​Eastside set a strong standard during James Magazine’s first few years as football coach.The Ghosts ended a 12-year streak of non-winning seasons by going 5-4 in his 2019 debut. They finished above .500 despite a COVID-altered campaign in 2020 (5-3), then made back-to-back sectional playoff runs with a trip to the North 2, Group 5 final in 2021.The past two years ended at 4-8 and 3-8, respectively, but Magazine believes the Paterson program has pinpointed the issue. There may even be an ironic flipside to things this fall.“We always have the skill players, but we just weren’t tough up front,” the coach said of the past few seasons. “This year, things have been the total opposite of what we’ve been used to. We are big up front, and our interior is our strength.”That is thanks in part to a trio of three-year starters on the line,: seniors Zacki Curry and Dolston Gordan and junior Victorious Rollins. Gordan can also help shore up things on the defensive line, another area where the Ghosts can use a boost.“We’ve never had a problem covering the pass, we just could not stop the run the last two years,” Magazine said. “We have to be able to stop the run. If we can stop the run, we’ll be fine.”The traditionEastside has been to a pair of sectional finals in the last 20 years but remains in search of its first title since the pre-playoff era.The NJSIAA awarded the Ghosts four North 1, Group 4 championships under four different coaches: David Ross (1941), Henry Rumana (1954), Art Jocher (1960) and Ron Frederick (1963). The ’41 team featured future baseball hall-of-famer Larry Doby, and the ’54 squad completed the only undefeated season in school history (8-0).This autumn, it appears that for the first time in their history (Eastside opened in 1925), the Ghosts will not face crosstown rival Kennedy on the gridiron. The Knights moved to the SFC Ivy Gold Division, where they are ineligible for state playoffs, while Magazine’s team remains in the SFC Freedom Blue.Not only did that make the game more difficult to move from its traditional Thanksgiving spot, but the earlier ending to the regular season – thanks to expanded playoffs – recently began making long layoffs unavoidable.“Over the last couple of years, especially after we got to the 100th game, I was trying to push for playing it in Week 0,” Magazine said. “I think it would have been a better turnout. It’d still kind of keep the tradition going, but it didn’t happen.”Eastside leads the series, 49-45-7.The challengeThe Ghosts are counting on a number of newcomers to help out at skill positions that were hit hard by graduation. Rising junior Shyjeir Stratford is projected to move into the quarterback spot, and his athleticism lends itself to a more grounded offense.“We’re going to be run heavy, trying to keep the field flipped,” Magazine said, “just trying to keep the game a little shorter, honestly.“Playing a young quarterback and a young running