Morristown East Hurricanes

Last season the Hurricanes finished an impressive 9-3. This season they hope to build off of last years record. There will be many familiar faces running around for Mo East next Saturday (Aug 22.) when the Roadrunners come to town. Running Back Dee Dee Johnson(5'9" 160) and Utility Man Tee Howell (5'9" 165) look to give a one two punch on offense, while their defense looks to rebuild after loosing standout defender, Demarcus Knight. One thing that the Hurricanes have is numbers, and it looks like Mo East will try to two platoon over 90% of their players. Look for Tee Howell to carry the load as he is undoubtably their best athlete and most versitile player.

Sources say that Hamblein County Stadium could reach capacity next weekend when the Roadrunners pull in. The day will kick off at 4:30 when Mo West and Fulton play one another and then the night cap between Austin East and Morristown East should begin around 7:30.

THE RUNDOWN

Head Coach:
Dwayne Hatcher (4th Season)

Returning Starters:
9

Key Players:
Tee Howell (Athlete)
Matt Helton (LB)
Justin Sandifer (WR)

Weakness:
Offensive Line

Ooltewah Owls

Last week the Owls opened up their 2009 campaign with a 36-0 victory over Tyner (Chattanooga). Ooltewah is hoping to continue building off of a 2008 season that took them deep into the state tournament. Against Tyner the defense for the Owls was a dominant force. The offense for Tyner only mangaed to gain 82 yards for the entire game, and was kept from putting any points on the board. Defensively the team is lead by All State defensive end Jacques Smith (6' 3" 240 Sr.) On the offensive side of the ball look for Eric Green and Randall Freeman to handle the majority of the attack from the ground game, and for quarterback Brady Reed to lead the attack through the air.

This will be Ooltewah's first home game of the season so a capacity crowd is to be expected on Friday night. Kickoff between the Roadrunners of Austin East and the Owls of Ooltewah is set for 7:30.

The Rundown

Head Coach:
Benny Monroe

Returning Starters:
11 (5 on offense, 6 on defense)

Key Players:
Jaques Smith 6'3" 240 Senior DE/TE
John Long 5'11" 180 Senior K/P
Darion Delaney 6'1" 195 Senior WR/FS

Weakness:
Inexperience on the offensive line

Fulton Falcons

Friday night the Austin East Roadrunners will host their first game of the season against district foe and rival the Fulton Falcons. The Falcons enter Friday night's game with a reconrd of 2-0 on the young season, with wins at Morristown West (16-13) and at Powell (21-13). Austin East is looking to rebound off of a tough 7-6 loss to Ooltewah High School. Fulton's main offensive attack this season has been found in the running game. Running back Demetrius Thomas has run for 138 and 125 yards in Fulton's first two games, racking up two touchdowns in each game respectively. The passing game has also been consistent thus far, quarterback Ben Winters has completed almost 70% of his passes and has gone for over 100 yards in each game so far. Fulton's defense has played very consisten football, only allowing 13 points in each of the first two games. Penalties have been a major issue for the team though, last week versus Powell, Fulton amassed over 120 yards in penalties alone.

The game Friday night will also continue the long running rivalry between Austin East and Fulton. Last year the Roadrunners were able to pull away late in the game for a 21 to 7 victory. However, the year before Fulton knocked off the Roadrunners twice in the same season. The rivarly has developed into one of the most competitive in Knoxville over the last few years. This will be Austin East's first home game of the season, there is no better way to open up the home schedule then in front of what will hopefully be a capacity crowd on Friday night against Fulton. Come out and support your Roadrunners!

The Rundown

Coach: Buck Coatney

Returning Starters: 15

Key Players: RB Demetrius Thomas (Jr. 5'10" 187)
QB Ben Winters (Jr. 6'1" 193)

Weakness: Special Teams and going against the top defense in the state

Catholic Fighting Irish

The Austin East Roadrunners are back on the road this Friday night to continue their march towards a state championship. This week the Roadrunners take on The Fighting Irish of Knox Catholic. The Fighting Irish are 1-1 on the young season, with a win vs. Rhea County (28-6) and their only loss coming to a very talented and highly ranked Farragut High School (20-12). The Irish have a very potent offense led by Senior quarterback Tyler Williamson (#15). Williamson is throwing for almsot 200 yards per game while managing to complete nearly 70% of his passes. The senior quarterback has also taken care of the ball, throwing two touchdowns and zero interceptions so far. When Williamson throws the ball up look for him to connect with Senior wide receiver Spencer Mackle (#11). Mackle is a big target and has already caught fourteen passes going for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. The run game is led by Senior running back Dorian Cozart (#1). In only two games, Cozart has already racked up over 300 yards rushing on the ground while scoring 4 touchdowns. The defense of the Irish is lead by linebacker Dominic DiGiovanni (#47) and defensive back John McDermott (#36).

Austin East and Knox Catholic have met many times over the past few seasons (the teams were in the same district until this season) including several times in the playoffs. Lat year Catholic managed to pull off two wins against the Roadrunners, including the season ending defeat in the state quarterfinals (Catholic went on to win the state championship). The rivalry has picked up in the last few years with both teams becoming state contenders, and there is no doubt that the same playoff like atmosphere will be there on Friday night when the Fighting Irish of Knox Catholic host the Roadrunners of Austin East.

The Rundown:

Coach: Scott Meadows (1st season as head coach)

Returning Starters: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense)

Key Players:
Dorian Cozart (Sr. RB 5'9" 195)
Tyler Williamson (Sr. QB 6'2" 210)
Spencer Mackle (Sr. WR 6'2" 180)

Weakness: New System

Carter Hornets

Brainerd Panthers

This Friday night, for just the second time this year the Austin East Roadrunners (3-2) will play a game on their home turf. The Roadrunners will be hosting the Panthers of Chattanooga Brainerd (3-1) at 7:30 on Friday night. The Panthers come into the game with a 3-1 mark on the season, dropping their first game last week at the hands of East Ridge (12-7). Before that game, Brainerd posted wins against Walker Valley, East Hamilton and Notre Dame. This will be just the second time that Brainerd has played a game on the road. So far on the year, the Panthers offense is averaging an impressive 32 points per game, while the defense has held its own as well giving up just over 10 points per game. The offense is lead by dual threat quarterback Anthony Broome. Wide receiver Jermain Williams has been a favorite target of Broome all year, and with some impressive size has proved to be a solid receiver. Penalties have been a major thorn in the side of Brainerd thus far in the season. Last week they piled up 14 penalties, including getting a touchdown called back that would have given them the lead very late in the fourth quarter.

The Roadrunners and Panthers have met for the past several years. Last year at Brainerd the Roadrunners won the contest by a score of 34-0, but in years past the game has always been competitive.
Be sure to come out this Friday night to cheer on your Austin East Roadrunners as they battle Chattanooga Brainerd! Last week marked the halfway point of the season, now that Austin East is in the second half of the season every game becomes that much more important. So come out Friday night to support Austin East!

Union County

Gatlinburg-Pittman

Pigeon Forge

Gibbs Eagles