TONIGHT’S AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL MATCHUPS
BAYLOR RED RAIDERS (3-4, 1-2) MCCALLIE BLUE TORNADO (7-1, 3-1) AT
Storyline: The city and Division II-AAA East/Middle Region rivals match up again. McCallie has won the past two meetings (by an average of 31 points) and three of the past four after Baylor had won six straight in the series. The last time the game was won by single digits was Baylor’s two-point win in 2012. Since then, the average margin has been nearly 30 points. The Blue Tornado occupy the top spot in the DII-AAA poll and are coming off a huge upset of then-No. 1 Brentwood Academy last week, setting themselves up to earn the second seed in the state playoffs — and possibly even the top seed should BA defeat Montgomery Bell Academy next Friday. Dual-threat QB DeAngelo Hardy ran for 211 yards and a touchdown and also threw a touchdown pass in last week’s win, and the junior has nearly 1,800 total yards this season. Riley Jenne and Noah Martin are Baylor’s tackles leaders, and the Red Raiders’ Seth Johnson and Thomas Latimer have six tackles for loss apiece.
SOUTH PITTSBURG PIRATES (7-0, 2-0) WHITWELL TIGERS (7-0, 2-0) AT
Storyline: Aside from county bragging rights, the Region 3-1A championship will be decided by the outcome. Whitwell’s only two losses last season came to the Pirates, including a regular-season heartbreaker in which the Tigers were stopped on fourth down inside the Pirates’ 5-yard line. South Pittsburg has won 28 straight in the series. This season, the Pirates have shut out five of their seven opponents, including each of the past three, and have given up just 13 points in all. Whitwell has been held to fewer than 41 points only once this season. Tigers QB Warner Ashworth has 1,404 yards of total offense and 19 TDs, and fellow senior RB Josh Wingo has rushed for 823 yards and averaged 10.8 yards per carry. Pirates junior Ronto Tipton has picked off four passes and leads the team with 534 rushing yards and nine TDs.
RED BANK LIONS (6-0, 3-0) BRAINERD PANTHERS (3-4, 2-1) AT
Storyline: With just one region game remaining after tonight, Red Bank can lock up the 3-3A title with a win. Brainerd would create a three-way tie atop the region with an upset. The Lions’ offense has really hit its stride over the past four games, averaging 54 points in wins over two region foes and two other teams from larger classifications. The Lions’ margin of victory during that stretch has been 47 points. Versatile senior Calvin Jackson has 540 total yards and 11 TDs, while junior QB Maddox Wilkey ranks among the area’s passing leaders with 1,013 yards and 12 TDs. The Panthers, who had last week off, will try to snap a two-game losing streak. Brainerd led Red Bank in the fourth quarter of last year’s meeting before falling.
OOLTEWAH OWLS (6-1, 3-0) MARYVILLE REBELS (6-1, 3-0) AT
Storyline: The top seed in Region 2-6A will be decided as the unranked Owls face the top-ranked Rebels, last year’s state champions. Ooltewah, minus three key starters and its kicker, survived a trip to McMinn County last week by scoring on its last possession for the fourth time this season. Maryville features junior running back Tee Hodge, a nephew of Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb. Ooltewah has not turned the ball over all year and will have to continue that trend while winning time of possession to stay in position to pull the upset.
RHEA COUNTY EAGLES (4-3, 2-1) SODDY-DAISY TROJANS (3-3, 1-1) AT
Storyline: If the Trojans can snap their two-game losing streak — those defeats came at the hands of a pair of Class 6A foes — they will put themselves in position to take first place in Region 4-5A, provided Knoxville Catholic also defeats Lenoir City in the final week of the regular season. A win for Rhea County in its final region matchup would set up a likely second-place finish.
PICKENS DRAGONS (7-0, 3-0) NORTHWEST WHITFIELD BRUINS (4-2, 1-1) AT
Storyline: Any real chance Northwest has of hosting a state playoff game hinges on handing leader Pickens its first loss of 2018 in this Region 6-AAAA meeting. The Dragons are coming off an impressive 48-0 win over Heritage and have scored more than 40 points in each game this season. QB C.J. Streicher is the main weapon, having passed for 774 yards and rushed for 651 more with 23 total touchdowns this year. Three other players, led by Robert Davis, also have more than 200 rushing yards, while WR Zach Goss Jr. adds a big weapon downfield (18 catches, 315 yards, six TDs). Northwest’s
defense matches up well, though, having held LaFayette to minus-16 yards on the ground last week. The Bruins have four major playmakers on offense: QB Ty Fisher has 1,382 yards and 14 TD passes, RB Dominique Sistrunk has 481 yards and eight scores and WRs Seth Henderson and Jaret Staten have combined for 739 yards.
LAFAYETTE RAMBLERS (4-3, 1-2) RIDGELAND PANTHERS (4-2, 2-0) AT
Storyline: LaFayette, which has lost two consecutive Region 6-AAAA games, will need to play its best to stay with the suddenly hot Panthers, who have won the past three games in this series by a combined score of 151-0. Those games, however, were before the arrival of Ramblers coach Paul Ellis, who has installed a balanced offense led by QB Vyshonn Daniel, who has more than 1,500 passing yards this season, and playmakers Alan Hu, Andrew Pendergrass and Jalen Suttle. Ridgeland, which has won four straight games, is paced by an improving offensive line anchored by T Fred Norman, the hard running of Jordan Blackwell and the big-play abilities of his brother A’zavier and WR Stephon Walker. Can LaFayette make enough big plays to stay with the Panthers?
COAHULLA CREEK COLTS (1-5, 1-2) LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE AT WARRIORS (4-2, 3-1)
Storyline: The Colts lost 35-14 to Region 6-AAA power North Murray last week, but the game was closer than the score indicated. Coahulla Creek failed to score on three possessions that reached inside the North Murray 5, and the defense forced three turnovers. QB Cade Bates, RBs Austin Hernandez and Titus Underwood and WR Michael King give the team formidable weapons. LFO is coming off its open date, but the bad taste of a one-point loss to Adairsville the week before has been festering. The Warriors will again rely on QB Malachi Powell, who has 571 yards and nine TDs this year, and RB Nathan Williams (534 yards, six TDs) to move the ball. Can the Colts’ offense finish drives against LFO’s improved defense?
TRION BULLDOGS (5-2, 2-2) DARLINGTON TIGERS (5-1, 2-1) AT
Storyline: Trion is coming off its best game of the season, a 26-7 Region 6A-A win over Christian Heritage in which its physical style of play dominated on both sides of the ball. Bulldogs RBs Braden Johnson, Chris Pace and Hagen Willingham get yards in different ways behind a large and improving line. The defense has given up several big plays this year and will need to limit those to stay in this one. Darlington QB Frank Manning is adept at hitting deep play-action passes, with WR Casey Gunn the big weapon, while RB Kolin Rogers is a strong runner between the tackles.