Grant Reynolds' head coaching return to the Scenic City had a little bit of everything in East Hamilton's 59-14 road win over Signal Mountain on Friday night.
There was a chance to test his team's resolve. A 14-0 hole in front of a hostile full home side allows for that opportunity.
"I expected us to execute offensively," Reynolds said after his deep and balanced bunch set a school record for points in his first game leading the Hurricanes despite not scoring on their first two times with the ball, notching eight touchdowns and a field goal in their next nine possessions.
There was the chance to develop a bell-cow tailback as senior Adam Caudle scored four times in the first half - his first four-touchdown game ever - and finished with 144 yards on 17 carries despite his team's four-wide, no-huddle approach.
"They can spread you out and then have a running back like that," Signal coach Josh Roberts said, shaking his head. "That's a tough combination, and you know Grant and those guys are coaching them up."
There was the chance to see a junior but experienced quarterback play the type of leadership role usually held by a senior as Haynes Eller brushed aside the rainy conditions, the slow start and anything resembling opening-night overeagerness to finish with no turnovers, two touchdowns and 241 passing yards.
"We have been looking forward to this all summer," Eller said. "We know we can spread the ball around, and we have a lot of guys in this offense who can make plays."
After the two empty possessions - a failed fourth-down try deep in Signal territory and a three-and-out - Eller pulled the strings of the historic Hurricanes strike after strike. There were six rushing touchdowns by three players - Caudle's four from 1, 1, 3 and 45 yards and Connor Thornburg's 5-yard run among them - and Eller's two touchdown passes.
"We know there are a lot of guys in our huddle who can make a play when their number is called," Caudle said. "We put a lot of work in this summer and we believe this is only the beginning."
And of course, there was the chance for Reynolds to remind all who watched as he created a defensive powerhouse at Boyd-Buchanan that the veteran coach can make in-game adjustments with the best of them.
As the East Hamilton offense found its footing, the Signal offense sprinted from the gate. Terrance Russell gained 54 yards on the Eagles' first offensive play that set up Braden Casner's 2-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.
After a mishandled snap on a punt attempt, Russell's 14-yard run gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead and 95 rushing yards after eight offensive plays.
After that, Signal did not score another point and turned the ball over three times.
"(Defensive coordinator) J.D. Dunbar did made some great adjustments," Reynolds said after his team gave him a water-bucket shower. "We balanced the line and our front seven really started to make some plays."
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.