OwlPride

Let me tell you something LovesHS, I don't give two hoots about Cleveland,Tn! My school, my alma mater is Ooltewah High!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be @ Ooltewah High School watching the Owls long after Bennie Monroe and you are gone. Let me get this straight, you think it's ok to belittle a 17 year old qb but the coach is off limits? That's kind of sick. I'm not the only one that was disgusted with the way the Ridgeland incident was handled. Back off!

I hear Delaney,Putnam, and Reed are being recruited fairly hard. I'm hearing Bruell and Paty to the o-line with an outside shot of Jacques also moving to o-line but he will likely remain at TE. I'm hearing a couple of linemen may return but can you count on them? I'm hearing we may run some version of the veer to take advantage of our qbs running skills. Good nucleus returning on defense...the key will be rebuilding the offensive line and finding some playmakers on offense. I think you'll see Brady to Jacquez a lot and the tb will be Eric ?. There doesn't appear to be a lot of depth.

Come on Void...you know better. How is it Monroe's star players like Donte Hickey and Tony Styles were always elgible at Cleveland but could not get into UT? This was during an era when it was much easier than it is now to get into school. Look at how the Ridgeland situation was handled last season. I suggest you talk to former SRO Easley about how Monroe handled that situation. I'm sure he will be happy to fill you in. Did you see how much smaller the game program was this year?

These coaches would be better served by recruiting the gym classes and halls of Ooltewah High School. If this indeed happened then Central has every right to be upset. When I was in school the roles were reversed because several kids zoned for Ooltewah attended Central. Nobody wanted to attend the so called "hick" school. So, from that standpoint, it's kind of funny. More on point, I think this shows a skewed since of importance placed on high school athletics. Once you graduate from high school, NOBODY CARES! Rather, once your elgibility ends, NOBODY CARES! I think high school athletics is great as long as it is put in its proper perspective. I have been outspoken in the past about coaches not caring about character and if this is true than in my opinion it is par for the course. My fear is that my school and my alma mater's reputation is going to be tarnished. Cleveland High was a football factory composed of characters of ill repute....Donte Hickey,Tony Stiles, Parks boys, on and on....

I do not disagree with anything in this post. Monroe inherited a program like Fulmer did when he replaced Majors. There were a lot of old timers against his hiring because of the reputation of Cleveland and the win at all costs attitude. He lost alot of supporters in '07 after the Ridgeland fiasco. Monroe will be at Ooltewah one more year then he will support Coach Green to become the head coach.

Coach Davis was the HEAD COACH at Ooltewah in the late 70's and 80's. I believe Coach Henderson will be sorely missed as he made the kids accountable and he could relate to them as he is only 25 or so himself. I will be surprised if Coach Couch returns as he and Gatewood have been close for a long time. If he returns, it might be to simply keep people from having hard feelings. This is going to be a difficult transition for Gatewood because the administration is going to try to keep the very athletes that Gatewood will need from transfering and if you people don't think this is going to hurt Ooltewah, think again. A lot of the kids that are there for the academics are sick of the crap they have to put up with. What is happening to Ooltewah is what happened to Central when Tyner more or less closed. If Bennie Monroe remains, which I don't expect after next season, I look for his Ooltewah teams to be very similar in numbers(very small) to his Cleveland teams. I also expect Ooltewah to be a squad of mainly minorities.....not there is anything wrong with that but certainly not represenative of the community. I think the East Brainerd school will be more or less a community school. I also fully expect Coach Green to become the head coach when Monroe retires. If Foster wants to stem the tide of good kids and athletes leaving, than he needs to take a stand and when these kids get thrown in jail they need to be kicked off the team. It's embarassing to the community when these issues are overlooked and tolerated. If the community is embarrassed and NOT being represented, the funding and support will cease and follow the folks to East Brainerd.

This was not a well kept secret. Ooltewah is also losing Coach Henderson who is the d-line and strength and conditioning coach. He is an up and comer and truly one of the good guys on the current staff. He doesn't care if you're the fourth team wr or Jacquez Smith, if you get out of line, he will bust your ---. He is one of the few that is a REAL mentor. He will be missed as much if not more than Gatewood. The casual observer does not understand the impact this is going to have on the Owls future. Ooltewah is not growing like it was two or three years ago as the economy has taken its toll. In the short run, Ooltewah fortues will slip. I expect the majority of the rising sophomore class to enroll @ East Hamilton if they are in that zone. I don't expect many rising juniors to transfer, but Ooltewah only had 14 or 15 sophomores on the roster this past season. Ooltewah will likely have the smallest roster it has had in recent memory. Rumors abound that Monroe is going to retire after next season. The Ooltewah administration is trying to be proactive and trying to encourage their current athletes to stay at Ooltewah, but it may be a little too late. Is it any wonder why the jv team only had one game this season? Did Gatewood know he was going this past summer? Keep in mind, he is the one that coached the jv squad the last few years. I look for East Hamilton to become a AAAA power in short order and Ooltewah to become an also ran in the immediate future. A 70 year old coach is not what you need to build your program....especially a guy that is reknowned for having very few players on his roster to begin with. Congrats to East Hamilton....

