After Ooltewah turned the ball over four times in the first half, things couldn't get much worse for the home team after intermission Friday night at Jim Jarvis Field.
They didn't. In fact, the Owls performed a complete metamorphosis in the second half, dominating Cleveland on the way to a 37-24 Region 4-5A win.
Ooltewah (7-2, 4-1) turned the tables in blanking the Blue Raiders during the second half, picking off three passes and relying upon a resurgent running game to avenge the Owls' lone region loss last season.
"We've been here before in situations like this, and our kids kept their composure and did a good job in the second half," Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan said. "We don't like turning it over like that. Any time you can overcome five turnovers against a good football team, it's pretty impressive. I'm proud of the way we kept our poise."
The Owls scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes late in the third quarter to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit and grab a 27-24 advantage. Sincere Quinn scored from 8 yards out, followed by the second scoring connection between quarterback Collin Thurman to Andrew Manning covering 20 yards to give Ooltewah the lead.
A key defensive stand midway through the fourth quarter preserved the Owls' narrow edge. Cleveland (4-5, 1-4) had the ball on the Ooltewah 8 following a 27-yard completion from Joseph Osterland - the Raiders' fifth-string quarterback playing following a wave of injuries - to Robert Anderson. But the Owls defense held steady, forcing three incompletions after a 2-yard loss.
"We're known around here to have a pretty good defense. Even though we graduated a lot of people last year, this group has grown up the last three or four weeks and are starting to play solid defense," Bryan said.
After Aleksander Toser nailed a 30-yard field goal to push the margin to six, the Owls' offensive line controlled the trenches to seal the win. Cameron Turner blitzed the Raiders for a 30-yard scoring gallop in the waning seconds to account for the final margin.
"We've got a good group up front and we kept on working, and they tend to get a little better in second half. I thought they showed great determination at the end when we needed it most," Bryan said. "Cleveland's got a great tradition, and it's always good to get a win over them."
Cleveland took advantage of the Owls' charity to convert a pair of short fields into points, and Raiders defensive back Romeo Wykle returned a tipped pass 39 yards to give his team a 21-14 lead.
Ooltewah was able to remain within striking distance thanks to the heroics of Jake Sullivan. After having an 80-yard punt return nullified by a penalty, Sullivan cashed in a 72-yard scoring return to keep the Owls close.
Contact Paul Payne at sports@timesfreepress.com