A senior quarterback who can do it all, surrounded by a special junior class that has playmakers on both sides of the ball.
A convincing, eye-opening victory over Adams Central in Week 2.
A fan base that feels the momentum as the wins continue to pile up.
No, Blitz isn’t talking about this year’s Blazers. He is referencing the 2021 squad, which was led by QB Laban Davis, won its first 13 games and advanced all the way to semistate before dropping a close one to Andrean.
But it could also apply to the 2026 team.
Senior quarterback – Job Richman.
Immense amount of talent in the junior class – Noah Dove, Gage Fogle, Ty Sebert, etc.
Four victories in four wins to begin the year by an average of close to 30 points a game.
Yep, things are looking really bright for Eastside in Class 2A come playoff time.
The latest impressive performance came Friday. It was the biggest home game for Fremont this century, a battle of 3-0 teams for NECC Small Division supremacy.
It wasn’t a game. It was a statement. A dominating 42-13 win for the Coach Alyx Brandewie’s team.
God bless Fremont. It has made tremendous strides in recent years and is going to be a tough out in Class 1A. But it was outclassed in every facet. Jaret Laughlin had been darn near impossible to stop prior to Friday. Eastside corralled him for most of the game, dominating the line of scrimmage and living in the backfield.
The offense had six possessions in the first half. Eastside scored on all six of them. At times, it looked like a Pop Warner team trying to tackle a varsity squad. Swarms of Fremont defenders kept trying to bring down the likes of Richman and Dove. They moved the pile. Yard after yard after yard. Eventually, the referees would blow the play dead, not because Fremont finally got the ball carrier on the ground, but because his forward movement was finally halted.
The Blazers let off the gas in the second half, which was played with a running clock. It didn’t lessen the impact on Blitz on what he saw. With Richman in complete command of the offense and studs around him to carry the load, it feels a lot like 2021.
That team was arguably Eastside’s best ever. Actually, Blitz is here to say it was. Davis amassed nearly 4,000 yards of total offense that year. Dax Holman. Gavin Wallace. Briar Munsey. All absolute dudes.
The Blazers breezed through the NECC that season, its lone close game in the league a seven-point victory at Churubusco. They beat Bishop Luers on the road to capture the sectional crown, then took care of Eastbrook one week later for the first-ever regional championship in program history.
Andrean, the eventual state champion, ended Eastside’s run with a 17-14 victory in semistate. It was the closest game of Andrean’s six wins to claim the Class 2A state championship.
Five years later, Class 2A looks much different. Bishop Luers is up in 4A. Adams Central in 3A, as well as Andrean.
A new group of teams will aim to challenge Eastside in the 2A North, squads like Lapel and Eastern.
But the way the Blazers look like now – the confidence, the dominance, the talent – it could achieve every bit as much as that 2021 squad did.
Perhaps even take it one step further. To Lucas Oil Stadium.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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