RHEA COUNTY EAGLES
Head coach: Mark Pemberton (60-25 in seven years here; 223-94 overall)
Returning starters: 4 offensive; 8 defensive
Key players: RB Dalton Hampton (6-4, 205); OT Justin Woody (6-0, 265), TE Eli Johnson (6-1, 230); FB Ryan Young (6-0, 190); NG Joe Lemons (6-1, 235); DT/OG Jaylee Elsea (6-0, 225); ILB Drew Fisher (5-11, 210); DT Caden Wix (5-11, 200); DB Jaden Pankey (5-10, 175); DB Gavin Roddy (5-10, 165).
Team strengths: The returning starters on defense will help offset the effects of having a young offense that will likely rely heavily on Hampton and Young, who rushed for a combined 1,900 yards last season.
Team concerns: Coach Pemberton mentioned depth as the team’s biggest challenge. The young offense – including a freshman starter at quarterback – could be another concern.
Breakout candidate: Freshman quarterback Kaleb Martin is a talented athlete who will be asked to take over Pemberton’s wing-T offense. Having seniors Hampton and Young with him in the backfield will help take some of the pressure off.
Season outlook: Things got back to normal some for the Eagles in 2019, when they won nine games to match their combined total for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Just one touchdown is all that separated Rhea County from knocking off Soddy-Daisy for the region title last year, though a lot of the offensive talent from that team is gone and in comes Martin to take the reins.
The Eagles can’t afford to start slowly with two of their first four games are against Walker Valley and Lenoir City, which along with Rhea County and Soddy-Daisy make up the four-team Region 4-5A. The Eagles will have to rely on their defense – Rhea County allowed more than 20 points just twice in the regular season last year – to lead the way while Martin gets comfortable with Pemberton’s expectations, but the coach is high on his freshman signal caller.