Division I Prospects Abound at Westwood, Knoxville West

The Top Prospects List, now known simply as ‘The List’, has grown to over 200 high school football players in its infancy. By the time he is finished, The Guru will build that list to 1,000 players on MurphyFair.com. There is nothing else like it in the state of Tennessee.

Each year as the list builds from March to July, its fun to learn which coaches are realistic in the ability of their players and which coaches think their guys are better than they actually are.

I’ll leave it to your descretion to decide which coaches fall on which side of that spectrum. In fact, its always enjoyable at the end of the year to go back to the list and see how close players were accurately judged as far as talent goes.

Two schools that jump out as far as listing a significant number of Division I prospects so far this year are Westwood and Knoxville West.

Westwood has returned its survey to Murphy, and on it are five players who are projected to play on Saturdays at the highest level.

Running back Randolph Zieh is 6′ 200 lb. and has already made a name for himself last year as a sophomore. Twin brother Guei Zieh is listed as a defensive back at 5-10 175 lb.

Wide receiver Nakia Cathey is a 5-9, 175 speedster, who along with the Ziehs is only a junior. Senior quarterback Jerome Gilkey III is 6-1, 185 and classmate linebacker Jereme Glass is solid at 6-2, 225.

Those five Division I talents headline a list of nine total prospects submitted by Westwood head coach Anthony Jones. He believes his Longhorns, who won District 16-A last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 2A playoffs, are on the verge of contending for a state championship.

Knoxville West has been making significant moves in the Class 5A playoffs since realignment happened three years ago.They barely lost to Powell in the semifinals last year, and this could be the year that Scott Cummings and his Rebels push through to Cookeville.

Three Division I prospects are listed by Coach Cummings, led by 6-1, 195 senior free safety Ryan Francis. His YouTube highlight video is featured right now on MurphyFair;com, and watching it will give you an appreciation of his considerable abilities.

Junior linebacker Cody Underwood is 6-1, 205, while senior linebacker Zack Stuart stands 6-3, 200 pounds. Those three defensive stalwarts are joined by four more players with chances to play on Saturdays, three of them on the defensive side of the ball. The Rebels should have a great defense this season.

As we watch the 2012 season unfold we will keep our eyes on Westwood and Knoxville West. Both are expected to be competing when the calendar begins approaching December.

CAK Early Top Prospects Leader

Ah yes. The smell of spring football is in the air. In five months we will kick off the 2012 high school football season. The countdown is on.

For Murphy Fair, the Guru of high school football in the state of Tennessee, spring means the beginning of the creation of the coming season’s Tennessee High School Football magazine.

The first step in that process is when Murphy begins to receive surveys from head football coaches across the state. Every head coach in the state was recently sent a survey, which upon its return will enter their team in Murphy’s 2012 magazine. If they don’t return the survey then they don’t get in the magazine.

But thankfully most do, and one of the items that Murphy asks them to include is a list of their top college prospects. The coaches are asked to guess as to what level of college football each prospect is expected to advance to, and for the most part history says the coaches are very knowledgeable in their ability to gauge the potential of their players.

The list, which will grow to around 1,000 players by July, is the only list of its kind in Tennessee, and is exclusive to MurphyFair.com. The low subscription price of $15 per year is easily justified by the top prospects list alone, not to mention the coaching changes list, exclusive statewide individual statistics lists during the season, previews and reviews by Murphy, and a whole lot more. The site is the best of its kind in our state.

The top prospects list already has almost 100 players in it, and without question the early leader in both quantity and quality is defending Class 3A state champion Christian Academy of Knoxville. The Warriors list eight top prospects, and Warrior head coach Rusty Bradley believes four of them can play at the Division I level on Saturdays.

Based on the performance of the offense in 2011 there is no reason to doubt Coach Bradley’s assessment. Starting with QB Charlie High, who threw for more yards in a single season than any player in state history, and two of his top receivers who also entered the all-time record book, the Warriors are loaded on the offensive side of the ball.

