Owls' House Sets Sights On Being Defensive Leader

For four years Ooltewah went into the football season knowing inside linebacker Jeremiah Jackson would anchor the Owls’ hard-nosed defense.

That’s no longer the case.

Jackson is entering his freshman year at Tennessee Tech.

The Owls also are moving on. Junior William House is penciled in as Jackson’s replacement, but don’t call House the next Jeremiah Jackson.

“William is growing up,” Owls defensive coordinator Doug Greene said. “He’s figuring things out and he’s going to be a good ballplayer. He’s not Jeremiah because he’s a different kid all together with different talents.

“We’re not drawing that comparison to Jeremiah as a staff. We want him to be himself and become the best football player possible. I first saw William in the eighth grade. He’s a physical kid, runs well and is excited about playing football at Ooltewah.”

House, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound bruiser, understands the task of filling Jackson’s football shoes, but he doesn’t think about the pressure of following the four-year starter as the heart of Ooltewah’s defense.

“Not at all,” Jackson said a few hours after Tuesday’s Region 4-5A media day at The Bridge in Ooltewah. “I don’t think about being myself and not Jeremiah. I’m working hard to get ready to play.”

House started the Owls’ Class 5A state playoff quarterfinal game last season against Rhea County after Jackson was embroiled in a domestic assault incident. The TSSAA removed Jackson as a finalist for the TSSAA Mr. Football and held out of the game against the Golden Eagles.

As a sophomore, House had 6.5 tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jackson led the defense with 128.5 stops.

Minutes after the Owls lost to Rhea County, 14-13, coaches were telling House that he would have the chance to start in 2016. House immediately went to work preparing for that challenge.

“I knew what I had to do and what (coaches) wanted me to do,” House said. “They kept adding stuff for me and I worked hard. I came to school when nobody else was here and worked. My cousin and family came down to help me. We did sled drills, ran, threw the ball around. I really pushed myself.”

House’s studying for his new role began much earlier. He constantly watched Jackson’s every move over two years and tried to soak up tidbits of tutorial information provided by the Owls’ all-time leading tackler – he left Ooltewah with 400-plus stops – along the way.

The Owls return only two players – lineman Will Whitson and cornerback Elijah Wigfall – on defense, but the unit is not devoid of talent.

Linebackers coach Chris Brown is planning on a four-man rotation with House, senior Gene Myers and juniors Andy Reed and Jaylin Rogers. Each of those four players must learn to play two of three linebacker spots -- Myers can play all three.

“That allows us to put them in the best matchups for any particular week and gives us depth in case of injuries,” Greene said. “Plus, it can keep us fresh during games.”

As the inside guy, House will handle the “checks” from the sidelines in certain scenarios, making sure the defense is aligned properly, something Jackson handled masterfully.

Despite his lack of experience, House possesses a huge upside and, as Brown said, has a “high ceiling” when it comes to football potential.

House, 17, definitely displays one of Jackson’s best traits on the field.

“He’ll strike you,” said Brown, in his fourth year at Ooltewah and third year as linebacker coach. “He brings a boom with him. I’m confident he’ll be able to do his job starting with our first game against Riverdale.”

Said House, “I’ve waited a year and I’m excited. I’ll be ready.”

Quarterback Firepower Returns

In 2015, the Chattanooga area produced five quarterbacks who put up at least 2,000 passing yards and three played for teams in Region 4-5A – Soddy-Daisy’s Justin Cooke (2,273 yards), a first-year starter at the position, London Elrod (2,157)at Ooltewah and Walker Valley’s Kolten Gibson (2,112).

The other two were Bradley Central’s Cole Copeland (2,489), a Class 6A Mr. Football Back of the Year semifinalist, and McCallie’s Robert Riddle (2,084).

Those five signal callers combined for 11,115 passing yards and 98 touchdowns.

Cooke, a senior, and Gibson, a junior, return for the 2016 season after turning in efficacious season-long campaigns a year ago.

“I’m a lot more comfortable now because I know the plays, know what I’m doing, know the reads and my keys for dropping the ball off if nobody is open,” the 5-foot-9-inch  Cooke said at Tuesday’s Region 4-5A media day at The Bridge in Ooltewah.”

Cooke, the Trojans’ shortstop on Jared Hensley’s baseball squad, is dangerous with his feet and strong right arm on the gridiron. In addition to completing 135-of-231 passes, he rushed for 385 yards and seven scores.

An East Tennessee State baseball commitment, Cooke won’t have talented Tre Carter (1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns) around as a talented receiver this year, but he’s not worried about that. Ty Boeck, a 6-1, 200-pound junior, is capable of causing opposing defenses headaches. He snagged 20 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns and believes it’s his time to grab the spotlight and take on the role of Cooke’s favorite receiver.

“I’m sure there’s some pressure for me to produce more since we don’t have Tre at the X position,” Boeck said. “Justin and I have developed a good chemistry in the offseason and we’re working well together so far. I know where he’s going to throw it and he throws a nice ball to catch.”

Run Mason Run

Rhea County running back Mason Stephenson, a bullish senior with enough speed to gash the middle of any defense and turn short runs into monster touchdowns, is half of the Golden Eagles’ vaunted senior 1-2 backfield punch.

Cody Bice is the other half. He put up about 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns

They’re “Thunder and Lightning.”

“We’re a good combination,” the 6-1, 215-pounder said. “There are plays when I can gash the defense up the middle and Cody has the breakaway speed to get around the edge. Both of us have been in this (wing-T) offense for four years. We know how to get it done how to run the offense.

“Some (defenses) can’t get it figured out.”

Stephenson ran for about 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago and Bice added 1,033 yards and eight scores while helping Rhea County reach their second straight semifinal playoff appearance – the Eagles lost to Sevier County, 42-28, a week after sneaking past Ooltewah, 14-13.

Sky’s The Limit For Davis

Speaking of receivers, Cleveland just may have the region’s leading wideout in 6-3, 175-pound Skyler Davis.

As a junior, Davis more than 800 receiving yards and was honored as the region’s top wide receiver last year.

He wants to improve those numbers in his final high school season.

“I’d like to rush for 200 yards and have at least 150 passing in every game,” said the 6-3, 185-pound Davis. “And I want at least one touchdown a game.”

In a 14-7 region win over Ooltewah in the regular season, coach Scott Cummings’ Blue Raiders gained 143 of their 177 total yards through the air. Davis caught three passes for 90 yards, including a 39-yard scoring strike from quarterback JaShawn Hill with 9.5 seconds left in the second quarter. That proved to be the winning touchdown.

“That was an amazing game,” Davis said. “We felt like Ooltewah’s safeties liked to crash down and their corners were a little trigger happy. We thought we could make a double move break away from them.”

Davis said he is getting recruiting interest from Tennessee-Chattanooga and Middle Tennessee State.

(Reach Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)