When asked what he saw on the play of his winning touchdown run Friday night, Jaden Haywood's answer was pretty straightforward.
"Open field. All I saw was green," the East Hamilton sophomore said of his 52-yard sprint down the right sideline in the host Hurricanes' 17-10 win over Walker Valley, the score capping a 129-yard rushing performance by Haywood.
East Hamilton's win came on a night that Walker Valley, which had 100 yards of penalties, was somehow the least penalized team on the field (the Hurricanes had 12 penalties for 125 yards). It also came on a night that East Hamilton quarterback Trey Crawford, who had thrown for 1,300 yards this season entering the game, did not complete a pass on four attempts as the Hurricanes — trying to shorten the game and keep the ball out of the hands of dynamic Mustangs quarterback Evan Schwarzl — rushed 44 times for 284 yards.
The Hurricanes had been looking for the sort of statement victory that would suggest they had arrived in their move up from TSSAA's Class 4A to 5A this season, which also meant moving into a tough Region 4 that includes McMinn County, which beat East Hamilton 46-20 earlier in the season. The Mustangs — who entered Friday with a single loss and with their six victories including one against 6A's Cleveland — were the next opportunity for a statement victory.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area prep football games)
So when Schwarzl's final heave into the end zone fell incomplete, it set off a celebration on the home team's sideline. The Hurricanes had taken down the region's co-leaders, with Walker Valley also state-ranked ninth — one spot ahead of McMinn County — in Class 5A this week.
The Hurricanes, who had received votes in the poll this week, are now 6-2 overall, 3-1 in Region 4-5A — same as the Mustangs.
"We heard so much this offseason about whether or not we can hang at this level," East Hamilton coach Aaron Nance said. "We play a ton of guys both ways, so for our kids to battle for four quarters, it's just a big confidence boost for us. We put four quarters of football together, and to do that is big."
The Mustangs walked down the field on their first drive, capping a 94-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Schwarzl to Tate Rountree. East Hamilton evened things up with a 20-yard run by Vanzale Hinton with 7:32 left in the first half, then took a 10-7 advantage on a 38-yard field goal by Ethan Hixson.
The Mustangs drew even on the first drive of the third quarter on a 33-yard field goal by Eli Wilson, which was the final scoring until Haywood's run with 6:25 to play.
"I joke with Jaden all the time that he runs like he's scared for his life," Nance said. "You give him the ball, and he's out of there. He's got a different speed with the ball in his hand. He's explosive, he's elusive, and he's a young kid that's really starting to figure it out the second half of the season.
"We were searching for a second guy to take the load off of Michael Hinton, and he's been that guy. He's stepped up and made some plays for us."
Walker Valley's final two drives ended in East Hamilton territory. Schwarzl totaled 98 yards passing and 63 rushing, while Tanner Whittenbarger led the Mustangs in rushing with 88 yards.
For East Hamilton, Michael Hinton had 69 yards on the ground and Vanzale Hinton added 67.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.