Josh Smith and Davis Howell will catch a lot of footballs for a bunch of yards this season, especially with players such as 6-5, 300 lb. junior Patrick Dalton, 6-5, 290 lb. senior Brett Kendrick, and 6-3, 260 lb. senior Alec North blocking on the offensive line; the Warriors should be able to provide good protection for High to once again pick defenses apart.

Speaking of defense, CAK also lists a pair of linebackers as top prospects, although they aren’t expected to play on the Division I level. L. J. Goodridge and Camden Winzenburg are both around 5-11, 200 lb. with good speed who can hit.

As the list progresses through the summer there will schools that send in more names than CAK. There might even be schools listing more than four Division I prospects. But considering the kind of numbers that the Warriors offense put up last year and the players they have returning, their might not be another team with as much quality as this CAK bunch has.

Sometimes Things Happen That Make You Wonder

As we roll into February we begin to see stories taking shape in communities across our state in respect to their high school football coaches. As of today, Murphy Fair’s Tennessee High School Football website lists 39 schools that have hired, or are in the process of hiring, head coaches. That’s considerably down from the over 50 last February, or the over 60 the previous winter.

It’s a big deal when schools change coaches, especially when the outgoing coach has had success.

Such is the case at Powell, where Matt Lowe suddenly resigned on the morning of Feb. 3. Matt played at Powell in the mid-90s and was outstanding. During his six years there he was 49-23, including a runner-up finish in last year’s Class 5A BlueCross Bowl. That heartbreaking 17-14 loss to Henry County turns out to be his last at Powell.

Despite the loss of some great players to graduation, including the state’s all time single season rushing leader DyShawn Mobley, the Panthers look to be very competitive in the coming season. It’s difficult to understand how he could step down after having so much success in his hometown.

I’m sure the folks surrounding the Powell program, including assistant coaches, players and families, supporters and booster clubs, and administration are all shocked by the sudden departure.

Now the search will begin for a replacement, and I’m predicting there will not be a heavy flow of applications. Not because it isn’t a good job, but because it will be almost impossible to duplicate the success of Lowe, and even if you do you still won’t be a ‘hometown hero’.

Brentwood Academy is another interesting head coach development. The announcement of Cody White as head coach and athletic director included the news that White was offered the job in 2006, but turned it down as Ralph Potter was hired from McCallie.

White was both the head coach and athletic director in Denison, Texas, before agreeing this week to make the move to Brentwood. Obviously the job is one of the state’s best, with plenty of resources and a proud tradition of state championships, although none during the last decade.

Interestingly, White’s Denison team was a combined 5-15 over last two seasons after enjoying great success, including a combined 25-3, during his second and third years. That’s a pretty big drop in success pretty quick, which tells me that the Brentwood Academy administration must really like what they see.

I’ve had the pleasure of broadcasting a number of games from Stratford’s stadium during my 28 years covering high school football, and although crowds were never large, the folks who were the backbone of the program support it intensely.

Aaron Pitts is the man tabbed to replace Jason Smith in Spartan country, and he will have his hands full against tough competition in District 10-AA. CPA, Maplewood, and David Libscomb are teams Stratford has to beat to win a district championship.

Programs such as Columbia, Franklin, Gallatin, and Austin-East are proven winners year after year. The consistent talent level shows that state titles can, and have been, won at those schools. As each goes through the coaching search process, it has to be difficult on those who support it as they wait to find out who the boss is.

The quality of open head coaching slots within Tennessee is extremely high, with those four heading the list. There are smaller schools, who haven’t been near as successful, also going through the challenges of hiring a new head football coach.

Schools such as Tellico Plains, Richland, and Cannon County are not exactly juggernauts in high school football, but they are communities that support their programs and want to win. They are in the process of making hires as well, and my hope is that each of them makes a great hire who can motivate the kids and enjoys success. They deserve it.

Tullahoma Delivers Knockout Blow to Lawrence County

For the second consecutive week the Tullahoma Wildcats activated the TSSAA mercy clock on their first possession of the second half and cruised to a 41-14 victory over Lawrence County at Hendrix-Staggs Stadium in Lawrenceburg Friday night.

