REGION 4-5A OUTLOOK
› Team to beat: Knoxville Catholic is not just the 2017 region champion but won its third state title last season. The Fighting Irish return many key starters from that team, including star-studded offensive and defensive fronts.› Watch out for: Rhea County. The Eagles bring back six starters on each side of the ball, and several of those have all-state caliber talent, including Zack Pemberton, a three-year starter at quarterback, and linebacker Chandler Kaylor, who was among the area’s leaders in tackles.› Best game: Soddy-Daisy hosts Rhea County on Oct. 12 in a game that could determine a first-round home playoff game.› Dream schedule: Lenoir City’s nonregion schedule includes Powell, CAK and Stone Memorial, none of which had a winning record last season. The Panthers also host both region favorites — Knoxville Catholic and Rhea County.› Nightmare schedule: Catholic opens its season against perennial Class 6A power Maryville, followed by Baylor. Other nonregion games include at Brentwood Academy and against a dangerous Cleveland team, and the Fighting Irish must travel to Rhea County.› Players to watch: Catholic linemen Cooper Mays, Bryn Tucker and Stiles Moore are being recruited by Power Five conference programs. Rhea quarterback Pemberton will have more freedom to call plays at the line, and Eagles linebacker Kaylor is a tackling machine. Soddy-Daisy quarterback Gavin Chambers threw for more than 2,100 yards last year.
If the talent along the offensive and defensive fronts is any indication, Knoxville Catholic isn’t going to budge this year from its football championship perch.
The rest of Region 4-5A has a lot of ground to cover to catch up to the 2017 state champion, which has an overflow of ability among its linemen, including three who are among the highest-rated college prospects in the state’s junior class. Cooper Mays (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) – younger brother of Georgia signee Cade Mays – and Bryn Tucker (6-5, 295) each has more than a dozen college offers already, and Stiles Moore (6-3, 220) is an all-state defensive end.
Rhea County returns 12 total starters determined to make up for last year’s disappointing finish. The Eagles had five games decided by a seven or fewere points in 2017, and improvement on defense will be the key to challenging for the region title. Rhea allowed 30-plus points four times last season.
The leader on that side of the ball will be senior linebacker Chandler Kaylor (6-1, 210), last year’s region defensive player of the year and one of the area’s tackles leaders. He’s joined by three other returning starters among the front seven.