Ooltewah's Adrian Hall (21) points at an East Hamilton player downfield for Rashun Freeman (11) to block during their non-region game Friday night at Ooltewah. Hall scored on a 50-yard punt return to trigger the Owls scoring 51 straight points.
photo by Dennis Norwood
A do over.
After trailing early 7-0 following a lost fumble that led to an East Hamilton touchdown, Ooltewah received a weather mulligan and made the most of it by scoring 51 straight points and storming past the rival Hurricanes, 51-7, before a good – if not rain-soaked – crowd at James N. Monroe Stadium on Friday night.
The Owls (3-1) will forget about Friday’s game quickly and start preparing for their Region 3-5A opener next week against visiting Rhea County.
Ooltewah, after losing 9-5 to Riverdale in the season’s first game, outscored the next three opponents by a combined 145-17 and the nine points Riverdale managed is a season-high.
The Eagles thumped the Owls, 47-14, in the second round of the 2014 Class 5A state playoffs and are also off to a 3-1 start this season. They dropped their opener to Baylor (35-27) and walloped McMinn Central, White County and Clinton by outscoring those foes 173-36.
“We’ll be locked in,” Freeman said. “I’m sure the coaches will prepare us well and we’ll be ready to play Rhea County.”
Said Owls coach Mac Bryan, “We’ll certainly have to play better than we did in the playoffs against them last year.”
Friday’s bombastic display was the most lopsided victory by either team in the six-game rivalry that was born when Ooltewah High was split up to produce East Hamilton High. The Owls lead the series 5-1 and their previous high water mark was 45 points in 2011 in the first matchup between the two schools. East Hamilton’s lone win was a 26-19 win in the 2013 playoffs. The Owls won the regular-season game, 28-26.
“This was a rivalry game and they got a little momentum when they first came out,” Owls senior Rashun Freeman said. “But we knew what we had to do and what we could do.”
Freeman fumbled an East Hamilton punt and the Hurricanes turned it into a two-play, 33-yard drive with tailback David Whiteside scooting around right end on a 33-yard touchdown run less than 2 minutes into the game.
Then heavy, wind-blown rain and lightning arrived at 7:42 p.m. causing a 54-minute weather delay. The visiting stands (which are metal) were evacuated, save for a few risk-takers under umbrellas.
When the teams returned to action at 8:46 p.m., Ooltewah mauled the Hurricanes and the outcome left East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood almost speechless.
“Go over there and talk to them (Ooltewah), they won the game,” Gatewood said. “No offense, but I told our guys to get to the house.”
Ooltewah spent most of the night in East Hamilton’s house, otherwise known as the end zone.
The Owls unleashed a smash-mouth defense once the game resumed and held the Hurricanes to 90 yards of offense, including only 4 through the air – Nick Woods was 10-for-25 for 4 yards with two interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Owls’ offense hit the Hurricanes’ defense like a sledgehammer swatting a fly and the eventual outcome was nothing short of stunning.
The Owls amassed 422 yards of offense, including 336 passing – London Elrod was 14-of-19 for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Understudy Collin Thurman was 2-for-2 for 76 yards and one score.
“Our defense played well, played physical and we’ve been doing that all year,” Bryan said. Daizon Taylor’s interception was a pretty thing to watch. (Offensively), we made some mistakes and I don’t think we were as consistent as last week, but we made some big plays.”
Ooltewah forced a punt and return man Adrian Hall bolted 50 yards for a touchdown that lit a fire under the Owls that was still burning as the final minutes ticked off the clock.
“I saw the opening when I first got the punt,” Hall said. “I hit the outside and just took off. You’ve got to make something happen on special teams. I love to make big plays. I love the big stage.”
In succession, Ooltewah followed with six more touchdowns – the string was interrupted by Alek Toser’s 29-yard field goal to start a 24-point second quarter – and the plays ranged from 27 to 89 yards.
Freeman scored twice on a 35-yard pass from Elrod and a 59-yard sprint around left end, more than making up for his early miscue.
