Ibrahem Shaer, who Donald physically assaulted on a dead ball play late in the game.
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The two players got into an altercation after the whistle and fell to the ground.
"What happened after that is unnecessary, man," said Eastside coach Harold "Gator" Hoskins, who noted Donald took a couple of swings. "I'm not sure where his punches located, but it's unnecessary. That's not football right there."
Shaer, who appeared incoherent, was taken off the field after the game by rescue unit.
The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty resulted in Donald's ejection, and likely more once video evidence is provided to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).
The play marred what was otherwise a big win for the Rams, who scored a pair of touchdowns in three and a half minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters to deny Williston coach Robby Pruitt his 400th career win.
"It was a great win," Hoskins said. "Defense played great again, offense got us the points that we needed to win this game, some guys stepped in, freshmen (Javaris Gardner and Andrew Cade Sutherland), those guys stepped in and made some great plays for us tonight."
Following a 1-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-goal by Williston's Jamari Williams to cap a 76-yard drive and a 7-0 lead with 5:23 to play in the opening quarter, Eastside answered.
The Rams began their next drive from their own 21-yard line and drove 79 yards for the score, finishing off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sutherland to Daijon "Honey Mustard" Johnson with six seconds left in the half.
"Honey Mustard is one of those guys that we rely on, he's a senior, and he's been playing some great football so far," Hoskins said.
However, Eastside missed the extra point attempt and Williston led, 7-6, at the break.
On their second possession of the second half, the Rams took their first lead.
Eastside began the drive at the Williston 44-yard line and got runs of 13, six, and 16 yards by Gardner for a first and goal at the 9-yard line.
A few plays later, junior Kamariyon Mack scored on a 3-yard run out of the Wildcat and added a 2-point conversion run for a 14-7 lead with 1:46 to play in the third quarter.
"That was a formation that we thought we could get him the ball and he's a great runner and he came in and he delivered for us," Hoskins said. "We knew we were going for two right there and he got exactly what we needed. Great blocking by the offensive linemen."
The Red Devils (2-2) tied it up on their next possession, a 65-yard drive that ended on a Statue of Liberty call, with J'dyen Manneh taking it 18 yards to the house.
However, Williston was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for spiking the ball in the end zone, and after kicking the extra point to tie it 14-14 with 10:32 to play in the game, was forced to kick off from its own 25-yard line.
Gardner returned the short kick to the Eastside 49-yard line and on the next play he ran 51 yards for the score for a 21-14 lead with 10:11 remaining in the game.
"He's a special kid," Hoskins said. "He answered when we needed him. I challenged him this week. I challenged him actually at the halftime and told him to go down there and make a play on the kickoff and he went down there and made a play and I told him, 'hey, I'm going to get you this ball at running back' and he just did some special things with it tonight."
Mack made the final big play with a diving interception of Red Devils' quarterback John Jazikoff on a tipped pass at the Williston 31-yard line with 2:16 to play.
Donald's ejection came with 1:30 to play in the game, and the Rams finished the game off in victory formation.
As for Pruitt, he'll go for the victory milestone next Friday in the home opener against Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and head coach John Brantley.
Eastside begins 3A-District 5 play next Friday at home against Dunnellon, which was edged by Vanguard (Ocala), 21-20, in overtime.
The game will be broadcast on 106.9 FM "I am Country" with audio online at IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 7 p.m. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Football scores
Thursday, Sept. 19 Gainesville 33, Forest (Ocala) 15
Friday, Sept. 20 Hawthorne 26, South Sumter (Bushnell) 20 Eastside 21, Williston 14 Richmond Hill (Richmond Hill, GA) 35, Buchholz 28 Mount Dora Christian Academy 27, Oak Hall 15 Fernandina Beach 16, Santa Fe (Alachua) 0 P.K. Yonge 49, Hollis Christian Academy (Jacksonville) 14 Union County (Lake Butler) 49, Fort White 19 Chiefland 48, North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) 0 Bell 35, Old Plank Christian Academy (Jacksonville) 0 Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville) 21, Columbia (Lake City) 14 Interlachen 48, Bronson 0 Keystone Heights 14, Dixie County (Cross City) 6 Appling County (Baxley, GA) 35, Suwannee (Live Oak) 16 Lake Weir (Ocala) 27, Trenton 16 Branford def. Saints Academy (Orlando), forfeit OFF – Bradford (Starke), Newberry, St. Francis Catholic Academy