With the win the ‘Cats (8-2, 4-1) now turn their attention to the TSSAA state football playoffs. Tullahoma is the third seed in Quad 2 of the Class 5A playoff bracket, and will host sixth-seed Centennial (6-4, 2-3), from a very tough District 11-AAA, this Friday night at 7pm at Wilkins Stadium. The broadcast will begin at 6pm on Fantasy 101.5, FantasyRadio.com, and Charter channel six.

“I continue to be very proud of the seniors on this team and their leadership in helping us finish the season strong heading into the playoffs,” said THS head coach John Olive on the field following the game. “All season my question to them has been do you want to make a playoff appearance or a playoff run. We will start finding that out next week.”

Centennial ended the regular season with a 42-14 rout of Hillsboro. The Cougars have won four games in a row, including a 35-7 shellacking of Shelbyville last week. Centennial beat District 12-AAA champion Antioch 31-8 earlier this season and also has wins over Nashville Overton, Wilson Central, Cane Ridge, and Ravenwood.

Friday’s winner will advance to the second round of the playoffs and face the winner of #7 Lenoir City (5-5) at #2 Columbia (9-1). Other opening games in Quad 2 of Class 5A are #8 Anderson County (5-5) at #1 Powell (10-0) and #5 Shelbyville (7-3) at #4 Ooltwah (7-3).

Tullahoma exhibited its dominance over Lawrence County on its first possession following a failed onside kick attempt, and didn’t let up until it had a 41-0 lead with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. Lawrence Co. did not have a first down until it faked a punt with eight minutes left in the first half trailing 21-0.

The Wildcats once again rode a number of big plays to their big lead. Trey Burks returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Jared Davis connected with Austin Creasman for an 18-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.

Davis, who needed only seven completions in 12 attempts to gain 239 yards and four touchdowns, connected with Zane Price from 42 yards away to give the Wildcats a 27-0 lead with 3:56 left in the half.

On its final possession before the intermission, Davis found Shaquille Harris in the middle of the field and Harris outran the Lawrence County secondary for an 87-yard score. The final score came in the third when Davis found Ryan Lawson in the middle of the field and Lawson exploded into the end zone for a 33-yard score.

Lawrence County’s two late touchdowns came against Tullahoma defensive reserves and were helped by the home team recovering two consecutive onside kicks.

Tullahoma’s offense continued its season-long pattern of scoring on quick strikes and big plays as opposed to sustained offensive drives. The ‘Cats only ran 36 plays while gaining 400 yards total offense, its second straight week averaging more than 10 yards per play.

The THS first-team defense tossed its second straight shutout, with over half of Lawrence County’s 281 total yards coming in the fourth quarter. Tullahoma did not punt in the contest and held Lawrence County four different times on fourth down.

Tullahoma Uses Big Plays to Blitz Warren County

The Tullahoma Wildcats scored on their first four possessions, including a game-opening 77-yard kickoff return by Montrell Berry and a 77-yard run from scrimmage by Jared Davis; cruising to a 42-0 victory over Warren County on senior night at Wilkins Stadium. Both Berry and Davis are part of this year’s upper class.

The victory keeps the ‘Cats (7-2, 3-1), who have already clinched second place in District 8-AAA and a TSSAA playoff berth, in prime position to be a top-two seed in quadrant two of the Class 5A playoffs when they begin the first weekend in November. Tullahoma concludes the regular season next week at Lawrence County.

“Once again I am just extremely proud of the seniors on this football team and the leadership they are providing,” said Tullahoma coach John Olive on the field after the game. Olive is now 138-75 in his 19th season at Tullahoma and 162-90 as a head coach.

“It is always good to get a bunch of players in the game,” continued Olive. “Every varsity player got on the field tonight and I’m happy for them. It’s tough to get everybody in when that mercy clock is running because it eats up the game so quickly, but we got them all in.”

