Ooltewah Owls look to keep producing

Ooltewah's Josh Shevlin (36) celebrates during the first half of the Ooltewah vs. Hardin Valley football game at Jim Jarvis Field at Ooltewah High School Friday, November 2, 2018 in Ooltewah, Tennessee. The game was the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs.
Ooltewah's Josh Shevlin (36) celebrates during the first half of the Ooltewah vs. Hardin Valley football game at Jim Jarvis Field at Ooltewah High School Friday, November 2, 2018 in Ooltewah, Tennessee. The game was the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs.

Head coach: Scott Chandler (9-3 in one year here; 29-16 overall)

Returning starters: 5 offensive; 3 defensive

Key players: OL Christian Benoit (6-4, 280); OL Tre Johnson (6-2, 255); Austin Boggs (6-3, 275); WR Fisher Perry (6-1, 185); DB Chase Sanders (6-1, 185); LB Josh Shevlin (5-10, 185); DL Tanner Rhodes (6-3, 270).

Team strengths: Benoit has a case to make for being the best offensive lineman in the entire area. Virginia Tech is one of many NCAA Division I schools interested in him, and the Owls' offensive line returns four starters in all.

"We are going to try and be a team that can line up every play where we are supposed to and that plays hard," Chandler said. "That takes zero talent, but if you can do those two things right you can win a bunch of games. If you have talent and can do that, you'll go pretty far."

Team concerns: The dynamic duo of Kyrell Sanford and Sincere Quinn, are gone as are several other key pieces from a nine-win team.

"Last year we had older guys waiting to take over, and they did a good job," Chandler said. "This year we are faced with having to play a bunch of sophomores. They are talented but haven't matured physically yet and are still working to get the mentality down."

Breakout candidate: Senior quarterback Lane Moore looks to have a solid grip on leading the offense after studying the game for the past few seasons.

"Lane is very football intelligent," Chandler said. "He throws on the run well, is mentally and physically tough and is a hard worker. The guys respect him and look to him to lead us."

Season outlook: With at least nine wins in 12 of the last 18 seasons, Ooltewah looks to keep producing.

The Owls have one of the toughest schedules of any team in the state, beginning against David Crockett and Red Bank programs that were a combined 23-2 last year.

"Our expectation is to be a playoff contender year in and year out," Chandler said. "That's going to depend on how we mature. We have to face four teams who won their region and seven teams that went to the postseason. We need to stay healthy and have luck on our side, too."

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