Garner football gets offense going behind Eaddy’s 244 yards against Clayton
It took Collin Eaddy and Garner’s punishing ground game a while to get going against Clayton on Friday night. But once the Trojans’ offense started clicking, it was hard to stop.
Eaddy, a junior running back, bolted for a career-high 244 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Trojans to a 37-14 victory over Clayton in a Greater Neuse River 4A Conference game.
The Trojans fell behind 7-0 after a quarter, then the offensive line started opening up some holes and Eaddy began picking up yardage in chunks. He finished the game with his 244 yards on 24 carries, averaging more than 10 yards per carry.
“They were running a little bit different defense than what we had practiced for and what we had seen on film,” Eaddy said. “So we got on the sideline and drew it up on the board and corrected a couple of things and came back out and did what we were supposed to do.
“I was just following my blocks. Guys were getting to the second level, making blocks on the linebackers and I was just exploding through the hole. It’s simple. That’s Garner football for you.”
Garner ground out 336 rushing yards.
“Eaddy is a very strong runner. He’s a big kid, about six foot, 200 pounds,” Garner coach Thurman Leach said. “The offensive line is getting better. They are getting used to playing together.”
Garner scored 14 points in the second quarter to take a 14-7 halftime lead and dominated the second half, holding Clayton to 184 yards on the ground and 63 in the air – 88 of those yards coming on one play, a touchdown run by Courtlyn Victrum (162 yards rushing on 18 carries).
“The credit really lies with (Garner’s) defense,” Clayton coach Randy Pinkowski said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively. You are just not going to stay out on the field defensively for 65 or 70 snaps with them and not take a pounding.”
Turning point
Second quarter. After punting on its first two possessions of the game and losing the ball on a fumble on its third possession, the Garner offense started rolling. The Trojans scored on consecutive possessions in the second period – a 5-yard pass from Brodie West to Roderic Christian and a 19-yard run by Eaddy – to go up 14-7. From that point on, the Trojans were in control.
They said it
“It’s awesome to see that old Garner sweep, that old Garner power and a little play-action off of it,” Garner coach Thurman Leach said. “It is what it is.”
Three who mattered
Collin Eaddy, Garner: The bruising back had his biggest night for the Trojans, rushing for 244 yards on 24 carries. He had a pair of touchdowns and had two more called back because of holding penalties. Eaddy had 10 carries of 10 or more yards, breaking off a long run of 42 yards and adding runs of 25, 22, 19, 17 and 16 yards. He scored on runs of 19 and 3 yards.
Anthony Stephenson, Garner: He complemented Eaddy’s big game with 77 yards on 11 carries, keeping the Clayton defense honest with bursts straight up the middle.
Courtlyn Victrum, Clayton: An 88-yard touchdown helped Victrum rush for 162 yards on 18 carries.
This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 12:37 AM with the headline "Garner football gets offense going behind Eaddy’s 244 yards against Clayton."