Ooltewah is going to have to find some playmakers next season. It is shocking they made it as far as they did by running one running back 80% of the time. Eric Green should have been lined up in the slot some and he should have gotten more opportunities this season. I think he will be a capable replacement for Polk. Hopefully, we will be able to help Brady more next season by having receivers on the field that can catch and actually move the chains. I think our coaching staff was so enamored with the speed from the wr's they oftentimes forgot that you have to catch the ball. The biggest problem will be replacing the offensive line. I look for Jacquez Smith and perhaps #33 to move to the offensive line and they will make darn good linemen. I also expect Ted Gatewood to be named head coach at East Hamilton which means he will likely take a couple of coaches with him....Couch and Henderson. If this occurs, I look for the majority of Ooltewah's freshmen team from this season to show up and play for the Hurricanes next year. It's way too early to start thinking about next season . As far as this season is concerned, I believe last night showed that Ooltewah played in a weak region and it also showed that Oakland plays in the toughest region in the state. The two teams we lost against were from middle Tennessee. That ought to tell you something. I also noticed that Oakland dressed about 90 players. Murfreesboro doesn't have all the tiny private schools, therefore, they have better depth on their football roster. They could have played us ten times and they would have beaten us nine. I'm not trying to hurt anybodies feelings but it's the truth. They kicked our butts.....

DB is by far the most over rated team in the state, year in and year out. When will the writers ever learn? Also, your region is usually weak.

I think and hope Bearden wins because payback is going to be ____when Bearden rolls into the Owls nest.

At least you guys have a local, hometwon paper. Ooltewah is a HAMILTON COUNTY school.

I agree with 2Seam, we would have thought the same thing had one of their players gotten up and beaten his chest after a play. I prefer to see players act like they've been there before and I'm sure our coaches do as well.

It's always been that way with the Chattanooga media who has a love affair with Boyd-Buc (who play kids that couldn't cut it at Ooltewah....nothing wrong with that), and McCallie and Baylor. We have always been treated like we don't exist. I'll have to hand it to Stump Martin who is always promoting Ooltewah athletics.

Ooltewah is on a different level than Campbell County. Do you realize how many points the Owls have scored the last three weeks against Farragut,Oak Ridge and Soddy Daisy? Here's a hint....Ooltewah will hang 50+ on Campbell County and I promise Campbell County will doing nothing against the Owl defense.

If Soddy protects their qb they may upset Bearden. They have a well conceived offense but they got out athleted against Ooltewah. Again, their qb is the best we have seen.

There were actually several sophomores that played last season. There aren't many that play this season except #5 who plays mainly on special teams and is the backup quarterback. If you don't have to play sophomores...you don't and Ooltewah doesn't have to. There is good talent in the sophomore class including #5 who is already a very good quarterback.

I know you're probably kidding, but you might be telling the truth. I heard that his dad made a highlight tape of PJ when he was in middle school and took it to the Ooltewah coaches so they could see how great he was. When he was a freshman, his dad was at every practice and would approach the coaches after every practice. To appease him, the Owl coaches would let him drop back for punts as a second safety but I never saw the kid field a single punt. He actually played in the first two games last season before transfering to Tyner. His dad felt he was not being used properly at Ooltewah. He did not fit in at Tyner where I understand his dad would show up for all the strength and conditioning sessions. He has found a home at Soddy and I hope for the sake of the kid, his daddy doesn't uproot him again. PJ is a good, solid back that lacks great breakaway speed and thus isn't the back his dad thinks he is. His dad is a nice guy but it's all about PJ and PJ getting enough touches. I promise you it's not about team with Mr Hubbard who is the typical stage dad. They live in the same house in Harrison where they've always lived. It would not surprise me if they transfer to Signal Mtn where he can put up big number against smaller schools. I bet his dad is also telling Soddy people what a great shortstiop he is even though he has not played baseball in two years. Poor PJ....

This is going to be a blow out. The Owls will be extra motivated to see former team mate PJ Hubbard lined up for the big blue. Ooltewah's defensive front will take over this football game early as the Owl corners lockdown the Soddy receivers. The Owls could cruise to the semis. It will get a little dicey when we play another strong defensive team like Maplewood, but for now, let's enjoy the ride. Owls 51 Soddy 14

Whatever the case, the coach came to the Owl locker room and apologized to the entire team. That took a big man to do that....classy move.

The Oak Ridge program appears to be in shambles as nobody is excited about talking about this week's game. I think Soddy is going to shock the state this Friday by beating Farragut. This will set up one of the biggest season ending games in Hamilton County football history when Soddy visits Ooltewah. Soddy has one of the top marching bands in the state( Imagine that!). I've always enjoyed how they enter their stadium before a football game....top notch.

The Oak Ridge program appears to be in shambles as nobody is excited about talking about this week's game. I think Soddy is going to shock the state this Friday by beating Farragut. This will set up one of the biggest season ending games in Hamilton County football history when Soddy visits Ooltewah. Soddy has one of the top marching bands in the state( Imagine that!). I've always enjoyed how they enter their stadium before a football game....top notch.

I don't know about all that, but this is shaping up to be a major beat down....even at Oak Ridge. The Owl defensive front maybe the best front four in the state. If there is one better, I would like to see it. The key to the Owls offense is a healthy Gino Norwood and he got banged up last night and didn't play in the second half. You'll recall that Gino did not play against Maplewood and he was sorely missed. Also, kudos to Brady Reed who has been often criticized in this forum.....some of it deserved although some of it has been way over the top. Brady does not have to be the second coming of Joe Montana for this team to win. I thought he threw the ball and managed the game very well. Hopefully, he builds on this.....

I don't believe Heritage has ever beaten the Owls since this region was created. Ooltewah will have far more athletes. It should not be a competitive match up. I'm not trying to be mean spirited, but this is the worst AAAAA team in east Tennessee.