A pounding on the road – almost seven hours and 450 miles from home – became a turning point for Rhea County’s football team this season.
Changes during the two weeks following the Eagles’ 31-point loss to Cathedral High in Indianapolis on Sept. 25 – an open date followed – moved from conception to reality. There is no better evidence than their 40-34 victory over Region 3 champion Farragut last week, a win that moved them into Friday’s Class 5A state quarterfinals opposite Ooltewah, which shut Rhea County out 16-0 earlier this season.
Eagles fullback Mason Stephenson ran for 292 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning score in the final minute of last week’s second-round victory.
“We had been trying to keep from playing a lot of guys both ways, and we did it all the way through the Cathedral game,” Rhea County coach Mark Pemberton said. “With an open date the next week, we decided that would be a perfect time to make changes and get the guys in there that would do the job for us. We got some athletic guys in there, and that has helped.”
Defensive end Gavin Downey moved in at left tackle, Tyler Brown moved from left tackle to left guard, Ethan Houston moved back to center from a backup fullback role, Jonathan Shoemake shifted from right tackle to right guard and Nick Mullin, who’d been playing solely at noseguard, slipped in at right tackle. On the line, only tight end Jared Edwards remained at the position in which he started to open the season.