PRIDE of the Eastside

Because of a lack of players, Eastside Memorial will not play a District 26-4A schedule this football season.

“It’s a numbers game,” Panthers coach Darrell Crayton said Wednesday. He estimated that the Panthers have 20 to 30 players at this point, but added that some might transfer before practice starts on Aug. 13.

Tommy Cox, athletic director for the Austin school district, said Eastside has scheduled seven varsity games, opening the season Aug. 31 at St. Andrew’s. The Panthers will face an assortment of private schools and UIL teams that compete in classifications below 4A, Cox said.

Eastside also will not field a junior varsity squad, Crayton said.

“We could probably field about 11 good kids, but that would be very tough to play that way for an entire game,” Crayton said. “We want to be competitive and have them feel good about themselves.”

Eastside will drop its games against District 26-4A opponents LBJ, Reagan, Travis, Crockett, McCallum and Lanier.

Eastside played a junior varsity schedule last year. The Panthers most recently played a District 26-4A varsity schedule in 2010.