Parity May Dot the Landscape of District 5-AAA This Fall

Ooltewah, TN-(WDEF) High school football coaches and players gathered for the annual District 5-AAA media day at the Bridge in Ooltewah.
And it seems parity could wind up defining this district in 2016.
Both the media and coaches picked Rhea County to win the district title this fall. Mark Pemberton’s team made the state semi-finals last year, and they return two, one-thousand yard rushers in Cody Bice and Mason Stephenson. Expect a steady diet of those two again this season.
Said Pemberton-“Our quarterbacks, we have two sophomores and three freshmen. So we’re going to hand the ball off a lot.”
Ooltewah was picked second. The Owls must replace nine starters on defense, but offensively, they should be stout in the trenches.
Said head coach Mac Bryan-“For the first time I feel like we actually have an offensive line that lines up and looks like one from a size stand point.”
Cleveland coach Scott Cummings says there are a lot of unknowns with his team, but one thing he does know…the Blue Raiders will be stronger.
Said Cummings-“When I got here last year, true story, we only had one, 400-pound squatter on the entire team, and it was our quarterback. Right now, we have fourteen.”
McMinn County’s Bo Cagle is switching from the spread offense to the wing ‘T’.
Said Cagle-“Basically what happened is we’ve got a bunch of running backs that can’t catch the ball, so we figured we could hand it to them. Felt that would be a lot better. Isn’t that right Xavier. I’m not saying anything they don’t know.”
Walker Valley returns 10 starters from an explosive offense last year, but it’s the defense Coach Ryan wants to shine.
Said Ryan-“Last year, we averaged 35-points a ballgame. We finished 4-6. That’s what I was talking about in being porous on defense.”
Soddy Daisy is coming off their first winning season since 2010, and they’ll air it out under returning Q-B Justin Cook.
Said Barnes-“Looking to throw it around like Ooltewah. So when we play, it may not be the fastest game. Might be three or four hours. Who knows.”

Coaches Predicted Order of Finish

1. Rhea Co
2. Ooltewah
3. Walker Valley
4. Soddy Daisy/Cleveland
6. McMinn Co
7. White Co