“After I fumbled I took that out of my mind on the next play,” said Freeman, who has five touchdowns in the Owls’ last two games. “I’m always looking to make plays; that’s what I try to do on every play and whenever I touch the ball I try to score.”
Taylor perfectly read a pass in the right flat, stepped in front of the Hurricanes receiver, got the interception and roared 89 yards for a touchdown that gave Ooltewah a 38-7 lead with 48.1 seconds left in the second quarter.
“We practiced their screen pass all week,” Taylor said, “and I was ready for it. I had it all the way and I knew it was going for a touchdown.”
Norwood and Elrod, who teamed up on a 27-yard scoring pass to end the second-quarter scoring, hooked up again early in the fourth, this one an 87-yarder in which Norwood outran the East Hamilton secondary over the last 50-plus yards.
That score produced a 45-7 lead and a TSSAA mercy rule running clock.
“This was my second start,” the promising sophomore said, “and it makes me feel great because I wanted to make a name for myself. I couldn’t do it without my quarterback. He helped me get those touchdowns and I’d like to thank him for that.”
Norwood, who caught five passes for 150 yards, said the Owls weren’t affected by the weather delay and simply came back out and took care of business.
“We were quite in the locker room and focused,” he said. “We were ready to get back on the field and do what we love to do.
“We knew the offense wasn’t going to give up a lot of touchdowns, so we didn’t have too much worry after they scored. After that the defense stopped them.”
About midway through the final period, reserve quarterback Collin Thurman hit fellow junior Ethan Walls, who shook off a tackle near midfield and galloped into the end zone to complete a 76-yard touchdown play.
“We weren’t trying to score on that play,” Bryan said. “It just happened.”
East Hamilton (2-2) will try to regroup for their Region 3-4A home game next week against Hixson.
East Hamilton 7 0 0 0 – 7
Ooltewah 14 24 0 13 – 51
First Quarter
EH – David Whiteside 33 run (Jake McClure kick), 10:09
OOL – Adrian Hall 50 punt return (Alek Toser kick), 7:05
OOL – Rashun Freeman 35 pass from London Elrod (Toser kick), 2:36
Second Quarter
OOL – FG Toser 29, 11:56
OOL – Freeman 59 run (Toser kick), 9:27
OOL – Daizon Taylor 89 interception return (Toser kick), 4:33
OOL – Joseph Norwood 27 pass from Elrod (Toser kick), 48.1
Fourth Quarter
OOL – Norwood 87 pass from Elrod (Toser kick), 11:38
OOL – Ethan Walls 76 pass from Elrod (kick failed), 6:48
YARDSTICK
EH OOL
First Downs 4 14
Rushes-Yards 28-86 18-86
Passing Yards 4 336
Total Yards 53-90 39-422
Com-Att-Int 10-25-2 16-21-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-2
Punts-Avg 10-38.1 2-32.0
Penalties-Yds 8-50 6-65
INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING – East Hamilton: David Whiteside 18-68, Jeffrey Coleman 1-11, Andrew Sturdivant 5-5, Jayden Smith 3-3, Huichan Yun 1-minus 1; Ooltewah: Rashun Freeman 1-59, Miguel Herrera 2-13, Cameron Turner 7-7, Kobe Jones 1-4, Charles Hunter 1-2, London Elrod 2-1, Scottie Strickland 3-0, Tyler Reid 1-0.
PASSING – East Hamilton: Nick Woods 10-25-2 4; Ooltewah: London Elrod 14-19-0 256, Collin Thurman 2-2-0 76.
RECEIVING – East Hamilton: Whiteside 3-11, Burton Bell 1-5, Jordan Gorman 2-2, Hunter Gregg 1-1; Ooltewah: Joseph Norwood 5-150, Ethan Walls 1-76, Freeman 1-35, Jones 2-17, Strickland 5-14, Corey Heard 1-6, Giovanni Hudson 1-0.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Senior Ooltewah linebacker Jeremiah Jackosn (5) takes aim on an East Hamilton runner Friday night. The Owls held the Hurricanes to 90 yards of offense, including just 4 through the air, in a 51-7 victory.
photo by Dennis Norwood