Football Recap: Rhea County Falls Despite Big Games from Jaxton Schmitt and Mason Ford

The matchup between Rhea County and East Hamilton on Friday hardly resembled the 20-7 effort from their previous meeting. The Golden Eagles came up short against the Hurricanes, falling 56-33. The contest was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but the Golden Eagles couldn't quite close it out.

Mason Ford

Rushing Yards

09/26/25 vs East Hamilton	221
09/19/25 vs Lakeway Christian Academy	127
09/12/25 @ Soddy Daisy	201

Rhea County's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Mason Ford, who rushed for 221 yards and three scores while picking up 11.6 yards per carry, and Jaxton Schmitt, who rushed for 103 yards and one TD on only 14 carries. Ford's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 127 rushing yards.

It was another big night for Jaden Haywood, who rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry, and also picked up 46 receiving yards and one TD for East Hamilton. Haywood also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making four total tackles and defending two passes. Wyatt Miller was another key player, throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns while completing 78.9% of his passes.

Having lost for the first time this season, Rhea County fell to 5-1. As for East Hamilton, they pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Rhea County is set to challenge their familiar foe Lenoir City at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, East Hamilton will square off against rival Walker Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.