McMinn County's Corbin Powers (11) throws the ball against McCallie.Best of '13--Week 11Auston Banks, Notre Dame: 191 rushing yards, 3 TDs.Jim Cardwell, Boyd-Buchanan: 2 rushing TDs in regulation; OT TD pass and conversion pass.JaVaughn Craig, McCallie: 331 passing yards, 5 TD passes.Slade Dale, Ringgold: 329 total offense yards, 4 TD passes, 1 rushing TD.Tony Francois, East Hamilton: 4 catches, 181 yards; 3 TDs.Jajuan Lankford, South Pttsburg: 220 rushing yards, 2 TDs.Hinton McConkey, North Murray: 312 total offense yards, one rushing TD, 3 passing TDs.Zach Miller, Polk County: 3 rushing TDs, 142 yards.Corbin Powers, McMinn County: 3 passing TDs, 507 passing yards, 2 rushing TDs.Isaac Spencer, Copper Basin: 2 TD passes, 3 rushing TDs; 251 total offense yards.Willie Stewart, Tyner: 1 TD pass, 1 TD reception, 1 rushing TD, 54-yard punt return for TD.Caderius Word, Ridgeland: 168 rushing yards, 3 TDs; 1 passing TD.Blake Zeman, Marion County: 2 TDs, 144 rushing yards.
McMinn County coach Bo Cagle looked over on the bench at one point of Friday's game and saw tears leaking from his quarterback's eyes.
"He got drilled several times. It may have been his shin. It may have been his ribs, but he wasn't coming out," Cagle said. "He was running scared and he was throwing on the run. He was ducking people. He looked like Johnny Manziel out there, but he was taking a beating."
Corbin Powers, McMinn's Mighty Mite, wasn't coming out of the game. And he almost made the difference in a one-point loss to Ooltewah, throwing for 507 yards and three TDs and rushing for two more scores. His performance earned the 5-foot-7, 160-pound junior Times Free Press Player of the Week honors.
"He did as much as he could do to win the game for us. What you have to understand is that he wasn't just dropping back and passing. He was under duress the whole game," Cagle said. "They were getting after him. We couldn't block number 31 [David Strickland]. I guess he finally got tired late in the game. I think Ooltewah probably has a little respect for him because of the way they were hitting him and the fact that he kept getting up."
The 507 yards is a school record and the area's top passing performance this year, topping Austin Herink's 478-yard effort for Cleveland against McCallie. It is also the Chattanooga area's top passing performance, surpassing Brent Copeland's 495-yard effort for Bradley Central in 1996. It was just 90 yards shy of the state record set by Westwood's Kenton Evans in 1994.
"I texted him after the game and told him the 507 yards was a school record and that he was the toughest quarterback in our district," Cagle said. "He texted back and said, 'I got to do something to make up for my size.'
"He probably isn't going to get any taller, but he's a competitor and a winner."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.