On a wet field and with defenders bearing down on him, Kaunyae Burgans provided a major turning point in East Hamilton’s 34-7 nonregion home victory over Signal Mountain in Friday night’s season opener.
Leading just 7-0 early in the second half, the 6-foot-3 Burgans raced up to field a punt in shoestring fashion, then soon after threw a pair of oncoming would-be tacklers out of his path before racing down the visitor’s sideline with steam for a 57-yard touchdown.
“All I saw when I caught the ball was white jerseys in front of me, and I was like, ‘Oh well, this is it. I have to go,'” said Burgans, whose return touchdown with 10:51 to go in the third quarter ignited an all-around strong second half for the Hurricanes.
“During practices we work a lot on our blocks on punt returns, and my guys made some great blocks after I made the first two miss. Being out here was so much fun, especially for our seniors and the community.”
Operating in a triple-option-based offense, Signal Mountain received a great push from its line in the first half to clear running room for senior Casner, who had 13 carries for 95 yards by halftime.