Walker Valley storms past Hurricanes for region victory
Team FYN Sports October 17, 2024
BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)
CHARLESTON, Tenn. – Walker Valley remembered the 5th meeting between the Mustangs and East Hamilton last season, which was a 17-10 defeat on Hurricane Hill. That night would be the lone region loss that proved to provide plenty of motivation in a record setting season that saw a region championship and a state semifinal appearance for the blue and gold. Head coach Drew Akins, the Mustangs football program, and the Walker Valley faithful will remember the 6th meeting all-time in 2024 as the Mustangs knocked off the Hurricanes 28-17 on Friday night.
Both teams came out firing on all cylinders offensively, getting touchdowns on their first possessions. East Hamilton would put the first dent in the scoreboard when quarterback Wyatt Miller scored on a 41-yard run to give the Hurricanes a quick 7-0 lead with 8:39 left in the first quarter. Mustangs starting quarterback Dosen Stum made his return to the starting lineup after missing 2 games due to injuries he had after being involved in a car accident. Roman Eulo answered the Canes touchdown with a 65-yard touchdown of his own about 3 minutes later and the game was tied up 7-7 with 5:45 left in the opening quarter.
Wyatt Miller scores a touchdown for East Hamilton
“When you get your starting quarterback back and you know he’s healthy, you know what he had to fight through to get back”, Akins said of Stum. “It gives you a level of confidence going into the game and I think you saw that from our offense”.
Both defenses would trade takeaways at the end of the first quarter and in the second quarter. Walker Valley’s Spencer Makuch would have an interception on the final play of the first quarter and East Hamilton would then recover a Stum fumble at the Canes’ 37-yard line to stop a Walker Valley drive. The Hurricanes would take advantage of the turnover, getting points on a 33-yard Spencer Payne field goal to take their first lead of the night, 10-7, with 3:29 left in the second quarter. Walker Valley would setup at their 35-yard line and after runs of 17 yards and 15 yards by Javen Hall, the Mustangs were at the East Hamilton 30-yard line with 2:52 left on the clock. Eulo lined up in the Wildcat formation and picked up 10 yards on 3rd and 4 for a first down, then scored from 12 yards out when Stum found him on a post pattern with 34.2 seconds left in the opening half to give Walker Valley the lead back 14-10.
Spencer Makuch after his interception for Walker Valley
The Mustangs would open the third quarter by going on a 75-yard drive that took just under 4 minutes, with the final 48 yards coming on a Hudson Makuch touchdown reception to extend the Mustangs’ lead to 21-10. East Hamilton punted on their first possession of the second half and Spencer Makuch would show off his special teams skills as he took the punt off a bounce at the Mustangs’ 12 yard line down to the Hurricanes’ 10 yard line. Eulo would score from the Wildcat formation this time on the very next play and just like that, Walker Valley had a 28-10 lead with 4:36 remaining in the quarter. Eulo would finish the game with 108 rushing yards on 8 carries and 2 touchdowns in addition to the receiving touchdown. He would also have a 61-yard run for a score in the fourth quarter, but that was called back because of a penalty on the Mustangs. Stum would have a good night in his first game back by going 7 of 11 for 114 yards and the touchdown pass. Hall would end the night with 133 yards rushing.
Miller would find Ben Spangler on a 43-yard touchdown pass to give East Hamilton their final points of the evening at the end of the third quarter, cutting the Walker Valley lead to 28-17 with 15 seconds showing on the clock. After going over 300 yards on the ground and 5 touchdowns last week against Ooltewah, Canes’ standout running back Jaden Haywood was held to less than 100 yards on the night.
The win for Walker Valley was special for a couple of reasons. It was the first time that the Mustangs have knocked off East Hamilton on their home field in school history. It also marks the first time in Walker Valley history that the Mustangs have had back-to-back winning seasons.
‘There’s more left to do and there’s more that we want to do”, Akins said postgame. “Our number one goal is not back-to-back winning seasons; our number one goal is a region championship. Tonight’s win set us up to have an opportunity to play for that again.”
With Rhea County’s loss last week against McMinn County and the cancelled Howard game for the Golden Eagles not likely to be rescheduled, the region championship race is wide open. The Mustangs host the Cherokees the last week of the season while East Hamilton will travel to Evensville to take on Rhea County.
