Grace senior Jake SimpsonFAN'S GUIDE TO THIS YEAR'S GRACE ACADEMY GOLDEN EAGLES
Coach: Bob Ateca (9-12 in two seasons here, 44-61 in 12 overall)
Stadium address: 7815 Shallowford Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421
THREE STRENGTHS
1) Thirteen returning to 22 starting spots should offer some stability.
2) Two years ago the Golden Eagles were at square one with a new head coach. Now the upperclassmen are entering their third season in the same system.
3) Coach Ateca said if offseason workouts are an indication, he expects a good work ethic to be a team trait.
THREE CONCERNS
1) For Grace's defense to play at its peak, the outside linebackers need to be able to cover the flats and help turn ball carriers inward where senior inside 'backers Aaron Tisdale and Austin Powell can clean up. Three unproven players are vying for those two positions.
2) The dive is the first option in the Golden Eagles' veer-option offense. Junior DeQuan Hughes appears to be capable of getting some tough yards, although he's untried. And they've got to find his understudy.
3) As as is typically the case with Class A teams, the list of reserves ready to compete at the high school level is a short one.
Three questions with ...
JAKE SIMPSON
Senior two-way lineman
Q. What are you confident Grace Academy will be able to do this year?
A. I'm confident in our running game; confident in the progress we've made as a team, mostly. We've lost some people but we've gained some people. I think we're tighter this year than we were last year. I think we're just going to come out and work together.
Q. What is your biggest concern?
A. Mainly that whenever we start to get down, because there's always going to be a spot where you get down, you're going to be behind, that we need to pick up the pace and just move on and do our best, no matter what.
Q. What do you like most about playing football?
A. I just like to get out here, work hard at something, hit people and be a part of something bigger than me.
RECENT HISTORY
Grace Academy started its football program nine years ago. The Golden Eagles have earned state-playoff berths four times since then but are still seeking their first playoff victory.
Here's a look at the regular-season win total for the last five years:
Season
2011 ------(6)
2010 ---(3)
2009 (0)
2008 ------(6)
2007 ------(6)
SCHEDULE
Aug. 17 at Notre Dame
Aug. 24 Cannon County
Aug. 31 at Sweetwater
Sept. 7 Lookout Valley
Sept. 14 at Boyd-Buchanan*
Sept. 28 at Copper Basin*
Oct. 5 Marion County
Oct. 12 at Harriman
Oct. 19 Grundy County
Oct. 26 Silverdale Baptist*
*District 5-A game
BY THE NUMBERS
4 - State-playoff berths in the varsity program's eight-year history, although the Golden Eagles are still seeking their first postseason victory.
5 - Times the Eagles scored at least 40 points in their 11 games last year.
6 - Grace players who had at least 255 rushing yards last season.
2011 STATS LEADERS
RUSHING Att Yards Avg TD
*Will Slack 70 676 9.7 8
*Aaron Tisdale 86 614 7.1 5
Cooper Wittman 102 512 5.0 7
*Josh Smith 82 494 6.0 7
PASSING Comp-Att Yards Int TD
*Josh Smith 64-118 1,434 9 12
RECEIVING Att Yards Avg TD
Corey Nelson 33 951 28.8
Cooper Wittman 8 115 14.3
*Austin Powell 6 109 18.2
TACKLES Solo Assists Total
*Austin Powell 72 55 127
*Aaron Tisdale 68 24 92
Cooper Wittman 48 31 79
*returning player
ROSTER
1 Ike Ateca Junior
2 Larry Mason Sophomore
5 J.R. Haley Senior
6 Eli Rogers Freshman
7 Will Slack Junior
9 DeQuan Hughes Junior
13 Isaac Spencer Junior
14 Jared Roberts Freshman
15 Chet Matheny Junior
21 Tyler Wynn Junior
22 Josh Smith Senior
23 Aaron Tisdale Senior
28 Ben Rogers Freshman
30 Chace Underwood Junior
33 Austin Powell Senior
35 T.J. Swanson Senior
43 Alex Blandon Freshman
50 Kent Scruggs Junior
52 Waldo Odens Junior
55 Dakota Doss Freshman
56 Aiden Hall Senior
57 Stephan Lawrence Sophomore
59 Wyatt Morrison Senior
62 Austin Parks Sophomore
64 Jake Simpson Senior
68 Logan Groves Sophomore
70 Nolan Turner Junior
72 Sam Cowart Sophomore
86 Drew Shumaker Senior
88 Chandler Cook Junior