Across the board, the Bulldogs showed their bite was mightier than their bark. Hampton went for over 50 points for a fifth game in a row, routing Sweetwater 54-7 in the first round of the TSSAA Class 2A playoffs Friday night at J.C. Campbell Stadium.
With the offense accounting for over 500 total yards, the ‘Dogs (10-1) utilized a stalwart effort on defense to keep the Wildcats offense in check the entire night. Along with Dakota Crumley hauling in an interception, the likes of Dakota Sanchez, Clay Fletcher, Danny Winters and Austin Boling were able to wreck havoc up front to disturb any consistency from Sweetwater.
“Jake Jenkins studies that stuff hard, hats off to him and all the assistant coaches,” Hampton head coach Michael Lunsford said of the defense. “They do a great job and I couldn’t do it without them. We only gave up the kickoff return for a touchdown. Our guys were very disciplined in their assignments … just overall a very good game by the defense.”
Hampton only needed three plays on their opening drive with Hunter Davenport (7 carries, 238 yards) racing 67 yards to put his team up from 8-0 following an Adam McClain 2-point conversion with only a minute off the clock.
“He’s got super speed,” Lunsford said of Davenport. “He’s a lightning bolt and he’s gotten a lot better from a year ago. That’s a credit to the work he’s put in.”
Brett Spurgeon put Sweetwater (7-4) on the board with a 95-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to one, but the ‘Dogs were able to counter with Davenport rumbling in from 54 yards out to help propel his team to a 16-7 lead at the end of the first.
“I couldn’t run the ball without them,” Davenport said of his line. “We passed the ball so good tonight, too. Our line is the biggest part of our offense and our defense play a great game.”
The passing game saw quarterback Jason Russell spread the wealth throughout the game, tossing for 146 yards on just five completions.
“I knew we could do good but I didn’t expect us to execute this good,” Russell said with a smile. “I think it shocked all of us. We were all just proud of each other. Whenever we made a good tackle or throw, we played off that. I think playing as a team, we’ll be able to carry it over to next week.”
Russell connected with Crumley on a 15-yard touchdown reception and saw Chris Holtsclaw (2 catches, 67 yards) fight off defenders for a 26-yard score at the 1.29 mark of the second quarter.
“Even the 50-50 balls … Chris came down with a good one,” Russell said of the grab. “I’m proud of him. We work on that at practice. All our receivers played well tonight.”
Davenport tacked on another long scoring run in the second from 84 yards while Adam McClain (17 carries, 114 yards) tacked on a 38-yard, fresh off last week’s record-setting performance, to move the ‘Dogs to a 48-7 halftime lead.
With a continually clock rolling in the second half, the ‘Dogs scored for a final time in the third with Davenport hauling in a 67-yard deep ball to cap off the night.
While excitement poured through the stadium, Lunsford added that the ‘Dogs will have their hands next week for the second round of the playoffs. Hampton will travel Friday down to Region 2 No. 1 Austin-East, who beat Sullivan North 46-28.
Hampton was able to knock off the Roadrunners 48-38 last year in a battle and expect much of the same this go around, Lunsford said.
“It’s going to probably be the most athletic team we’ve seen all year,” Lunsford said of Austin-East. “Happy Valley was very athletic but I expect Austin-East to be even more. They’re going to be tough to stop offensively. They’re very quick and very athletic and have a great quarterback. Darius Harper’s been a three-year starter for them, preseason all-state and an extremely tough player.”
Davenport added second his coach’s sentiments.
“We’re just going to have to get better mentally,” he said.“ They’re one heck of a team. They’re quick and very explosive.”
Following Davenport, Russell added, “We can’t get the big-head … I think if we have a good practice, we’ll do good next week.”
Kickoff in Knoxville next week is set for 7 p.m.