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Austin Brannan loves playing in the Citizen Tribune Kickoff Classic.

One year after making an impact on the game as just a sophomore, Brannan one-upped his performance on Friday night against Morristown West. The junior leader had an interception on the opening drive of the game and caught two touchdown passes.

“He’s a warrior,” East coach Dallas Kuykendall said. “The guy can hardly stand up right now. He played way too many snaps, and we have to get that fixed. But the guy played his heart out.”

While Brannan was a key player on the ‘Canes defense last season, it was the offensive side of the ball that Brannan showed his athleticism on Friday.

Late in the third quarter, Brannan pulled in a heavily defended pass for his first receiving touchdown and East’s first points of the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, Caleb Billings connected with Brannan again. Brannan made the grab down the sideline and tightroped his way into the end zone for the score.

Brannan finished the game with 73 receiving yards on three catches, playing the majority of snaps both ways in the contest.

He’s going to give you everything he’s got,” Kuykendall said. “He’s a heck of an athlete, and it’s hard to not have him on the field.”

Fixing the Small Things

While the final score was lopsided for East, it could have very well been a different story if not for mistakes on the small details.

Those mistakes included a fumble into the endzone that led to a West touchdown, a bad snap on a punt that gave West the ball on the one-yard line, two fumbled kickoff returns that backed the ‘Canes up in their own territory and a blocked field goal.

While frustrating mistakes to make, Kuykendall understood it’s week one and things are going to happen. And, if they can fix those things early, they’ll have a chance in ballgames moving forward.

“You always have things ready and prepared, but it’s week one and we were just on the bad side of it,” Kuykendall said. “Punting, kicking, returning, a field goal block. At any phase on special teams, we were not great and I’ve got to get those things fixed.”

Kuykendall experiences first City Championship

It’s one thing to be told about the City Championship, but it’s another thing to get your first experience of it.

On Friday night, Kuykendall made his coaching debut for East and it was also his introduction into the East-West rivalry as a head coach.

While the game didn’t go the way he wanted it to, Kuykendall was impressed with the atmosphere and the entire community coming out to support both teams.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Kuykendall said. “This place was packed. I hate that we didn’t show up the way we did and that falls on me. We’ll get that ready and prepared for next year. For it being the first time, you kind of get caught up in it as a coach too. You just have to fix things and be ready for next year.”

Up Next:

Morristown East has a short week as they host Hardin Valley on Thursday. Hardin Valley defeated Karns in their season-opening game.

Kickoff for Thursday at Burke-Toney Stadium is set for 7 p.m.