The TSSAA mercy clock rule says when one team leads by 35 points or more in the second half, the clock only stops for timeouts and scores. Tullahoma activated that clock with 9:27 left in the third quarter, and the game ended in a near-record time of only two hours.

With the loss the Pioneers (0-3, 0-9) continue a disappointing season that has seen them rarely be competitive. They have a chance to play spoiler for White County this Friday though, as the Warriors could secure a playoff spot with a win. A loss to Warren County would almost surely end any postseason dreams White County has.

Knowing their playoff spot is secure and coming off an emotional win over Shelbyville last week, some thought the ‘Cats might come out flat on Friday. They did anything but that. After honoring the 18 seniors on this 2011 squad, the home team went right to work.

Berry, who rushed for 96 yards on only nine carries, took only 15 seconds to race past the Pioneer kickoff coverage team on the opening kickoff, and after Joseph Burke kicked the PAT the Wildcats had a 7-0 lead. The domination was just beginning.

Warren County gained two yards on its first possession, and after a short punt the Tullahoma offense was set up at the Pioneers’ 42-yard line. Trey Burks carried four times for 26 yards, and Davis hit Shaquille Harris and Austin Creasman with seven-yard passes before finishing the eight-play, four-minute drive with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal at the one. Burke, who was a perfect six-for-six on the night, split the uprights and the lead was 14-0 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.

An illegal procedure penalty killed the visitors’ next opportunity, squandering one of three outstanding kickoff returns by Warren County’s best player, sophomore D’Andre League. After a Pioneer punt of only seven yards, the home team began its third drive at its 25-yard line.

Burks, who had his second consecutive 100-yard rushing night, gaining 101 in only 10 carries, began the drive with a 35-yard gallop. After a pair of Tullahoma penalties, Davis found Harris with a 26-yard strike. On the next play Berry burst through the defense for 24 yards and scored his second touchdown of the quarter. Burke’s kicked it through and the lead was 21-0 with 1:43 left in the opening quarter.

Still without a first down, the Pioneers committed two more penalties on their next possession and punted again. After a penalty of its own, Tullahoma put the ball in the hands of its senior quarterback, and Davis simply outran the entire Warren County team for a 77-yard touchdown, with Burke’s kick giving the ‘Cats a 28-0 lead with 11:43 left in the half. Davis completed all four of his pass attempts for 43 yards and carried the ball three times for 85 yards and two scores.

The Pioneers finally picked up a first down on their next possession, three in fact, before the Wildcat defense stiffened and the two teams exchanged punts. THS junior linebacker Dalton Cox recovered a Warren County fumble with 1:17 left in the half.

Olive then did something he hasn’t done all season, swapping Harris and Davis on the field with Harris at quarterback and Davis as a flanker. Harris completed a 30-yard pass to Creasman as the half expired, his only completion and the final pass the Wildcats would throw, and the two teams entered the locker room with Tullahoma leading 28-0.

The second half began much like the first, with Tullahoma forcing a punt on the visitors’ first possession. After Harris, who had 95 yards total offense on three rushes, three catches, and the one pass, knifed through the defense for 16 yards, Davis ran for six before Berry showed his quickest burst of the season, scoring from 24 yards away. Burke set the mercy clock in motion with his successful PAT early in the third quarter.

Tullahoma’s final score came on its next possession, with Harris engineering a seven-play, 65-yard drive that consumed almost five minutes. Berry had runs of 12, 14, and 17 yards, and Harris finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. With 29 second remaining in the third quarter the scoring was completed.

The Wildcats rushed for 329 yards as a team, their second consecutive 300-yard rushing performance. As impressive was their 400 yards total offense on only 37 plays, averaging more than 10 yards every play. That will win a lot of football games. Warren County was held to only 179 yards total offense.

It’s Football Time in Tennessee

With one less week of practice during the 2011 preseason, the high school football season is suddenly here. I can’t remember another season when the time between the first practice in pads and the first game seemed so short. Oh wait, there has never been a time when the preseason was 19 days. That is just too short.

