After his performance Friday night, it appears Cal Hayes will spend his fall on the football field stealing the show.

For those who think the East Rowan flash is strictly a baseball player after his exploits for Jeff Safrit at East and Jim DeHart in Legion ball, they didn’t see him at Mount Pleasant in a 40-32 victory over the Tigers.

While the number .247 is not a very good average in baseball, 247 is an exceptionally good total in football.

And that’s exactly what Hayes produced — on just 11 carries — in the Mustangs’ first win of the season after two disheartening defeats.

It’s also exceptional when you realize he didn’t even practice the first couple of weeks because of the Legion team making the state tournament.

East coach Tommy Eanes couldn’t wait to get Hayes — as well as other Legion standouts Nick Lefko and Drew Davis — on the field and teach him a new offense, the Hambone.

The first-year coach was impressed, not with what they learned, but how.

“When they first got out here, they’d be in the back while we ran plays,” Eanes said. “A lot of kids play around back there. But they would ask questions. Cal’s a smart young man and he picked up on it quickly.”

It should be no surprise that Hayes whipped up on Mount Pleasant. The Tigers have become his personal whipping boy. Last year, he had a career high 188 yards rushing in a lopsided win.

“It seems like our line blocks well against them,” Hayes said.

And give Hayes a crease and he’s gone.

The first time he touched the ball against Mount Pleasant, he raced for a 35-yard score. The second time he touched the football, it was a 60-yard run. He had a 44-yard touchdown with 2:54 left to seal the victory.

“We’re not afraid to get the ball to him on the option but he does the counter real well,” Eanes said. “Cal makes things happen. Friday night, he was faster than anybody on the field.”

Thanks, Mom.

That’s who Hayes credits with his speed and quickness. His uncle, Rogers Jackson, was a terrifying runner for the powerful Boyden teams 30 years ago.

“I get most of my speed from my mom’s side,” Hayes said. “Mom ran track. (Jackson) has told me how good he was, but he doesn’t give me any pointers.”

He apparently doesn’t need them. His game Friday put him at 331 yards after three games, 17 behind county leader Jonathan Diggs of West Rowan. He is averaging 9.7 yards per carry and 110 per game.

It is exactly the type of performance Eanes was told he’d get.

“A lot of people told me about him in meetings and the interview process,” Eanes said. “Istill think he’s in his infancy. He’s getting better. I’d like to see what he’ll be like next year. He’s got a lot of potential.”

That’s “potential” in something other than baseball. Hayes has also hinted to Mark Flynn that he may play basketball, another sport in which he can excel.

So the area sports fans who think he is a baseball man only are uninformed, or either they haven’t seen him play anything else.

“I like football as much as baseball,” announced Hayes, who remembered how he was once the quarterback and Davis the wide receiver.

Hayes has fallen in love with the Hambone. He stands behind Davis, the quarterback, and when the ball is snapped, he gets lost back there. Then, poof, he’s gone.

“I like the way the play develops, the way the ball goes in motion and I really like the no-huddle offense. It gets the defense tired,” Hayes said.

If Hayes needs to work on any part of his game, Eanes would like him to be as loud with his mouth as he is with his statistics. Right now, he leads by example.

“Ihave him in my first period class,” Eanes chuckled. “He sits right up at my desk. And if I don’t directly ask him something, he won’t say a word. If he does say something, he’ll narrow it down from five words to three.”

But Eanes also knows Hayes can talk.

“I’ve seen him talking to girls, so I know,” he grinned.

Not just the girls but everyone in the bleachers Friday night was screaming his name. He was without a doubt, the premier player on the field. He couldn’t be stopped.

Hopefully, he says, that trend will continue.