Josh Brewer and the rest of East Hamilton’s defense weren’t about to let the Hurricanes lose Friday night.
Tired of exiting in the first round of the TSSAA playoffs, Brewer and Co. found themselves down early against DeKalb County, which had a one-dimensional offense that executed that one dimension — handing the football off to Colby Barnes — well early.
The Tigers put together a nine-play, 97-yard touchdown drive for the game’s first points and led 7-0 after the first quarter. But the East Hamilton defense never wavered, forcing a pair of turnovers and making some key stops down the stretch, and the Hurricanes generated just enough offense to pull out a 21-14 victory and move on to the second round of the Class 4A bracket.
Next week, East Hamilton (8-3) will host Upperman (9-2), a 34-7 winner Friday against Central (6-5).
Tennessee Titans Mr. Football semifinalist Juan Bullard threw for 123 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 62 and the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but the glaring stat Friday was Dekalb County (6-5) running 73 plays on offense compared to 22 for the Hurricanes.