East Hamilton broke out the big plays to pull off a shocking 28-16 upset of previously unbeaten and state-ranked Stone Memorial on Friday night in the TSSAA Class 4A state football playoffs in Crossville.
“We’re doing a lot better than the last time we made this trip going home,” East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood said, referring to his team’s 14-7 loss to the Panthers on Oct. 30. “You feel good for these kids. They had a great mind-set coming into the game.
They wanted another opportunity to play a really good football team.
“They respected (Stone Memorial), but it worked for us this time.”
East Hamilton advanced to the quarterfinals and will host Marshall County (11-1) next Friday at Larry Henry Stadium. Marshall County drubbed Livingston Academy, 49-13. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Hurricanes (9-3), the third-seed from Region 3-4A, scored four touchdowns and three of them were for a combined 149 yards.
Jordan Gorman caught a 54-yard pass from quarterback Nick Woods for the game’s first touchdown. It was Gorman’s lone reception of the game.
Jeffery Coleman bolted 48 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. It was Coleman’s only run in the game.
David Whiteside raced 47 yards for the other quick-strike score. He turned in another superb late-season effort, rushing for 150 yards on 24 carries.
“David ran fantastic all night,” Gatewood said in a telephone interview during the bus ride home. “Nick threw the ball well and made some great key plays.”
Woods, a junior who has committed to play baseball at Tennessee, got the other East Hamilton touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. He completed 4-of-9 passes for 104 yards. Each reception averaged 26 yards.
The offense was steady all night, scoring one touchdown in each of the four quarters, and finishing with 334 yards of offense on 47 plays.
Defensively, the Hurricanes gave up a 1-yard Justin Johnson touchdown run in the second period, a 10-yard Austin Helton scoring jaunt in the third and added a fourth quarter safety when Keith Sadula tackled punter Jake McClure in the end zone.
The Panthers (11-1), the Region 3-4A regular-season champion, had 342 yards of offense, eight more than the Hurricanes.
“Our defense did a great job,” Gatewood said. “The (defensive) staff does a great job preparing our kids. They know what they’re going to see going into a ballgame.”
SCORING
East Hamilton 7 7 7 7 – 28
Stone Memorial 0 6 8 2 – 16
First Quarter
EH – Jordan Gorman 54 pass from Nick Woods (Jake McClure kick), 4:21
Second Quarter
EH – Woods 1 run (McClure kick), 10:05
SM – Justin Johnson 1 run (kick failed), 0:44
Third Quarter
SM – Austin Helton 10 run (Cody Wyllins run), 7:47
EH – Jeffrey Coleman 48 run (McClure kick), 0:04
Fourth Quarter
EH – David Whiteside 47 run (McClure kick), 6:43
SM – Safety, Keith Sadula tackled McClure in end zone, 2:18
YARDSTICK
EH SM
First Downs 14 18
Rushes-Yards 38-230 48-227
Passing Yards 104 115
Comp-Att-Ints 4-9-0 9-16-1
Plays-Total Yds 47-334 64-342
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Punts-Avg 1-46 3-36.3
Penalties-Yds 4-50 3-20
INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING – East Hamilton: David Whiteside 24-150, Jeffrey Coleman 1-48, Andrew Sturdivant 6-26, Frankie Campo 3-12, Nick Woods 3-4, Team 1-minus 10; Stone Memorial: Ethan Pierce 17-76, Cody Wyllins 17-63, Justin Johnson 10-46, Austin Helton 3-38, Austin Selber 1-4.
PASSING – East Hamilton: Woods 4-9-0 104; Stone Memorial: Helton 9-16-1 115.
RECEIVING – East Hamilton: Gorman 1-54, Hunter Gregg 1-41, Graham Ford 1-11, Campo 1-minus 2; Stone Memorial: ;
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)