Hayes set East’s football stadium ablaze in his first game as a varsity running back, scooting for 188 yards and four first-half touchdowns as the Mustangs mauled Mount Pleasant 41-7.

East coach Jeff Safrit took stock of his team in the aftermath of last week’s down-to-the-wire 26-21 loss to North Rowan. Safrit figured his team was tough, and he figured his team was good. But he also figured that something was missing.

And that’s why Hayes, a receiver last season and for the first two games of this one, returned to the offensive backfield Friday for the first time since he used to rule in middle school.

Hayes replaced Thomas Hendrickson as East’s feature back. Hendrickson is good, but while the senior gave the Mustangs all-out effort and lots of tough yards, Hayes gives the team game-breaking speed and lots of easy ones.

“We knew we needed to put the ball in Cal’s hands more,” said Safrit. “We also know that Hendrickson (a fine linebacker) is a big key for our defense. So we went to ‘em and said, ‘Hey guys, let’s try this.’”

It didn’t take long for everyone to see that Dr. Safrit-stein created a monster when he decided to unleash Hayes, a 5-9, 160-pound sophomore.

Hayes breezed 57 yards for a TDon East’s second play from scrimmage. Then on the Mustangs’ next possession, he bolted right through a couple of arm-tackling Mount defenders for a 35-yard scoring burst.

Hayes added two more TDs in the second quarter, powering into the end zone from 2 yards out, and gathering in a delicate pass from Drew Davis for a 25-yard strike with 54 seconds left in the half for a 35-0 lead.

“Coach talked to us about getting outside more and I practiced at running back this week,” said Hayes.“It had been two years, but it felt great to be back in the backfield. The line blocked well and made it easy for me.”

Hayes often had Texas-sized holes to romp through, but there were also times when he plowed through would-be tacklers with surprising power for someone his size.

“Cal is Cal,” said Safrit. “I’ve been saying it for two years. He’s an amazing athlete.”

“Cal’s remarkable,” offered Mt. Pleasant coach Mike Johns, the former East assistant who was on the business end of Hayes’ heroics. “It’s hard to believe he’s only a sophomore.”

It was equally hard to believe that Davis, who started his first game as varsity quarterback, is also part of East’s stellar sophomore class. Davis ran the team with veteran confidence and made well-timed pitches to Hayes.

Davis can throw too. He hit Brent Lambert for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give East a 21-0 lead before 10 minutes had elapsed. Later, he lobbed a perfect aerial into Hayes’ arms for a TD. He got East’s final tally himself, scampering into the end zone from 24 yards out with 4:10 on the scoreboard clock.

“Drew is always cool under pressure,” praised Safrit.

“Cal and Drew are smart athletes,” added East’s senior stud Danny Misenheimer, who dominated the line of scrimmage. “Those two make it all look so easy. They’re out there flowing like water.”

And while the super sophs were flowing, Misenheimer and the rest of the Mustangs’ tenacious defense was water-logging Mount’s offense. The Tigers (0-3) managed just one first down (via penalty) prior to the last play of the first half.

“It was so hard for us to block Misenheimer,” groaned Johns.

Or any of the other Mustangs, for that matter. Every defender in red and white hit hard. Andrew Hallman picked off a pass and Adam Trexler (another soph) pounced on a fumble. Hendrickson was a man possessed, and 6-5 monster Cody Merrifield sometimes tackled the entire Tiger backfield, tossing folks around until he found someone toting a football.

Every East player had ample motivation. In case anyone has forgotten, the Mustangs (2-1) were stung by Mount last year.

“Last year’s Mount game, we just chalked up to experience,” said Misenheimer. “I guess it was the biggest loss in our history, but we weren’t going to let it happen again.”

“We didn’t have to say much this week about last year’s game,” said Safrit. “Heck, the kids knew. The bigger thing was how well we bounced back from last week. The kids dumped the North game quick. This a focused bunch that’s not gonna rattle.”

The scary thing for the rest of the SPC is that Safrit’s bunch now has a whole new dimension that can rattle anyone. That dimension’s name is Hayes, and he’s back in the backfield.