Freeman-Led Owls Whip Cleveland, 30-14, To Win 5-AAA Title

Scores On Pass And Punt Return, Gets "Pick" As Ooltewah Goes To 9-0

  • Friday, October 24, 2014
  • Larry Fleming

Junior Rashun Freeman's stunning versatility stole the show Friday night.

Freeman caught a touchdown pass, returned a punt for a second score and had one of three Ooltewah interceptions as the fourth-ranked Owls whipped Cleveland, 30-14, to win the District 5-AAA championship in front of a near-capacity crowd at James N. Monroe Stadium.

“I practice hard and that shows up on the field,” Freeman said. “I give credit to the whole defense because we stick together like brothers.

That’s as good a game as I’ve played, but there’s always room for improvement.”

Freeman’s 45-yard touchdown pass from Kelvin Leon opened the Owls’ scoring and started him on his way to a six-catch, 116-yard performance. Freeman’s interception stopped a Cleveland threat and led Ooltewah’s second touchdown.

“We’ve got receivers that can make plays,” Owls coach Mac Bryan said. “Kelvin understands where to go with the ball and makes good decisions. That makes it tough on teams.”

Ooltewah (9-0, 5-0), which has beaten five district opponents by an average score of 39-7, closes out the regular season on Thursday when it hosts McMinn County. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

With the team's second straight title in hand, the Owls will try to put the finishing touches on their first undefeated regular season since 2006 with a win over the Cherokees.

“We have done well in big games this season,” said Bryan, who is in his second year guiding the Owls’ program. “I thought we did well tonight. I didn’t think we played as clean as some games we’ve played, but we did things we had to do.”

Cleveland finished its regular season at 5-5 overall and 4-2 in district play.

Both teams have earned berths in the  Class 5A state playoffs.

Cleveland coach Ron Crawford thought Ooltewah’s three interceptions -- two by Austin Massey and one by back-up Jacob Gibson -- were the key factor in his team’s loss.

“No doubt,” he said. “Those turnovers inside the 20 were big. We also gave them a special team touchdown and that stung. But our inability to score in the red zone hurt as well.”

Interceptions by Freeman at the Owls’ 29, linebacker Jeremiah Jackson at the 15 and defensive back Edward Hayes in the back of the end zone, crippled the Blue Raiders, who had won 12 of 14 games against Ooltewah dating 1985.

“Those interceptions helped us a lot,” said Leon, who enjoyed a brilliant passing night, completing 27-of-37 for 352 yards – he was 21-for-28 and 238 yards at halftime. “We relaxed and got in our groove.”

Leon now has thrown for 2,215 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Cleveland became nervous every time Freeman touched the football.

The Owls standout snagged a short pass from Leon, juked one Cleveland defender, jived another and darted down the near sidelines 45 yards for the game’s first touchdown. The play capped an 89-yard, 11-play drive.

Cleveland came right back with an 80-yard, 13-play drive to tie the game – Massey connected with Isaiah Beaty on an 8-yard pass for the touchdown.

It was all Ooltewah after that, though.

With the large homecoming crowd giving its rousing support, Leon drove the Owls toward a potential second touchdown on their second possession. The drive bogged down, but senior place-kicker Laszlo Toser kicked a 30-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-7.

Toser would add two field goals, covering 31 and 27 yards, later in the game. The strong-legged Toser has made 11-of-14 attempts this season, including 7-of-8 from 30-39 yards. He booted a school-record 52-yarder against Bradley Central.

Toser also added six straight kickoffs through the end zone, giving him touchbacks on 54-of 62 tries this season.

In the second quarter, Freeman’s interception set in motion a 71-yard, 11-play scoring drive that Frunsez Kendricks ended with a 1-yard burst to give the Owls a 17-7 cushion.

Jackson’s pick set up a drive that Toser salvaged with his 30-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half. The Owls gained possession at their own 9 following a holding penalty on Jackson’s interception return with 59.7 seconds on the clock.

Leon went 5-for-6, hitting Hayes three times for 65 yards. With 11.2 seconds left and facing a second-and-one, Leon was sacked and the Owls called on the sure-footed Toser to bail them out.

His kick was true and Ooltewah led, 20-7, at the break.

