Football Schedule                 

The Ooltewah lineman and South Pittsburg quarterback are among the Mr. Football award winners.
By: Stephen Hargis

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- On the football field both Ooltewah defensive end Jacques Smith and South Pittsburg quarterback Terrell Robinson have the ability to influence the outcome of games. But standing on stage Monday afternoon in front of more than 700 people at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center, the talented duo were reduced to nervously swaying back and forth as they waited to hear whose names would be called for the Mr. Football awards.

Ultimately both had their names called, Smith as the Class AAA Lineman of the Year and Robinson as Class A Back of the Year. Two other area players were also finalists but did not win their respective awards -- Baylor quarterback Jacob Huesman for Division II-AA Back of the Year and South Pittsburg defensive end Jiajuan Fennell for Class A Lineman of the Year.

"The second time was much more nerve-racking," said Smith, also a winner in 2008. "I had really set the bar pretty high for myself after last year, but I didn't think my stats were up to par with what they should have been this year, so I actually didn't think I would win.

"I've been telling my girlfriend the last two weeks that I didn't think I would win this time because the other two guys were really good players."

Smith, a University of Tennessee commitment, became only the fourth Chattanooga-area player to win the award in consecutive years. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder had 57.5 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss this season and will graduate Dec. 19 so he can enroll at Tennessee on Jan. 13 for the spring semester.

"Jacques has been a shining light for our program for some time, so I'm glad to see him end his high school career with that award again," Ooltewah coach Benny Monroe said. "I've been coaching for a long time and I have never had a player who plays as hard or with as much emotion as he does every snap. He's a special player and a special kid who will do very well at the next level."

Robinson (6-3, 190) has led the Pirates to the Class 1A state championship game. They will play Union City at 1 p.m. EST Friday at Tennessee Tech University. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga commitment has thrown for 1,687 yards, rushed for 1,322 and produced 46 total touchdowns.

"My heart started beating really fast the closer they got to calling the winner," said Robinson, who becomes the third Pirates player to win the award, following David Jones last year. "This is a big honor for me and my teammates. It's really an honor for me to be considered up there with the great players from South Pittsburg, considering the tradition we have.

"Now I'm focused on Friday and the unfinished business we have in that game."

There were 33 total finalists, three in each classification for both Back and Lineman of the Year as well as three for Kicker of the Year. South Pittsburg and Alcoa were the only two public schools with finalists in both categories. Top-ranked Alcoa will play for its sixth straight state championship Friday in the Class 3A title game.

The 6-1, 185-pound Huesman led the Red Raiders to the second round of the playoffs, throwing for 1,433 yards and rushing for 789 with a combined 18 touchdowns. The Mr. Football winner in his category was Memphis University School quarterback Barry Brunetti, a West Virginia commitment.

Adamsville linebacker Josh Carroll beat out Fennell for the Class A Lineman award. Fennell (6-4, 220) is a Middle Tennessee State commitment who has made 79 tackles, 15 for loss and five sacks. He also has 18 catches for 380 yards and two TDs as a tight end.

Ooltewah Gets Defensive In 36-0 Shutout Over Tyner
Green Scores Two TDs as Owls Score In Every Quarter
by John Hunt
posted August 21, 2009

If Tyner coach Wayne Turner didn’t believe Ooltewah has the best defense in Chattanooga before his team's Friday night game with the Owls, he’s a believer now.

Turner’s Rams hosted Ooltewah at Bob Evans Field before a standing-room only crowd Friday night and they got to see first hand what a good defensive unit looks like.

Limiting Tyner to just 82 total yards, Ooltewah scored at least one touchdown in every quarter and rolled to a 36-0 victory in the first game of the season for both teams.

It didn’t take long for the Owls to take command.

Following a fumble recovery by Jacques Smith at the Tyner 21, Ooltewah moved 21 yards in four plays and scored on a six-yard sweep by Eric Green with 9:24 still showing in the first quarter.

John Long’s PAT was good and the Owls were off and running.

Brandon Bruell recovered another Tyner fumble in the final minute of the first quarter at the Ram 42.

Green picked up 20 on one running play, but it was a 12-yard pass from quarterback Brady Reed to Bruell at the 9:41 mark that extended Ooltewah’s lead.

Zach Zarzour picked up a mishandled snap and scooted into the end zone for the conversion run to make it 15-0 and that was the score at intermission.

Ooltewah’s defense caused problems all game for the young Rams as Tyner never really got anything going on offense.

Reed connected with Korey Flanders for a 13-yard TD strike with four seconds left in the third quarter to make it 22-0 while the Owls added two TDs in the final 12 minutes to completely put the game out of reach.

Ooltewah coach Benny Monroe wasn’t real happy with some first-half miscues, but overall, he was happy with the performance of his team in the first official outing.

“Our defense is supposed to play that way,” he said when asked about the dominant nature of that unit.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half with missed assignments and a few dropped passes, but we made some corrections at the break.

"We were supposed to win this game. We were able to wear them down in the second half, but I’m pretty happy with the outcome.

“Tyner has a much better football team than what you saw tonight, but we didn’t give them a chance with our defense,” Monroe added.

Green had a fine performance in his first game as a starter, gaining 109 yards on 14 carries and scoring on runs of 6 and 33 yards.

Needless to say, this Ooltewah senior was all smiles at the end of the game.

“Korey (Flanders) and Jacques (Smith) both had key blocks on that last sweep. I feel like I had a good night for my first start, but I couldn’t have done it without the offensive line,” Green praised the guys up front.

Tyner’s Turner got right to the point in his post-game comments.