Others have given you all the teams, players, coaching records, and stats. If you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Murphy Fair’s Tennessee High School Football magazine, there is still time. Just go to the web site and check retail outlets. If you can’t find one is stores, ask members of your school’s booster club. Many schools use Murphy’s magazine as a fundraiser. If you can’t find one anywhere else, simply send Murphy a check and he’ll send you a magazine.

So I want use this space to give you endless player information, but I will take a stab at picking the teams I believe have the best chance to win state championships in each classification.

I’m not about to pick against Maryville after watching their comeback victory over Smyrna in last year’s Class 6A final. The Rebels never panicked when they trailed, and when their opportunity came to make the defining play they made it. It’s pretty easy to predict that a team from District 7-AAA will play in the 6A final. The question is which one. This year I think Blackman has a real chance.

Columbia is a popular choice to repeat as Class 5A champ. The Lions did lose Tra’Darius Goff, one of the truly great players in 2010, but they have a whole lot of really good players coming back. After two years of all-midstate finals in 5A, I’m gonna say Ridgeway ends the domination and captures the 5A title.

Mitchell has moved from 5A to 4A, and if Mitchell was to play Signal Mountain in Cookeville for the Class 4A title it wouldn’t surprise me. But I think its too tough for a team to move up two classifications in one season and play for the title. Giles County on the other hand could be just the team to face Mitchell, providing the brackets work out right. Unfortunately for Signal Mountain and Giles County, I think its defending champ Greeneville that battles Mitchell in Cookeville.

In Class 3A its Alcoa.

In Class 2A I think Trousdale County returns to the throne, and in 1A don’t be surprised if Huntingdon or Wayne County comes out of the west for face defending champion South Pittsburg. The Pirates lost of lot of talent, but they just know how to win the big games.

As long as Corn Elder is at Ensworth, I’m picking them to win football and basketball titles for a second consecutive season in Division II-AA. He is a really special player and if you haven’t seen him play make it a point in 2011. I’ll also go with the defending champion in Division I-AA. Knoxville Webb has built a powerhouse and I don’t think anybody brings them down this year.

I guess its easy to pick defending champions to repeat in five of the eight classifications, but I honestly think South Pittsburgh, Alcoa, Maryville, Ensworth, and Knoxville Webb have great opportunities to hoist the gold ball again.

Who Makes the Biggest Difference?

The calendar has advanced into April and for the MurphyFair.com team that means offseason work begins to kick into high gear.

I hope you will follow me on Facebook. While you are at it we ask you to follow MurphyFair.com on Facebook as well.

For Murphy Fair himself, he mailed out over three hundred surveys a month ago and is now receiving them sometimes a dozen a day. As he gets them he writes the team story for the magazine and adds the top prospects to his list.

He is also meeting with coaches, potential advertisers, and industry insiders consistently, heading towards the usual late June/early July publish date of his Tennessee High School Football magazine.

On the website side I have updated the state record section and am featuring the latest in coaching moves and top prospects list. Teams that are changing classification have been updated, and that is where I want to park my brain for just a moment.

You can see all the teams that have changed classification and/or districts in the Standings section of MurphyFair.com.

Perhaps the team that stands out most is defending Class 2A champion Signal Mountain. Bill Price’s team, after winning the title in only its second year of competition, moves up to Class 4A.

The placement of Signal Mountain into District 7-AA is a good fit, unless your one of the five other teams in that district. Notre Dame is the only other 4A team in the district, and none of the four 3A teams has been a serious title contender recently.

However, the big picture shows that teams like defending 4A champion Greeneville, Fulton, and Red Bank will have a new contender coming out of the east side of the state come playoff time.

I think the team move that falls just behind the Signal Mountain move as far as impact goes might also take place in Class 4A, but in the west, where Mitchell is not part of District 16-AA.

Mitchell played in the old Class 4A title game a few years ago, but has not quite been able to make a strong advancement in the new Class 5A playoffs.

I think their move back to Class 4A makes them a strong contender to get to Cookeville in the next few years. In fact, it might not be too outlandish to predict that newcomers Signal Mountain and Mitchell could play for the title in their first year in 4A. I’m not predicting it, but it could happen.

