At 7:30 Tuesday evening the heat index at Red Bank High School registered 114. The Lions, in full football gear, waited to practice, and most didn’t get home until 10:30.
The heat, both literally and figuratively, is on the Lions, who have dominated first Region 4-4A and now District 6-AA for a half-dozen years.
While it may not be a completely dry season for the Lions, coach Tim Daniels and his staff are replacing close to two dozen seniors, among them 17 starters.
“I told this team back in January that they were going to be a blue-collar team, and they’ve worked hard in the offseason, in the spring and in the preseason,” Daniels said. “We aren’t going to be ‘sparkly,’ although we have some players who may eventually have some sparkle about them.”
A year ago the Lions had lots of sparkle, including two-year quarterback starter Andy Christopher, running back Keon Williams, who was among the area’s rushing leaders, and big and talented linemen.
Among the five returning starters, only wide receiver and defensive back Kelvin Clay would draw description as a marquee player .
Still, there are those who say Red Bank is No. 1 until they lose a district game.
“Red Bank is king until they get knocked off,” Hixson coach Houston White said. “Talk is they may be down a little bit, but they’re still going to be very talented and well-coached.”
Added East Ridge coach Mike Martin: “You have to beat them to change it. Red Bank and Tyner are the teams to beat, but I think the gap has closed. There are three or four or even five teams that could change things this year.”
Tyner, which returns 16 starters including quarterback/defensive back Travis Jones, recovered from a 1-3 start to finish as 2009 distinct runner-up to Red Bank and joined the Lions, Brainerd, East Ridge and Central in the postseason.
“We were in bad shape morale-wise after those first four games, but we rebounded well,” Rams coach Wayne Turner said. “It’s where you wind up at the end that counts. If we can get off to a positive start, I think it will carry over week to week.”
Tyner and Howard are the only 6-AA teams that are classified as Class 3A teams for the postseason. The rest are Class 4A.
East Ridge is one of those teams being mentioned as a contender, but Martin took exception to a fellow coach saying his Pioneers are talent-laden.
“We’re not loaded,” he said flatly. “We have a lot of returnees with experience, but depth is going to be an issue.”
East Ridge has experienced running backs Chase Steele and Brevante King, and several coaches have said the Pioneers will be in the thick of the championship race if they get reliable play at quarterback.
Daniels mentioned Tyner and Brainerd as probable favorites.
“I don’t know what Brainerd has in the way of linemen, but their skill people looked good in the passing league,” Daniels said. “They had one guy (Maleek Rook) that had so many moves I swear he faked himself out.”
DISTRICT 6-AA AT A GLANCE* Team on the rise: East Ridge. The Pioneers, though lacking quantity, have quality.* Nightmare schedule: Tyner. In addition to the seven district games, the Rams open the season with Ooltewah, a 6A playoff participant last year, and Baylor and McCallie.* Dream schedule: Six of East Ridge’s opponents either missed the playoffs or had sub-.500 records in 2009.* Best game: Tyner-Red Bank on Oct. 8.* Biggest shoes to fill: Red Bank running back Keon Williams, who rushed for 1,506 yards before signing with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.* Playoff bound: Tyner appears to be a lock in 3A, and look for East Ridge, Red Bank and Central to advance to the 4A draw.
“That’s us – skill guys – but we’ll make it work,” said first-year Brainerd coach Stanley Jackson, who started preseason practice with just five starters returning from an 8-4 team. “We have some speed, but we have a lot of positions that were vacated by a very talented senior class.”
Central also has a new coach in Sam Montgomery, who has 88 players but only a handful of returning starters led by quarterback-turned-running back Dehart Hubbard. East Hamilton is the only team that returns not just all of its starters but all of its players. The Hurricanes, 1-9 in their first season a year ago, will have their first graduating class next spring.
“It’s a very solid district,” East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood said. “I feel real good with the progress of the program. Everybody’s kids worked hard in the offseason, but us being able now to get into a facility with locker rooms and a weightroom has been important to us.”
Howard was listed among last year’s favorites but the Tigers stumbled badly, failing to get what they needed up front on both sides of the ball in a 2-8 season. They’re changing offenses, going to Georgia Tech’s option, which coach Alvin Tarver is calling the Tiger-bone.
“I hope we can run it as well as they do,” he said.
One plus will be the return of running back/linebacker Eric McCullough, who missed more than half the season with a back injury.
Hixson has refined its offense after losing quarterback Zach McCarter to graduation. The Wildcats still will use a semblance of a spread offense but likely will run more with hopes of breaking through to the playoffs.
“That middle of the pack – including us, Central, East Ridge, Brainerd, Howard and East Hamilton – is going to be improved, and those middle teams are going to have some real battles,” White said. “I’m looking forward to it, and I’m looking forward to some of our teams getting out and making good playoff runs.”