East Bladen Soars 26-0, Keeps the Bell in Rivalry Win Against West Bladen

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. — Rivalry games in Bladen County are rarely just about football.

The annual “Battle of the Bell” carries history, bragging rights, and pride.

On Friday night in Elizabethtown, East Bladen reminded everyone that momentum can swing fast, securing the Bell for another year since 2001.

The Eagles capitalized on two West Bladen turnovers before the home crowd could settle in, and from there, the tone was set.

Behind a punishing ground attack led by Jaden Lewis and a defense that refused to bend, East Bladen blanked their rivals 26-0. It’s the program’s first 2-0 start since the 2020–21 season.

For West Bladen, it was another night of learning through mistakes, but one where Head Coach Preston Worley still found reasons to believe.

The Knights actually moved the ball well on their opening drives, showing confidence in running backs Sincere McKinley and quarterback Devan Haire.

But both possessions ended the same way, the ball came loose, and East Bladen pounced.

Quarterback Keyshaun Kemp wasted no time making the Knights pay.

His first short touchdown run was followed by another just minutes later, and suddenly East Bladen held a 14-0 lead with barely seven minutes off the clock.

“It’s hard to win a game when you are out possessions,” Worley admitted. “Turnovers killed us the whole game, fumbles, the miss on the squib kick. The second half they had us 4-2 in possessions and you can’t win a game like that. Our defense was put in some bad spots this evening, some drives starting at the 35-yard line. You can’t put your defense in those kinds of situations, especially multiple times.”

The quick punch rattled the Knights, but they didn’t fold. West Bladen’s defense tightened, and the second quarter turned into a grind filled with flags, cramps, and long pauses.

Neither team scored before halftime, leaving the Knights still within striking distance.

If the second quarter dragged, the third ended with a jolt.

With less than a minute left, Lewis found daylight and broke loose down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown run that sent the home crowd surging.

Lewis added a four-yard score midway through the fourth, putting the game out of reach.

By night’s end, he had racked up 155 yards on just 14 carries, showcasing both speed in the open field and toughness at the goal line.

Kemp’s two early touchdowns gave East Bladen all the cushion it needed, and the Eagle defense locked down to preserve the shutout.

Robby Priest: “A Boring Game” but a Win

Despite the shutout win, East Bladen Head Coach Robby Priest wasn’t satisfied with what he saw.

“Celebrating the win for sure. Gonna have to fix the stuff we can,” Priest said. “It was just a boring game. There was no excitement, no flow, no rhythm. There was a flag on every play and it doesn’t let the fans get involved and just kills everything. Fumbles, injuries, cramps, just a lot of distractions but we won the game so that is what matters.”

Priest noted that next week’s opponent, Whiteville, will be a tough matchup. They reached the 2A East Final Four last season. He acknowledged the Eagles can’t afford the same kind of sloppy stretches.

“We got a lot of stuff to clean up,” he said. “I mean, I know it’s early and you’re supposed to peak at the end of the year but we are a long ways away from a peak. Whiteville will be tough and it will be at their place so we have to get back on the grind of it Monday morning and see what we can do.”

West Bladen’s captains.

Even the rivalry itself, he said, doesn’t change how he prepares his team. “We don’t pump that during the week, we work on us. The devotion this past Tuesday at Milk and Cookies was to love each other and not hate your opponent, and that coincides with us getting better and us trusting us, and we have a long way to go.”

For Worley and West Bladen, the night was as much about teaching as it was about competing.

While the turnovers hurt, he felt his team responded in stretches.

“Initially, yes you get let down and it sucks the energy out of you because you’re seeing the ball move and then turnover,” he said of the early miscues. “But I thought we recovered well and got the ball moving again, just couldn’t string enough together. I felt towards the end of the game we lost our energy just because of the toll of the game.”

Worley praised his defense for its toughness despite being put in difficult spots. “Although they put 26 on the board, we really put those guys (defense) in bad positions tonight. I thought our linebackers played really well.”

East Bladen’s captains.

On offense, McKinley carried six times for 53 yards before exiting with an injury that Worley later said was not serious. Haire added 30 rushing yards to go with 38 passing yards, connecting with Hunter Hester three times.

Hester added 10 tackles and a fumble recovery on defense, while John McDowell (9 tackles), Justin Spaulding (8 tackles, pass breakup), and Isaiah Robenson (6 tackles, fumble recovery) also stood out.

“I thought offensively we drove the ball well,” Worley said. “They (East Bladen) took the inside run game away, so we got to the edge well. I thought we strung together some good passing tonight as well. We can get it rolling if we clean up a few things.”

The Bell stays in Elizabethtown for another year, and East Bladen now turns its attention to Whiteville in what could be one of their toughest games of the season.

West Bladen will regroup at home against West Columbus, looking to clean up mistakes and turn steady improvement into a win.

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East Bladen Soars 26-0, Keeps the Bell in Rivalry Win Against West Bladen