How East Nashville's long road to turf field led back to familiar TSSAA football semifinals

Jordan Houston looked over his right shoulder and glanced at the ground. If, at this time last fall, Houston had been standing where he was now, he wouldn't have seen sharply colored green, white, red and black blades of turf; wouldn't have felt tiny rubber pellets under his feet.

Instead, Houston would have had to worry about taking a wrong step into a pothole or puddle of mud. He'd have been shaking pebbles and sand, rather than synthetic pellets, out of his cleats.

"We put a lot of hard work in to get this field," the East Nashville senior linebacker said. " ... Finally being able to play on a great field, that we take care of, is amazing."

Houston and his teammates once again got to savor the fruits of their labor Friday. Playing on their brand-new turf field, installed midseason, the Eagles (11-2) routed Liberty Creek, 41-14, in their Class 3A quarterfinal. They'll face Dyersburg (13-0) in the semifinals next Friday on the same field, with a third straight trip to the TSSAA state championship game up for grabs.

East Nashville has lost to eight-time defending champion Alcoa in the title game each of the last two seasons: 45-14 in 2021 and 45-26 in 2022.

"The difference this year is that after the last two years, we know we're coming for one goal," Houston said. "This senior group feels like, two bad trips in a row, third time's the charm."

How East Nashville landed new turf field

The Eagles haven't missed the playoffs in 11 seasons and haven't had a losing season since 2017. Yet it wasn't until this season that J.J. Keyes Stadium was able to boast a field befitting that run of success. East Nashville's home field usually succumbed to rain and cold by the time the postseason rolled around. To make matters worse, the Eagles didn't have a practice field.

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Last November, Metro Nashville Public Schools launched a $15 million project to provide all 13 of the district's football-playing high schools with artificial turf. East Nashville, Pearl-Cohn and Whites Creek were announced as the first three schools to get turf, but while the Firebirds and Cobras got to break in their new fields in early September, the Eagles had to wait until Oct. 20 due to permit issues.

As a result, East Nashville opened the season with eight straight road games. First-year coach Damien Harris told his team to embrace it. The Eagles began calling themselves "Road Warriors" and lived up to the name, winning their first five games by a combined 168 points.

"The environment and everything kept trying to affect us, and we just kept our head on straight," said senior receiver Elijah Usher. "It definitely was a challenge. It kind of humbled us. But everybody's been on the same page. We don't break, just bend."

Losses to Franklin Road Academy and Smyrna forced East Nashville, which came in with a young roster after losing six TSWA All-State seniors off last season's team, to "grow up," in Harris' words. The Eagles routed Cane Ridge before christening their new field with a 45-0 win over RePublic in Week 10.

"My kids, they were up for the challenge," Harris said. "I told them before the season, in order to go to state you gotta be on the road. That's how we looked at it. ... Make sure we do what we're supposed to do, win games, and we'll be able to play at home in the playoffs."

East Nashville hasn't had much trouble replacing key pieces from 2022. Sophomores Keith Johnson and Kelan Anderson have combined for 2,164 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns. Junior Martez Lamb (1,322 passing yards, nine touchdowns) has a stable of speedy receivers in Elijah Usher, Earnest Woodard and D'Anthony Lanier. Houston has made 85 tackles and intercepted five passes, leading a defense that's held five opponents scoreless.

But to Harris, who won two state titles as a player at Pearl-Cohn in the mid-1990s, winning it all comes down not to talent, but to who has the most heart. There are teams in Class 3A with as many explosive athletes as the Eagles. There aren't many that have had to travel the same muddy, uneven, rock-strewn road.

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: East Nashville in semifinals after waiting out turf field