BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – East Hamilton and Lenoir City will be region opponents beginning next season with the new reclassification cycle for the TSSAA, but they met for the first time ever on Friday night at Hurricane Hill in the second round of the 5A playoffs. The Hurricanes would have a strong second half to storm past the Panthers 24-6 at Larry Henry Stadium.

Defense and special teams would rule the first quarter, with both teams unable to put a dent in the scoreboard. East Hamilton would get on that board with about 8-minute left to play in the first half on a Spencer Payne 20-yard field goal to take the lead 3-0. Lenoir City would recover a Hurricanes’ fumble near midfield with 5:20 left in the second quarter with excellent field position and a chance to put their first points on the tally. The Panthers would do just that and taking nearly 5 minutes off the clock, scoring on a 4-yard Luke Chadwick touchdown run with 10 seconds to go. A personal foul penalty on Lenoir City would push the extra point attempt back, which the Panthers would miss but would take a 6-3 lead into halftime.

East Hamilton would get the ball first to begin the second half and get their first touchdown of the night on the possession. Jaden Haywood’s 22 yard run down to the Panthers’ 24-yard line would get the Hurricanes near the red zone. His 2-yard touchdown run a few plays later would end the drive and give his team their first lead of the game, 10-6, with 7:39 left in the 3^rd quarter.

Jaden Haywood scores for East Hamilton in their playoff game against Lenoir City

After a Panthers’ punt on their first possession of the second half, Haywood would add his second rushing touchdown of the quarter when he took off on a 55-yard run to extend the East Hamilton lead to 17-6 with 3:08 to go in the third quarter.

The only scoring in the final quarter would come on a Wyatt Miller 27-yard run to give the Canes’ a 24-6 lead with 4:48 left in the game. Miller would end the night with 71 yards rushing on 14 carries and the touchdown. Haywood would rush 18 times for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Add in Jermaine Heathington’s 73 yards on 11 touches and East Hamilton would account for 319 rushing yards. The Hurricanes defense would hold Lenoir City to less than 100 yards total offense in an effort that started and ended in the trenches.

Hurricanes head coach Aaron Nance signals for the “Victory Formation” near the end of East Hamilton’s win over Lenoir City

“I can’t say enough about our offensive and defensive line”, East Hamilton head coach Aaron Nance said. “We challenged them all week that the style of offense that Lenoir City plays, if the defensive line does what they’re supposed to do, plays with physicality, then we’ll have a shot.”

East Hamilton improves to 9-3 and advances to the quarterfinals of the TSSAA 5A playoffs. The Hurricanes will host Oak Ridge on Friday night, looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history.

“The big thing for us is getting our kids to believe”, Nance said. “You’re not just here by accident, you’ve worked to get to this spot”.

Follow Jeff on “X” at @TheJeffCate