Pat Benson: Chattanoogan Spring Football Tour (Part Two)

Last week we covered smaller public schools in our area. You can read that article in the Chattanoogan archives. Let’s move on to part two of the spring football tour.

Region 4-5A

Not enough good things can be said about the state of Walker Valley football.

Coach Drew Akins has not only resurrected the program, but he has also transformed the Mustangs into a legitimate contender. In 2020, the Mustangs scored 39+ points in six of their eight wins. Plus, they proved they can win low-scoring defensive battles, evident by their playoff upset over #2 Powell.

The Mustangs take the field this spring from May 3 – May 20. Coach Akins and his staff have three goals for this spring; work new players in new positions, work on technique, and teach their base offense and defense.

Coach Akins specifically named four players, which he is looking at to make the leap this offseason. Ryan Lay (QB), Judah Greene (LB), Kade Tjaarda (WR), Spencer Jackson (RB/DB). Walker Valley hosts Notre Dame in Week One before they take on the new-look region.

Speaking of the new-look region, let’s talk about my alma mater, Ooltewah. The Owls suffered a lot of one-step forward then two-step backs throughout the 2020 season. Since that time, they have brought back their former head coach, Shannon Williams.

The Owls will practice from April 28 – May 14. When asked about his goals, Coach Williams said, “Establish our culture, organization system and methods of operation. Learn how to practice. Teach our base fundamental drills. Install base offensive, defensive and special teams schemes.”

He believes it’s still too early to identify specific players he wants to make the leap; he will hold all player’s evaluations until after spring practice. As for playing in 5A football, Coach Williams told me, “I cannot speak to the last few years as I was not here, but we are now 5A but were placed in a very competitive region where all teams will be well-coached and well prepared. It should be a fun and very competitive experience for our players over the next two years.”

The returning coach added, “I’m very excited to be back at Ooltewah. The place is very special to me. I hope we can get everybody on board very quickly and build this program into the best possible version of itself.” The Owls travel in Week One to take on neighborhood rival East Hamilton.

Region 2-6A

Bradley Central finds ways to improve each season despite playing the most daunting schedule week in and week out. A testament to that growth was losing against a nail-biter to Farragut in Week 1 and knocking them off in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. The Bears will be working on finding depth during the practice session, which ranges from April 26 – May 14.

When asked which players he expects to step up, veteran Coach Damon Floyd said, “It’s too early to tell! Hopefully, everyone.” Floyd added, “Our players have worked hard in the weight room and are ready for spring.” The Bears kick off their season by hosting the Brainerd Panthers on August 20^th before starting their march through the gauntlet that is 6A football.

On the other side of town, Coach Marty Wheeler continues to build the Cleveland football program to his liking: Accountable and hard-working. The Blue Raiders extinguished the playoff hopes of William Blount and Ooltewah in consecutive weeks before coming within a Dobyns-Bennet heart attack of pulling off the upset.

This spring, the Blue Raiders will practice from April 27 – May 13. Coach Wheeler never minces words, “We want to identify who the guys are that can play the type of football we want to play. We also want to work our players at multiple positions to create more depth.” He continued, “That's the best thing about spring practice; in my opinion, it gives our players the opportunity to show us who is willing to step up instead of paying lip service to it!”

There is no doubt in how serious Coach Wheeler is taking the 2021 season. “This is really the first full off-season we have had since we got here, and we're really excited about the work our guys have put in during this time. Anxious to see how well we can transfer that to the field this spring and into fall camp.”

The Blue Raiders schedule resembles that of a minefield. The first two weeks, they are on the road against Red Bank and McMinn County before hosting arch-rival Bradley Central on September 3.

Division II

East Region – Class AA

Boyd-Buchanan prides itself in its multi-sport athletes. So as not to interrupt spring sports, the football team will be holding spring meetings. Coach Jeremy Bosken has very clear goals for this spring “Our goal is to teach … everything from the playbook to how we communicate.” Bosken added, “We have very high expectations from our Offensive and Defensive Lines and Running Backs.” To make things even more exciting, the Bucs have a three-way battle for the QB1 position between Mason Ratchford (Sr), Jacob Hutcheson (Jr), and Houston Hicks (Fr). Boyd-Buchanan will start their journey towards another playoff appearance by traveling to play Greenback in Week 1.

