BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

CHARLESTON, Tenn. – Walker Valley remembered the 5^th 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 6^th 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 3^rd 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 18^th. East Hamilton falls to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the region; the Hurricanes have October 18^th off before hosting Sevier County on October 25^th.

Follow Jeff on “X” at @TheJeffCate