Chattanooga Times Free Press

Silverdale Baptist

BY STEPHEN HARGIS / shargis@timesfreepress.com

Head coach: Mike Connor (14-9 here; 16-10 overall)

Returning starters: 8 offensive; 7 defensive

Last year’s record: 9-3 overall, lost in Division II-AA second round

Key players: Brett Rogers (6-1, 185) Sr. QB, Cam Bowen (5-11, 170) Sr. WR, Chase Manning (6-1, 190) Sr. TE/LB, Kyle Shoemaker (6-1, 200) Sr. OL/DL, Sam Tedford (5-11, 215) Sr. OL/ DL, Brody Lamb (6-1, 200) Sr. LB, Turner Junkins (6-0, 175) Sr. DB

Season outlook: On the heels of the program’s first winning season since 2016, the biggest hurdle facing the Seahawks will be the loss of the players who provided 85% of last year’s offensive production.

Every line starter as well as all-state quarterback Brett Rogers are back, however, to give the offense a sturdy foundation. Last season, Rogers accounted for more than 2,000 offensive yards — including 539 in one game.

“We’ll have a running back by committee joining him in the backfield, but it’s definitely a positive to have a guy at quarterback who has proven what he can do,” Connor said. “It’s tough to lose as much production as we did, but we have experience in a lot of other areas, and our numbers have grown from 42 to 65 on the roster, so we have

guys we believe can step up and become what we need.

“But we’ll need to find those playmakers fast. With so many unknowns offensively, our defense must step up and play smart, fundamental football.”

Lamb led the area in tackles last season and was followed on the team list by Junkins and Manning,

who also ranked among the area’s top 10 in tackles.

Early success could build needed momentum for a schedule that is backloaded with home matchups against last season’s co-region champions (Christian Academy of Knoxville and Knoxville Webb). None of the first five opponents had winning records last season,

although rivals Chattanooga Christian and Boyd Buchanan are perceived to be much improved.

“There is good experience returning, and we have worked hard to build a cohesive team,” Connor said. “This is our staff’s third year in charge, so we’re going to begin to find out how well we’ve developed the guys who have been with us.”

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