An unfortunate trend early this season that continues to trouble Chattanooga-area football programs is the rash of injuries to starting quarterbacks. More than a half-dozen local teams have been forced to play without their starter for either multiple weeks or at least a portion of games so far.
On Friday night, Red Bank and Sequatchie County joined the list of local teams forced to turn to inexperienced quarterbacks, doing so with mixed results.
Red Bank sophomore Ryver Parker was pressed into a start for the Lions after dual-threat senior Austin Jones was deemed “too dinged up” to play by head coach Ted Gatewood. Parker connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game and finished the night 9-of-13 for 261 yards with four touchdowns in a 28-21 win over previously unbeaten East Ridge in their TSSAA Region 3-4A matchup.
Parker’s impressive varsity debut, which included touchdowns covering 66, 46, 38 and 28 yards (178 of his team’s 277 total yards), likely salvaged the game — and potentially the season — as the Lions’ rushing offense was limited to 20 yards on 15 carries.
“It feels great,” Parker told the Times Free Press afterward. “I’m just looking forward to starting more this season and throwing a lot more touchdowns.”