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HIGH POINT - Sitting on the sideline for the first quarter of Friday's game was torture for Jason Davis.

Once the Eastern Guilford quarterback made it on to the field, he inflicted a little of his own.

Davis, held out for being a minute late to his second period Algebra II class earlier in the day, ran for a touchdown and threw for two more as Eastern beat Southwest 33-8 to spoil the Cowboys' homecoming, improve to 6-0 and guarantee its first winning season in almost a decade.

"I was hurting so bad (on the sideline)," said Davis, who had 111 yards on six carries and threw for 55 more. "When I got in, I was ready to go."

No kidding.

Eastern got the ball back with six seconds left in the first quarter, and Davis, who had been pacing nervously all game, strapped on his helmet and tried to slip out on the field.

Not so fast, Wildcats head coach Scott Loosemoore said. Rules are rules, and even this minor infraction had to be enforced.

"But he really settled in once he got out there," Loosemore said with a smile. "I'll have to think about doing this more."

Gerrod Herbin and Cedrick Johnson also scored for Eastern, which rolled up 225 yards on 27 carries, better than eight yards an attempt.

The Wildcats' defense was just as impressive. Davis Inman's 19-yard touchdown pass to Devin Bennett with 8:55 remaining allowed Southwest to avert a shutout, but it was a rough night other than that for the Cowboys' junior quarterback, who was intercepted four times in the face of an unrelenting blitz.

"It was a tough game," said Inman, whose team fell to 0-6. "We're trying our hardest, but things just aren't going our way."

George Williams had the first of Eastern's picks on the game's opening drive, but the Wildcats turned the ball over at the 1-yard line when Herbin was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the four.

That was the last bright note for Southwest.

The Cowboys drove the ball all the way to the Eastern 20 but couldn't convert a 4th-and-5, and Eastern responded with a nine-play drive that ended with Davis' 1-yard touchdown sneak.

Southwest's next drive stalled at midfield, and the snap on the punt sailed over Inman's head. He fell on it at the Cowboys' 37, and Johnson scampered in from 17 yards out four plays later.

Herbin made it 20-0 with a 2-yard touchdown just before halftime, and Davis had both a 16-yard pass to Johnson and a 28-yard run for scores in the third quarter.

The Wildcats play Atkins next week, then host fellow undefeated Reidsville in what's shaping up to be the program's biggest game in years.

"We've really got something to play for," Davis said.

Right on time.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

E - Jason Davis 1 run (Will Gann kick)

E - Cedrick Johnson 17 run (Gann kick)

E - Gerrod Herbin 2 run (kick failed)

E - Johnson 16 pass from Davis (Gann kick)

E - Davis 28 run (kick failed)

SW - Devin Bennett 19 pass from Davis Inman (conversion good, Donte Dawkins pass from Inman)