The mercy rule kicked in with 11:37 left in the third quarter Friday night at James M. Monroe Stadium in Ooltewah. The running clock could have started after the game's first 54 seconds.
Senior running back Sincere Quinn broke three tackles and went 56 yards on Ooltewah's first play, and the Owls went on to an impressive pounding of William Blount, 48-7, in a Region 2-6A game.
Led by Quinn, senior quarterback Kyrell Sanford, junior running back Tylan Cargle and a nasty defense that forced three turnovers, the Owls (4-1, 2-0) punished William Blount (2-3, 1-2) in every phase of the game. Ooltewah's first punt came on the first play of the fourth quarter.
"We started fast and that was what I was looking for," said first-year Owls coach Scott Chandler. "We've got different kinds of athletes. Teams are going to have to decide what they are going to stop, and then we will take what they give us."
Sanford had 105 yards rushing, a touchdown and 70 yards passing. Quinn scored twice and rushed for 98 yards on 13 carries. Cargle, who is 5-foot-4 and weighs 145 pounds, slipped in and out of and around the Governors' defense and finished with 10 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Ooltewah rolled up 444 yards of offense, 370 on the ground.
After William Blount ran four plays on its first possession, Quinn went 58 yards off right tackle on the Owls' first play from scrimmage. Braeden Haynes started a busy first half with the point-after kick, and Ooltewah led 7-0 with only 54 seconds off the clock.
Haynes added a 33-yard field goal with 7:18 left in the first quarter, and then Ooltewah went 78 yards in seven plays and went ahead 17-0 when Quinn took a pitch, reversed field and scored from 7 yards out with 11:18 left in the first half.
After another Governors punt, the Owls covered 50 yards in six plays with Cargle accounting for 44 of those yards, including a 4-yard touchdown run. Haynes added the point and Ooltewah led 24-0 with 7:54 left in the half.
Junior Jaequan Greenhill recovered a Blount fumble with five minutes left in the half, and Ooltewah went 58 yards leading to Haynes' second field goal, this one from 35 yards. On the ensuing possession, senior defensive back TJ Taylor picked off Blount quarterback Trey Clemmer and returned the ball 47 yards for a touchdown. Haynes' point increased Ooltewah's lead to 34-0 going into halftime.
Ooltewah hosts Soddy-Daisy next week.
Contact Davis Lundy at sports@timesfreepress.com.