WCLE Radio Hosts 2nd Annual Football Media Day

CLEVELAND, TENN. — Eleven football teams were scheduled to take part in the second annual Football Media Day sponsored by Cleveland radio station WCLE Wednesday, but only eight teams were able to make the show as serious weather implications and other considerations kept three teams from attending the event. 

Bradley Central, Cleveland, Meigs County, McMinn Central, McMinn County, Ooltewah, Rhea County and Walker Valley all made appearances to briefly speak about the upcoming season.

Bradley Central

Bradley Central head coach Damon Floyd was the first to address the gathered media. Floyd, who is in his 20th season as head coach of the Bears, finds himself in a bit of an unexpected dilemma even before the first second ticks off the opening quarter.

Projected Bears starting quarterback Tyler Cook was lost for the season to an injury which means Floyd will start Cook's brother, sophomore Tucker Cook, under center. Cook started six game for the Bears in 2024 and Floyd expects no change in the way the offense operates.

“We're going to keep running the same offense we have,” Floyd said. “We've got a lot of belief in tucker and he's worked hard.”

Bradley returns a load of experience with 17 seniors. On the offensive line, 11 Bears who have starting experience will return. There are still a few spots waiting for someone to step up and take over, but overall Floyd is pleased with the way things are looking so far.

Tulane Commit AJ Westfield will be one of the anchors on defense for Bradley. Floyd said the 6-3, 280 pound has surprising speed and will cause havoc for opposing offenses.

The Bears open the season with McMinn County before tangling with Walker Valley. The Region 2-6A schedule begins with Hardin Valley Sept. 5.

“It's a very tough schedule, but our guys are excited to play,” said Floyd.

Cleveland

In his first year at Cleveland High School, veteran coach Chris Brown takes over a Blue Raiders program looking to rebuild the proud program and restore former Glory.

Brown, who was at CHS in 2017 as an assistant, is in his 20th year as a coach and boasts a successful stint at Red Bank as Lions head coach before moving to Baylor where he was defensive coordinator.

“We're young. We don't have a lot of experience at a lot of places, but we're eager,” Brown admitted. “We're eager to meet a new standard, we're eager to set new expectations. We don't know what we don't know yet, but we're learning every day how to become a better version of ourselves and a better version of our team.”

Brown brings back nine seniors who will be challenged early as the Raiders open with Walker Valley and McMinn County in non-region battles. The Bears will meet the Bears Oct. 3 at Bradley. Cleveland opens the Region 2-6A schedule Sept 12 at home against Maryville.

Cleveland will see several Raiders play both sides of the ball on Friday nights in an effort to utilize skill players for maximum results.

The Raiders are counting heavily on their wide receiver room to help junior quarterback Jason McGowan.

“The benefit of being such a young program with 85 kids in it is every day is a surprise,” said Brown. “In the coaching world that can be a negative, but there are also are a lot of positives. There are 15-year olds who can come out of nowhere and make plays you didn't think they were capable of making.”

The running back room will be a platoon situation according to Brown with four Blue Raiders handling running chores.

Cleveland will have no returning starters on the offensive line which could present a problem for the Raiders until the youngsters mature into their positions.

Meigs County

Meigs County head coach Nathan Simbeck, heading into his first year as leader of the Tigers brings back eight returning starters on offense and seven on defense.

Simbeck said the wide receiver room will be a strength of the team when the Region 2-3A team meets rival McMinn Central Sept. 12 at McMinn Central. The Tigers open with Chattanooga Prep in Decatur Aug. 22.

The Tigers have seen growing pains from second year quarterback Tuff Ricker, who Simbeck is the team spark.

“I'm really excited about him taking that next step in our offense. He has gotten a whole lot better this offseason. We're excited about him in year two,” said Simbeck.

Three starters will return to the offensive line giving the Tigers a solid foundation of experience.

“Outside of quarterback and defensive back I think offense line is probably the hardest position to play because you get a lot of different looks,” Simbeck related.

