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We most certainly are! Concession stand behind the press box will be full of burgers, hot dogs, drinks, and snack cakes! Helped stock it myself on Saturday!

This Friday, August 11, seven teams ranging from Knoxville to Chattanooga will square off on the artificial turf at Eagle Stadium. Each game will have two regulation quarters with stoppage of the clock on 1st downs, at the beginning of possessions, and incomplete passes. The times for the match-ups are as follows: Cleveland Blue Raiders vs. Lenoir City Panthers- 6:00 Stone Memorial Panthers vs. Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish- 7:00 *Rhea County Eagles vs. McMinn County Cherokees- 8:00 Rhea County Eagles vs. Bradley Central Bears- 9:00 *Walker Valley was originally scheduled to play this game, but backed out and a replacement could not be found. Each team has the opportunity to sell tickets before the jamboree. The ticket price is $10, and 100% of the proceeds from the pre-sold tickets will be able to be kept by each team. There will still be tickets available for the same price at the gate for the jamboree, but the proceeds will be split up among the participating teams. What do you all expect from this jamboree? I know the offenses will be very vanilla, especially in the case of the Rhea/McMinn and Rhea/Bradley games because they will meet again during the regular season, but how do you expect Friday night to turn out?

http://rheareview.com/helmet-christian-simon-golden-eagle-senior/

According to the coaches, our work day with Farragut and Greeneville on Tuesday has been cancelled due to bad weather. Eagles will practice every day this week, and all fans are encouraged to attend Friday's jamboree which will feature Cleveland and Lenoir City at 6 followed by Stone Memorial and Knoxville Catholic at 7, following that will be Rhea County's 8 o'clock matchup with McMinn County and the tussle with Bradley Central at 9.

Not sure about this current week, but there will be a jamboree at Rhea Co. next Friday with Cleveland v. Lenoir City at 6, Stone Memorial v. Knoxville Catholic at 7, Rhea v. McMinn County at 8, and Rhea v. Bradley Central at 9. Each game will have two quarters with a regulation clock, and there should be some amazing football to watch. Rhea Review will be live streaming at least the two with Rhea, possibly the other two as well.

Yes, each game is streamed in real time with Rhea Review creator Elmer Harris and a few others providing commentary. The best link to follow is https://www.youtube.com/user/RheaReview. This will take you straight to Rhea Review's YouTube channel and, once the season gets going, that week's live stream should show at the top of the list.

I work with the live stream, and we will not be broadcasting the Anderson County scrimmage tomorrow. We will definitely be streaming the jamboree next week, though.

I'm excited to watch Otey and Teague when you all make the week 2 trip to Evensville. Also, isn't there a wide receiver from Blackman getting some serious Power 5 attention? I seem to recall his last name being Knox? I've heard nothing but good things about the Blaze, and I look forward to being on the sidelines filming what is sure to be a top-notch game!

