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HIGH POINT - As expected, East Forsyth dominated the Metro 4-A conference, finishing off a 5-0 conference mark Friday with a 31-6 win over High Point Central.

"It's been kind of us against the world," Forsyth coach Todd Willert said. "Some people said we are lucky, but this team worked hard and beat some good teams this season. They worked hard in the offseason and that is what got us here."

With quarterback Danny O'Brien guiding the offense, Willert knew the Eagles would score points. He said it was the defense that helped East reach its goal of a conference title.

"The biggest difference between this year and last year is the defense," Willert said. "Defense wins championships, and they really stepped up this year. We basically have the same offense we had last year, but the defense made all the difference."

East Forsyth (10-1, 5-0) got off to a fast start.

The Eagles took the opening kick and methodically drove down the field. They converted two fourth downs during a 12-play drive that covered 67 yards. The Eagles' Christian Smith found the end zone when Danny O'Brien hit him with a short pass that Central linebacker Ricky Dowdy just missed intercepting before Smith scampered 32 yards untouched.

A 26-yard field goal by Zach Boyer gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Central (6-4, 2-3 Metro 4-A) looked like it would get on the scoreboard before the end of the first quarter.

The Bison recovered a muffed punt by East's Darren Walker and moved to the East 14, but three straight incomplete passes brought on Austin Miller for a 31-yard field goal. But Walker came flying in off the edge and blocked the kick, picked it up and ran 75 yards down the left sideline for a a 17-0 lead.

"We left 14 points on the field in the first half," said High Point Central coach Wayne Jones. "If we hadn't dropped those two passes, we could have been ahead 14-10 instead of being down 17-0."

Despite the lopsided score, Jones saw a lot of positives. Drew Adams passed the ball effectively at times and the defense made some big plays.

"It's a fresh start," Jones said of the playoffs. "We just have to work hard correct the mistakes and take away the positives from this game. We do have another chance."

Central avoided the shutout with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Terrance Isley with 2:45 left to play in the game.

EF - Christian Smith 32 pass from Danny O'Brien (Zach Boyer kick)

EF - Boyer 26 FG

EF - Darren Walker 75 blocked kick return (Boyer kick)

EF - Tyler Kloc 22 pass from O'Brien (Boyer kick)

EF - Smith 2 run (Boyer kick)

HPC - Terrance Isley 27 pass from Drew Adams (run failed)