Simbeck said the wider receiver spot is the deepest depth-wise for the Tigers with Brody Goins leading the pack.

“It's no secret, we don't throw the football a lot,” Simbeck Acknowledged. “If we throw it 15 times wh have probably have lost.”

Seven defensive Tigers will return for Meigs adding more seasoned veteran to the mix.

“Overall, we're pretty excited about our team, but that doesn't really mean anything,” related Simbeck. “Every year is sort of different in high school football. You hav e to reset. Hopefully, we can stay together as a team, stay healthy and make a run in the playoffs.”

McMinn Central

Known as the Chargers in Region 2-3A McMinn Central will take to the gridiron with “Workhorse” emblazoned on their jerseys in 2025 under the leadership of first-year coach Jonathan Ostrowski.

Senior wide receiver expla ned that a warhorse is “A fearless horse that goes into battle no matter the circumstance. As a human you may be leery of what may be ahead of you, but the warhorse we wear across our chest is never scared to go into battle, always straight into the fire no matter what is ahead of him.”

The Chargers will carry that warhorse mentality into battle Aug. 25 in their opener at Polk County. The Region 3-2A season begins Sept. 12 at Meigs County.

The Chargers will carry 14 seniors on the roster, of which some five will see action as two-way players.

“I'm very luck to be here and very excited to be here. This program means a lot to me,” said the Ostrowski, in his 10th year as a coach.

There will be 14 seniors coming back to the Chargers with several going both ways on Friday night beginning Aug. 22 at Polk County. The Chargers kick off their region Region 2-3A schedule Sept. 12 at home against Meigs County.

McMinn Central will have five starters coming back on offense and defense.

Ostrowski emphasized that even with the loss of 15 seniors 2025 will not be a rebuild year, but a reload year. The coach credited outgoing head coach Matt Moody with building a winning culture that includes 14 wins in the last two seasons and three straight playoff appearances.

“That's kind of been the standard, so it's my job to continue that standard ad build off what he has built the last four year,” he said.

McMinn County

In his 19th year as head coach of McMinn County, Bo Cagle has seen plenty of ups and downs. More ups than downs in recent years.

The Cherokees have the benefit of 11 returning starters on both sides of the ball. Injuries, however, have reduced that number to eight as the second longest high school football rivalry in the state returns Aug. 22 at Bradley Central approaches.

The Bears hold a 56-42-3 advantage over the Cherokees in the 101 games played between the schools since 1927. Only the Harriman-Rockwood series is older having kicked off in 1924.

“Hopefully, we can get those guys healthy and ready to go,” said Cagle.

The early problem for the Cherokees could be the quarterback spot as the starting QB suffered and broken collarbone and will see no action this season.

“We've really got a linebacker playing quarterback for us,” said Cagle.

McMinn, primarily known as a running team, plans to open the game up a bit more in 2025 to include more passing plays.

“We want to be the most physical team on the field every time we walk out there,” Cagle stated. “We don't want to worry about the scoreboard at all, we're going to play as hard as we can play. We're going to be great teammates. Then at the end of the game we'll look up at the scoreboard and see who won or lost.”

Cagle emphasized the Cherokees will play their own game, be responsible, prepare well and play hard each week.

“We're going to find 22 guys who want to buy in and do the things want to do the right way,” he said. “We're going to build our success on what we can handle and what we can do and if our players grow throughout the year and get better by the end of the year then we've had a great season.”

Ooltewah

After four years as head coach of McMinn Central, following eight years at Bradley Central, Matt Moody has moved up and has taken over the program at Ooltewah High Shool.

Moody, in his 13th year as a football coach will lead the Owls into battle Aug. 22 at Chattanooga Christian. The Owls open Region 3-5A play Sept. 5 at Rhea County.

“I've been really fortunate over my 13 years to be a part of some great programs and some really great communities,” he said.

The Owls will see experience returning with four seniors coming back on the defensive line along with three linebackers. Three out of four starters in the secondary are also in the senior class.

