Excitement grows for Eastern Guilford

GIBSONVILLE - The students, many clad in blue and gold Eastern Guilford Crazies T-shirts, pushed against the fence with outstretched arms. They screamed for their heroes in a scene reminiscent of a rock concert. The gate opened and like a bursting dam, the students sprinted toward the Eastern Guilford football players, who in turn ran toward the students, gold helmets held high.
    Euphoria ensued.

    The cause of the emotional outburst was Eastern Guilford's 14-7 victory against Northeast Guilford, a team the Wildcats hadn't beaten in 16 years. Layered on top of that was the school's first 3-0 start in, well, no one could recall the last time, if ever, the Wildcats opened with three consecutive victories.

    "I don't think I've ever seen that many fans on the field," Eastern Guilford running back Gerrod Herbin said. "Amazing."

    Eastern Guilford principal Dr. Travis Reeves addressed the team and the students and afterward said: "It's a big win for our students and school. You can see how the students are supportive of the team and their enthusiasm for the team."

    Eastern Guilford center D. J. Pennington walked around the field almost in a daze. He helped open running lanes for the Wildcats' rushing attack, which blazed for 241 yards in the non-conference game.

    "It's crazy. I'm so happy. I can't even explain it," Pennington said, his voice quivering with emotion. "It means the world to beat those guys."

    Eastern Guilford has struggled for years in football. The Wildcats believe this is their year to make some noise after years of being an afterthought. The victory against a perennially strong and winning program such as Northeast Guilford establishes the Wildcats as a bona fide threat.

    "I'm hoping this win means the monkey's off our back," Eastern Guilford coach Scott Loosemore said. "I was scared to death we might come out here and lose and it might ruin our season. I'm hoping the players are really buying into and believe that they are as good as we are saying they could be."

    Northeast Guilford (0-2) drew first blood, scoring on a 44-yard pass from Demetrius Phillips to Rayshawn Trader. The Rams ran nine consecutive times to the left side and froze safety Broderick Bell with play-action as Trader separated for the easy touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

    The Wildcats overcame back-to-back penalties totaling 25 yards and a driving rain to tie the game 7-7 with 3:46 left before halftime on Jason Davis' 1-yard quarterback sneak. The score capped a 63-yard, 14-play drive.

    Herbin scored the decisive touchdown on a 55-yard scamper around left end, slipping an ankle tackle and outracing the defenders to the end zone. The play came at the 4:53 mark of the third quarter.

    "We needed a touchdown," said Herbin, who ran for a game-high 125 yards on 18 carries. "It had been 7-7 for way too long. I needed to break it."

    The Wildcats burned time off the clock late in the fourth quarter with a 15-play drive and iced the emotional victory when George Williams intercepted Phillips' pass with just more than two minutes remaining.

    "Heart, pride and discipline. That's what we feel they played with at the end of the game," Loosemore said.

Click here for the box score.