Eastside @ Essex

Write up from local newspaper:

A unique high school football match-up is set for Saturday afternoon in Tappahannock.

Coach Mike Rhodes and the Eastside Spartans will travel 388 miles from Wise County in Southwest Virginia to face Essex in the state’s marquee small-school contest this weekend..

The game came together after both teams encountered scheduling difficulties for their Week 5 dates.

Essex had been scheduled to face Charles City, but the Panthers forfeited to the Trojans last season, and the schools mutually agreed to end the series. Essex defeated Charles City 51-0 in 2023 and 70-0 in 2024.

Eastside, formed in 2011 through the merger of Coeburn and St. Paul high schools, had previously scheduled Bland County for Week 5. The Spartans defeated Bland County 40-0 last season.

“In talking with Coach Rhodes, he mentioned having an open week,” Essex coach Todd Jones told the Rappahannock Times. “We talked at the all-state meeting and decided we could do it. Coach Rhodes has been great to deal with and has been nothing but positive about this.”

“Coach Jones and I have become good friends through the all-state meetings,” said Rhodes, who has helmed Eastside’s program since 2018. “This is something we have talked about doing the last couple of years, and we were finally able to make it work.”

Rhodes said his players are looking forward to the trip, which will begin on Friday morning at the Coeburn school.

“I think it will be a great experience for both groups of kids,” said Rhodes, who spent four seasons as an assistant at Union High School — also in Wise County — before taking the Eastside job. “For us to be able to travel that far and play such a quality program will be a tremendous experience for our kids. I think it will be a great showcase of 1A football when we get together and should be a very competitive game between two really good teams.”

Essex brings a 2-1 record into the 2 p.m. kickoff, while Eastside is 1-2. Essex defeated Franklin 59- 20 in its most recent outing, while Eastside bowed to Chilhowie 14-6 Friday night.

With every starter returning from 2025, Eastside entered the 2026 season as the top-ranked team in Class 1 after finishing as the Region 1D runner-up in each of the previous two seasons. The Spartans were upset 24-22 by Central-Wise in their opener while playing without six injured starters.

“We have a group that works really hard and just absolutely loves football and each other,” Rhodes said. “We are finally starting to get some of them back. I was proud of how our young kids, who got an opportunity to step in during Week 1, battled and fought.”

Eastside, a member of the Cumberland District, averaged 40 points per game last season and returns a wealth of offensive talent.

Leading that group are quarterback Landon Pannell, who passed for 1,609 yards and 22 touchdowns last season; Keldon Hamilton, who rushed for 2,045 yards and scored 187 points in 2025; Rocky Bond, who recorded 875 receiving yards, 598 rushing yards, 259 punt-return yards and 103 kick-return yards a season ago; and wide receiver Chase Williams, who caught 13 passes for 241 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Hamilton was named the Cumberland District’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year last season.

“They’ve got everyone back from last season and I’m sure they are going to come here hungry for a win,” Jones says. “Coach Rhodes does a great job with his team and I’m certain they will be clicking on all cylinders.”

Rhodes began preparing for Essex following his team’s setback against Chilhowie.

“Coach Jones does a great job, and his players play very hard for him,” Rhodes observed. “That was the draw in making this game happen. It’s an opportunity for us to play one of the premier programs in Virginia. It’s not often that you get to see two teams from opposite ends of the state compete.”

Both coaches reached similar conclusions when asked about the keys to success in Saturday’s match-up.

“No matter who you play, I think the keys to success are always the same,” Rhodes said. “You have to win the battle up front on both sides, win the turnover battle and limit your opponent’s explosive plays.”

“We’ve got to come out and play four quarters of Essex football because that’s something we have yet to do,” Jones remarked. “We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Mistake-free football is a must and if we get any turnovers we have to take advantage of them. Offensively, we’ve got to stay ahead of the chains and defensively we’ve got to fly to the football.”

Rhodes holds a career coaching record of 47-40, while Jones sports a 232-54 mark at Essex.

Essex is slated to visit Eastside next season. Jones and Rhodes are attempting to locate a neutral site for the teams’ 2028 encounter.

Well folks, looks the weather may be factor. They were already calling for gusty winds, now looks like possible rain by game time.
If your going to the game, bring your rain gear and be prepared to hang on to your hats.

game high lights
Despite the low score, this game kept fans on the edge of their seats for both sides from start to finish.

The game remained scoreless until late in the second quarter.
Eastside put together several nice pass plays including a pass to the receiver in stride running into the end zone for Eastside's first and only score of the game. Eastside missed the point after.

That put the score at 6 to 0 Eastside. That score remained the same until midway through the 4th quarter when the Eastside offense was backed up to their own goal line. At the snap of the ball the Eastside quarterback scrambled around the endzone looking for a receiver at which point the Essex defense tackled the quarterback in the endzone for a safety and the first points of the game for Essex.

That made the score 6 to 2 Eastside. On the next possession for Essex the Eastside defense again stopped the Essex run game on 2 attempts, at that point Essex passed the ball downfield and completed the pass despite being well defended by Eastside. That put the ball at the Eastside 30-yard line. On that very same play Eastside was called for roughing the passer. That moved the ball to the 15-yard line. From there Essex was able to score their only touchdown of the game. Essex converted the 2 points. That made the score 10 to 6 Essex.

Eastside turned the ball on their next series ending what appeared to be promising drive. Then Eastside defense held again and Essex was not able to get a first down. However, while Essex had the ball Eastside used all their timeouts to conserve time. When Eastside got the ball back there was about 2 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game.

Eastside went to their passing game and was able to move the ball into Essex territory. From there, some missed passes and holding calls stalled the Eastside drive. Time running out Eastside was at 4th down and long ways to go. Eastside attempted a pass downfield, that pass was intercepted by Essex with 8 seconds left. Eastside having no timeouts Essex only needed to kneel once to end the game.

Despite the win,
This game showed this is not the Essex that teams have seem the last few years. They are young in many positions and still learning. The offense for Essex seemed confused at times. There are still a lot of games to be played but the Essex offense clearly needs to improve.
Defensively Essex continues to struggle defending the pass.

For Eastside,
their defense played lights out for most of the game holding Essex scoreless until midway through the 4th quarter.

on offense,
Keldan Hamiton came as advertised and put on an impressive showing in a losing effort.

Landon Pannel looked impressive as well throwing some nice passes in windy conditions.

Injuries have bit the Spartans from the start of the season. There are still a lot of games to be played. If they can get healthy, I can see Eastside making run a deep in the playoffs.

Looks to be likely rematch between Rappahannock and Essex for Region A but there is a lot of games to be played.

Essex is going to need to improve on offense and shore up that pass defense if they are to beat Rappahannock.

We will find out how these 2 teams match up this year in regular season game scheduled 10/16.