East Jackson ready to ‘keep battling’ after strong start to season
Cameron Pettus seemed to walk off Hebron Christian’s field with a higher level of satisfaction than the scoreboard might have given him.
East Jackson’s head coach just watched his team lose its first game of the season, a 55-10 loss to a reigning state champion. It was obvious that Pettus’ team has plenty of room to improve, but the Eagles showed him that his work is paying off.
“Any time you’re in a contest like that, and it’s not going your way, you’ve got two things,” Pettus said. “You can either give up, or you can fight, and these guys fought. That just shows a lot of character on their part.”
Before the loss to Hebron Christian, Pettus, in his seventh year with the program, had just led East Jackson to a 5-0 start and first top-10 ranking in its 19-year history.
While Hebron Christian was the better team, both head coaches saw that character improvement from East Jackson. Hebron Christian coach Kenny Dallas pointed back to the Eagles’ undefeated start in non-region play.
“Listen, nobody messes around and gets to 5-0,” Dallas said. “Nobody lucks into 5-0 in football. I know what the score was last year with us and them, and I just had to remind the kids one year can make a lot of difference.”
East Jackson, a relatively young program that started in 2007, is surrounded by traditional state contenders like Jefferson, which has only missed the state playoffs one time since 2000, and Commerce, which has made it to the playoffs every year since 1996.
East Jackson reclassified from 3A to 2A in 2022, which allowed the program to be more competitive.
The Eagles have three state playoff appearances in school history — with the lone playoff win in 2009.
Pettus is quick to talk about the task at hand and staying focused on the next opponent, but even he has the postseason in mind.
“We aren’t going to see a better team than (Hebron Christian) until maybe the second, third round in playoffs,” Pettus said. “The good news is it prepares us for postseason, but we’ve got to get there now.”
Pettus believes the culture shift started in last season’s playoff game. East Jackson, a 19-point road underdog, lost a 52-49 shootout at Morgan County in the first round.
The Eagles trailed the Bulldogs 28-7, battled back and fell behind again 35-20 halfway through the third quarter. East Jackson eventually tied the score at 49-49 before Morgan County kicked a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
A heartbreaker, but the loss sparked a competitive fire that carried East Jackson through the offseason.
“It was kind of a realization like, ‘Hey, guys, we’re good, we can do this, we’re always in this thing,’” East Jackson quarterback Drew Richardson said. “And it just gave us that belief that we’re never out.”
The dual-threat talent is an excellent improviser, never giving up on plays and looking for somewhere to move the ball.
He was key in East Jackson’s last win over East Hall, as he threw for 269 yards and rushed for another 213 yards with six total touchdowns.
Richardson is an Army commitment who credited a Marine, who visited during a team workout over the summer, for helping East Jackson build its new competitive culture.
“He pushed us all to our limits,” Richardson said. “I saw some guys that haven’t really ever showed that last gear shift, and they really did it.
“I feel like last year there were some times where we got down and we started to hang our head, but this year, we’re a family, and we believe in each other.”
East Jackson arguably enters its biggest game of the regular season Friday. The Eagles are playing Franklin County, the team they beat last season to secure a playoff spot.
Beating the 5-1 Lions is especially important considering region wins don’t figure to get any easier. East Jackson ends the season against Hart County, Prince Avenue Christian and Stephens County. The Eagles are 1-16 against those teams all-time, including an 0-3 record last season.
East Jackson has avenged two losses from 2024. The Eagles beat Winder-Barrow 38-35 to open the season after losing 43-20 last year. East Jackson also beat White County 31-0, a stark improvement from last season’s 55-27 loss.
“This is a very good senior class, and they’ve worked hard, they bought in,” Pettus said. “They love each other, they care about each other, and they just want to keep battling.”
About the Author
Jack Leo is a sports writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jack worked for the AJC throughout his four years studying journalism and sports media at Georgia State University and the University of Georgia. He's now focused on telling stories in the grassroots: bringing comprehensive coverage of high school sports for AJC Varsity.
