After dismantling East Hamilton on Friday night, Ooltewah quarterback Kyrell Sanford watched on one knee from 20 yards away as Owls players and fans gathered around midfield at Larry Henry Stadium. He wasn’t thinking about his three rushing touchdowns in the 37-0 shutout.
He was thinking about a big academic test.
“Just chilling,” the talented senior said. “I have the ACT in the morning at 8. I made a 21 the first time, and I’m going to get 24 tomorrow.”
Ooltewah (3-1) controlled the game from the outset as East Hamilton continued to be unable to complete a pass, and the Owls knew it. The Hurricanes (2-2) gained 70 yards for the game, all on the ground. Ooltewah had 291 yards of offense, 132 on the ground and 159 passing.
“I was very pleased with the defense,” first-year Ooltewah coach Scott Chandler said. “I thought we stepped up and played some good ball tonight.”
Sanford was 13-for-17 passing for 159 yards, throwing six completions for 89 yards to sophomore receiver Fisher Perry. The pair had a 23-yard touchdown pass called back in the first half due to penalty. Sanford also had 58 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
“When we play to our potential, we can be pretty good,” Sanford said.
The passing woes that have plagued East Hamilton this season were on full display Friday night. The Hurricanes came into the game having attempted five passes all year. Quarterback Kyler Johnson’s first dropback resulted in a strip sack that led to Ooltewah’s first points, a 2-yard run by Sincere Quinn with 8:45 left in the first quarter. Braeden Haynes added the extra point and the Owls led 7-0.
Haynes added a 45-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Johnson’s second pass was picked off by Ooltewah senior T.J. Taylor, who returned it 77 yards to the East Hamilton 6-yard line. Two plays later, Sanford scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown.
East Hamilton fumbled on its first possession of the second half, leading to more Ooltewah points when Sanford scored from 1 yard out. The kick failed, but Ooltewah led 23-0 with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
The Sanford-to-Perry connection accounted for 74 of the 88 yards on the Owls’ next possession, when they scored on a 2-yard run by Sanford with 4:51 left in the game. They closed out the scoring with a 14-yard run by Jaequan Greenhill late in the fourth quarter.
Contact Davis Lundy at sports@timesfreepress.com.