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GRANITE QUARRY — Tommy Eanes is coming to East Rowan High School as its new head football coach, but he’s bringing a little of Georgia Southern with him.
Get ready for the Hambone, Mustang fans.
Get ready for a lot of yardage. And a lot of points.
And, Eanes hopes, a lot of wins.
Eanes, a former Davie County quarterback and most recently the East Surry coach, has been hired to replace Jeff Safrit as the next Mustang leader. He was told of the decision Thursday morning by principal Harry Starr and said he was “tickled to death.”
East may turn out to be tickled pink if the Hambone, named after former Georgia Southern star Tracy Ham, catches on.
“It’s basically two wide receivers and two men in the slot with one back,” Eanes explained. “People look at that and think you throw 40-50 times a game but we probably threw it 12-to-15 times at East Surry. But they were big passing plays.”
In 1998, East Surry ran the Hambone to perfection, accumulating an eye-popping 4,411 yards, while passing for 1,600 more. The Cardinals finished 8-4, the fourth playoff team under Eanes.
Last season, he chose to give up football but stayed in Pilot Mountain to teach. He actually would drive all the way to South Point as John Devine’s offensive coordinator. South Point, a team that had always been around .500, used the Hambone and won its first 12 games, including a 56-52 thriller over Kings Mountain. The Hambone averaged 38 points per contest.
It left a sweet and sour taste in the mouth of Eanes, who had coached football since he got out of Elon College in 1978. He heard of the opening at East Rowan.
“I wanted to get back into coaching, and applied here, not really knowing what to expect,” Eanes said. “But this was the first place where, when you talked to the principal, you weren’t sweating bullets. It was very casual.”
Starr was certainly impressed.
“The thing I liked the most was that he has experience and he wants to help kids,” Starr said. “He’ll be a disciplinarian but he’ll also show kids some compassion. That’s what we need in this community and he’ll fit in well. He’s looking for a place to work and stay awhile.”
Eanes’ seven years at East Surry were longer than any of his 11 coaching stops.
He has coached at three colleges — Elon (twice), Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba. He was an assistant at Richmond County, Lexington and Burlington Williams before becoming a head coach at East Lincoln, Albemarle, East Surry and now East Rowan.
“There’s something about me and schools with the name East,” he laughed.
East Rowan may be the final destination for the 44-year old.
“This is one of the top one or two places in North Carolina to live,” said Eanes, whose wife Carol will also be teaching at East. “It’s a beautiful area with a lot of things for the family.”
Eanes already knew all about Salisbury since he grew up in Davie County. A 1974 graduate, he was the first War Eagle to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season.
He is the son of a long-time coach, Bill Eanes, who was driving up the mountain each day to help his son at East Surry. Now, the drive will be shorter.
“He has just 25 minutes to get here,” said Eanes, who will also bring in his former East Surry offensive coordinator Mike Snow.
Together, they’ll try to teach the new offense to the Mustangs.
“You need two good guards, a fullback and a good quarterback,,” Eanes said.
He’ll have the fullback in bruiser Chris Faavesi and the quarterback in Drew Davis. And speedy Cal Hayes will certainly man one of the slots.
“It’s different from what they’re used to here,” Eanes said. “But the offense is something I really enjoy. I’ve actually had more women come to the games because of it. They enjoy it because instead of scoring 20 points a game, you’re scoring 40. People like seeing points scored.”
He has talked with Safrit and Leland Peacock about returning players and plans to meet with the 2000 prospects Monday.
“No matter what (offense) you put in, it’s going to take a little bit of time,” he said. “Hopefully, by conference time, everything will be settled down. I know that if you’re in Rowan County, you better be able to play. Everybody plays good football here”
Eanes wasted no time once he was offered the job. He drove down that afternoon looking for some keys to the fieldhouse.
“I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves and going to work,” he said. “I love every day that I get up and work with football.”
After resurrecting programs at East Lincoln and East Surry, Eanes is at a school that already has a good background, thanks to the last few seasons under Safrit.
He wants to continue winning and he has already scored some valuable points with the administration.
Now, it’s time to prove he can continue to score some points on the football field.
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