Football Playoffs: Owls' O-Linemen Are Blocking Beasts

Unit Clears The Way For Ooltewah Backs Turner, Quinn

Monday, October 31, 2016
Larry Fleming

Ooltewah's offensive line, which helped running backs Cameron Turner and Sincere Quinn piled up a combined 520 rushing yards in the Owls' 63-35 rout of Walker Valley in last week's regular-season finale. The Owls will host Campbell County in a Class 5A first-round playoff game Friday at 7 p.m.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File Photo

Ooltewah’s Cameron Turner and Sincere Quinn didn’t just jog onto the Walker Valley High School football field Friday night and run hog wild.

Well, actually they did.

The two running backs combined for 520 rushing yards in a 63-35 demolition of the Mustangs that clinched the No. 2 seed from Region 4-5A for the Owls.

But, they had a lot of exceptional help from other teammates -- their offensive line.

Friday’s scorched-earth rushing assault nailed down a resounding 28-point victory and a first-round TSSAA state Class 5A playoff game against Campbell County at James N. Monroe on Friday night. Game time is 7 p.m. Admission is $8, as mandated by the state governing body.

“Our offensive line is playing at a really good level right now,” Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan said. “This group is very intelligent and they understand what we’re doing. We’ve got good receivers and also have three explosive running backs, so you have to let those guys have the ball.”

For Turner to gain 310 yards and score three touchdowns, he got a lot of help.

In order for Quinn put up 210 yards with four TDs, he had to have some running lanes.

Ooltewah’s O-line provided both backs with gaps, holes and truck-wide lanes all night and embarrassed the Walker Valley defense. The final rushing total for the entire Owls offense: 548 yards.

Additionally, quarterback Collin Thurman passed for 120 yards and two TDs, giving the offense 668 total yards.

Here is the starting O-line unit:

Left tackle – Zaire Bruner, junior, 6-2, 265

Left guard – Tyler Stafford, junior, 5-10, 282

Center – Brandon Davis, junior, 5-11, 253

Right guard – Josh Myrick, senior, 6-2, 284

Right tackle –Avery Black, senior, 6-4, 288

Alex Grant, 6-1, 245-pound senior, frequently rotates in at either guard position during games.

“I couldn’t have gained 310 yards without the O-line,” said Turner, a bruising 5-11, 200-pound tailback who got the Owls’ scoring parade started against the Mustangs with an 80-yard run in the first quarter. “In every game, I say, ‘I have your back, you guys have my back.’ ”

Turner’s previous single-game high mark was 194 yards against White County last season.

Quinn had a good idea the two backs were churning out chunks of yardage from the get-go, he had no idea the final numbers would be so high.

But, he knew why they kept soaring.

“The O-line was making big holes,” Quinn said. “Every game they’ve been executing better and we just kept saying during the Walker Valley game to keep pushing.”

For the past several years, the Owls have leaned heavy toward their passing attack. It’s different this year.

While Thurman has thrown for 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns (he’s been intercepted nine times), the ground attack has piled up 1,949 yards with 31 scores – Turner has 15 and Quinn 13. Most of the success has come with the team’s inside zone scheme.

“It depends on the defense we’re facing whether it works or doesn’t work so well,” Stafford said. “I felt like it would work in the Walker Valley game, but you never know.”

Again, looking at the numbers, it’s fairly easy to uncover a solid reason Walker Valley had no chance to slowing down the Owls’ express train.

Bryan’s evaluation of the O-line It’s the coaches’ evaluation of the individual performances.

Bruner graded out at 84 percent. Davis was at 79, Black 76, Myrick 75, Stafford 74 and Grant 70. In the Owls’ system, 70 is a winning grade.

Bruner, Davis, Black and Myrick each played 63 plays against the Mustangs. Stafford got in 43 and Grant 20.

“After the first two drives in our last game, coach Bryan said we were really going to run the ball well,” Bruner said. “Our line has progressed all year long, but I had no idea we could do what we did against Walker Valley. Knowing that we did so well, it’s good to know that we accomplished a lot.”

Bruner and Davis each had five pancake blocks. Myrick had three, Black two and Stafford and Grant one each. That means the O-line had a combined 17 blocks that flattened Mustang defenders.

And there’s a reason for that, too.

“Our O-line has gotten a lot more physical,” said defensive coordinator Doug Greene, who conducted Monday’s practice while Bryan is with his ailing father in North Carolina. “They’re bigger and stronger and it’s the first time we’ve had three juniors and two seniors in the line

“Cameron is the strongest player on our team and the way he runs, plus our guys up front, helps soften a defense and then Sincere can make all the cuts and finesse. When he sticks that foot in the ground, he’s gone like a shot out of a cannon.”

Three Ooltewah touchdowns in their regular-season finale, a victory that clinched the second seed behind champion Rhea County, ranged from 36 to 80 yards.

“I watched the film on that game that night,” Grant said. “It was about 3 o’clock in the morning, so it was actually Saturday morning. I didn’t know how many yards we gained rushing, but we busted a lot of runs.”

What did Grant do on the long TD jaunts?

“I threw both my arms up while I was trying to catch up with the runners, although that wasn’t going to happen, just in case I needed to make another block,” Grant said.

Davis, the center, has the job of making sure his up-front teammates are operating like a well-oiled machine. And seldom are there kinks in the system.

“Our communication is always good,” he said. “And that showed in the Walker Valley game. I think we’ll be ready to do the same thing against Campbell County in the playoff game. As well as I thought we played, I was still shocked when coaches told us we had 500 yards rushing.”

The Owls have proved this year that if they have success on the ground, a solid point production usually lights up the scoreboard.

That’s particularly true in the Ooltewah-Walker Valley series.

In the last eight games, all Ooltewah victories, the Owls have twice scored 60-plus points, with last week’s output being the highest score in the series. Ooltewah has twice scored 56 points and four times went over 40. Conversely, Walker Valley, which saw its run defense overwhelmed a few days ago, has averaged 19.2 points against the Owls.

Myrick is hopeful Ooltewah can continue the overpowering ground assault unleashed on Walker Valley against Campbell County in round one.

“If we can run the ball,” he said, “we can do anything.”

The 2016 TSSAA Football Playoffs

(All Games Start at 7 p.m. Local Time)

Class 6A

Cookeville (6-4) at Bradley Central (8-2)

Class 5A

Campbell County (8-2) at Ooltewah (8-2)

Walker Valley (6-4) at Oak Ridge (8-2)

McMinn County (7-3) at Farragut (9-1)

Lenoir City (3-7) at Rhea County (8-2)

Class 4A