Photo by Nolan Ruth
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
This game recap is dedicated to the memory of Eastern Hills alumnus Tony Eierdam
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FORT WORTH— Just 24 hours after Fort Worth ISD sent one school to the second round when Arlington Heights defeated Brewer 36-23 at historic Farrington Field, the Eastern Hills Highlanders gave the school district another team to support in the Area round by upsetting the Kennedale Wildcats 22-17.
The Highlanders came into the game a 20-point underdog having not won a playoff game since a 21-16 win over Midlothian back in 1999.
“It’s huge for our school,” head coach Devvin Anderson said ecstatically after the game. “It’s huge for our kids to show that hard work pays off. And we’re young, we have 17 sophomores on varsity. So it’s a wonderful experience for them.”
Eastern Hills will face the defending 4A Division I champion Celina Bobcats(11-0) next week at a time and location to be determined.
Despite failing to outgain the Wildcats, Eastern Hills won the turnover battle, intercepting two passes and recovering two fumbles.
However, according to Anderson, the biggest play might have been the second play of the game.
“It was very important that we got off to a good start,” Anderson mentioned. “We actually said that we knew that play was going to score.”
On the second play from scrimmage, running back Prince Hill took the ball around the right side, found a seam and booked it down field to score from 54 yards out. Hill then converted the two point conversion to make the score 8-0 quickly.
Hill finished his night rushing for 83 yards on six carries and a touchdown before having to exit the game due to injury.
Kennedale responded on the very next play from scrimmage when Riley Bingham broke free and raced 61 yards for the score. However, the Wildcats opted to settle for one on the extra point, leaving the Highlanders with an 8-7 lead.
Bingham was the star for the Wildcats, rushing for 225 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown.
Eastern Hills responded by quickly driving deep into Kennedale territory, but stalled on fourth down. Two plays later, the Wildcats fumbled and Antwain Henry came up with it for the Highlanders. Three plays after that, quarterback Kenny Durst connected with Jamarion Hardemon who came down with the ball in double coverage, broke the tackles and strolled in from 33 yards to extend the lead to 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Kennedale quickly responded to open the second quarter by getting down to the one yard line Zarrian Carliss plunged it in on the quarterback sneak. From there, the defenses settled in and the rest of the first half saw no scoring. Eastern Hills still held the lead at halftime 16-14.
The third quarter did not see any points either, however the Wildcats did come close but missed a field goal to open the second half.
However, Kennedale kicker Bennett Markham redeemed himself at the beginning of the fourth quarter, giving the Wildcats the lead for the first time with a 24-yarder to make it 17-16.
The Highlanders wasted no time responding, going on a 10 play, 70 yard drive that took 5:46 off of the clock, capped off by a one yard run by Chris Johnson to reclaim the lead at 22-17.
The Wildcats had one more opportunity with less than two minutes left. They drove into Eastern Hills territory and appeared as if they were going in to score. However on a pass play towards the endzone, Hardemon came down with an incredible one-handed interception to put the game away and keep the Highlanders’ season alive.
“It was just a lot of hard work,” Anderson said looking back on the season. “These kids work hard. We’ve been after it all summer, they’ve been dedicated to it, and they played their hearts out. That’s all we could ask for.”
