Even No. 3 Owls Impressed With Their Potent Passing Attack

Weapon Will Be Key In Friday's 5-AAA Playoff Vs. Stone Memorial

Thursday, November 6, 2014
Larry Fleming

A Biblical verse in the book of Matthew goes something like this: “Ask and ye shall receive.” In football terminology at Ooltewah High School the phrase could read: “Throw and we will catch.”

The third-ranked Owls (10-0) fly into the 2014 TSSAA Class 5A playoffs against Stone Memorial on Friday at James N. Monroe Stadium with a gunslinger reputation as one of the area’s top passing teams.

Kelvin Leon, while helping the Owls win a second straight District 5-AAA championship, is the quarterback who flings the ol’ pigskin all around the field to a varied assortment of receivers.

Dynamic wideout Edward Hayes, Anthony Turner and Rashun Freeman haul in Leon’s passes with an innate ability to stunning things happen after the catch.

“Our group is very talented,” Hayes said.

“We’ve all got different styles of play, but I feel like we’re the best wide receiver corps Ooltewah’s ever had.”

Don’t think these guys aren’t confident, because they are.

Leon can vouch for them.

“If I make good throws,” he said, “I think they’ve got a chance to catch them all. They can go get ‘em and I trust them all – a lot – to make plays.”

Over time the four Owls have formed a cohesive group.

Leon has thrown for 2,554 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s attempted 287 passes with 186 completions and just 17 drops.

That proves the reliability of all the Owls’ receivers, especially the big three.

“We’ve played ball together since our freshman years,” said Leon, who is in his first season starting. Our chemistry started really kicking in during 7-on-7s this summer. I knew then our receivers were going to be real good.”

A lot of it had to do with Leon getting most of the repititions.

Hayes has caught 69 passes for 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s dropped two balls.

Turner has 39 receptions for 786 yards and eight scores. He’s dropped six passes.

Freeman has 35 catches for 404 yards and three scores. He’s dropped four.

Hayes, Turner and Freeman rank second, fourth and 15^th in receiving in the city and have a combined for 2,190 receiving yards and 26 scores.

“Kelvin knows us like the back of his hand,” Freeman said. “He knows where we’ll be. He makes throws that allow us to get into space and we can make plays after the catch.”

A large portion of Leon’s passes cover 15 to 20 yards and the Owls rely on receivers to turn those plays into big gainers.

Turner’s long pass play is 72 yards. Hayes has a 60-yarder and Freeman’s is 45.

“All three of those guys have tremendous vision,” said linebacker Jeremiah Jackson, who will leave after Friday’s game to make a trip to see Ole Miss play Presbyterian in Oxford. “Edward is an awesome receiver. Anthony runs incredible routes. He gives people a little head fake and he’s gone. Freeman is explosive. They know when to turn on the switch.”

And Turner has seen steady progress between Leon and the top receivers throughout the season.

How much?

“A lot,” he said. “I knew we could be this good.”

Soddy-Daisy quarterback Hunter Maynor – the Trojans faced top-seed Oak Ridge on Friday in the first round – and receivers Blake Smith, Tre Carter and Levi Thornton can match the Ooltewah foursome.

Maynor has 2,982 passing yards and 29 touchdowns.

Smith caught 53 passes for 1,135 yards and 13 scores.

Carter has 42 catches for 807 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Thornton also has 42 receptions for 532 yards and six touchdowns.

The Trojans’ top receivers have a collective 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Neither Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan nor Soddy-Daisy coach Justin Barnes would swap receiving corps, but both understand the importance of each group to the two teams.

“We have 11 guys that caught passes this year,” Bryan said. “Six are in double figures. Edward and Anthony are great at route-running and Rashun is very explosive. The other guys fit into the system and do what the route calls for.”

Ooltewah’s passing attack will present Stone Memorial a stiff challenge for the second straight year – the Owls beat the Panthers, 47-7, in the 2013 opening round.

It’s not just the Owls throwers and catchers the Panthers must deal with.

Ooltewah’s offensive line has been superb protecting Leon and opening running lanes for Frunsez Kendricks and Brandon Byrd, who have combined for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Leon has been sacked only twice because of misplays by the line, Bryan said.

“Pass protection has been very solid,” Bryan said. “We’ve given up a few more sacks, but those linemen just two. And Kelvin does a nice job reading (the defense) and taking what’s there. The receivers running the routes understand the defense dictates sometimes where the ball is going.”

The Panthers (6-4), who began playing football in 2006 with mostly a junior varsity schedule, finished third in District 6-AAA behind Rhea County and Cookeville. They lost to Rhea, 21-7, in the regular-season finale last week, a game in which junior tailback Justin Johnson rushed for a game-high 123 yards on 24 carries. Johnson accounted for 67 of the 80 yards on Stone Memorial’s lone scoring drive.

Bryan said he sees some of the same players from 2013 on this year’s Stone Memorial tapes, but he notices an obvious difference.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell on video,” Bryan said, “but they played hard a year ago and play hard this year. They’re well-coached and do things the right way. The thing is they are probably a little stronger and more physical than a year ago.”

Oh, yeah, one more little football factoid.

“If their backs get going north-south you’ve got to tackle them because they’re going to be running hard,” Bryan said. “We can’t let those gaps open up and we need to get them running east-west so our speed can run them down.”

Added Jackson, a hard-hitting linebacker, “They do a lot of trickeration stuff. We have to have our eyes right with all the wing-T things they do and we have to communicate on defense.”

The Panthers could have one big problem on Friday as well.

At least, Hayes thinks so.

“I believe our offense is more advanced than a year ago,” he said, “just because of how the offensive line is doing. They’re really good up front and I think the receivers are smarter on the field, helping with the blitzes and communications. I’m a go-getter; I’m going to get the ball no matter where it’s thrown. Turner is shifty. Turner and Rashun both have speed. They catch the ball and use their legs to get out and get gone.”

That’s what a lot of defenses have seen this year.

Ooltewah receivers going, going and gone.

NOTE: Jackson missed last week’s victory over McMinn County with a concussion suffered the week before against Cleveland. Jackson, one of the team's leading tacklers, was held out of Monday and Tuesday practices, but said Thursday he was ready to go. He also said he has a college offer from NAIA Kentucky Christian University.

First-Round Pairings

Chattanooga Area Schools

Games start at 7 p.m. Local Time

Admission is $8, set by TSSAA

Class 6A

Bradley Central (5-5) at Science Hill (9-1)

Walker Valley (5-5) at Maryville (10-0)

Class 5A

Stone Memorial (6-4) at Ooltewah (10-0)

Soddy-Daisy (6-4) at Oak Ridge (10-0)

Clinton (7-3) at Cleveland (5-5)

Tullahoma (5-5) at Rhea County (10-0)