ELIZABETHTOWN—East Bladen closed out its regular season with a 49-34 victory over Union Friday on Senior Night.
Jayden Lewis led the way with six touchdowns and 230 yards rushing. Lewis now has 1,529 yards on the season. Lewis got the Eagles on the scoreboard first with a one-yard run to give East Bladen a 7-0 advantage with 9:40 in the first period. Andrio Garcia added the extra point and hit all seven PATs on the night.
Nayshaun Jones added to the lead with a two-yard burst for a touchdown to put the Eagles lead to 14-0. Lewis crossed the goal line again with 11:28 in the second quarter to put East Bladen ahead 21-0.
Union’s offense came to life as Tobias Cromartie ran for a touchdown to cut the Eagles’ advantage to 21-7. Cromartie repeated the act as he scored again for the Spartans to slice the lead to 21-14. Lewis scored his third touchdown with 2:16 remaining in the half to make it East Bladen 28. Union 14.
Quarterback Derik Aycock for the Spartans connected with Kenny Ray Bailey for a touchdown pass to trim the Eagles’ lead to 28-22 with the two-point conversion going into the half. In the second half, East Bladen expanded their lead with a Zamarion Pone 30-yard touchdown carry to put the Eagles ahead 35-22. Lewis crossed the goal line again from 13 yards out to push the advantage to 42-22. In the fourth quarter, Elizah Godfrey ran in a five-yard touchdown for Union to slice the Eagles lead to 42-28. Lewis proceeded to score his sixth touchdown of the night to make the score East Bladen 49-28.
Tobias Cromartie hit Bailey on a halfback pass from 54 yards away late in the fourth quarter for a final score of 49-34 in favor of East Bladen.
Coach Robby Priest stated, “We were able to send the seniors out on a high note with the win. Now we finally get to enjoy our bye week and get some players back with the playoffs coming up.”
East Bladen finishes the regular season at 5-1 in the Carolina Conference and 7-3 on the season. The Eagles mounted 421 yards of total offense as they await the seeding announcements for the 2A bracket.
Union (0-5, 3-6) produced 332 yards of offense, led by Cromartie with 158 total yards and two touchdowns and Kenny Ray Bailey, with 115 total yards and two scores. The Spartans will complete their regular season traveling to Cerro Gordo to face West Columbus (2-3, 4-5) on Oct. 30.
