COVINGTON — Halftime and sideline adjustments were the key to Eastside’s 20-13 win over Carrollton in the second round of the Class AAA playoffs Friday at Homer Sharp Stadium.

The Eagles will face Jackson in the quarterfinals on Friday after the Red Devils beat Liberty County 36-9 in their second-round game.

Neither team was able to put the ball in the end zone for the first half of the game.

Starting on Carrollton’s side of the of the field at the 42, the Eagles failed to put points on the board after moving the ball 21 yards. A bad snap on a field goal try kept Eastside scoreless early in the second period.

However, Eastside’s defense gave the Eagles the opportunity to get the lead. As a result of the defensive pressure, Eastside took a 2-0 lead after a bad snap on the punt went out the back of the end zone for a safety.

Eastside’s second possession started inside Carrollton territory, this time at the 39, and resulted in points after a 41-yard Cody Sandler field goal made it 5-0 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

“Give them credit, it’s a good football team. They made some plays and they’re physical. Our kids just had to come out and respond like they did,” Eastside coach Rick Hurst said. “That’s what I told them in the locker room, ‘They’re a great team, and great teams come out in the second half and respond.’ But you know what, we’re a pretty good football team, too, and we responded when we have to. That’s what I’m so proud about of these kids.”

Late in the first half, Carrollton took advantage of several Eastside miscues, a fumble on a punt and an offside call on fourth-and-1, to put the ball first-and-10 on the Eastside 14. But once again, the Eagles’ defense rose to the challenge, forcing the Trojans to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt after Sheldon Rankins and Jerrell Crowder sacked Carrollton quarterback A.J. Barge for a 14-yard loss on third down with 20 seconds left in the half. The Trojans were unable to close the gap as Joel Smith missed the try.

After the first half, Git Aiken led all rushers with 74 yards on nine carries. Carrollton’s Louis Hudson paced the Trojans with 34 yards on eight touches.

Aiken finished the game with 152 yards rushing on 20 carries and Greg Griffieth had 15 carries for 44 yards.

Carrollton started the second half with its running game recharged, taking a 6-5 lead and taking four and a half minutes off the clock. The Trojans marched 84 yards down the field, capped by a 5-yard Hudson run, in nine plays.

The Trojans kept Eastside’s defense off balance in the third quarter, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback dive by Barge with 35 seconds left in the quarter to take a 13-5 lead.

On a fourth-and-5, the Eagles put the ball in the hands of their best athlete, Aiken, who took it nine yards to the Trojans’ 25. The Eagles tied the game after a 1-yard Griffieth touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run by Aiken with 7:46 left in the game.

“The kids and coaches did a tremendous job of adjusting at halftime,” Hurst said. “(Carrollton) made some adjustments that we knew what they were doing to us, but they really did a good job of hitting us where we weren’t. Coach (Jason) Tester made some adjustments on the sideline. When we tied it up 13-13, we shut them down, which gave us good field position. That was a big part of the game right there.”

The Trojans’ defense was not about to let the Eagles win the game without a fight. After stopping Aiken on the first play of the drive, Aiken again got the ball but this time threw it downfield to Jerome Ivey, who had to jump up and take the ball with authority.

“He didn’t have a good night, but what shows a lot of character about him is that he goes down there and makes that play that Git threw on the sweep pass and put us there on the door step and we were able to punch it in,” Hurst said. “Jerome did exactly what we’ve talked about all year, talked about since I’ve been here, we just have to keep plugging and believing in yourself and good things will happen.”

The Eagles took the ball with more than six minutes left in the game and burned up the clock, while gaining yardage before Aiken put the Eagles in the lead, 20-13 following a Sander kick, with 47 seconds left in the game.

Carrollton started hurling the ball in the air. After several completions to J.R. Freeland, the Trojans had the ball on the Eastside 24 with six seconds left. But Zac Johnston, who had a big catch on the final drive, intercepted the ball, giving the Eagles the win.