“The biggest thing is, all those guys did not play defensively. We have moved the around I positions a little bit, but there is a lot of experience on the defensive side of the ball.”

Offensively, Ooltewah the story is somewhat different for the bard dwellers.

Three seniors will return to the OL with everyone else coming in as sophomores and juniors.

Two Owls have been battling for the QB position with freshman Rhylon Hinton and sophomore Luke Wood battled for the starting spot with Wood coming out on top.

“He (Wood) has a lot of the tools that you want in a great quarterback. He's a great leader. He has as good of arm strength as any quarterback I've ever been around at his age,” praised Moody.

The Owls will rely in a big way on the receiver corps in 2025 with the head Owl praising the offseason work of the squad.

“In this region you win by playing physical and with great defense,” Moody stated. That's really been the emphasis of what we wanted to put on our guys this summer.”

Rhea County

Former Walker Valley assistant coach Taylor Harvey, now in his second year as head coach of Rhea County. He has been in the coaching business a total of 13 years.

The Golden Eagles open Aug. 22 at Red Bank and begin play in Region 3-5A Sept. 5 at home against Ooltewah.

Harvey and his staff in Dayton have pushed physicality and fast play as the season approaches.

“That's what we have preached from the second I walked in the door. These guys will get sick of hearing, 'Do the little things right' over and over,” he said. “We're not going to wow anybody with athleticism so we ha ve to do the right things. We can't beat ourselves. We have to play harder than they do.”

The Eagles return seven of 11 starters on offense and will have four of five offensive linemen coming back.

Key for Rhea will be the play of senior quarterback Jackson Smith.

“He was our junior varsity quarterback a year ago. He started at safety for six games. He's got a lot of experience. He's one of the most athletic kids in our program, but he's new to playing quarterback,” related Harvey.

The Owls will need to replace all four starting linebacker from a year ago and will need to quickly find plugs for the holes left by the departing seniors.

“We had a lot of production that left our team last year, but we've got a lot coming back,” said Harvey.

The numbers favor the Owls down the line as the roster boasts just under 90 names, up from the 29 athletes working out when Harvey arrived.

“The problem with that is, 41 of those are freshmen,” he stated. “Tenth through 12th graders, we're thin, but we do have good pieces in key spots. As long as we can stay healthy I like where we're at.”

Walker Valley

Closing out the media event was seventh-year head coach Drew Akins of the Walker Valley Mustangs, who has been in the coaching business for 17 years.

The Mustangs will hav e 21 seniors on the roster with four Mustangs returning on offense and six on defense.

The Mustangs will find out quickly who they are as an opening three game stretch against Cleveland, Bradley and McMinn County loom on the horizon.

Walker Valley kicks off the year Thursday, Aug 21 at Cleveland before hosting Bradley. The Region 3-5A schedule begins Sept. 5 at home against the Cherokees.

“I've been very privileged in my time here to have a lot of successes. We've also had some lows, but we've learned from those and really, I feel have changed the culture of the school and changed the culture of our program,” he said.

The Mustangs will be looking to return to the playoffs and take one step further than 2023's semifinal game.

“Our region is going to be tough and we've got to make sure we're up for the challenge every single week,” said Akins.

The Mustangs will be led by senior transfer Chase Stephens, who took over during the offseason.

Stephens will be working with a group of receivers Akins and staff are high on.

The Mustangs will be looking to replace last year's starting running back and are counting on Cason Cunningham to play a large role this time around.

Akins said Zack Rains and Lincoln Jackson will also play in the equation.

Offensively a whole, the Mustangs feel they have a quality offense ready to take on the upcoming challenges.

Walker Valley will be looking early to find replacements for its departed defensive line that Akins characterized as a “really tough” group.

The Mustangs return all three linebackers as well as starting defensive secondary standout Michael Wood as well as Aiden Burns. Thavin Scruggs, CT Gunter, Miles Hawk and Lincoln Jackson will also wee time on defense.

(Contact Ricard Roberts at richardvol55@yahoo.com)