RCHS coach Taylor Harvey talks to team after Soddy Game on 8/23/24.(Photo:GaryBolden)
Eagles Look For Fewer Miscues After Soddy Loss
Red Bank, TN -- Red Bank will be the next stop for the Rhea County Eagles football team as they begin 2024 with 4 road games during their first five games. After Red Bank, Eagles open a home schedule against Knox Central, before heading out for road games at Howard Tech and at Cleveland. The Eagles won the game at home vs Red Bank last year 28-21. Rhea County Ran for 449 yards against Red Bank with Ethan Davis and Cam Potts going for 362 yards between them. Red Bank went 8-4 last year and brings back some very good offensive weapons. Red Bank is led by Ted Gatewood, who is entering his 4th year as head coach after 3 as assistant coach. He had many years of experience with stops in East Hamilton and Ooltewah.
Red Bank comes into the game with a win under their belts with their 24-8 win at home vs Tyner Academy last week. In that game turnovers by Tyner made the path to victory easier for Red Bank. Red Bank displayed plenty of speed in the game, which coming into the season was their strength. Several of their senior leaders led their win. Senior quarterback Logan McGinnis found senior Drayden Collier for a long touchdown pass to show their prowess through the air. On the ground, highly recruited senior Josiah Featherstone had a good night running the ball. On the defensive line, Matt Fowler is a big problem for offenses. Junior Austin Barnwell had a good night on defense with a sack and an interception on the night to show up for the underclassmen for Red Bank. So the Eagles will have to play well to come away with the win.
Rhea County senior Ace Robinson, recently recognized for the Soddy Daisy game, will lead the defense. Ace had 17 solo tackles in the Soddy game. Seniors Kaden Knox and Zander Yeager were also big on defense with 9 and 8 tackles respectively.
Rhea County head coach Taylor Harvey said on Wednesday, "We have got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and make plays when we have the opportunity. We have kids in the right spot. We need to make plays when we have the opportunity and limit the mental mistakes."
"We had five stops in 12 possessions on defense. They started 8 of their 12 possessions on our side of the 50. We had over 300 hundred yards rushing and five touchdowns, Obviously we cannot win giving up 49 points."
"Red Bank is explosive and athletic. No 21, Josiah Featherstone is highly respected and # 4 Oliver Merritt looks to be a threat on the ground. They will be long and athletic and fast. We have got to tackle. We had six penalties but three of those were personal fouls and we discussed that at halftime and again on Monday."
Featherston finished with 108 yards vs Tyner and Merritt added 94 yards and each found the endzone. Red Bank forced two turnovers vs Tyner in the win.
