Signal Mountain started strong, but wound up losing 59-14 to visiting East Hamilton
East Hamilton traveled up to Signal Mountain for the opening game of the 2019 football season on Friday and scored a school record amount of points in their 59-14 win.
Signal Mountain got off to a great start when senior running back Terrance Russell ripped off a 55-yard run. Junior back Branden Casner cashed in on a 1-yard touchdown to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. Casner finished with 12 rushes for 75 yards and a score.
The Eagles next possession ended in similar fashion with Russell scoring on a 15-yard pitch to make it a two-possession game.
Russell carried the ball 8 times for 78 yards and a touchdown.
East Hamilton found traction late in the first quarter after a well-engineered drive by junior quarterback Haynes Eller. That drive was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Adam Caudle.
The Eagles had no answer and East Hamilton continued to score. Their next two possessions yielded a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs by Caudle. Caudle got his fourth touchdown of the half after he burned the Eagles defense for a 45-yard score. He netted 108 yards on 14 carries to go with his four touchdowns.
The Hurricanes led 35-14 at the half after Eller threw his first of two touchdown passes in the game. The East Hamilton defense came up with three turnovers and a sack to prevent the Eagles from doing anything offensively.
“The defense figured it out after the third series and gave our offense good field position,” East Hamilton Head Coach Grant Reynolds said. “Our offense started to click and we were able to complete the long ball.”
The visitors went on to convert on a 30-yard field goal before Eller hit junior wide receiver Jackson Fletcher for a 23-yard strike. Eller completed 12 of his 22 passing attempts and threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior John David Reynolds scored a five-yard touchdown and senior Johnavan Moore shed a few tackles on the way to his 35-yard touchdown to set a new school record for most points in a game.
“We want to compete for the region and state championships, but we are taking it one game at a time.” said Coach Reynolds.
East Hamilton (1-0) will host Soddy-Daisy (0-1) next Friday at 7:30 p.m..
Signal Mountain (0-1) will host Hixson (0-0) next Friday at 7:30 p.m..