Eastern lost its final four games in 2009, went 1-9 in 2010 and lost its first three games in 2011.
That's 1-16.
"This was a long time coming," Eastern coach Dan Spittal said of the Vikings' 24-13 victory over Lenape in a West Jersey Football League American Division game on Saturday night.
The Vikings have been right there in recent games, playing two solid quarters against No. 4 Williamstown in the opener and taking then-No. 2 Cherokee to the brink in Week Two. But they needed a victory.
Sophomore quarterback Tom Flacco and senior wide receiver Darius Merriweather led the way against Lenape. The pair combined for two touchdown passes, and the Vikings also got an 83-yard kickoff return for touchdown from sophomore T.J. Gardner.
Add in three takeaways by the defense, and the Vikings improved their record to 1-3.
"We're moving in the right direction," Spittal said. "Our inexperienced kids are getting some experience. Our big-play people are making big plays. We just needed to get that first win."
Spittal had high praise for Flacco, a sophomore quarterback playing his first season for Eastern after transferring from Camden Catholic.
"He threw an interception on our first drive and after that he played about as perfect as you can play," Spittal said. "One time he was scrambling and he came to our sideline and he hurdled a guy. It was right in front of me and I'm not sure I ever saw a guy on the football field jump that high."
Minutemen surge. Washington Township had lost to Cherokee by a combined score of 97-0 over the previous three seasons.
But the Minutemen continued their remarkable improvement from last season with an emotional 30-29 victory over the Chiefs on Saturday night.
"We needed it," Washington Township coach Mark Wechter said. "I didn't want to walk into the meeting room after a close loss and tell the kids, 'You almost did it.' They didn't want to hear that."
Washington Township (3-1) made a crucial fourth-and-a-foot stop at its own 49 with less than three minutes to play. Junior quarterback Tom Hildebrand had another big game, completing 11 of 22 passes for 170 yards and scoring the winning touchdown on a four-yard run.
The Minutemen, who rallied four times from deficits, also got a huge play from junior linebacker D.J. Brown, who returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown.
"We didn't overhype this game," Wechter said. "It was just another big game on our schedule. It wasn't like, 'We have to win this one.' "
