As far as head coach Jerry Rutherford and his staff was concerned, Eastwood's 37-34 win last Friday night at Patrick Henry had nothing to do with revenge or payback.

“We never looked at it as payback,” said Rutherford, in his 30th season with the Eagles. “We looked at it as a chance for this group to do something really neat. It was more about this team. As far as (playoff) computer points, this is a huge win for us for down the road.”

In 2009, in the first meeting ever between the two schools, Patrick Henry embarrassed host Eastwood 35-0 in the penultimate game of the regular season. Last season, the Patriots dealt Eastwood a 37-14 setback.

Eastwood junior Marquise Pitts ran for 239 yds. in the Eagles 37-34 victory over Patrick Henry. (Press photo by Lee Welch/FamilyPhotoGroup.com

Rutherford's Eagles are expected to be a title contender in the newly-formed Northern Buckeye Conference this year. Patrick Henry, which lost several players from last year's 10-2 Division V state playoff team, is picked to finish second behind Archbold in the Northwest Ohio Athletic Conference.

The Patriots have reached the playoffs 13 times and won the D-V state championship in 2005. The Eagles didn't secure last Friday's win until senior safety Alex Keyes intercepted Anderson Okuley at the Eastwood 4-yard line with under two minutes to play.

“It's a huge win, especially doing it over there,” Rutherford said. “They don't lose at home very often. Someone told me that's probably only their fifth loss at home in 10 years. I won't be surprised if they go 9-1. They're a good football team, but we played pretty well.

“We came out and scored the first time we had the ball. We were up 13-0, but when we were down 20-13 our kids never gave up. We tied it up, 27-27, and we held them and they punted and we got the ball at our 7-yard line. We drove the ball 93 yards in seven plays to go up.

“Patrick Henry plays well at home and they have a lot of pride in their program. All around their scoreboard it says 'state champs' and (lists) all their playoff appearances. You know what they've done, and for our kids to go over there and hang with them and beat them, I'm pretty proud of the guys and happy for them for what they've been able to do.”

The Eagles' defense intercepted four passes – one each by Keyes, junior cornerback Blake Kohring, junior safety Skyler Dierker and senior corner Kyle Schlumbohm, whose pick came in the end zone for a touchback. Kohring returned his interception more than 50 yards for a touchdown

“Our secondary's pretty good,” Rutherford said. “Keyes and Schlumbohm both started last year, and Dierker and Kohring stepped in and played their positions really well.”

Sophomore quarterback Jake Schmeltz threw just one pass against the Patriots, completing it for a 7-yard touchdown to Isiah Conkle in the third quarter to tie the game at 20-all.

Junior kicker Derrick Snowden booted a 24-yard field goal with 2:21 left in the game to give the Eagles a 37-27 cushion. Patrick Henry scored with about 26 seconds left in the game, then recovered an onside kick.

“They had a shot,” Rutherford said. “They threw an incomplete pass, then they had an illegal substitution penalty and then they threw the interception. We took a knee and the game was over.”

The star of the game for Eastwood was junior speedster Marquise Pitts, who carried the ball 22 times for 239 yards and touchdown runs of 37, 72 and 53 yards. Eastwood gained 251 yards on the ground on 37 attempts.

“Patrick Henry did a great job defending the sweep,” Rutherford said, “so Pitts ran inside on them. He had some huge runs. We knew if we could get him through the line of scrimmage, past the linebackers, he would be gone. He had three huge runs; it was just a matter of breaking him loose.”

Things won't get much easier for the Eagles the next few weeks. They host Clyde on Friday and then Oak Harbor on Sept. 9. Clyde will be looking to rebound from a 26-13 season-opening loss to Tiffin Columbian, and Oak Harbor beat Springfield 23-10 last Friday.

“We have a lot more to do this season,” Rutherford said. “We don't want the highlight of our season to be Week 1. This proves we have a pretty nice football team, but we have to get back after it. This team is a great group of guys. Anyone would love the chance to coach this team, just to be around this group.

“Do I have to get on them every now and then? Yes, but they practice hard every day and they're good kids. For me personally, to have my sons, Craig and Eric, coaching with me, that just makes it even better. I get to see those guys every day and work with them.”

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