Stifling defense helps No. 13 Eastside football snap skid to nemesis, No. 11 Cedar Creek
CAMDEN – Elijah Satchell faced a difficult decision.
Last fall, Satchell was starting at linebacker as a freshman for the Eastside High School football program. However, it was determined after the opening two games that Satchell couldn’t play for the Tigers despite Doane Academy not fielding a team.
“He went to a school that don’t offer football, but their school wasn’t a partnership with our district,” head coach Melik Brown said. “Therefore, he couldn’t play,” unless he transferred.
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Satchell had played football for years, but he’s a standout on the hardwood too, and he wasn’t sure his heart was still on the gridiron. Considering everything he’d have to go through to get back on the field for the Tigers, he decided to stay at Doane and sit out the rest of the season.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sold on it,” he said.
The time away helped Satchell remember how much he loved football, and so he decided to make the move to Eastside and begin his high school career anew.
The Tigers are thrilled he did.
The sophomore has been a force on a dominant Eastside defense this fall. The Tigers, No. 13 in last South Jersey Mean 15 rankings, flexed their muscles again Saturday, stifling No. 11 Cedar Creek 28-6, snapping a four-game skid to the Pirates for their first win in the series since 2018.
“They’ve beat us for the past (four years, including three one-point defeats), so this one, we really took this game personal,” senior linebacker Fatim Diggs said. “All week in practice we took it personal. We know we owed these guys one.”
The Tiger defense has been exemplary to begin the campaign, giving up 42 points in four games, 28 of those coming in their lone setback to Shawnee.
The playmakers on that side of the ball seem endless at times. Will Love is the No. 7 recruit in the state in the class of 2024, according to 247sports.com. Diggs has offers from Penn State, Mississippi and Virginia, to name a few. Jules Dominguez has 13 interceptions the past three years, including three so far this season, one against Cedar Creek. Marshall Washington Jr., who had a forced fumble and a pick on Saturday, is a Monmouth recruit. Then there’s Satchell.
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The sophomore, who’s already picked up offers from West Virginia and Maryland, adds another dynamic to the disruptive unit.
“It takes a lot of pressure off us because we know we got another guy that can ball out like that,” Diggs said. “You got two ballers plus him, we got more ballers than that, but he’s special. Special, young, talented guy. He’s going to be great.”
Satchell had three sacks against Cedar Creek and his forced fumble in the fourth quarter led to a touchdown on the ensuing possession and a 20-8 lead with 2:44 left.
“I needed to step up (this year) and bring something new to the team,” he said.
Diggs had the same mindset after he struggled in his transition from defensive end to linebacker last season.
“It was kind of hard for me,” he admitted. “Coming into the offseason, I started working at linebacker (more), started really studying those great guys at linebacker like (San Francisco 49er standout) Fred Warner, those guys in the NFL. I just put it in my game.”
His development from Year 1 to Year 2 has been extraordinary. He flies around the field now without hesitation. He had two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt, which resulted in a safety, versus the Pirates.
“I took that personal as well,” Diggs said. “I got to do better this year and that’s what I’m doing.”
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The entire Tiger defense is, and that’s what’s made them a scary group.
“We walked into the season knowing our defense was going to have to do a lot for us this year and they’re just putting it on every week,” Brown said. “They’re practicing hard, figuring out ways to hold us into games. We got a bunch of studs on defense. Our leaders are stepping up, making plays, and we got young guys contributing. We’re holding it down.”
Game-winning drive
Eastside’s defense was put in a tough spot when the Tigers were unable to convert a 4th-and-3 from their own 45-yard line with 10:22 remaining, leading 8-0.
Cedar Creek took advantage of the short field as Billy Smith found Alim Parks for a 5-yard touchdown and Justin Castillo successfully scored the two-point conversion to even the game at 8-8 with 7:20 left.
The wheels appeared to be coming off for Eastside as the ensuring kickoff was bobbled and the Tigers found themselves at their own 6-yard line.
The offense had struggled to gain any rhythm all day. They had started six drives in Pirates territory to that point and come away with one touchdown. Driving 94 yards looked like a tall task.
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Yet, that’s exactly what Eastside did.
After senior quarterback Nazir Flack connected with Scott Freeman on a 6-yard pass on 3rd-and-3 to move the chains, the fleet-footed Flack sprinted 26 yards to get to the 45. Four plays later, Flack connected with Freeman again on a 30-yard score to go up 14-8 with 4:29 remaining.
“Personally, I struggle with reads, but right there I just stuck with it, forgot about the rush, forgot about everything, and just kept my eyes down field and made the play,” Flack, a first-year quarterback, said. “I think I’m progressing week by week. It’s a journey man. It’s definitely been a journey. It’s not always easy. It gets hard, but things like this, a W, that’s the rewarding part. That’s what I stick with it for.”
The defense forced two more turnovers after that – Satchell’s forced fumble and the interception by Washington – and the offense capitalized with a 11-yard TD run by Roger Brown and a 90-yard catch and run by Dominguez from Flack.
However, Brown believes the 94-yard TD drive could be the turning point in the offense’s and Flack’s season.
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“That lets him know he can play,” Brown said. “He can play this game. We all believe in him. We just got to keep consistent, keep him focused, keep him going forward and I think everything’s going to be alright. That drive right there was huge.”
They said it
“I’ve been telling the kids all week, this is a huge opponent because they’ve been our nemesis. The last five years we’ve been going back and forth, back and forth (in games), and they’ve been coming out on top. We start off fast and they find a way to pull it out. We just had to stay focused and I just wanted to make sure the guys, I told ’em, everybody wished me a happy birthday the other day, if you want to wish me a happy birthday, get me a win on Saturday.”
– Eastside head coach Melik Brown
“We just got to build from it. We just got to learn from it. It’s a humbling experience and that’s something that, listen, most teams go through it. Most teams go through it. Not every team is going to be an undefeated group. I still love where my kids are at and the talent level we have. I think we have our best days ahead of us, but we just got to get back in the fight, practice better this week and get back to work.”
– Cedar Creek head coach James Melody
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Eastside High School football shuts down Cedar Creek in Top 15 clash