Ooltewah’s move into Class 5A is significant because the Owls, somewhat like Mitchell, have been a strong 6A team in recent years but have not been able to put together a significant playoff run.

With its move to 5A, Ooltewah immediately gives strength to the eastern part of the state in that class, joining teams like Knoxville West, Powell, Tennessee, Knoxville Catholic, and Anderson County as favorites to advance in November.

Ooltewah will play in a tough District 5-AAA, alongside 6A programs such as Bradley Central and McMinn County, and 5A Cleveland. Can Ooltewah end the domination of middle Tennessee in Class 5A over the last two years? We shall see.

Offseason Wheels Starting to Turn

We are two weeks removed from BlueCross Bowl weekend in Cookeville and the landscape is already beginning to evolve towards the 2011 season kickoff. Coaches are being hired and fired, many schedules are yet to be announced, and multiple teams will change classifications and districts.

Former Smyrna assistant Scot Keasler will begin the program at brand new Summit High School in Spring Hill. Keasler’s defenses played for three state titles in his five years, winning two. It is the 36-year olds first head coaching opportunity.

Summit will have only freshmen and sophomores when it opens next fall and will play its first full varsity schedule in 2012. The Spartans will be classified as 4A and will land in District 12-AA.

A year after returning to Lincoln Co. as an assistant under Louis Thompson, former Falcons player Don Thomas has been named the head coach in Fayetteville.

This comes a week after Giles Co. head coach David O’Connor resigned to go to Lincoln Co., only to change his mind and return to Pulaski 48 hours later. The two teams are scheduled to meet on the gridiron during the next two seasons, which should make for some exciting high school football theater.

It appears Eddie Nunley has stepped down at Coffee County, along with Athletic Director Dale Alsup. The Red Raiders won District 6-AAA last year despite an overall record of 3-7. Nunley is a solid coach and will easily land another coaching job if that is what he seeks.

We continue to get stories from across the state outlining how difficult it is for some schools to put together full schedules for the 2011-2012 cycle. With so many small districts, many teams are forced to find five and six non-district contests and with the emphasis on wins in playoff selection nobody wants to play the top teams.

I seldom speak about TSSAA matters, simply because I know that they know a lot more than I know, but I do have a suggestion that wouldn’t change the playoffs at all, in fact I think it would make them more exciting.

Using AAA as an example, there were 114 teams in the classification last year. Instead of 16 districts why don’t we create maybe 10-11 conferences, each with two divisions. Conferences could have anywhere from eight to twelve teams depending on how the geography fits.

For the most part teams would then have eight, nine, or maybe even 10 conference games to fill their schedules. They would seldom face non-conference opponents until the playoffs, which would limit the significant amount of rematches in playoff later rounds.

The whole concept of saving on travel that helped spearhead the move to the ‘Z’ plan has not worked out. It may have in the playoffs the first two rounds, but if anything travel in the regular season and the third and fourth round of the playoffs has increased.

An example of a good conference would be combining districts 8-AAA and 6-AAA. That would be 11 teams in two divisions, north and south, and the farthest drive would be from Columbia and Lawrenceburg to Cookeville and Crossville.

The top two teams in each division would automatically be in the playoffs, with the rest of the slots filled by the wildcard system, which I think worked very well this past season. Each team would play all other teams in its division every season, but not necessarily play all teams in the other division every year.

The best part of this plan is it determines much of the schedule for all teams and eliminates anybody having to find five or six non-district games. It also keeps teams from playing multiple contests against significantly-lower classified opponents, which would then keep weaker teams at the bottom of division standings instead of allowing them to win their districts and advance to the playoffs with 3-7 records. I’m just saying.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we will be back on the high school football trail in 2011. Be good to each other.

We are Live in Cookeville

Knoxville Webb completes its first undefeated championship season with a 42-7 win over St. George’s in the Division II-A BlueCross Bowl.

Baylor and Ensworth are now on the field warming up.

