The East Side High School Trojans have one thing in mind this season — winning a state championship.

Friday night’s match up against J.J. McClain exemplifies the drive, determination and character of a group of young men led by head coach Tavares Johnson, Sr. The Trojans walked away after a 56-12 routing.

The Trojans are 9-0 overall, 3-0 in the conference and ranked 28th in the state of Mississippi, according to Maxpreps.com.

In Friday night’s game, the first quarter was packed full of offensive action as Tavares Johnson, Jr. marched the Trojans up and down the field putting up 22 total points during the first 12 minutes on the clock.

The Trojans were not done and they added to their lead and walked into the endzone four times in the second quarter before they headed into the locker room at halftime with 50-point lead.

The third quarter quickly turned into the fourth with the Trojans still up 50-6 with only 12 minutes left to go in the ballgame.

Each team put one final touchdown on the board to end with a final score of 56-12.

Was the East Side offense just that good or was the J.J. McClain defense just that bad?

“We played East Side style football and we took control of the game,” said Tavares Johnson Sr. “McClain has been keeping teams out of the endzone all season, but our guys just executed out plays and wanted to win.”

Offensively the Trojans were explosive marching into the endzone eight times. Jamarcus Walker was credited with two scores, Jonathan Beamon had one touchdown, Lachristopher Lee had two touchdowns, Khiry Lucas had two touchdowns and Quadre Butler also found the endzone once.

Johnson, Jr. recorded 146 yards passing, completing 8/9 attempts. He also rushed for 14 yards.

Defensively the Trojans had 71 total tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, and one blocked punt.

Next week the Trojans will host Ruleville for Homecoming. Game time is set for 7 pm.