East Hamilton quarterback Hunter Moore passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns – all to Tony Francois – on Friday night as the Hurricanes trounced visiting Bradley Central, 41-11, to claim a share of the District 5-AAA regular-season title.
The Hurricanes (8-2, 5-1) share the league championship with Ooltewah and Cleveland and all three teams now move on to the Class 5A state playoffs. First-round matchups and the state brackets will be announced by the Tennessee Secondary School Association on Saturday.
Moore, who has committed to Central Arkansas, hooked up with Francois on touchdown passes covering 31, 63 and 80 yards against the Bears (5-5, 2-4). Moore also had a 1-yard touchdown run.
Francois, the Hurricanes’ leading receiver, caught four passes for 181 yards. Francois’ first two touchdown receptions came in the first half when East Hamilton built a 27-3 lead. The margin was 41-3 after three quarters.
For the game Moore completed 8 of 13 passes for 218 yards and the three scores. He has thrown for well over 2,000 yards this season while leading the Hurricanes back to the state playoffs. East Hamilton reached postseason in 2012, losing to Giles County, 22-16, in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
East Hamilton’s other touchdown came on a 6-yard run by Kendall Henderson in the third quarter.
David Whiteside led the Hurricanes’ ground attack with 82 yards on 17 carries.
Bradley Central’s scoring came on a 30-yard Clayton Steels field goal in the second quarter and a 50-yard touchdown pass from Cole Copeland to Tyler Carpenter in the fourth period.
Copeland completed 6 of 7 passes for 128 yards. Starter Brett Standifer went 11-for-30 for 182 yards with two interceptions.
Logan Fetzner was the Bears’ top rusher with 51 yards on nine carries. Cal Pickel caught three passes for 97 yards.
The Bears had 400 yards of total offense – 310 through the air – while the Hurricanes finished with 379.
SUMMARY
Bradley Central 0 3 0 8 – 11
East Hamilton 13 14 14 0 – 41
First Quarter
EH – Tony Francois 31 pass from Hunter Moore (Casey Malone kick)
EH – Moore 1 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
EH – Francois 63 pass from Moore (Cooper Loftin kick)
BC – FG Clayton Steels, 30
EH – Tre Herndon 9 run (Loftin kick)
Third Quarter
EH – Francois 80 pass from Moore (Loftin kick)
EH – Kendall Henderson 6 run (Loftin kick)
Fourth Quarter
BC – Tyler Carpenter 50 pass from Cole Copeland (Dee Crisp pass from Copeland)
YARDSTICK
BC EH
First Downs 20 16
Rushes-Yards 22-90 35-133
Passing Yards 310 246
Com.-Att.-Int 17-40-3 9-14-1
Total Plays-Yards 62-400 49-379
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-1
Punts-Avg. 2-46.5 3-22.7
Penalties-Yards 6-74 4-39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Bradley Central: Logan Fetzner 9-51, Cole Copeland 3-24, Brett Standifer 8-17, Cal Pickel 1-3; East Hamilton: David Whiteside 17-82, Kendall Henderson 11-32, Tre Herndon 1-9, Hunter Moore 2-5.
PASSING – Bradley Central: Standifer 11-30-2-182, Copeland 6-7-0-128; East Hamilton: Moore 8-13-1-218, Rhodes 1-1-0-28.
RECEIVING – Daniel Clark 5-79, Pickel 3-97, Crisp 3-30, Fetzner 3-26; East Hamilton: Tony Francois 4-181, Bailey Lenoir 2-39, Austin Gatewood 3-26.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com)