Soddy-Daisy's offensive philosophy is simple but defines the purpose of the spread offense.
"You're trying to stretch the defense vertically but also horizontally - not only 100 yards length but also 50-plus yards wide," Trojans coach Justin Barnes said. "One of the things in spreading guys out, you can work your system to get your guys in space and get them the ball quickly and allow them to make something happen."
Last year, a record-setting season for now graduated quarterback Hunter Maynor, Soddy-Daisy ran 635 plays and threw it on 365 of those. Maynor threw for 3,257 yards and 31 touchdowns.
"As good as he was throwing the ball - he got it and got rid of it quickly - Hunter wasn't going to run away from anybody," Barnes said.
Justin Cooke has stepped in this year and enters tonight's game against Walker Valley with 1,278 passing yards, including 305 against East Hamilton, and 18 TD passes. He also is the Trojans' second-leading rusher behind Christian Bell.
The dual-threat quarterback is a plus for Barnes' version of the spread, with which he became familiar at Red Bank and then at the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga under coach Donnie Kirkpatrick.
The spread the Trojans use can be traced back to the Lavell Edwards/Dewey Warren years at Brigham Young with the likes of quarterbacks Steve Young and Ty Detmer.
Former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors was fond of saying that three things can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad (incomplete pass, interception).
"You can say that about any part of the game," Barnes countered. "You have to be able to find what you do well and continue to improve and get better at it."
While he has used a number of offenses over the years, Ringgold coach Robert Akins put his team in a true spread this year because he felt that offense is what best suited the Tigers.
"Even at Boyd-Buchanan we'd take a tailback and put him out (as a fourth or fifth wide receiver). I've dabbled in it over the past 20 years," he said. "I like the spread now because of personnel, but we have to be more balanced - even 60-40 run to pass, maybe even 65-25."
There was a time when he used the run to set up the pass.
"This year we're flipped completely around," Akins said. "With the spread, the short passing game has improved and the screen game has come into effect. You basically get a great running play without a whole lot of contact. The spread is a great equalizer. You get athletes in space and get the ball out of the quarterback's hands and have a 5-yard gain without a whole lot of contact."
Akins acknowledged that he'd often go against the "flavor of the month" offensive philosophy.
"When everybody and their brother were going to the wing-T, I'd go back to the split-back veer. It can be a catch-22, but you find what works best for you and the talent you have to work with," he said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.