Right now, the quarterback and fullback positions are the only knowns from last season with Zack Pemberton and Christian Simon (a wing in 2016) returning. Senior Ty Goodwin (1st team center from 2016) and Junior Patric Williams (2nd team left guard from 2016) saw a bunch of playing time and should be solid on the line again. Goodwin has moved to right guard for his last year in the green and gold, and has looked solid. Junior Colton Edwards (#78) should be the left tackle and Senior Logan Sullivan (#68) should be right tackle. Center has yet to be fully decided, with Nick Sherill (#61, sophomore) and University of the South commit Zach Swafford (#62, senior) battling out for the starting spot. Senior Jaden Austin (#4) looks dangerous at wideout, and Senior Gavin Stewart (first year player) is going to be a stud trading out reps with Jaden on first team. Senior running back A.J. Velasco (#27) looks pretty capable, but the starter at the other wing position has yet to be settled on. Some players to look out for at running back are Gavin Morrison (#24 junior), Brandon Leal (#10, junior), and a kid named Shelfer (#16, sophomore) who I don't know his first name. Hayden Woody (#9, senior), the star running back from the spring, has moved due to family situations. Tight end could be an interesting position this year. First year player Caleb Laws (#28 junior) looks the part at 6'6 and around 250, but 240lb, 6'3 veteran Peyton Samples (Bell) (#43, junior) and wild card senior Jared Kamer (#88) have definitely not went away quietly and continue to push each other for reps, even considering Kamer is undersized for a tight end, coming in at 6'0, 175. It is no secret in Eagle Nation that 2016 Region 4-5A Defensive Player of the Year Jawan Martin has been dismissed from the team, as well as starting corner Christopher Sturgeon. It is certainly a sticky situation, and I will make no further comment. Woody, as mentioned earlier, is gone, as is Logan Lewis, a wide receiver, and Ross Pendergrass, who probably would have been the 2nd team quarterback, who is focusing on baseball. Defense should be strong again. Senior Bradley Evans is back, and he should start on the defensive front along with a combination of multiple seasoned players such as Mason Reynolds (#47 senior), Payton Dugger (#57, junior), Garrett Smith (#52, junior), and a host of others including huge freshman Joey Lemons from Spring City. Chandler Kaylor (#42, junior) is going to be solid at middle linebacker, as well as Chase Suttles (#41, senior), Brandon Hunt (#25, senior), Bradley Goodwin (#40, sophomore), and many more. Corner should be solid with Brady Rice (#19, senior), and Jay Graham (#44, senior) with Jose Marquez (#32, senior) providing depth. Safety will have Reece Cooley (#6, senior) and Aubrey Smith (#13, junior), as well as Cam Thundquist (#5, junior) and others backing them up. This year, Coach Owenby has mentioned changing up the defense a bit, taking away an outside linebacker and turning them into an "eagle" back which is similar to a nickel. Doug White (#30, senior) is my favorite to be the starter there.

Excited for Rhea County football! Last night's intra-squad scrimmage at practice went very well. First team offense still has work to do, but, to be fair, the first team defense didn't give them any breaks, sacking Zach at least one good time and making him run it himself more often than not on pass plays. Second team offense and defense had a pretty good showing with the offense scoring on a run by sophmore fullback Jackson Langley (#23). Third team offense and defense went well. Offense scored once on a long run by sophmore wing Gabriel Maldonado (#11). First team offense only scored on a field goal by junior kicker Haden Frasier (#1). The take away for me, once again, was the dominance the defense was showing. Linebackers flying to the ball, linemen putting heavy pressure on the passing game, and the secondary keeping tight coverage was the norm when it was first team offense v. first team defense. The backups looked capable of providing depth. Should be a great season for the Eagles. Looking forward to the scrimmage next Friday at home against Austin-East! Start time is slated for 7 PM.

Liking what I'm seeing from the Eagles so far! Even with all of the departures, I believe Rhea County is in for another successful year!

http://rheareview.com/top-3-things-to-know-about-the-2017-golden-eagles/

One of the players has been reinstated to the team, and I am hearing the other has been sent to Bledsoe, but will not be allowed to play due to the nature of his dismissal. Also, Murphy Fair released the 5A all-state team this morning. Rhea County had two players make the roster: Chandler Kaylor at Tight End and Jawan Martin at Linebacker.

Rhea County is ranked #2 in Class 5A according to Murphy Fair's coach poll with 5 first place votes. Catholic is ranked #1 with 8 first place votes.

Does anyone know of any players getting recruiting looks this off-season? After seeing the highest rated player from Rhea County in nearly a decade sign with Memphis as well as Eddie Davis and Zach McCarthy sign to play at the next level, how many seniors this year have a shot at furthering their football careers in college?

With the dead period approaching after this week, it has me itching for some Rhea County football!! Exactly two months from today, we kick off against Cleveland under those lights at Eagle Stadium! #EaglePride #Team44

