East Hamilton beats Pioneers for region win

The East Hamilton Hurricanes picked up their first Region 2-4A win of the season Friday night by defeating East Ridge 23-6.

“We finally got a system in place. For two weeks, we weren’t as crisp as we were tonight,” East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood said.

“We got a little bit better this week and got some kids in spots to make some plays.

The Hurricanes were led by running back Devontay Tipton, who rushed for 153 yards.

“We’ve got four people who will potentially touch the ball,” he said. “(Tipton) is getting a feel for what he’s doing. He’s a former tailback and now he’s a B-back, so it’s a new system for him also. He’s running hard and running well, so we’ll keep feeding it to him.”

East Hamilton’s defense set up the Hurricanes for their first score. Aidan Holt picked off an East Ridge pass and rumbled down to the Pioneers’ 15-yard line.

The Hurricanes reached the end zone three plays later. Tipton pounded the ball in from the 1 for the score at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter. Mason LaFollete tacked on the extra point to put East Hamilton up 7-0.

After three possession changes, the Pioneers’ defense stepped up to force a Hurricanes fumble early in the second quarter.

East Ridge capitalized on the good field position, taking only three plays to score. Quarterback Alonzo Russell ran 2 yards for the touchdown. The ensuing extrapoint kick was blocked, and East Hamilton maintained a 7-6 lead.

After holding East Ridge on fourth down, the Hurricanes quickly scored with just two seconds to go in the first half. Kyler Johnson scored from 21 yards out and East Hamilton took a 21-6 lead into halftime.

It was a defensive battle in the second half with the only score coming late in the fourth quarter. East Ridge got called for intentional grounding in its own end zone. The play resulted in a safety, giving the Hurricanes the final 23-6 margin.

Gatewood said he’s looking to reduce his team’s penalties going into next week.

“We had too many mental mistakes tonight. We can’t play behind the chains,” he said.

Contact Brett King at sports@timesfreepress.com.

“We got a little bit better this week and got some kids in spots to make some plays.”

– EAST HAMILTON COACH TED GATEWOOD