Cleveland, who won the pregame coin toss and deferred, went on offense to start the third quarter. With Jacob Gibson at quarterback – Massey went to linebacker – and the Blue Raiders went three-and-out.

Freeman grabbed the punt at the Owls’ 45 and darted down the right sideline, changed directions, zigged and zagged his way to the opposite sideline and finished off the spectacular return by dashing into the end zone barely ahead of the final Cleveland defender.

The game score moved to 27-7.

Toser came on again to salvage the Owls’ next drive, adding his 27-yard field goal with 4:33 left in the third period.

Cleveland quickly threatened again, moving the ball to Ooltewah’s 10. On first down, the Blue Raiders fumbled, but recovered the ball. On the next snap, Hayes backpedaled into the end zone and grabbed the team’s third interception.

“We returned a punt for a touchdown, we got three interceptions and the offense made some big plays,” Bryan said. “We had all three phases doing some good things.”

Hayes came in handy on offense as well, catching 10 passes for 121 yards. The effort pushed his season total to team-leading 798 yards on 57 receptions, with 13 touchdowns.

Anthony Turner, the Owls' second-leading receiver, had eight catches for 83 yards and heads into next week's game with 37 receptions for 766 yards and eight scores.

Speaking of the Owls’ vaunted passing game, Crawford said, “The ball comes out quick. They get the ball to really good athletes in space and it’s an efficient passing attack. They usually hit a high percentage of their throws. You take those completions, mix in missed tackles and you can do something with them.”

Massey, who suffered an injury and eventually left the game, completed 10-of-16 passes for 64 yards and three picks.

Running back T.J. Parker was Cleveland’s most effective offensive weapon, rushing for 167 yards and 23 carries. He scored the Blue Raiders’ second touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:37 left in the game.

Scoring Summary

Cleveland                   7 0 0 7 – 14

Ooltewah                   10 10 10 0 – 30  

First Quarter

OOL – Rashun Freeman 45 pass from Kelvin Leon (Laszlo Toser kick), 10:09

CLE – Isaiah Beaty 8 pass from Austin Massey (Brandon Romero kick), 5:15

OOL – FG Toser 30, 2:22

Second Quarter

OOL – Frunsez Kendricks 2 run (Toser kick), 4:37

OOL – FG Toser 31, 0:00

Third Quarter

OOL – Freeman 55 punt return (Toser kick), 9:50

OOL – FG Toser 27, 4:33

Fourth Quarter

CLE – T.J. Parker 4 run (Romero kick), 2:37

YARDSTICK

    CLE                OOL

First Downs                             25                    23

Rushes-Yards                         51-254            19-88

Passing Yards                        126                  352

Com.-Atts.-Int                         16-28-3            27-37-0

Total Yards                             79-380             56-440

Fumbles-Lost                          1-0                  0-0

Punts.-Avg.                             3-39                3-19.3

Penalties-Yds.                         2-25                9-94

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Cleveland: T.J. Parker 23-167, Raekwon Bunion 18-70, Austin Massey 4-24, Isaiah Beaty 1-4, Eric Goodwin 2-2, Jacob Gibson 3-minus 13; Ooltewah: Frunsez Kendricks 14-71, Brandon Byrd 2-11, Edward Hayes 3-6.

Passing – Cleveland: Massey 10-16-2 64, Gibson 6-12-1 62; Ooltewah: Kelvin Leon 27-37-0 352.

Receiving— Cleveland: Beaty 4-60, Parker 3-23, Goodwin 3-15, Bunion 3-11, Rod Dennard 1-8, Jay McIntire 1-7, Skyler Davis 1-2; Ooltewah: Hayes 10-121, Anthony Turner 8-83, Freeman 6-116, Kendricks 1-20, Daizon Taylor 1-8, Byrd 1-4.

District 5-AAA Standings

School                                    District           Overall

Ooltewah                                5-0                   9-0

Cleveland                               4-2                   5-5

McMinn County                      3-2                   3-6

Walker Valley                         1-4                   4-5

Soddy-Daisy                          1-4                   4-5

East Hamilton                         2-3                   2-7

Bradley Central                       2-3                  4-5

Friday’s Games

Ooltewah 30, Cleveland 14

McMinn County 28, Walker Valley 24

Rhea County 42, East Hamilton 14

Bradley Central 42, Soddy-Daisy 28

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

 

 

 

 

 

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