BRANDON – As soon as East Bay Head Coach Frank LaRosa got to speak to his players, he told them, “Right now, your focus moves to becoming 3-0.” For the Indians (2-0), that means relishing in their 30-20 win over Brandon for a short moment, before coming to the reality that the upcoming week is a rivalry week.

Their win over Brandon (1-1) came with a ton of help on the ground, thanks to several players that contributed greatly. It was a dogfight for the first quarter, neither team could grab momentum, and it took a 16-play Indian drive to put the first points on the board. Both teams were troubled with penalties on that drive, as the two teams combined for 55 yards in penalties on that drive alone.

“When we got back in the locker room, I made sure that they knew they couldn’t shoot themselves in the foot,” LaRosa said. “Brandon’s a tough team and they’re going to execute and make you pay if you make those kinds of mistakes. I thought we came out in the second half strong and I was really, really proud of our resilience when they made plays that we needed.”

Brandon RB Larry Anderson fought back for the Eagles when he scored from 8 yards out – the junior running back bulldozed a few East Bay defenders throughout the night. He finished 119 yards on 17 carries with a pair of touchdowns.

The East Bay ground game came out in the second quarter and answered right back with a 5 yard Davonte Williams rushing TD that was set up by a huge 51 yard rush from James Exume and a 15 yard rush from Bobby Brown.

The Eagles would regain the lead before halftime because of a Barry Wyche pass to Tyrek Ball in the endzone. Brandon wouldn’t have even been close to the end zone if it wasn’t for a 59 yard run by Anderson, which put the Eagles in the red zone. Wyche found a diving Josh Mendez for 15 yards before finding Ball from five yards out.

Wyche finished the night 8 of 11 for 55 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on the evening, and after coming in for Harry Kanu in the first quarter, led the offense efficiently enough for the Indians to have a chance at the game.

Anderson would score his second touchdown of the night in the third, this time from nine yards out, but then the Brandon crowd was deflated again, when Exume ran for 14 yards for a score to give East Bay a 23-20 lead at the end of the third.

Williams came up big on the other side of the ball when he scooped up a fumble at Brandon’s 34-yard line, which snuffed out a threatening Eagle drive. Williams would end up putting the game out of reach when he scored on a triple option with 42 seconds to go in the game. Jaylan Rodriguez put the finishing touches on the game when he intercepted a last second pass against Wyche.

“I saw one of our linebackers just stop their quarterback, and I saw him put the ball on the ground, and I saw it and grabbed it. I wanted to make my team proud, make some big plays, which I did. I love this team, the young players coming up, they’re making plays, working hard, it’s been good,” Williams said.

It was a little bit of revenge for the Indians after losing 14-7 against the Eagles in Gibsonton last season. Next week, East Bay will be on the road in Riverview (1-0), for a rivalry game against the Sharks who’s game against Leto was rescheduled. Brandon will be on the road in Plant City (0-1), who will also be rested after not playing against Jefferson due to weather.