Eisenhower head coach Ray Evans said it best after his Eagles defeated Westside in a 5A-Region III Division I bi-district game Saturday.

“In the playoffs, it doesn’t matter how you get it done, as long as you get it done,” he said.

Playing in a gusting wind at Humble’s Turner Stadium, Ike made some mistakes in turnovers and penalties, but its defense played well in a 23-3 win Saturday afternoon. The Eagles forced six turnovers, including one interception that was returned for a touchdown.

“Our offense gets attention because we have so many D-I players on our team, but our defense has been playing great all year,” Evans said.

Eisenhower will play the winner of Saturday night's game between Cinco Ranch and Alief Taylor.

The Eagles used the wind to their advantage. A Westside punt hit the wind and gave them great field position to set up a 25-yard pass from quarterback Kenneth Guiton to receiver Norman Darden for a 7-0 lead.

After Westside put up a goal-line stand midway in the first quarter, the Wolves had to start at their own 1-yard line. On third down, quarterback Otis Seals threw a ball into the stiff wind that was intercepted by cornerback Craig Loston, who returned it 20 yards for the touchdown to increase the lead to 14.

“It was a fantastic play by Craig. That kid’s been doing that for the last four years,” Evans said.

Westside got two turnovers in the second quarter, but could only manage a field goal in the quarter. Leo Munoz used the wind to kick a 41-yard field goal to put the Wolves on the board and cut the lead to 14-3 at the half.

Midway in the third quarter, Seals tried to escape from an onslaught of Eisenhower defenders and threw the ball in the end zone, but it didn’t reach the line of scrimmage, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty and a safety for the Eagles. On the ensuing kick, Curtis McGregor returned the kickoff 55 yards to the Wolves 12, where running back Travion Taylor took it in from eight yards out to score and increase the lead to 20.

Guiton passed for 143 yards and a touchdown, while McGregor ran for 84 yards for the Eagles. Meanwhile, Seals passed for only 95 yards and ran for 63 in the game with four interceptions.

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