“We just got beat by a superior team. We made too many mistakes and gave them too many opportunities. We were really fortunate to only be down by 15 points at the half.

“We sputtered on offense, although we made a few nice plays along the way. It seemed like every time we’d make a nice run, we’d turn around and make a critical mistake. "You can’t make the mistakes we made and expect to win,” Turner added.

Ooltewah finished with 253 total yards, including 211 on the ground. Reed only completed two of eight passes, but both went for touchdowns.

While Green paced the running backs with 109 yards, Randall Freeman finished with 52 yards on eight trips while Bruell added 40 yards on nine carries in addition to his one touchdown reception.

Smith was a force all night on defense, although Tyner did its best to run away from the all-stater. Smith had one fumble recovery and at least two batted passes while recording a host of tackles. Bruell also had a fumble recovery while Richard Manning had an interception for the Owls.

Big Taylor Martin had a fumble recovery for Tyner. Tyner was limited to just 82 yards on offense, including 42 on the ground and 40 through the air.

Jermel McKenzie was the leader with 19 yards rushing on eight attempts while catching three passes for 14 yards. Damian Suttles also grabbed a couple of passes for 17 yards.

Ooltewah will head to Knoxville next Friday for a date with Austin East while Tyner will be at home again hosting the Baylor Red Raiders.

Ooltewah 7 8 7 14 -- 36
Tyner 0 0 0 0 -- 0

O – Eric Green 6 run (John Long kick), 9:24 left in first;
O – Brandon Bruell 12 pass from Brady Reed (Zach Zarzour run) 9:41 left in second;
O – Korey Flanders 13 pass from Reed (Long kick), :04 left in third;
O – Green 33 run (Long kick), 8:51 left in fourth;
O – Richard Manning 1 run (Long kick), 3:13 left in fourth.

Ooltewah Picked Top Team In District 5-AAA Footballby special report to The Chattanoogan
posted August 10, 2009

Ooltewah has been picked as the top team in District 5-AAA for the upcoming high school football season.

The Owls, under the direction of veteran coach Benny Monroe, were picked the No. 1 team in Murphy Fair's "Tennessee High School Football'' magazine on a vote by district coaches.

Fair's magazine can be purchased for $10.00 at Sweeney's Bar-B-Q on Broad Street or online at www.murphyfair.com.

2009 Coaches' Predictions

1. Ooltewah (6A)
2. Cleveland (5A)
3. McMinn County (6A) tie
3. Soddy-Daisy (6A tie
5. Rhea County (6A)
6. Walker Valley (5A)
7. Bradley Central (6A)

Ooltewah will be led by Jacques Smith, one of the state's best, if not the best, college prospect. He has already committed to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 238-pound defensive end from was a Mr. Football lineman of the year winner, and will be one of the elite prospects in the South entering his senior year. As a junior, Smith made 76 tackles, 28 for a loss, 13 sacks and 23 quarterback hurries.

"Coach (Lane) Kiffin's plan for the future is what I bought into,'' Smith said when he committed to Tennessee. "I believe in coach Kiffin and what he is bringing to Tennessee. "Tennnessee will be strong in the future because of coach Kiffin and his staff. They will make a good run, and I want to be a part of that.''

Smith played tight end, linebacker and defensive end for Ooltewah. He specializes in rushing the passer.

Ooltewah Ranked No. 6 In Fair's Class 6A Top 10
Three Area Players Chosen Preseason All-State
by special report to The Chattanoogan
posted August 3, 2009

Ooltewah has been ranked No. 6 in Murphy Fair's Preseason Top 10 Class 6A high school football rankings.

Fair, Tennessee's high school football guru, recently listed the rankings in his annual magazine "Tennessee High School Football.''

Fair's magazine can be purchased for $10.00 at Sweeney's Bar-B-Q on Broad Street or online at www.murphyfair.com.

Coming Tuesday, Aug. 4: Division II rankings and preseason all-state team.

Class 6A Top 10

1. Oakland (16)
2. Maryville (5)
3. Brentwood (1) tie
3. Franklin (2) tie
5. Smyrna (2)
6. Ooltewah (1)
7. Dobyns Bennett
8. Farragut (1)
9. Oak Ridge (1)
10. White Station (1)

Also receiving votes, in order: Whitehaven (1), Riverdale, Blackman, Germantown, Millington, Bearden (1), Siegel (1), Cookeville, Independence, Ravenwood, Jefferson Co., Wilson Central, Centennial, Lincoln Co., McMinn Co., Soddy-Daisy.

Class 6A Preseason All-State

OFFENSE

QB Reese Browning, Farragut
RB Alex Ford, Franklin
RB Terrance Martin, Franklin Co.
RB Jeremiah Bryson, Smyrna
WR March Gooch, Siegel
TE Matthew Logan-Robertson, Cordova
OL Tim Michalchuk, Cordova
OL Patrick Hansen, Dobyns Bennett
OL Isaiah Anderson, Franklin
OL James Normand, Oak Ridge
OL Cammeron Clemons, Wilson Central
K John Long, Ooltewah

DEFENSE

DB James Murray, Brighton
DB Courtney Richmond, Kirby
DB Tevin McDermott, McMinn Co.
DB Zack Barnes, Oakland
LB Craig Sally, Bolton
LB C.J. Overton, Riverdale
LB Deion Meadows, Smyrna
DL Desmond Johnson, John Overton
DL Joseph Henderson, Lincoln Co.
DL Tim McAdoo, Oakland
DL Jacques Smith, Ooltewah
P John Gentry, Franklin