It was a normal Friday night high school football game at Soddy-Daisy, until it wasn't.
Ooltewah jumped to a 14-0 lead and had the ball at the Trojans' 32-yard line as the first quarter ended. There were flickers of lightning in the distance, but nothing that had anyone's attention.
Then the officials stopped the game because of lightning in the area as an unexpected storm passed over parts of Hamilton County. It was homecoming at Soddy-Daisy, so the queen was crowned in the gym during what turned out to be a 2-hour, 28-minute weather delay.
Then Friday turned into Saturday, the day Soddy-Daisy celebrated its 50th anniversary as a city. History will record that the first thing that happened on the city's golden anniversary was the Trojans playing football at home.
Finally, the game ended at 12:32 a.m., five hours and two minutes after it started. The final: Ooltewah 42, Soddy-Daisy 28. Both teams are 2-3.
"I've never had a game end this late," said Ooltewah coach Scott Chandler, "but we got a win, so we are going to Waffle House."
Senior running back Jaequan Greenhill scored three touchdowns for the Owls and rushed for 194 yards, and senior quarterback Lane Moore threw for three scores and ran for another.
Ooltewah scored on its first two possessions, getting a 26-yard touchdown run from Greenhill and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Moore to wide receiver Tucker Miller. The second score ended a 72-yard, 10-play drive.
"We got off to a good start and really didn't need the delay," Chandler said.
The second quarter started at 10:35 p.m. with the Owls on the Soddy-Daisy 32-yard line. Seven plays later, Moore connected with junior receiver Fisher Perry on a 13-yard slant for a touchdown. Senior kicker Braeden Haynes, who converted seven extra points, made the score 21-0.
The Trojans then got their up-tempo offense rolling behind senior quarterback Isaac Barnes and junior receiver Kesean Eubanks. Barne finished the game with 301 yards passing and four touchdowns, three to Eubanks. The rally started with Eubanks' 56-yard kickoff return after Ooltewah's third score. One play later, Barnes hit Eubanks for a 23-yard touchdown with 5:53 left in the first half.
After an Ooltewah punt, a streaking and open Eubanks dropped a sure touchdown. Unfazed, the Trojans forced another punt before Barnes and Eubanks connected on a 41-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining in the half to bring Soddy-Daisy to within 21-14.
"Our secondary is young, and they got it going pretty good," Chandler said.
After the length of halftime was cut in half, the Trojans stopped Ooltewah on its first possession of the second half. Soddy-Daisy then drove from its 39 to the Owls' 18 in four plays and appeared ready to tie the game. On second down, Barnes hit receiver Will Ackerman, who broke a tackle and dived toward the end zone.
The ball appeared to break the plane of the goal line before Ackerman fumbled, but officials ruled it a fumble. Ooltewah recovered in the end zone and Soddy-Daisy never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
"I thought he got in from where I was," Chandler said. "If he had, we were in trouble."
On Soddy-Daisy's ensuing possession, the Owls intercepted Barnes for the second time, getting the ball at the Trojans' 20. Two plays later, Moore sneaked in from 5 yards out and Ooltewah led 35-14.
"I thought we played through some adversity with the weather and everything," said Moore, who finished 13-of-19 for 111 yards with no interceptions. "We're just trying to do our best to win every game that's left."
There was no quit in Soddy-Daisy. The Trojans scored on their next possession when Barnes floated a pass in the flat to "do-everything" senior Hayden Maynor. He ran over two defenders and raced 75 yards down the sideline for a score.
Another Soddy-Daisy mistake - this time a low, rugby-style punt by Maynor that didn't clear the line of scrimmage and totaled 1 yard - gave the Owls another short field, and Greenhill's third touchdown made it 42-21 with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter. Barnes then hit Eubanks for an 11-yard score with 3:21 left.
Soddy-Daisy outgained the Owls 391 yards to 328. Maynor, who punts and plays linebacker in addition to running back, rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries and caught three passes for 87 yards and a score. Barnes completed 17 passes.
Greenhill has rushed for 662 yards in his past three games. He played running back as a freshman and sophomore before Chandler moved him to defense in 2018 due to a wealth of talent in the backfield.
"I give all the credit to the O-line," Greenhill said. "I just get in behind them and go."
Said Chandler: "We knew all along that Jaequan could run the ball. The guy is extremely strong. He squats over 400 pounds and power-flings 280 or something. He's a strong guy."
Contact Davis Lundy at sports@timesfreepress.com.