This will be the last blog from here for the weekend. I just can’t keep up three different blogs, so to follow me the rest of the weekend you need to follow me on either Facebook or Twitter.

Webb is trying to close out its first undefeated state championship season. The Blance brothers are really good. Great interception in the end zone by Webb.

Gumbo being served in the media tent. These people are doing a great job with this event.

St. George’s good start to the second half. They still trail 28-7 but at least they are on the board.

Knoxville Webb leads St. George’s 28-0 at the half. I just learned that i will be doing the color commentary tomorrow night for the Columbia-Hendersonville game on the TSSAA radio network. Sometime the right place at the right time actually happens.

Webb increases its lead to 21-0 halfway through 2nd quarter. I don’t see St. George’s coming back in this one.

Webb leads St. George’s 14-0 after one quarter. It is really cold in Cookeville.

Knoxville Webb jumps on top 7-0 using half the first quarter for an 80 yard TD drive.

The MurphyFair.com crew is in Cookeville and ready for the kickoff of the opening BlueCross Bowl contest between Knoxville Webb and St. George’s. Only a few hundred folks are in the stands but you can feel the excitement.

I may have an opportunity to do the color commentary on Friday night’s Class 5A title game. Those who assign folks to do games have an opening there and I may have been at the right place at the right time. i am optimistic.

We are 15 minutes from kickoff. Be sure and refresh your browser for fresh content.

Where are the Quartefinal Upsets

Each year when we reach the third round of the playoffs we generally have the best teams left. That’s what playing another half a season in the postseason is designed to do; weed out the pretenders.

That dynamic makes it increasingly difficult to pick out upsets as we advance in rounds and decrease the number of participants.

So are there upsets left to happen, or are we destined to have favorites play for BlueCross Bowl titles during the first weekend in December?

In Class 6A last week I felt Dobyns-Bennett was sure to go down to Bearden, and they did despite forcing the game into overtime.

Germantown perhaps has been the biggest surprise in 6A, first taking down No. 2 seed Brighton and then knocking off Collierville. The Red Devils are the only remaining No. 7 seed in any classification, so to this point they are the premier Cinderella story. I think they have a great shot to continue the magic this week at Whitehaven.

I’m not fully committed to the upset pick, but it wouldn’t surprise me. The toughest call in 6A is the third quadrant matchup between Smyrna and Blackman. Can the Bulldog defense slow I’Tavius Mathers enough?

Class 5A features one of the two third-round battle of unbeatens as Ridgeway and Jackson Northside square off in the fourth quadrant.

Ridgeway gets to host because of receiving the top seed, but I like North side to roll into Memphis and get the win.

The state’s only battle between five and six seeds is also found in Class 5A with Hendersonville’s stunning upset of Henry Co. and Northeast’s win over Clarksville. Commando fans now get an unexpected home game and I look for Hendersonville to advance to the semifinals with a great chance to beat the Ridgeway/North Side winner on the road.

Kingsbury is the surprise of Class 4A as the No. 6 seed in the west quadrant. Their win over Ripley may not have stunned folks, but I like their chances at Trezevant this week. Otherwise 4A looks pretty predictable.

3A. Alcoa. One upset watch is in the third quadrant, where Pearl-Cohn is playing its best football as a No. 3 seed and has a great chance to beat Goodpasture on the road this week. I will jump on that upset pick.

Classes 2A and 1A have gone according to script with one and two seeds following their first-round byes with victories in round two.

Third-seed Copper Basin’s win over Sunbright is the only ‘upset’ in 1A, and few would consider that a true upset.

Same thing in 2A, where fourth seed Boyd-Buchanan beat Hampton. Watch for Boyd to continue its march to the semifinals by beating Wartburg this week.

To me there are three ‘Games of the Week’ this week, and one is in Class 2A where Signal Mountain travels to Trousdale Co. These have been the two top-ranked teams the entire season.

There other two top matchups are the battle of unbeatens in Class 5A and the District 7-AAA rematch between Smyrna and Blackman in 6A.