Defensive Stats for Soddy Game.
| Name | SOLO | ASST | TFL |
| ACE ROBINSON | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| Kaden Knox | 9 | 1 | |
| Zander YEAGER | 8 | 1 | |
| ETHAN MOSLEY | 6 | ||
| Austun Fugate | 4 | 1 | |
| MASON FORD | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| CHASE WILKEY | 2 | 1 | |
| KESHAWN SMITH | 2 | 1 | |
| AIDEN WILKERSON | 1 | 1 | |
| MAX DAUGHTREY | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TYLER GARRISON | 1 | ||
| KAIDEN RECTOR | 1 | ||
| EZEKIEL ROMERO | 1 | ||
| HAIDEN FUTRELL | |||
| MASON PHILLPS | 2 | ||
| BEN SIMPSON |
Rhea County High School 2024 Roster
| # | Player | Position | Grade |
| 1 | KESHAWN SMITH | WR / DB | SR |
| 2 | AIDEN WILKERSON | WR / DB | JR |
| 3 | KADEN KNOX | RB / LB | SR |
| 4 | CALEB CARR | QB | SR |
| 5 | MASON FORD | RB / LB | JR |
| 7 | BROCK CORNWELL | Y / LB | SR |
| 8 | LATERRIUS DONEGAN | WR / DB | SO |
| 10 | KAIDEN RECTOR | WR / DB | JR |
| 11 | AUSTUN FUGATE | WR / DB | SO |
| 12 | QUINTEN MASSENGILL | WR / DB | SO |
| 13 | CHAUNCEY ODUM | RB / LB | SR |
| 14 | QUINTON DAVIS | WR / DB | FR |
| 15 | BENTLEE FULLMAN | Y / LB | FR |
| 16 | GAGE DEVANEY | QB / DB | FR |
| 17 | JAXTON SCHMITT | QB / DB | SO |
| 18 | JACKSON PHILLIPS | QB / DB | FR |
| 19 | ACE ROBINSON | RB / LB | SR |
| 20 | CJ MCCARTER | WR / DB | FR |
| 21 | WYATT MANGEFRIDA | WR / DB | FR |
| 22 | EZEKIEL ROMERO | RB / DB | SO |
| 23 | CHRISTIAN YEARWOOD | RB / LB | SO |
| 24 | BENJAMIN SIMPSON | WR / DB | JR |
| 25 | BARON BRUEHL | Y / LB | SR |
| 26 | BODIE MARCHETTI | RB / LB | FR |
| 27 | KOREY PELFREY | WR / DB | FR |
| 28 | DAMETRIUS SANDERS | WR / DB | FR |
| 29 | LANDON HALLMAN | RB / DB | FR |
| 30 | ACEON RIGGS | WR / DB | FR |
| 31 | ELI KELLY | RB / DB | SO |
| 32 | KYZIN SHELFER | Y / LB | SR |
| 33 | TEAGAN EVERETT | RB / LB | FR |
| 34 | TRISTEN ODUM | WR / DB | SO |
| 35 | RETT ROBERTSON | Y / DL | FR |
| 36 | COLTON LEDFORD | RB / LB | SR |
| 37 | NATHAN BRYANT | WR / DB | FR |
| 38 | ETHAN MOSLEY | WR / DB | SR |
| 39 | GAVIN MILLER | WR / DB | FR |
| 40 | CAIDEN GROCE | Y / LB | SO |
| 41 | BLAKE MAYNARD | Y / LB | SR |
| 42 | CALEB CHANCE | Y / LB | FR |
| 44 | GAVYN CROWE | RB / LB | FR |
| 46 | CARTER JOLLEY | Y / LB | SR |
| 47 | TRENTON ELLIS | Y / LB | FR |
| 48 | ZANDER YEAGER | Y / LB | SR |
| 50 | LEO VILLANUEVA | OL / DL | FR |
| 51 | VINCENT THOMPSON | OL / DL | FR |
| 52 | TY MASTERS | OL / DL | SR |
| 53 | ASHER PEPPERS | OL / DL | FR |
| 54 | DOMINIC MIDDLETON | OL / DL | SO |
| 55 | MAX DAUGHTREY | OL / DL | JR |
| 56 | OWEN SUTTON | OL / DL | SO |
| 57 | KHALIB EASTER | OL / DL | SO |
| 58 | AJ CHACON | OL / DL | FR |
| 59 | TYLER GARRISON | OL / DL | SO |
| 60 | ELI MORTON | OL / DL | SO |
| 61 | JAXSON SKILES | OL / DL | JR |
| 62 | ANDREW KING | OL / DL | SR |
| 63 | JAKEB MEGARIS | OL / DL | FR |
| 64 | GUNTER MCMILLON | OL / DL | FR |
