Edward Montgomery runs everywhere. He jogs to interviews, runs around the practice field and runs routes in a field by his house once he gets home.
"I run each one of my routes four times on each side, eat something, then go lay down," Montgomery said. "Then I wake up and do it all again.
"I get enough sleep, but sometimes you have to give up [sleep]."
From all the ways that Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan plans to use Montgomery this season, it sounds like all the running is just good conditioning for the senior.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder had 613 yards of total offense and six touchdowns for the 2013 Owls, who were the District 5-AAA regular-season champions and advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs before falling to rival East Hamilton. He also made 46 tackles, with a pair of sacks, three tackles for loss and an interception.
He'll be used on both sides of the ball as well as the return game this year, much as he was last year. One of his touchdowns was on a punt return.
"He also played some quarterback for us last year," Bryan said. "He's a very versatile player, and we need him to make plays with his explosiveness. He can do a lot of things on the football field."
The second-year Ooltewah coach also confirmed that "Edward Montgomery" and "walking" do not belong in the same sentence together.
"He runs all the time," Bryan said, "but when you practice like that, you're able to get conditioning, and it drives the pace, which is just like how we like to play ball."
The Owls have 22 seniors on the roster, but there is an expectation that for the team to be successful, a lot of their production will have to come from a number of underclassmen.
"I think we'll be all right," Montgomery said. "We have a lot of people stepping up, and guys are learning what they're supposed to do and how we're supposed to play. Our line is young, but when they get smarter and stronger, we'll be all right."
They could always just follow Montgomery's lead. If they can catch him.
- Gene Henley
OOLTEWAH OWLS
Head coach: Mac Bryan (9-3 here; 115-100-1 overall)
Last year: 9-3; lost 26-19 to East Hamilton in the 5A playoffs' second round
Returning starters (O/D/K): 5/9/1
2014 Schedule
(all games at 7:30 Eastern unless noted)
Aug. 22 - Brainerd
Aug. 29 - at Siegel, 8
Sept. 5 - Soddy-Daisy*
Sept. 12 - Tyner
Sept. 19 - at East Hamilton*
Sept. 26 - at Dobyns-Bennett
Oct. 3 - at Bradley Central*
Oct. 10 - at Walker Valley*
Oct. 24 - Cleveland*
Oct. 31 - McMinn County*
- District 5-AAA game
Control panel: Receivers Edward Montgomery (5-10, 170, Sr.) and Anthony Turner (5-9, 160, Sr.) combined for 1,372 total rushing and receiving yards and 16 touchdowns last season for the Owls. LB Jeremiah Jackson (6-0, 230, Jr.) had 120 tackles, 14.5 for loss, and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.
New producers: RB Frunsez Kendricks (5-9, 170, Sr.) is described as a "hard worker with good vision" and will get a lot of carries this season. Another player who will fill a larger role offensively is Rashun Freeman (5-11, 175, Jr.), a burner who already is key in the defensive backfield. The quarterback position is still up for grabs between London Elrod (6-0, 175, Jr.) and Kelvin Leon (6-2, 215, Sr.), but the winner of the job will have a ton of speed and talent to play with.
By the numbers:
9 - The Owls have averaged 8.6 wins the last 10 seasons, playing in one of the state's top classifications, with only one losing season in that span and two since 2000.
6.5- The average 2013 win total of the teams in Ooltewah's four-game midseason road stretch (East Hamilton, Dobyns-Bennett, Bradley Central and Walker Valley).
16 - In the Owls' nine wins last season, they allowed an average of just under 16 points per game. That spiked to 36.7 in their losses, but a good defense should be even better this year with nine starters returning.