By: Katie Bailey
Posted on: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

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REEDSVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) —The Eastern Eagles return to their original school colors in new jerseys for the upcoming football season.

During last year’s game against the Waterford Wildcats, Eastern head coach Jason Jackson noticed that the two teams’ colors seemed nearly identical.  This inspired him to begin researching the history of Eastern High School and how his team could honor its history.

“You know I’m a traditionalist; I love school history, and I love to know where things were established. So, I just started to ask around,” Jackson said.

His traditionalist mindset led him to review past yearbooks and meet with the school administration to discuss how he could achieve these goals. Coach Jackson was also able to do this because of the strong impact of Eagle fans and alumni.

The alumni support has also affected the players on the field. Junior running back Kyler Basham noted how, “it’s an honor to play for Eastern High School” and added that “the bond is unreal.”

The Eagles hope that returning to the original school colors will help push the team to success. Coach Jackson noted that he is using the two undefeated teams from 1971 and 1981 as inspiration for his team.

“We want to say that we are throwing it back, and we want to play physical like y’all,” Jackson said.

Eastern is bringing this level of physicality into their culture, and this year’s motto is “Win the play”. Coach Jackson described how they are not focused on the result but rather on each play in hopes of a greater result.

The Eagles will have that opportunity when they open their season at home on Saturday, Aug. 22 against Meigs.