Staff Photo by D. Patrick Harding Ooltewah's Jaquez Smith, 36, gets into the backfield and brings down Soddy's quarterback, Scott Parrott, 3, during the first quarter of the Class 5A state football playoff.

Friday’s Class 5A high school football second-round playoff game between Soddy-Daisy and Ooltewah didn’t at all resemble the game the teams played against each other two weeks ago.

They combined for 76 points on Halloween night. The defenses dominated this time as Ooltewah hosted and defeated Soddy-Daisy again, 17-6.

Ooltewah (10-1) will host Farragut next week in a quarterfinal in another rematch of Region 2 teams.

The Owls have relied heavily on running back Matthew Polk all year. His season-low in rushing is 46 yards, which came in their loss at Maplewood.

Polk ended with 123 yards on 21 carries Friday, but the Trojans had limited him to 51 on his first 17 rushes. He broke loose on a 69-yard run near the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. John Long’s 29-yard field goal with 3:03 left put Soddy-Daisy down by two scores.

“We found a play we could run,” Ooltewah coach Benny Monroe said. “They were doing some strange things in there defensively, but that’s to their credit. We’ll take the win, though.”

Long has been a key contributor all season for Ooltewah and was again Friday. In addition to making his two extra points, one from 35 yards after a penalty, he had a 50-yard punt into the wind late in the second quarter and put one of his kickoffs through the uprights to the delight of several of his teammates.

“That’s probably the happiest kick I’ve ever had in high school,” Long said.

Long came into the game 9-for-9 on field goals this year. The junior’s run of perfection ended when he missed from 52 yards with 5:59 to go in the third quarter.

“It kind of surprised me when he missed that 52-yarder,” Monroe said. “It had plenty of distance. It kind of drifted off to the left a little bit. We expect him to play well. He’s a three-year starter. He was a big factor with his punting and kicking.”

Unlike the previous meeting, Soddy-Daisy was the team with the ball throughout most of the rematch. They ran 62 plays to Ooltewah’s 38.

The Owls’ first touchdown came on a play that looked as if it didn’t go according to plan. Their second didn’t go according to Soddy-Daisy’s plan.

The first was a pass in the flat from Brady Reed to Polk, who seemed to be a safety valve. Thanks to a key block from Jacques Smith, the play covered 53 yards.

The score that made it 14-6 was a 66-yard kickoff return by Josh Harrison.

“We were hoping for a fair catch or a 2-yard return, but he took off to the outside and turned the corner and outran us,” Soddy-Daisy coach E.K. Slaughter said.

Ooltewah sacked Trojans quarterback Scott Parrott seven times, but he got off 38 throws and completed 25 for 287 yards. Craig Smith and Donavan Barnes each topped 100 yards receiving.

“We threw that many times because we couldn’t run the ball,” Slaughter said. “It wasn’t our offensive line’s fault, or our running back’s fault. They’re big, strong and physical and they change up what they do up front.”

Soddy-Daisy, which was 2-8 last year, ended its season 8-4.

“I’m not thinking about our season right now,” Slaughter said. “I’m thinking about these seniors and how much it matters what they become 10 years from now. We’ll forget the score. We’ll forget the record. These kids are what we’ll remember.”

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