Soddy-Daisy senior quarterback Justin Cooke is out because of injury, with expectations he could return in October.After losing Landon Allen, its outstanding freshman quarterback, to injury against Tyner last Friday, Notre Dame didn’t pull in its horns.
The Fighting Irish added to their playbook.
“We’re expanding the roles of Cameron Wynn and Dallas Brown,” coach Charles Fant said.
Brown ran for 104 yards and a touchdown in a limited quarterback role last week. Wynn could split time between quarterback, receiver and free safety.
Allen suffered a spiral fracture to his right leg and is quite likely out for the year after surgery last Saturday, but he came swinging in on crutches for Sunday’s team meeting.
Notre Dame thinks T.J. McGee will be back after sitting out last week due to a concussion, though. He is getting most of the snaps at quarterback, but Wynn and Brown were to be in the practice rotation along with freshman Parker Brock. The group is left-handed with the exception of Wynn.
Meanwhile at East Hamilton, the Hurricanes are giving Andrew Sturdivant his first start in place of Nick Woods, whose football career is over. Woods reinjured the knee he hurt a couple of years ago; he has already had surgery. Sturdivant was already the backup and finished last week’s game at Cleveland.
At Soddy-Daisy, the plans are no longer for games lasting three-plus hours. The Trojans are playing without injured quarterback Justin Cooke.
“You hope your running game can step up to take a little pressure off our quarterback, because he’s young,” coach Justin Barnes said. “At the end of the day, our linemen have to step up. They need to be more physical and more aggressive.”
The initial prognosis for Cooke is an October return. In his place is sophomore Gavin Chambers, who completed 11 of 21 passes for 162 yards in his first start. At his disposal is the area’s second-leading receiver, Ty Boeck, but it’s also probable Boeck’s role could include backfield duty.
“We have to be a little more calculating,” Barnes said.
Defenses on notice
Tonight’s 33rd football meeting between Dalton and Northwest Whitfield – the first after a two-year absence – might challenge the record for total points scored in the series (72 in 2008, the last win for the Bruins), at least if you listen to the coaches involved.
“They have skill kids everywhere, one of the most skilled northwest Georgia teams I’ve seen,” Northwest coach Josh Robinson said of the Catamounts. “You don’t see that kind of kids that often around here. I think both teams are too skilled offensively to stop completely.”
Dalton, coming off a 28-13 win against Calhoun, has elite playmakers in running back Ahmaad Tanner and receivers Zeke Cobb and Kyric McGowan and a strong-armed quarterback in J.P. Tighe. Northwest also has a fearsome foursome: quarterback Luke Shiflett, running back Dominique Sistrunk and receivers Jay Jones and Will Blanchard.
“I see a very explosive team offensively, one that has all the qualities you want,” Dalton coach Matt Land said of Northwest, which has totaled 103 points in two wins. “They have a dual-threat quarterback, one of the tops in the nation, and two great receivers. It’s a lot like last week in that we have to contain big plays and not give them anything easy.”
Bears’ Howell out
Bradley Central junior Nick Howell, the Bears’ punter and one of a half-dozen receivers who caught a pass from Cole Copeland last week against McMinn County, is out at least a month and possibly more after suffering a broken collarbone.
Coach Damon Floyd said Dylan Standifer would likely step in as the team’s punter and play in the wide receiver spot Howell occupied.
After the storms
A number of area teams managed to get through the long-lasting lightning storms last Friday, but some across the state were not as fortunate.
At least five games were unfinished and then ruled no-contests by mutual agreement of the opponents: Lipscomb-Page, Oakhaven-Halls, Camden-Huntingdon, Clarksville Academy-Eagleville and Columbia Academy-Franklin Road Academy.
Those decisions could affect the postseason.
“If a team has a no-contest, that means if they don’t reschedule, it would give them only nine games for the season. That could affect (the postseason) if one was a region game ,” the TSSAA’s Matt Gillespie of the TSSAA. “It could affect (the playoffs) if they get into a three-way tie in the region standings and we then have to look at overall records.”
Top scout-team QB
Jacob Huesman has returned to Baylor as a member of Phil Massey’s staff.
Huesman is already proving his worth at his high school alma mater, which might be as high as that he had as a player.
He earned numerous honors during a record-setting career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As a senior last year, the quarterback helped the Mocs win a share of their third straight Southern Conference title.
“He’s high-spirited and that’s contagious, and he has developed a great relationship already with the kids,” Baylor coach Phil Massey said. “And he’s the best scout-team quarterback in America!
“Ensworth has an explosive quarterback who can get on the edge, and we have to contain him. Jacob gave our defense a great picture.”
Mr. Football returns?
Traneil Moore, the 2015 Class 3A Mr. Football winner from East Ridge, is scheduled to make his 2016 debut tonight when the Pioneers travel to Signal Mountain.
Moore led East Ridge through an undefeated season and three games into the postseason last year. However, he had knee surgery over the winter and was only cleared to begin running about eight weeks ago.
He ran for more than 2,000 yards in 2015, although he played very little in the season opener and then sat out a game during the regular season.
Earlier this week, the only thing that stood between him and an active role was a knee brace he anticipated arriving by mid-week.
Super sub shines
When all-state senior running back Isaiah Foster injured his knee in a preseason scrimmage, the high expectations at Chattooga may have dimmed a bit.
Those fears were lifted last week in a 49-7 win over Alabama’s Cedar Bluff as senior backup Tyler Griffin exploded for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
“We always knew he could run,” Chattooga coach Charles Hammon said. “He did a super job. He’s a tough kid, and the kids rallied around him.
“(But) he’s our starting outside linebacker, so it makes it tough for us when he has to go both ways.”
Foster could return tonight in a part-time role as the Indians face Class AAA’s Dawson County. Hammon said Foster suffered only a mild sprain of his MCL and will be at full strength when Region 7-AA play begins later this month.