Ooltewah's Rashun Freeman (11) evades a McMinn County Thursday in their final regular season game.Throughout their undefeated football season, the Ooltewah Owls have displayed numerous moments of sustained brilliance and absolute dominance. Thursday night, they were one step away from a perfect regular-season record, but they were struggling to find the precision and strength that has made them one of the region's top teams.
Facing a District 5-AAA rival McMinn County team that was fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive, the Owls headed into the locker room trailing for the first time all season at home before harnessing the lightning that has changed the entire momentum of their games in a matter of seconds.
The flash that led to Ooltewah's 30-12 victory was seen in 5:35 in the third quarter. In that span, Kelvin Leon threw three touchdown passes while the defense and special teams flexed their muscles to seize control of the contest.
It took Leon and the Owls 69 seconds to march 73 yards on five plays, the quarterback finding fellow senior Edward Hayes for a 44-score. Just under three minutes later, the Leon-to-Hayes combination reached the end zone again on a 33-yard play.
But Leon and the Owls (10-0, 6-0) were just getting warmed up. Less than 90 seconds after a strong defensive stand and a short Cherokees punt, Leon went to Brandon Byrd, who turned a screen pass into a 53-yard touchdown. Before the third quarter was complete, Laslo Toser hit the second of his three field goals on a scoring run that punctuated a successful senior night.
"A 10-0 season is pretty special. It's only happened three times before in school history," said Ooltewah second-year coach Mac Bryan, whose team has claimed two straight 5-AAA regular-season crowns. "Tonight we just didn't hit on some plays in the first half, and you have to give McMinn credit. They are a well-coached team. We were able to make some adjustments at halftime and it really clicked."
"We started out kind of slow, but we got it rolling in the second half," said Hayes, who finished with 169 yards receiving on eight receptions. "It was a great way to finish out on senior night, but we are not done yet. We've got the playoffs and we are excited."
"It was a special night," Leon agreed after going 27-for-43 for 327 yards, with one interception. "We really got it going in the second half.
"We knew we had a good group coming into this season," Bryan said. "We felt like we could be strong in all three phases of the game, and we have been able to do that throughout the year. I am very proud of this team and we are looking forward to the playoffs."
The Cherokees (3-7, 3-4) rode Dimese Bradley's rushing to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Bradley scored both of the Cheokees' TDs and finished the game with 311 yards of rushing on 32 carries. He gained 131 yards in the first half.
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com