East Hamilton sophomore Juandrick Bullard knew he had big cleats to fill. It's safe to say the Hurricanes are loving what their starting running back is doing in his new shoes.
Bullard has made a seamless transition into the featured role after the departure of standout Adam Caudle. On his team's first snap after an hour-long lightning delay in Thursday night's game at Soddy-Daisy, Bullard ran for a 76-yard touchdown as he began a 260-yard breakout performance in East Hamilton's 34-0 victory.
"I just had to go 110% and give my coaches and teammates my all," said Bullard, who rushed for 252 yards on 24 carries and also caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Haynes Eller for a 14-0 lead on his team's second drive of the game. "God gave me the gift, so I am just putting it all out there for him. My line did a great job right from the start, and I had to take advantage of it."
Soddy-Daisy moved the ball in the first half as Isaac Barnes passed for 145 yards, but the Trojans (0-2) could not maintain possession.
East Hamilton defensive back Chandler Foster had a big game as he had a clutch third-down pass deflection deep downfield and also had a chase-down strip to force the ball loose on a 55-yard pass play inside the Hurricanes' 15-yard line.
Foster then helped seal the victory for the Hurricanes (2-0) as he took off for a 40-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Eller, receiving a key block from receiver Kaunyae Burgans.
"I couldn't let them score," said Foster, who helped his defense force and recover four fumbles. "I tried to be a playmaker for my team. It was nice to come out here with a shutout. We still need to tackle better, but we put up a zero on the scoreboard and played an overall good game we can be proud of. We are having a blast out here."
Phillip Mason provided big hits for the East Hamilton defense, Jason Brumlow had two sacks and Justin Lee forced a fumble near the visitors' sideline in the first half.
"The kids played really well tonight," Hurricanes coach Grant Reynolds said. "We are just enjoying each game as it comes and feeding off one another. Our defensive staff did a great job of getting these guys ready for tonight. Juandrick also has a lot of confidence now going forward into region play."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.