Kireese Willis saw the flag out of the corner of his eye
It didn't matter. The East Hamilton junior defensive back assumed the penalty was going to go against his team, but he had just intercepted a pass and his lone goal was to finish the play, make it to the end zone, then let the officials sort everything out.
He did just that, and then he heard the call: Ineligible man downfield ... on Red Bank. Play stands.
Touchdown.
The 46-yard score by Willis was the highlight play in a dominant defensive performance Friday night by the Hurricanes, who held Red Bank to 160 yards of total offense to win 14-0 and clinch the Region 3-4A title after a run of close losses in the series with the Lions. East Hamilton picked off four passes, two of those by Willis, who also chipped in 28 yards on offense.
"We were in cover 2 (defense), and I saw my guy come off short, and he overthrew it," Willis said of his pick-six.
"This was a big win for us because we were trying to be the best in our region; we've lost this game three years in a row. We also had some motivation from losing last week (against Friendship Christian Academy); it showed us we needed to play tougher and that we needed better chemistry and we needed to play together. Tonight we played as one."
It wasn't exactly a clinic by the Hurricanes (6-3, 5-0) on offense, but it didn't have to be. Senior quarterback Juan Bullard ran for 92 yards and the game's first score, and he threw for 82 yards. Javon Bullard finished with 46 yards on 12 carries, but the best thing the offense did as the game wore on was move the chains just enough to make getting downfield that much tougher for the Lions (7-2, 5-1).
The Bullard brothers alternated carries on the lone offensive series that led to a score, with Juan barreling in from 3 yards out to cap an eight-play, 78-yard drive.
In addition to the motivation of ending the drought against the Lions, there was the motivation of last week's 31-14 loss to FCA. East Hamilton coach Grant Reynolds said the visitors "took it to us pretty good" and "manhandled us" in that game.
"We took it personal," he added.
And now, the Hurricanes will host Hixson next week to close the regular season before hosting a first-round playoff game.
Red Bank, which will also host a playoff game, travels to Sequoyah next week. The Lions were led by AD Crutcher's 56 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Daune Morris had 41 yards on three catches and added a 48-yard kickoff return. But three of the four interceptions thrown by the Lions came in East Hamilton territory, stalling possessions for potential points a week after scoring only two in a 36-point loss against Fayetteville.
"Over the past few years, we hadn't been able to take the next step and win the big game," Reynolds said. "I think tonight we started the process of getting over that hump.
"That defensive effort is one of the best I've seen in 24 years of coaching. Our defensive coaches did a good job of putting the guys in the right position, and our players played really hard."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.