| 65 | CONNOR MITCHELL | OL / DL | JR |
| 66 | GAUGE RANGE | OL / DL | JR |
| 67 | MIGUEL LEAL | OL / DL | SO |
| 68 | STEVEN CANNON | OL / DL | FR |
| 69 | EAGLE ROSE | OL / DL | JR |
| 71 | SAMUEL RASNAKE | OL / DL | FR |
| 72 | CHASE WILKEY | OL / DL | JR |
| 73 | CADE WHITCOMB | OL / DL | SR |
| 74 | LUCAS HARRISON | OL / DL | FR |
| 75 | HAIDEN FUTRELL | OL / DL | SR |
| 76 | JACOB ESTEP | OL / DL | SO |
| 77 | COLTON THURMAN | OL / DL | SO |
| 78 | JONATHAN BENNETT | OL / DL | SO |
| 79 | MASON PHILLIPS | OL / DL | JR |
| 82 | HAYDEN SHARP | WR / DB | SO |
RCHS 2024 Schedule
| Date | Team Location | Time | Score |
| 8/23 | @ Soddy Daisy | 7:30pm | 42-49 |
| 8/30 | @ Red Bank | 7:00pm | |
| 9/6 | vs Knoxville Central | 7:00pm | |
| 9/13 | @ Howard Tech* | 7:30pm | |
| 9/20 | @ Cleveland | 7:00pm | |
| 9/27 | vs Walker Valley* | 7:00pm | |
| 10/4 | @ McMinn County* | 7:30pm | |
| 10/11 | vs Ooltewah* | 7:00pm | |
| 10/25 | vs Tyner Academy | 7:00pm | |
| 11/1 | vs East Hamilton* | 7:00pm |
Red Bank High School 2024 Roster
| # | Player | Grade | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Davis | Fr. | WR, CB, RB | |
| Tracy Careathers | Fr. | WR, RB, FS | |
| Dominic Gordon | Fr. | WR, FS | |
| 1 | Cayden Loveless | So. | WR, CB, QB |
| 2 | Markee Crutcher | Sr. | RB, CB |
| 3 | Drayden Collier | Sr. | WR, SS |
| 4 | Olivir Merritt | Jr. | RB, OLB |
| 6 | Chaise Tillman | So. | WR, FS |
| 7 | Josh Jackson | So. | QB |
| 10 | Chauncey Odum | Sr. | RB, OLB |
| 12 | Eugene Robinson | Jr. | WR, SS |
| 12 | Shadarron Ragland | Fr. | RB, MLB |
| 13 | Sean Brune | Jr. | QB |
| 14 | Jake Williams | So. | WR, CB |
| 14 | Trent Gilbert | Fr. | WR, CB |
| 15 | Logan McGinnis | Sr. | WR, SS |
| 17 | Mario Willis | So. | QB |
| 18 | Jeffery Hall | So. | WR, CB |
| 21 | Josiah Featherstone | Sr. | OLB, RB |
| 22 | Koan Cruce | So. | SS, WR |
| 24 | Jacolbi Salley | Jr. | RB, CB |
| 25 | David Robinson | Fr. | TE |
| 28 | Jackson Fowler | So. | TE, MLB |
| 28 | TreShawn Derrick | Fr. | TE, DE, MLB |
| 29 | austingoins29 Austin Barnwell | Jr. | MLB |
| 31 | James Owens | Sr. | OLB |
| 33 | jaravous barber | Sr. | TE, DE |
| 36 | Milton Evans lll | So. | TE, MLB |
| 42 | Madoxx Denton | Jr. | G, DT |
| 44 | Joe Thompson | So. | K, P |
| 44 | Calvin Bean | Sr. | WR, OLB |
| 50 | Micah Hardaway | Sr. | DT |
| 53 | Markes Crutcher | Sr. | T, DE |
| 55 | Matthew Fowler | Jr. | C, T |
| 56 | Armando Gallegos | Sr. | T, DT |
| 56 | Dashaun Irvin | So. | T, G |
| 57 | Cruz Miller | Jr. | G, DT |
| 58 | Kamin Travis | So. | C |
| 59 | Kevin Davenport | Sr. | DT, G |
| 60 | Jaevon Mccroskey | Jr. | DT, G, T |
| 61 | Lacarion Nelson | So. | G, DT |
| 63 | Tresean Fluellen | Fr. | WR, CB |
| 71 | Talib Malone | Jr. | G, DT |
| 78 | Cameron Sanders | Sr. | T, DT, DE |
| 79 | Earl Berry | Fr. | WR, RB |
| 81 | Desean Davidson | Jr. | WR, OLB |
| 99 | Brady Dutton | Sr. | WR, C |