615 Preps preseason top 10: CPA enters the year at No. 3

The 2025 high school football season kicks off on August 21st. To get ready for the upcoming season, we’re counting down the top 10 teams in the 615 Preps coverage area. CPA is our No. 3 team.

After years of running Division II-AA, CPA’s long run at the top of the division came to an end in 2024 following another run to gold.

Now in Division II-AAA, not only will the Lions have to play a gauntlet of a region schedule, they’ll play the state’s hardest schedule as a whole.

That’s not something that seems to faze Ingle Martin and his group. Instead, they’re ready to embrace that challenge head on.

“We’re looking forward to each game,” Martin said. “You could shut your eyes and point to any team on our schedule—it’ll be a really good one. But we’ve got a lot of kids who are excited for the challenge. It’s a schedule the whole community is ready to watch.”

The slate is loaded with heavyweights, both in-state and beyond. Powerhouses like Oakland, Ravenwood, Pearl-Cohn, MBA, and McCallie await, along with out-of-state juggernauts Archbishop Moeller (OH) and Tupelo (MS)—the latter fresh off an undefeated season.

Simply put, this is a schedule designed to test any team.

Leading the charge is Alabama wide receiver commit Owen Cabell, who returns as one of Middle Tennessee’s premier playmakers. Last season, he racked up 43 catches for 973 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In the backfield, senior Rawls Patterson returns after a monster season where he rushed for 1,593 yards and 18 touchdowns, including 336 yards and four scores in the state championship game.

“Coaches have been relentless in our training,” Patterson said. “All the seniors know this has been the hardest offseason of our four years, and I think that’s exactly what we need for the schedule ahead.”

Martin credits the team’s tone-setting leaders for the offseason progress.

“2025 brings a unique team,” he said. “Our strength coaches have done a great job, and Hezzie Lee is one of the best leaders I’ve had in my 15 years of coaching.”

Lee, a senior defensive leader, echoed that statement.

“We don’t focus on expectations,” he said. “We just come in, do our best every game, and handle the little things. A lot of us have played together for years—we communicate well and always have each other’s backs.”

“The culture we’ve built isn’t just from success—it’s from enjoying football and enjoying each other. We have everything we need right here.”

One new face who’s quickly settled into that culture is Ben Hale, a transfer offensive lineman from MTCS.

“It was hard at first, but it’s been a really fun transition,” Hale said. “We’ve been getting a lot better. I think we’re going to make a great run against the teams we have to play.”