2024 Preview: Eastside Eagles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 was the first winning season for Eastside since 2019. The Eagles finished 6-5 before falling to South Pointe in the first round of the playoffs. Now as 2024 approaches, Eastside head coach Andre Woolcock and his team are focused on building off of that success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We have guys that trust in the process and putting in the work so, (we) definitely have a group of guys that we feel that are ready to take that next step,” Woolcock said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles' offense will return a core of wide receivers including <strong>Noah Hunnicutt. Scoot Foster </strong>and <strong>Mal Brown </strong>will provide a dynamic duo at running back. <strong>Zeke Funke </strong>will anchor things up front on the offensive line as a good nucleus will return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013073' first='Jaquavious' last='Dodd'] </strong>will be the center piece for the Eagles this fall. Dodd committed to the University of South Carolina back in June. The All-Region selection from 2023 finished with 24 tackles for loss and 34 solo tackles. He has a motor that is always running and has great size for the position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Woolcock on Dodd: “He's going to work hard and he's going to have fun while doing it. He's a pleasure to be around. He makes his teammates better because he's smiling while we're running (sprints). He pulls other people up.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles will play in region 2-5A with Dorman, Boiling Springs, Spartanburg, Gaffney, Byrnes, Riverside and Wade Hampton in 2024 and Woolcock is excited about the challenge it will present.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“(I) have kids all the time coming into (my) office saying, Coach, I wanna play college ball. Every Friday, you have an opportunity to play against someone that's going to play college ball so if you can play on the field with them and be successful, you'll know what kind of athlete that you are so I'm excited about that and excited to go against those teams,” Woolcock said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eastside opens the 2024 season on the road against Southside on August 23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734598' first='Peyton' last='Schrader'] </strong>QB/DB, 2027 – Schrader had an impressive sophomore campaign, throwing for 724 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 65.8 yards per game in 2023. While he will be the starting quarterback in 2024, don't be surprised to see him on defense some, at least based on what we saw on film. He can come up in run support and stop the run from his safety spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267215' first='Michael' last='Posey'] </strong>DL, 2026 – Posey returns on the defensive line after a successful 2023 campaign that saw him register 30 tackles, 15 of them for a loss along with 7 sacks. Posey (pictured above) has an offer from Miami (OH).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Posey on 2024 preparations: “(I'm) just focused on improving my technique, becoming faster, becoming stronger and just becoming a harder hitter, too</em>.<em>"</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>James Odom IV </strong>WR, 2025 – Odom returned to the field in 2023 after getting injured and missing the 2022 season. He had an impressive campaign back, catching 14 receptions for 140 yards. Look for him to become more involved now that he has a year under his belt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thomas Lattimer </strong>DB, 2025 – Lattimer will be one of the leaders in the secondary in 2024, as he walked away with All-Region honors for his play in 2023 finishing with 33 tackles, 12 pass breakups and 1 interception and 1 tackle for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kalvin Banks</strong> RB – Banks departs from Eastside as the school's all time leading rusher with 4,203 yards and 43 TDs. Woolcock said they will have their hands full trying to replace him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kaden Burnette </strong>CB – Burnette was a leader in the secondary for the Eagles, finishing with 33 solo tackles in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elijah McMahan </strong>DB, 2025 – If you want a corner who can stick it to receivers with tight one-on-one coverage, McMahan is your guy. He can stay right in a receiver's hip pocket and make it hard for them to get open. He has great reaction speed to make tackles in space and can turn and flip his hips quickly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17946071/6546bf6d19b0390d942bce4e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6686038e70cb7"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP AND COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1719852' first='Kelyn' last='Durham']</strong> S and <strong>Joanire Green</strong> CB, 2027 – Durham and Green were two guys that Woolcock was high on and that he feels can come in and contribute right away on varsity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Gavin Sullivan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Eastside","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6686038e72379"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sullivan enters his sophomore year, having made a valuable impact as a freshman. He is listed as a safety, but he can make plays at receiver. He normally lines up on the outside and can make plays on quick outs and get up field quickly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19750251/661c4f170367b4cb68449a44' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-668606c53708c"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->