East Hamilton scored twice in 56 seconds late in the fourth quarter and defeated host Sequoyah, 38-14, Friday night in Region 3-4A high school football action.
Quarterback Andrew Sturdivant scored on a 3-yard run with 2:56 remaining in the game to give the Hurricanes a 31-14 lead over the Chiefs.
Then Iann Amerall intercepted a Sequoyah pass and returned it for a touchdown at the 2-minute mark of the quarter to salt away the victory.
East Hamilton improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the region. Sequoyah dropped to 1-2 and 0-1.
Nursing a 7-6 lead, Jake McClure kicked a 40-yard field goal and the Hurricanes had a 10-6 first-quarter advantage.
In the third period, Sturdivant, playing for starter Nick Woods, threw a 70-yard touchdown to Blake Aldredge and the lead stretched to 17-6.
Woods suffered a second knee injury last week against Cleveland, tearing his MCL while scrambling. He will miss the remainder of his senior season.
Running back Jhaeden Smith scored from 12 yards out to secure a three-score advantage.
Sturdivant attempted only three passes and the long TD was the lone completion. The Chiefs passed for 204 yards. Smith paced the Hurricanes’ ground attack with 65 yards on six carries and Sturdivant put up 60 yards on 10 tries.
East Hamilton’s next game is on Sept. 9 against rival Ooltewah. The Owls (2-1) are coming off a 69-55 victory over Clyde A. Erwin High from North Carolina. Ooltewah beat the same team in 2015 by 48-7.
SCORING
East Hamilton 10 0 7 21 – 38
Sequoyah 6 0 0 8 – 14
First Quarter
EH – Touchdown (Jake McClure kick)
SE – Touchdown (kick failed)
EH – FG McClure 40, 2:52
Third Quarter
EH – Blake Aldredge 70 pass from Andrew Sturdivant (McClure kick), 10:44
Fourth Quarter
EH – Jhaeden Smith 12 run (McClure kick), 9:17
SE – C. Johnson 81 pass from J. Wiggins (J. Brewster pass from Wiggins), 8:33
EH – Sturdivant 3 run (McClure kick), 2:56
EH – Iann Amerall interception return (McClure kick), 2:00
YARDSTICK
EH SE
First downs 10 10
Rushes-Yards 30-165 11-11
Passing Yards 70 204
Comp-Att-Yds 1-3-0 13-25-1
Plays-Tot Yds 33-235 36-215
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Punts-Avg 1-10 3-32.7
Penalties-Yds 5-30 7-40
INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING – East Hamilton: Jhaeden Smith 6-65, Andrew Sturdivant 10-60, Drako Wise 14-40; Sequoyah: Stakely 7-23, Blair 1-minus 1, Wiggins 3-minus 11.
PASSING – East Hamilton: Sturdivant 1-3-0 70; Sequoyah: Wiggins 13-25-1 204.
RECEIVING – East Hamilton: Blake Aldredge 1-70; Sequoyah: Johnson 1-81, Brewster 5-551, Kirkland 2-34, Strickland 1-22, Jenkins 1-8, Pullin 1-7, Stakely 2-1.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)