When discussing the return to regions and a more sensible TSSAA football playoff system, some observers point to Ooltewah's eight returning defensive starters while arguing favorites, yet others look at the Owls' second-round playoff game of 2014 when they lost 47-14 to Rhea County.
"Ooltewah returns a solid defense - eight starters," said Soddy-Daisy coach Justin Barnes.
Ooltewah went through District 5-AAA unbeaten and Rhea County did the same in 6-AAA. They're now back together in Region 4-5A along with Soddy-Daisy, McMinn County, Cleveland, Walker Valley and White County, and the Owls and Rhea's Eagles have the largest squads.
"They're both loaded," said Walker Valley coach Glen Ryan.
The top four region finishers advance to the state playoffs, the top two hosting and the third- and fourth-place finishers traveling in the first round.
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REGION 4-5A AT A GLANCELast year’s champion: Ooltewah won District 5-AAA; Rhea County won District 6-AAA.Team to beat: Ooltewah has 12 starters returning, including eight on defense, and the Owls feel good about replacing four of five OL starters from 2014.Watch out for: Cleveland is a young team but most coaches in the district feel the Blue Raiders, with new coach Scott Cummins and his veer offense, will be the biggest challenge to Ooltewah and Rhea County.Best game: Ooltewah hosts Rhea County on Sept. 18.Dream schedule: Walker Valley has a chance at getting into the final two games unblemished in region play, so there could be plenty of confidence when the Mustangs play preseason favorites Rhea County and Ooltewah.Nightmare schedule: White County opens region play at Rhea County on Sept. 4, plays former district rival and neighbor Cookeville the next week and faces playoff probables Ooltewah, Walker Valley and Cleveland the last three weeks of the regular season.Players to watch: The two who are best known heading into 2015 are both from Ooltewah — WR/RB Rashun Freeman and LB Jeremiah Jackson. Freeman was 5-AAA’s receiver of the year and Jackson was its defensive player of the year in 2014.Predicted order of finish: Ooltewah, Rhea County, Cleveland, Walker Valley, McMinn County, Soddy-Daisy, White County.
oltewah coach Mac Bryan has a varsity roster of 88, including 29 seniors, and will have more than 120 players when freshmen get on the practice field with the rest. Rhea County coach Mark Pemberton averaged 100 players for summer workout sessions.
The Owls did sustain key personnel losses, including quarterback Kelvin Leon, who threw for 249 yards per game and finished the season with 29 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions, and leading receivers Edward Hayes and Anthony Turner,who combined for 2,035 yards and 27 TDs.
Yet London Elrod, who started a couple of games early for the 2014 Owls, takes over at quarterback and Rashun Freeman, the No. 3 receiver a year ago, will line up as a wideout and as a wingback/running back. Too, Bryan indicated confidence in an offensive line that has only one returning starter (Chris Smith) but is bigger than last season.
The defense, though, led by linebacker Jeremiah Jackson, was the real deal. The Owls gave up 14 or fewer points in seven games and registered two district shutouts. The top-line defenders actually had four shutouts before giving way to reserves.
"The best defense in this district is going to be the best team in this district," McMinn County coach Bo Cagle said.
While Ooltewah offensively will have first intentions of throwing the football - with an eye on more balance - Rhea County is going to run from coach Mark Pemberton's wing-T.
"We plug our kids into the system," Pemberton said. "We're a system team and we're running the same stuff I've run since 1980. We're blue collar."
Including the win over Ooltewah and a semifinal loss the next week to eventual state champion Knoxville West, Rhea County was a scoring machine in 2014 with an average of 40.9 points per game. The Eagles scored on the plus side of 50 twice (Red Bank, Tullahoma), and the fewest they put up was 21 in Week 10 against Stone Memorial, when they knew they had the district title in the bag and were looking toward the playoffs.
That offense will center on returning quarterback Daniel Dotson, a sleight-of-hand expert with a more than capable arm, receivers Noel Patterson and Jared Edwards and running backs Cody Bice, a 1,000-yard rusher, and Dylan Smith.
The defense, which also has five returning starters, was similarly strong, giving up more than 14 points only four times.
Yet there are really no favorites, at least in Pemberton's initial assessment of Region 4-5A.
"I think this by far is the toughest region in 5A," Pemberton said. "This region - you know it's going to be a battle every week."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.