Signal Mountain coach Bill Price had one piece of advice before the football game Thursday night.
He advised to watch for a lot of points.
Price’s Eagles backed up his prediction in an 48-10 victory over East Hamilton at Finley Stadium.
“Yeah, I thought we would score some points,” Price said. “We practiced on Sunday because we had the short week and we needed to get ready for the I-formation.”
The Eagles (2-0) limited the Hurricanes (0-1) to an average of 3.4 yards per carry and a total of 12 passing yards.
After a shaky first quarter, the Eagles scored 35 unanswered points and their balanced offense included five backs getting at least five carries.
“There really isn’t a starter,” said Zack Bowman, who ran for two touchdowns. “Everybody just rotates in and out.”
It appeared early in the game as if both teams would rack up a large number of points. The Eagles led 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.
They had touchdowns from Darien Hogans on a 15-yard run, Bowman on a 1-yard run and B.J. Usher on a 55-yard pass play from Hogan Whitmire.
East Hamilton had a 39-yard field goal by Logan Cornelius, which started the scoring, and a 43-yard interception return by Harrison Warren.
Signal Mountain continued scoring in the second quarter while its defense prevented the Hurricanes from even threatening.
Mitchell Hall had a 4-yard score to cap a drive that covered 66 yards and lasted 17 plays, including two fourth-down conversions. Whitmire scored on a sneak 33 seconds before halftime, which resulted in a 34-10 lead for Signal Mountain at the break.
While the offense was doing its job and putting points on the board, the Eagles’ defense limited the Hurricanes to 83 rushing yards and zero through the air and recovered two fumbles in the first half.
“I thought the defense really played well,” Price said. “We gave up some yards, but the defense only allowed three points.”
The Eagles defense continued to be stout in the second half, especially after East Hamilton starting tailback Cameron Knox injured his right shoulder early in the third quarter.
Bowman scored from 4 yards out midway through the third quarter, and Donnie Garner sped 45 yard to the end zone to start a running clock with 8:38 to go in the game.
“That’s a good team for us to open up with,” East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood said. “They’re a good program and we’re not going to get better unless we play better people. That’s a must.”