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Two second-half field goals from the right foot of senior Luke Qualey pushed Tyner Academy to its fifth straight win.
Qualey’s kicks provided all of the Rams’ points in Friday night’s 6-3 victory at East Hamilton, but it was a team effort.
The Rams held the Hurricanes (2-4) to 73 yards of total offense and used eight running backs and 42 carries to gain a clock-controlling 185 rushing yards and seal the win.
“East Hamilton deserves credit for playing well early while we came out sluggish, but we eventually got our wheels back under us and found a way to roll,” Tyner coach Wayne Turner said.
“Our defense did a tremendous job from the first possession on and really won the game for us. They picked up our offense when we couldn’t get going and held on at the end when the other team started creating energy and making plays.”
The Rams (5-1) opened the scoring when Qualey drilled a 36-yard field goal on Tyner’s first possession of the second half after 14 plays took them to the Hurricanes’ 19-yard line.
On their next possession, the Rams did more of the same when their 10-play drive moved them to East Hamilton’s 11, where Qualey drilled a 28-yard field goal.
East Hamilton’s Mason Lafollete kicked a 43-yard field goal on his team’s last possession of the game.
“Tonight showed how much of an impact a kicker can have in high school football,” Qualey said. “I’m just happy I could step up and make the impact I did, because I love this team and I wouldn’t want to kick for any other team in the city.”
Tyner returns to Region 3-2A competition at Bledsoe County next week, when East Hamilton hosts Sequoyah in a Region 2-4A matchup.
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.