The third-ranked Indians (6-1, 4-0) ended the night as the region's lone unbeaten following North Cobb's loss to Hillgrove. The Falcons (3-4, 2-2) fell into a four-way tie for third with Hillgrove, South Cobb and Harrison, setting up what should be an exciting final three weeks of football as teams jockey for playoff position.
McEachern's Dondre Purnell connected on two long touchdown passes to put the game out of reach. With the Indians holding a 20-14 lead at halftime, Purnell found Chris Davis for a 73-yard strike on the second play from scrimmage at the start of the third quarter to put the Indians up 27-14 with 11:09 remaining in the frame.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, and with McEachern on top 36-14, Purnell found Amba Etta-Tawo for a 58-yard touchdown pass for a 43-14 lead with 6:48 on the clock.
The Indians held a commanding advantage, outgaining the Falcons 338-136 in second-half yardage.
For the game, Purnell was 8-for-10 on his passing attempts for 251 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Etta-Tawo had seven receptions for 130 yards and a score, while Davis caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
McEachern racked up 438 passing yards and 586 yards of total offense.
"We have a goal coming into every game to get at least four explosive plays out of our offense," McEachern coach Kyle Hockman said. "We try to work on that and the kids do what's required to try to get those plays. Of course, you need explosive players to create those situations and, fortunately, we have that capability with the guys who suit up for us."
Neither offense could get started early as Pebblebrook went three-and-out on its first two possessions and was forced to punt. The Falcons did manage to intercept Purnell in the end zone as the Indians threatened to score on their first possession, but the Falcons couldn't capitalize on the gift.
Quarterback Trent Thompson, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown and an interception, directed the Indians back into the red zone on their second possession. He used a nine-play, 58-yard drive that included a pass-interference call in the end zone to set up a 2-yard Marquis Roberts touchdown run for a 6-0 lead after a failed point-after attempt.
On McEachern's next drive, a 54-yard completion from Purnell to Davis set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tray Fletcher for a 13-0 advantage with 8:40 left in the second quarter.
Pebblebrook answered with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard run from Sertonuse Harris as the Falcons trailed 13-7 with 3:01 left in the second. The march included a 13-yard third-down completion from C.J. Goodman to Ne'Quon Jeffries, as well as a two 15-yard penalties against the Indians.
Cedric Alexander recovered a McEachern fumble, leading to a 15-yard touchdown throw from Goodman to Dontavious Heard that gave the Falcons a 14-13 lead with 2:21 left until halftime.
Thompson then directed an 80-yard, 2-minute drill that resulted in a 7-yard touchdown to Fletcher for a 20-14 advantage with 17.9 remaining until halftime.
After Davis' 73-yard touchdown, Roberts found the end zone again on a 1-yard run on McEachern's third possession of the third quarter for 34-14 lead.
Pebblebrook's defense had two big stops on fourth-and-inches in the second half, but the latter occurred at their own goal line and resulted in a safety for McEachern and a 36-14 advantage with 7:08 left in the contest.
Following the safety, Purnell connected with Etta-Tawo on the 58-yard score for a 43-14 margin.
Pebblebrook reached the end zone on its final possession as Goodman, who was 10-of-29 for 134 yards, a touchdown and an interception, completed passes of 25, 33 and 24 yards before finding Jeffries for a 2-yard score with 2:50 left and a 43-21 final margin.
Jeffries caught six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, while Harris rushed eight times for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Zarold Wilder rushed 18 times for 77 yards for McEachern.
"Our mistakes really hurt us, but these guys are fighters," Pebblebrook coach Randall Smith said. "I'm proud of their effort, and the mistakes that we made in the secondary happen from time to time. We just have to learn from that and get better next time out."
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