Chattanooga Times Free Press

Dade County

BY LINDSEY YOUNG / lyoung@timesfreepress.com

Head coach: Jeff Poston (9-12 here and overall)

Returning starters: 6 offensive; 6 defensive

Last year’s record: 7-4 overall, lost in GHSA Class AA first round

Key players: Brody Cooper (6-3, 195) Sr. QB, Zeke Wheeler (6-3, 205) Sr. TE, Landon Williams (6-2, 210) Jr. LB, Braylon Sullivan (6-2, 180) Jr. RB, Caleb Massey (5-11, 180) Jr. DB, Eli Kimball (6-3, 215) Jr. DL, Demetrius Walker (5-10, 150) So. WR

Season outlook: Coming off the program’s best regular season since 2010 and first playoff appearance since 2015, Poston knows his team — even competing in a tougher region — has the talent to at least match last year’s success.

What he’s not sure of is if the 2022 Wolverines have the attitude to do it.

“We lost about four from last year who were really physical kids,” said Poston, referring to Austin Sorrelle, Isaac Pangle, Cody Williams and Brodie Swader. “Last year I never doubted we had a mean streak. This year I find myself trying to find it.”

What he can count on is the dual-threat ability of Cooper, who at 6-3 has been clocked at 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash and had nearly 2,000 yards of offense in 2021. He’ll be joined in the backfield by Sullivan, a physical runner, and first-time starter Evan Koger, who may be the team’s fastest player.

Dade’s air weapons are also dangerous. Wheeler returns as a matchup nightmare over the middle, while newcomer Nick Eacret and 4.5 speedster Walker can stretch the field on the outside. Where the offense may set itself apart from several area teams is in the trenches, where Poston hopes most of the attitude will come from.

“We have a nasty offensive line, so I’m excited about that part,” he said. “We’ve got Landon Williams and Zac Counts back at guard, with Andrew Buffington and Gabriel Yarbrough at tackles, and our center, Jordan Castellanos, is strong as a mule.”

A lot of those guys, however, may have to spend time on the defensive front, where only Kimball returns, and the prospect of rotating offensive linemen to that side gives Poston concerns about them staying healthy. “We have the talent to contend, but this team has to have the mindset that it can play with any team on our schedule, which we had last year,” Poston said. “We have to want it.”

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