Offense: Even though we never scored an actual touchdown on Oakland, there were a few plays that certainly would have been scores had the ref not blown them dead due to the safety of the fans watching the scrimmage. I counted two or three such plays, which would have actually evened the score up because Oakland scored twice when playing our 1st and 2nd string guys and had one blown dead early that would have been a touchdown in a real-game scenario. Our O-Line faced probably the 2nd best defensive lineman it will face all year in #79 (Catholic's OT/DE Cade Mays being the #1) and proved to be a great measuring stick as to how well our line will be once summer workouts start. While he did make some big plays, he only made one (the sack on Zach) easily. The rest had to be earned. The running backs looked more than capable for the second straight Saturday, but I think #3 Chris Sturgeon took top honors this time, with #22 Simon being bottled up more often than not. Woody was hurt pretty bad, and I was hearing that it was either his elbow or forearm that was injured. Tough break for the kid after having such a good scrimmage last week and an impressive start to the Oakland scrimmage. Passing game looked alright, but most effective play was the fullback screen that would have went for 6 in a game time situation. Overall surprising outing from the offense compared to previous years when we would score, but not as many as Oakland. Defense: This was the best surprise of all from the scrimmage. All of the 1st team and most of the 2nd team defense stood their ground quite well against the 6A powerhouse, forcing multiple stops on Oakland where they failed to score during their offensive drives. They had two true touchdowns, one was a QB keep by a 5'7 quarterback that ran like a bullet and hid behind his blockers most of the way to the end zone. The other was a pass across the middle of the defense that was well defended, but the quartback (different from the one who scored on the keeper) put the ball right where it needed to be. The defensive front looked deep and talented with #84 Evans and #47 Reynolds being the top two and #52 Smith, #57 Dugger, and #72 Shelton not being far behind. Linebackers looked strong once again, and am liking the move of Jay Graham #44 to corner more and more every time I watch them practice or play. I was also glad to see #6 Cooley and #12 Pendergrass (who is a safety now) back on the field after finishing out their baseball season. The secondary was not tested too much, but was tested more than last Saturday at Franklin County. They looked capable, but still remain a group in need of some maturation and attention before the season rolls around. I also heard many Oakland people comparing our scrimmage with them to their scrimmage with Catholic, and they all said that they felt us to be more talented and deeper than the Irish, who they blew out at UTC a week or so ago. While Catholic's star offensive line was without its stars in the Mays brothers and Bryn Tucker in the scrimmage, it still makes one think about the talent around them if we can pretty much play the team that mopped the floor with the majority of their team to a tie. Overall, it has me hopeful that we are in for another strong year.

Rather impressive outing from Rhea County considering the circumstances.

Correction: Rhea Review will not be live-streaming the scrimmage.

Big shoutout to Jackson Langley (RB/LB, C/O 2020) for earning the RB MVP award at an elite camp in South Carolina earlier this month and Eddie Davis for signing with Birmingham Prep yesterday! Also, be sure to watch the Eagles this Saturday online on Rhea Review who will be live-streaming the scrimmage!

I'm a Rhea County guy, but I was there. I was very impressed with Franklin County compared to when we scrimmaged them last year. They seem to have found an offense (Wing T) that fits their personnel very well. They aren't monstrously huge on the offensive or defensive fronts, but they are affective and block just long enough for those strong, shifty running backs to make plays.

My take on the scrimmage: Offense: While they looked a little shaky at times, the offense seemed to run pretty well. We converted every 4th down we went for, and only lost the ball by a fumble or two and an interception. The play where the tight end missed the pass, tipped it, and caused a pick six was tough to swallow, but the kid is a senior who hasn't been thrown to in a live game situation since he was a freshman due to the depth we have had at tight end in recent years. Zach looked pretty sharp throwing the ball, and Jaden Austin (#4) looks like the top option at receiver. The line looked strong, and seem to be ahead of last year's group in regards of playing together. All of the running backs looked more than capable of carrying the ball and gaining yardage with #27 Velasco and #22 Simon being the top-tier and the new kid #9 Woody looked stellar at running back. Defense: As is always the case in the spring, the defense was ahead of the offense. They only gave up two touchdowns, and both of those came after they caused a turn over on downs only to have to defend just a few plays later because the offense fumbled the ball away. D-line looked extremely talented, the middle linebackers Kaylor and Martin looked as solid as ever, and the outside linebackers White and Suttles looked impressive considering they were both backups most of last season. Secondary wasn't tested much, but they looked talented and at least two deep at each position. Final score; 26-20 Rhea County. Scorers: Simon (touchdown) Velasco (touchdown) Woody (2 touchdowns) Laws (2-pt conversion)