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Chattanooga: Quarterbacks the key for McCallie, Baylor

By: Kelley Smiddie
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Phil Massey

Division II-AA East/Middle Region members McCallie and Baylor enter this football season with hopes of returning to the state playoffs after a year’s absence. Whether either returns to postseason play could hinge on quarterback play.

With two in competition for the job in each program, be assured Blue Tornado coach Rick Whitt and Baylor coach Phillip Massey have spent time overseeing play from their signal-callers. TSSAA teams began full practices this week, so the coaches have a little more time to scrutinize before opening their seasons later this month.

Junior Keenon Rush and sophomore Jarrod Coleman each took snaps for McCallie last season. Rush got most of them.

“Both of them are getting reps,” senior offensive lineman Marco Italia said. “They’re both working hard, trying to get better. We’re comfortable with either one in there.”

The Blue Tornado participated in a 7-on-7 passing tournament at the University of Tennessee last month. Coleman is trying to overcome shoulder soreness resulting from that.

“We’re trying to find out who’s going to play quarterback and if we’re going to be able to develop some consistency there,” Whitt said. “Keenon is doing a good job running the offense. He works hard at it. He’s intelligent, so he’s grasped things well. Right now he’s throwing the ball better.

“Jarrod has a little bit of a shoulder issue, but we expect he’ll get back. Jarrod’s been doing some good things, like with his reads. Keenon having played as a sophomore and coming back as a junior, he’s got a little confidence about himself right now. We want to see both of them on the field.”

The Red Raiders’ quarterback competition is between junior Chuck Hudson and sophomore Charlie Wilson, a transfer from Dalton.

“Chuck has a pretty good grasp of the offense,” Massey said. “He’s got a better feel, as a whole, whereas with Charlie we’ve been pretty much base, so he can learn gradually.”

The one who gets the nod will have the comfort of knowing that one of Baylor’s strengths is expected to be its all-senior offensive line.

Brentwood Academy returns 16 starters from last year’s state runner-up team. Offensive tackle Alex Bullard has committed to the University of Notre Dame, and defensive tackles Barry Dabney and Ryan Carrethers also are NCAA Division I prospects along with defensive end and tight end Thad McHaney.

Ensworth and Montgomery Bell Academy are expected to be among BA’s challengers in the region.

Ensworth welcomes back from injury senior Tavarres Jefferson, who has played running back, quarterback and wide receiver in the past. He rushed for more than 700 yards and 10 touchdowns in half a season a year ago.

Jefferson is projected to play quarterback this season. That’s thanks to the emergence of Orleans Opoku-Darkwa as a runner last year, when he topped the 1,400-yard mark as a sophomore.

State-champion MBA was hit hard by graduation and had some coaching turnover. The Big Red still have highly touted offensive tackle Wesley Johnson, who has received scholarship offers from Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

Knoxville Webb went 7-4 last season with a freshman directing the offense and a defense that gave up 21 or more points in six of the first eight games. Quarterback Parker Wormsley and nine returning defensive starters are a year sounder. The Spartans graduated two 1,000-yard rushers but have sophomore Taino Perez, a member of Webb’s state-championship 800 relay team last spring, and promising freshman Caleb Blance as successors.

Father Ryan returns some skilled wide receivers in seniors Kevin Davis and Patrick Marchetti but will be hard-pressed to match 2007 — its best season this decade. The Irish defeating Memphis University School 21-14 on Nov. 9 marked their first playoff victory since winning a state championship in 1997, which was the first season after the TSSAA’s public-private split.

It will be a challenge for Battle Ground Academy and Pope John Paul II to keep from having losing seasons. BGA does have quarterback Jamal Ramsey, who will play at Miami of Ohio next season.

PJP’s Knights will want to get the ball in the hands of 6-foot-3 athletes Wesley Tate and Devin Wilson. Tate is the brother of University of Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate.

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