While Red Bank’s stingy defense once again stepped up in a big way with four takeaways, a previously unsung hero also lifted the Lions to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
In his first high school start at quarterback, Eric Hill threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Daune Morris and had a game-changing 26-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-9 to help lead the way to Friday’s 21-14 home victory over Macon County.
“Eric is a tough kid,” first-year Red Bank coach Ted Gatewood said. “What he has done in practice each week, we started to notice and realize he could give our offense another element. He was running scout team quarterback for us the week of the East Hamilton game, and he did a good job running against our defense.
“We have had two quarterbacks go down with injuries, so it was next man up and Eric stepped in and did fantastic.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area high school football games)