Despite a tough schedule, Silverdale Baptist Academy forced its way into the 2020 playoffs. Coach Mike Connor told me, “Our biggest goal is to reconnect with our players and staff. This pandemic year has presented many challenges to connection. We are looking forward to getting back together. Again, we will work to establish deeper relationships with the guys that we have, introduce players to new staff members, and lay a solid foundation for our summer activities.”

A lot like other schools, the Seahawks football players play spring sports as well. But that doesn’t discourage Coach Connor at all. “We have a lot of our guys participating in Spring Sports. Many of those teams are excelling on the field this season and will likely continue having success. We will do some football-related activities with the young men that are not participating in a spring sport. We plan on about eight days of training.”

The 2021 season for the Seahawks starts with a challenging visit to East Ridge in Week One. When asked who needs to take a step up this year, Coach Connor told me, “We played quite a few sophomores, and juniors to start last season. We are looking forward to their added experience this season. We are looking to see our offensive and defensive lines step up to a higher level. As a staff, we have to train them in order for them to step up. You never rise to the occasion; you rise to your level of training!”

The second-year head coach remains ultra-positive about the future, “We are excited to get started. This past year has been quite the year of challenge for our program. We are looking forward to building on our accomplishments from last season. We know, however in order to improve, we must be willing to do things differently. Success leaves clues! We are looking to take what we have learned about ourselves, about what we need to do to improve and put it into action.”

Chattanooga Christian is one of our area’s best-kept secrets. Overlook the Chargers, and you’re going to get embarrassed. In 2020 they rang up 43+ points in five games (all victories). Due to the pandemic, they had to forfeit their second-round matchup against CPA where all bets were off.

This spring, the Chargers practice from May 3 – May 13. Local legend Coach Mark Mariakis told me, “Most of our players participate in spring sports, so we will have limited players out for spring, BUT most of our focus will be on getting to know the incoming 9th graders who played last year for our 8^th-grade team.”

Coach Mariakis added, “We will not even go out in pads but work on basic fundamentals, formations, and schemes. It is a way we can break the ice for our younger players and allow our older players who are out there get ready for summer training.”

When asked what players are expected to step up, “We lost most of our offensive production last year to graduation as well as our two leading tacklers on defense. We will only have five seniors on our team this year, so we are going to ask many of our younger players to step up in a hurry and be ready to play on Fridays! We have had a great off-season with all of our players in the weight room and have seen gains in weight and strength from last year. We are looking forward to the season and watching our team compete!”

Joining the Chargers already stacked coaching staff, Lee Bohannon (Defensive Coordinator/OLB) and CJ Cesario (DB and Rec Coach). Chattanooga Christian kicks off the 2021 campaign by hosting defending State Champions McCallie Blue Tornado.

East/Middle Region – Class AAA

Baylor is looking to build on the progress made in 2020. The Red Raiders are practicing this spring from May 3 – May 18. Veteran coach Phil Massey is always straightforward with his expectations for the team. Coach Massey told me, “First of all, we will be very limited on players because we have so many guys who play spring sports, and our spring sports teams are having great success, so with that, I will be limited on having returning starters participate in spring.”

Coach Massey continued, “The good news is that all our rising freshmen and a big bulk of sophomores will be available, and this will give us teaching time to go our offensive and defensive schemes and terminology.  It will allow for more individual time to cover fundamentals which are at the core of whatever position you play.”

When asked who will need to step up, Coach Massey said, “It’s an opportunity for everyone to improve. Last season we had six sophomores who started. Of those six, half of them will be in spring practice for at least half of our workouts. I would love to see those guys continue to improve but to also take responsibility for being leaders on and off the field.”

As a fan of high school football, I appreciate the unique and challenging schedule Baylor has put together for 2021. On Aug. 20, the Red Raiders host Rabun Gap-Nacoochee (GA) before traveling to play Rabun County the following week. Look for last year’s investments in young players to pay dividends this season.

The two-time defending state champion McCallie football program could not be reached for comment on their spring football plans.

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Pat Benson is the author of 'Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)' which was named a #1 New Release on Amazon. He has covered the NBA for Forbes.com, and interviewed some of the biggest personalities in the sport. Tweet him @Pat_Benson_Jr.