Ooltewah senior football player Sincere Quinn was upset all day Friday. A newspaper quote in the middle of the week by a Cleveland player saying the Owls would “lay down” if the Blue Raiders took it to them physically had the explosive running back huffing and puffing hours before their Region 2-6A matchup.
“That’s not going to happen,” Quinn said before the game. “It’s just not going to happen.”
It didn’t. After a typically slow start that had the host Owls trailing 14-7 at the half, the Ooltewah defense sparked a surge in the third quarter that allowed Quinn and quarterback Kyrell Sanford to lead the way to a 34-20 win over Cleveland at James M. Monroe Stadium.
“We sent them a message in the second half about who was going to lay down,” Quinn said. “We just weren’t focused in the first half, but we got it going after halftime.”
Quinn rushed 23 times for 157 yards while Sanford threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more in the second half for the Owls (7-2, 4-1) virtually assured themselves of a home game in the first round of the state playoffs. Sanford finished with 88 rushing yards on seven carries.