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EAST HAMILTON HURRICANES
Head coach: Grant Reynolds (15-8 here; 128-59 overall)
Returning starters: 5 offensive; 7 defensive
Last year’s record: 8-4; lost in 4A second round
Key players: Luke Bohn (6-0, 265) Sr. OL, Collin Johnson (6-0, 240) Jr. OL, Juandrick Bullard (6-1, 180) Jr. RB, Jeremiah Flemmons (6-3, 190) Sr. ATH, Kaunyae Burgans (6-3, 190) Sr. WR, Justin Lee (5-10, 175) Sr. DB, Walter Lindsey (5-8, 160) Sr. FS, Ramsey Devin (5-11, 185) Jr. LB
Season outlook: There’s experience and great talent in the offensive backfield with the versatile Flemmons – who will spend time at quarterback, receiver and likely running back and has several offers from Football Bowl Subdivision programs – as well as Bullard, who ran for more than 1,700 yards last season, and Burgans, who also has FBS offers.
But there’s more skill position talent outside the offensive backfield giving the Hurricanes plenty of speed on both sides of the ball, and the starting line is experienced as well. Finding some depth along both lines of scrimmage could be the key to just how far the Hurricanes advance in the postseason.
Reynolds, who has proven to be one of the top defensive coaches in the state, has taken over coordinating that side of the ball and will have an experienced linebacker corps and no shortage of playmakers in the secondary.
“We’ve made some significant changes on defense so the kids won’t have to do as much thinking before the snap and can just let their natural ability take over to go make plays,” Reynolds said. “Getting past that first-round hurdle last year was big because knowing how to finish in close games has been a hurdle for us, and now the kids know they can compete against the better teams.
“Offensively we’ve got a lot of options we can go to and have confidence that any of them can produce. I love the versatility we have, and there’s just a lot of excitement around the program right now.”