EVENSVILLE, TENN. – Rhea County may have breezed into the second round of the TSSAA playoffs by routing the Tullahoma Wildcats 52-14 on Friday, but the Eagles’ reward is a showdown with former District 5-AAA foe Ooltewah.
Each of the teams in next week’s Class 5A matchup in Evensville is 11-0.
In the first-ever meeting between the Eagles and the Wildcats, Rhea made a lasting impression on the visitors at Bill Horton Field with what’s worked all season — running the football and stingy defense.
“We were clicking tonight. I thought we played really well in all phases of the game, especially on special teams and defense,” coach Mark Pemberton said of his Eagles’ four takeaways. “We’ve told the kids all week, ‘Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. You’ve got to play great defense if you’re going to advance deep into the playoffs.’
“We had a really good week of practice, and I thought it really showed tonight on the field. We got better in a lot of different areas tonight, and I’m proud of the team’s overall effort.”