In an all out offensive shootout, the Hampton Bulldogs could not slow down Austin-East as the Roadrunners sprinted out to a 74-50 victory in  Knoxville Friday night to advance on to the third round of the TSSAA Class 2A Playoffs.
“They are just so explosive,” said Hampton head coach Michael Lunsford about the Roadrunners. “They have so many athletes. Their quarterback (Darius Harper) is probably faster than anyone than we’ve got.”
Harper finished the night with 285 yards of offense with 186 coming from the air. The QB finished the night with seven touchdowns.
Next week, the Roadrunners will host Happy Valley, who topped Grace Christian 24-7 Friday.
Late in Friday night’s contest, the Bulldogs started passing the ball more than they did in the first, and they passed it well. It was one of Hampton senior QB Jason Russell’s better nights passing as he tossed for 251 yards on 6-of-10 passes while connecting for two passing touchdowns. Russell connected a 65-yarder and 78-yarder for touchdowns to junior Hunter Davenport.
“We did something that we didn’t think we could do,” Lunsford said. “We weren’t as good in the power stuff as we thought we could have been. They picked up on that, and they defended it well. That left some other things open, and Jason did a heck of a job taking an advantage of it.”
The first quarter saw the Bulldogs striking first as Davenport rushed in a 62-yard touchdown and Adam McClain rolled in for the two-point conversion. However, the Roadrunners answered with two touchdowns to jump out 14-8 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs score two touchdowns, with Davenport running in a 79-yarder and Russell busting in from one yard out. The Roadrunners found the board three times with one of the scores coming off a 54-yard run by Harper. The Roadrunners led 42-24 heading into the half.
Davenport scored twice for the Bulldogs in the third with one touchdown coming off a 65-yard pass from Russell and the other touchdown coming off a one-yard run. Davenport finished the night with 333 yards of offense with 190 coming on the ground.
Davenport’s fellow running back McClain finished with 133 yards on 32 touches.
By the end of three, the Roadrunners had pushed out to a 55-38 lead.
The Roadrunners scored three more times in the final quarter while Davenport scored off a 78-yard TD reception and a 6-yard run.
Friday night’s game wrapped up coach Lunsford’s first year over the Bulldogs.
“The first group is alway going to be special to you,” Lunsford said. “Couldn’t ask anything more from the boys. There are not enough accolades to go around for these guys. They have busted their butts all year long.”
The Bulldogs finished out the season with a 10-2 record.