Pioneers Shutout by Polk County

Polk County used a stifling defense to hand East Ridge a 20-0 loss, Friday at Raymond James Stadium.

The loss drops the Pioneers to 0-2 on the young season. East Ridge will try to notch its first win as it hosts East Hamilton next Friday.

A strong ground game allowed Polk to amass almost 300 total yards. Polk County’s defense kept the Pioneers to less than 100 yards total offense on the evening.

Hunter Morgan led the Wildcats with 110 yards on 27 carries.

East Ridge coach Tim James told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that he took responsibility for the loss as he didn’t have his team ready to play the last couple weeks. East Ridge lost its opening game to Stone Memorial. James said the team will work hard to turn things around.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.