Notre Dame Picked As Team To Beat In Region 3-AAA Football

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to the state semifinal round of the playoffs last fall before losing a tough one to Alcoa, so it’s not really a surprise that this same team has been picked as the team to beat in Region 3-AAA for the upcoming season.

Notre Dame captured 16 of 18 first-place votes from the coaches and media in attendance on Thursday at the lobby of Howard’s Henry Bowles Gymnasium.

While Notre Dame totaled 106 points, Signal Mountain was second with 81, Red Bank third with 67 and East Ridge fourth with 64.  Chattanooga Christian and Howard followed with 47 and 21 points, respectively.

The annual jamboree is still three weeks away, but practice begins for all teams on Monday.  As always, expectations are high for everyone.  Unfortunately, expectations and actual results very rarely match, but with this newest classification, a lot of new rivalries will be created and plenty of Friday night memories are just waiting to be created.

Listed below are the assessments for all teams as they approach the new season in alphabetical order.

CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN: Coach Rob Spence is starting his second season as the Chargers leader and he’s more excited than anyone.  His team posted a 4-7 record last year after advancing to the playoffs where they were eliminated by Notre Dame.

“We’ve had a remarkable off-season as our overall team speed has improved.  All of this is a testament to their hard work,” Spence suggested at the start.

“Three of our seven losses were decided at the end of the game, so increasing our strength has been important.  We’re ready to compete, so that’s a huge step for us,” he added.

Junior Matthew Mercer has been tabbed the starting quarterback while senior Brandon Mason will have an important role as a Charger receiver.  The CCS numbers aren’t huge, but skill position players will be a key.

“Matthew has turned into a fine triggerman and he has a chance to do some outstanding things for this football team.  And Brandon is probably the best athlete on the team and he’s able to do quite a bit as well,” Spence added.

The Chargers have an open date the first week before hosting Lookout Valley on Aug.

28.

EAST RIDGE: The Pioneers were picked as the team to beat last year in District 6-AA, but things didn’t unfold quite like they had planned over on Bennett Avenue.

Coach Tracy Malone is entering his fourth season as the head man and he’s hoping that his kids learned a valuable lesson from last year’s hardships.

“Last year was tough for us all as we didn’t do what we were capable of doing, but we learned a lot about ourselves.  We graduated a lot of really good players, so it will take a great effort from all 11 players on every play to make us successful,” Malone expressed.

“We’re asking our seniors to be better leaders and they’ve done a great job so far.  We have over 70 players out, so we’re excited about our numbers.  Win or lose, we just want to compete and we’re hoping that it will be a good year for us,” he added.

Pete Sexton is a senior and a four-year starter who will anchor the offensive line.  Malone is still looking for a guy to be the starting quarterback, but guys like Quasey Vinson, Jesse Jones and Josh Williams are three seniors who are battling to make it happen on offense.

The Pioneers will take a road trip to Benton on Aug. 21 to face the Polk County Wildcats in the season opener.

HOWARD: Things didn’t turn out quite like coach Mark Teague had hoped last year in his first year as the Hustlin’ Tigers head coach, but he’s building a foundation and he hopes to return a once-proud program to respectability in a tough league.

“We had six players show up for our first practice last year and another came late, but we’re close to 50 right now,” the former defensive coordinator for East Ridge nodded.

“Last year was a tough year for us, but our outlook is a lot better this year as we’re trying to teach the difference between commitment and interest.  The best news from last year is that we only lost one starter.  Most of our guys last year were freshmen.

“There’s a lot of football history at Howard and we’re trying to rebuild the program.  I’m a defensive coach at heart and we’re trying to teach that the team who wins at the point of attack wins most of the time.  We have kids who actually want to play defense this year and that’s a good thing,” Teague smiled.

Howard’s season opener will be in Nashville on Aug. 21 at Donelson Christian before the first home game a week later against Davy Crockett.

NOTRE DAME: Last fall was a memorable time for coach Charles Fant and his Fighting Irish as they won 12 straight games after a season-opening loss to Knox Catholic.  They lost to Alcoa in the state semis, but that just made Fant and his team a little bit more hungry to make it a little further this fall.

Notre Dame graduated 17 seniors a year ago – including seven who signed scholarships to play at the next level.  But don’t think for a minute that the cupboard is bare because it isn’t. 

Alex Darras returns as the starting quarterback.  The lanky senior is better than ever after throwing for more than 1,700 yards and 29 touchdowns a year ago.

Big-time offensive stars Kareem Orr and Auston Banks are now gone, but there are capable players waiting to take their place.

Ricky Ballard averaged more than eight yards per carry and will be counted on as a key running back while senior Allan Dunaly should be a capable target for Darras.

“We learned a lot about ourselves last year and one thing is that experience counts a lot,” Fant began his comments.

“We graduated 17 seniors and have a young team now, but there’s still a lot of experience out there.  You always worry about the ones you lose, but we have high expectations for this team as we want to take that next step.

“We’re exciting about this new region.  You only get better by playing tough competition, but we have great chemistry on this team and we’re just excited about seeing how far we can go,” Fant added.

Notre Dame opens on the road with a game at Central on Aug. 21 followed by another road game at Tyner.  The home opener follows on Sept. 4 against Chattanooga Christian.

RED BANK: The Lions finished 7-5 a year ago in coach Chad Grabowski’s first year, but hopes are a lot higher the second time around.

“We’re young with only 12 seniors, but they’ve bought into what we’re asking of them,” Grabowski said after eating a plate of pasta and salad.

“We’ve gotten stronger in the weight room and that’s always important, but we may have the toughest schedule in the state.  We have teams like Soddy Daisy, Baylor, McCallie and Alcoa as non-region games, so we can’t afford to look ahead.

“We have to understand the big picture, knowing what our purpose is and that’s to prepare for the playoffs,” he added.

Senior Caleb Tate returns as the starting quarterback while Tra Stamper is another senior veteran who should help out greatly on both sides of the ball.

Red Bank opens at Soddy Daisy on Aug. 21 before its home opener against Baylor on Aug. 28.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN: Ty Wise is the newest coach in the region, but he’s also one of the most excited as he starts a new career after moving from Florida about 90 days ago.

The Eagles won nine of 12 games a year ago before losing to Loudon in the second round of the playoffs. Veteran coach Bill Price announced his resignation shortly afterward, setting the stage for Wise to step in.

“I’ve only been with them for about three months, but the foundation has been set and they have a great work ethic.  My job has been easy so far,” he smiled.

“These guys have been working out for four hours a day and five days a week for the last seven weeks.  Everything we do is competition among ourselves, but these guys love the concept and it’s more of an opportunity than work.

“We have some big shoes to fill from last year, but we’ll hit the ground running full speed on Monday.  We only have about 38 players right now, but those are 100 percent committed.  We have four guys who are battling for quarterback and I’m not sure who the leader is right now, but all have a good understanding of what we’re trying to do and I’m happy about that,” he added.

The Eagles start the season with back-to-back home games against non-region foes East Hamilton (Aug. 21) and Ooltewah (Aug. 28).

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)