ROCKFORD — Joe Johnson ran for 34 yards on the game’s first play. Martin Hyatte ran 30 yards on the second play.

This, obviously, was not the same old East.

“It was exhilarating,” Hyatte said. “When you do something like that on the first play, it gives your whole team unbelievable confidence the rest of the game.”

East rolled to a 45-12 win over Auburn (1-5). The E-Rabs (2-4), after last week’s close 27-20 loss to Belvidere, have scored more points in the last two games than they did all of last season.

“The line, you have to give it to the line,” said Hyatte, who ran for 119 yards on 14 carries. “The line was opening up holes that anybody could run through.”

“It was beautiful,” interrupted Johnson, who added 89 yards on 13 carries.

East needed only four plays to take a 6-0 lead. That lead held until Michael Dye threw a 28-yard TD pass to Keyon Hopson on fourth-and-6 with 8.6 seconds left in the half to make it 14-0.

“I had to throw it behind the linebacker, but there was no safety over the top,” Dye said, “so I knew as soon as he caught it, he was gone.”

East’s rugged defense held Auburn to 30 yards of offense until the final meaningless play of the half. The E-Rabs then showed how much this team differs from its recent predecessors by not celebrating in the locker room.

“It gave us a big lift,” Dye said of his TD pass, “but we didn’t go in with our heads big. We went in acting like we were down 14-nothing.

“And that,” he said, pointing to the 45-12 on the final scoreboard, “is what you get when you play like you’re down 14-nothing.”
Dye ran for two touchdowns and threw for two. Antwan Teal returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown for Auburn, but the Knights got little else.

“We played down to their level. What we got is what we deserved,” said Eddie Cade, who led Auburn with 59 yards rushing.

Dye said this East team has “more heart.”

“We have people who want to play,” Hyatte said. “Even when they are down, they want to come out and play, and play hard.”

- Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com