Quarterback Jaxton Schmitt was effecient with 11/12 for 82 yards passing against Soddy in the win on Friday 9/12/25.(Photo:GaryBolden)

Eagles Combine Offense, Defense and Turnovers for Win

Soddy Daisy, TN -- 9/12/25: Rhea County opened the game with 21 unanswered points and used 5 turnovers and excellent defense to win 35-13 against Region Rival Soddy. Mason Ford ran for 201 yards on 17 carries for one of the best performances in the area on Friday. On defense Wyatt Mangefrieda had 12 solo tackles, 15 total to lead the defense. Kaiden Rector, Laterrius Donnegan and Austun Fugate each came up with interceptions and Eagle Rose and Landon Hallman came up with fumble recoveries for the Eagles. Aiden Wilkerson had a three touchdown night with 8 carries for 51 yards. Austun Fugate led the Eagles with 6 catches for 67 yards. Trystan Odom had 9 solo tackles and 2 assists and Austun Fugate had 7 solo and 1 assisted tackles on defense.

Rhea County received opening kickoff and Austun Fugate returned to 25-yard line. Mason Ford set the tone early with tough run up to the 38-yard line. Eagles used nice mix of pass and run to move the ball down 30 and from there Ford took the handoff and outraced the edge coverage into the endzone with just over 7 minutes remaining in quarter. Fugate was successful with kick for 7-0 lead.

Wilkerson made nice tackle on Soddy's returner at the 25-yard line. Soddy picked up first down on offsides penalty to move ball to the 37. Another penalty moved the ball across midfield. Quarterback Wood picked up a first down Eagle's 35. Soddy's penalty moved ball back to 43 and a sack by 19,55 moved the ball to the 46. On third and 13 Soddy looked for paydirt, but Kaiden Rector stepped in front of the receiver and picked off the underthrown ball at the 3 with 4:40 left in quarter. Eagles were forced to punt and Soddy began their next drive at the Eagles' 49 yard line.

Soddy picked up a first down but then faced a 4th and 12 at the 38. Ezekiel Romero blew past the blocker and took Wood down at the 38, giving Eagles the ball. Ford found an opening on the right side of the line and took the ball all the way to the Soddy 35. After a penalty gave Eagles a first at the 14, Wilkerson took the handoff and scored a 14-yard touchdown with 9:34 left in 2nd quarter. Fugate made the kick for 14-0 lead.

Soddy brought the kickoff back to the 20 after Fugate's kick went to the goal line. Eagles' defense forced kick from the 28 and Eagles setup on their 15 yard line. Eagles needed one play for the score as Mason Ford broke through the line and rambled 85 yards for the touchdown with 7:04 left in the 2nd quarter. Fugate nailed the kick for 21-0 lead.

Fugate's kick found the end zone and Soddy began next drive on their 20. Trojans went deep and Laterrius Donnegan made the nice over the shoulder interception just across midfield and returned the ball to the Trojan 25-yard line, a return of 26 yards. A bad snap of 4th down cost the Eagles possession as Trojans took over at their own 21 yard line.

Trojans found some momentum as they went to Hollis and Wright in the air for first down throws and picked up another first down on the ground to move the ball into Eagles' territory at 47. Collison had a couple and nice runs and picked up a first down at the 34. Ross to Cobb moved the ball to the 15 and Alexander rambled into end zone for Trojan's touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-7 after the Williams kick with 31 seconds left until halftime. Eagles then took the kickoff, ran a couples of plays and it was halftime.

Soddy took the second half opening kickoff but they dropped the kickoff and Landon Hallman pounced on the gall at the 23 of Soddy. On first play of the possession, Aiden Wilkerson took the direct snap and raced to the endzone to give Eagles 28-7 lead after successful kick with less than a minute gone off the second half clock.

Soddy began next drive at their 20. Soddy moved the ball with Hollis catch moving the ball past midfield. Alexander gave Trojans another first down with nice run to the 29 of Rhea County. Rhea's defense stiffened forcing a 4th and long and Eagle Rose beat his man and ran quarterback to the sideline and Cooper Smith also applied pressure causing a toss-away and Eagles were in business at their own 32-yard line. Schmitt found Fugate for a first, and Ford secured another first down on the 45 of Soddy. Eagles offense stalled and Fugate punted to Soddy at their 15 yard line.

Waters and Alexander picked up first downs for Soddy to move into Eagle's territory at 41. Ross found Hollis and Trojans moved ball to 23 for another first down. A nice Alexander run to the 14 was nullified by penalty and ball moved back to 28. Fugate intercepted the thrown to the endzone to end the drive and put Eagles in business at their own 20 but Eagles gave it back first play with fumble, recovered by Collison at Rhea County's 30-yard line. An interference call in end zone moved the Trojans to the Rhea 12. Ross setup first and goal at the 2 and Collison found the end zone for 13th Soddy point, but kick was no good and score remained 28-13.

Rhea County brought kick back to 23. On first play Schmitt rolled out and Fugate broke free and Schmitt made nice sideline laser that Fugate hauled in at the Trojans 45. Eagles moved the ball to the 23 and then 3 straight Wilkerson direct snap runs put Eagles into endzone, with last run 7 yards in length. Fugate finished with a perfect 5 for 5 night on kicks for the 35-13 lead with 3 minutes remaining.

Soddy moved the ball down to the Rhea 25, but on a completed pass, Donnegan forced the reviver to lose the ball and a hustling Eagle Rose arrived it time to catch the loose air ball and secure possession before sliding out of bounds giving Rhea their last possession of the game at the 23. Eagles ran a couple of plays and secured the 35-13 win over Soddy to even up Harvey's record to 1-1 vs the Trojans.

I asked Coach Harvey about the significance of the win. Harvey said, "I was excited for our guys to get another region win on the road. Our guys wanted that one with us dropping it last year to start the year and watching them storm the field and their admin direct the band. Its always a big deal to win region games but even more important with a 7 team region."

How would you summarize Jaxton Schmitt's progress through 4 games?

"He has matured quite a bit the last few weeks. Playing QB is hard and he has gained a ton of confidence the last few weeks. You will seem him to continue to get better each and every week."

How would you characterize Mason Ford and his impact on this year's team?

"He's a guy that selfless when it comes to playing the game. Not only is he a tremendious athlete and running back, but a great teammate. He is one of our most physical blockers and you do not get that very often out of a guy who carries the ball like he does."

 On defense Wyatt Magnefrida is ascending.  Talk about his progress this year?

"Wyatt ended Friday night with his best game at 12 solo tackles and 2 assist. He is another guy that it is starting to click and will be fun to watch as the year goes on."

At 4-0, some teams might get a little overconfident.  How does the staff keep the players eyes on the task week by week?

"We have played two region games with Ooltewah and Soddy. Our guys have goals we want to reach and they know to celebrate the moment but come Monday it is time to turn the page and focus on the next game in front of them. Our guys will always be chasing what is next and not living in the past. We are beyond proud of our guys for being 4-0 but if they continue to progress and gain confidence, there will be bigger opportunities ahead."