Despite a slight bit of bias toward his side of the field, Ooltewah junior linebacker Jeremiah Jackson immediately knew the answer to Friday night's question of just what was the most dominant aspect of the Owls' 35-0 victory over visiting Tyner.
Ooltewah's offensive stat sheet again was quite strong with 366 total yards and 20 first downs on 58 plays in just over 17 minutes of possession time. Even with those numbers, it was hard to top the Owls defense posting its second consecutive shutout of the young season, led by Jackson's 10 tackles.
"We've got a lot of veterans on our defense, and we are working very hard because we believe that defense wins championships," said Jackson, who posted 4.5 tackles for loss. "At halftime, we knew we had played kind of flat. We made a goal to get our second straight shutout, and that's what happened. You can't go to sleep on our defense."
Both defenses sparkled for much of the first half after the Owls opened the game with a 7-0 lead on a three-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a Frunsez Kendricks 14-yard touchdown run.
Tyner turned the ball over on three of its first five possessions. However, the Rams kept the game tight with interceptions by Judarius Paris and Drakkel Parker, both killing Owls drives that had moved inside the Tyner 10-yard-line.
"I was real impressed with our defense tonight to now go eight straight quarters without giving up a score," said Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan. "We got out of rhythm a bit offensively, but you have to give credit to Tyner. They played hard, and we know they have some good players over there."
The Owls (3-0) seized the game's momentum in the final five minutes of the first half as Edward Hayes caught the first of his two TD passes from Kelvin Leon. The first score was from 12 yards out, and it completed a 64-yard, seven-play drive.
A Jackson sack on third down to pin the Rams at their 5-yard line with 1:40 left in the half set up a short Owls flight to the end zone just before halftime. On the play following the Rams punt, Leon escaped Tyner defensive pressure to hit an open Hayes for a 40-yard strike and a 21-0 lead at halftime.
Leon finished his 14-of-26 night and capped off his 255 yards through the air with a 17-yard scoring pass to Anthony Turner. The final score of the night belonged to Turner, who caught a 17-yard TD from London Elrod.
Parker stopped a late Owls drive with his second interception of the night for the Rams (0-3).
"Our kids gave a good effort and we were in the game for most of the first half, but we made too many mistakes with turnovers," said Tyner coach Wayne Turner. "We're focused on getting better and being ready for the district."
Tyner, which finished with six first downs and 92 totals yards along with four turnovers, has faced the Owls and Signal Mountain as nondistrict opponents. Knoxville Catholic is next on what is a very tough opening schedule for the Rams.
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com.