By the time you leave the football field against McMinn County, the Cherokees want to make sure you remember them.
And not in a positive way.
The reigning champions of TSSAA Region 4-5A are bringing back a stout defensive front, having imposed their will last season by holding opponents to just 88 points in 11 games outside of a 42-24 loss to Bradley Central.
“Ever since my freshman year, I was taught by the older guys,” said McMinn County senior linebacker Landon Feggins, who has 235 tackles (11.5 for loss) over the past two seasons. “Even when I was watching their games in middle school, I would see our guys knocking someone’s head off. That’s always fun to watch.
“We have guys up front who are going to try to kill someone up front. You can have a four-star receiver; we still are going to hit him as hard as we can. We are consistent in our physicality on the field. Every team in our region is going to remember when they played us.”