Walker Valley improves to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in region play; the Mustangs will host Pure Academy on Friday October 18th. East Hamilton falls to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the region; the Hurricanes have October 18th off before hosting Sevier County on October 25th.
Follow Jeff on “X” at @TheJeffCate
Rhea County shuts out Walker Valley for region victory
Featured Stories, Team FYN Sports September 30, 2024
BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)
EVENSVILLE, Tenn. – Rhea County and Walker Valley have always been familiar with each other being region rivals. Add in that new Golden Eagles head coach Taylor Harvey was Walker Valley’s defensive coordinator for the past 5 seasons on Drew Akins’ staff and the familiarity level between these 2 programs was off the charts. Both teams would battle the elements almost as much as each other, with the Golden Eagles shutting out the Mustangs 16-0 on a homecoming Friday night at Bill Horton Field.
“It just saved us time on Sunday from having to look up the other team’s roster because you know all the kids, the coaches, and everything they’re wanting to do”, Harvey said when asked about going up against the Mustangs.
There would be one surprise before the game began. Walker Valley starting quarterback Dosen Stum was involved in an automobile accident on Wednesday and would not play in the game, giving sophomore Jacob Kerley the nod behind center. Neither passing attack would light up the stat sheet as this game would be run heavy and special teams would be a determining factor throughout the game.
Rhea County would begin this region showdown with great field position on the first possession, beginning at their 43-yard line. The Golden Eagles would convert a 3rd and 10 down to the Mustangs’ 40-yard line, then get 13 yards on a 3rd down and 15. A personal foul on Walker Valley would give Rhea County the missing 2 yards and then some in addition to an automatic first down, keeping the drive alive. After another 3rd down conversion on a 5-yard run on 3rd and 2, Mason Ford would end the drive when he punched it in from 4 yards out to give Rhea County the first points in the contest. The extra point was blocked so the Golden Eagles had a 6-0 advantage with 6:35 left in the opening quarter. Walker Valley would go 3 and out on the next possession, but Rhea County was flagged for roughing the kicker, giving the Mustangs an automatic first down. Roman Eulo would take off and pick up a first down for the Mustangs to get inside Golden Eagle territory, getting inside field goal range going into the second quarter.
Jeremiah Townsend signals first down for Walker Valley after Roman Eulo’s run for the Mustangs
Noah Campbell would line up for a 34-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the second quarter, but it pushed wide right and the Golden Eagles hung on to their 6-0 lead. After that, punts and continuous rain would dictate the rest of the first half. Eulo would have more rushing yards in the first half, 96, than Rhea County had total offense, which was 87 yards. He would end the night with 117 yards on the ground on 12 touches. But the only numbers that mattered was the 6 under home and the 0 under guests on the scoreboard at Eagle Stadium at the half.
The rain would also dominate the third quarter in addition to the defenses, with 3 punts between both squads until the end of the third quarter when Rhea County was in Walker Valley territory. The Golden Eagles would end the drive, that began at the Mustangs’ 26-yard line, with a 41-yard Austun Fugate field goal. Fugate was kicking into a cross wind that was blowing right to left, but the sophomore split the uprights and gave his team a 9-0 lead with 11:54 remaining. Ace Robinson would fall on the ensuing kickoff after Walker Valley was unable to get control of it, giving Rhea County the ball back deep inside Mustangs territory. Chauncey Odum would punch it in from 2 yards out less than a minute later to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 16-0 with 11:03 left on the clock. Odum and Ford would rush for 102 total yards on 33 combined carries and the 2 touchdowns for Rhea County.
Walker Valley’s Michael Wood and Rhea County’s Aiden Wilkerson after a play
“We got dealt a bad hand”, Akins said, talking about Stum’s absence and Kerley stepping in. “When those things happen, it’s unplanned We didn’t ask him to do a lot but he was able to do the things that we asked him to do. He didn’t hurt us; he didn’t turn the ball over”.
Rhea County improves to 3-2 overall (1-0 in region) and will travel to McMinn County on October 4th. Walker Valley is 4-2 overall (1-1 in region) and hits the road to take on Howard on October 4th at Reggie White Field.
Follow Jeff Cate on “X” at @TheJeffCate