‘Scary’ season
Unbeatens, favorites look to avoid upsets when playoffs start
The goal — however realistic — for every prep football team at the start of the season is to win each game on the schedule.
This year, five Chattanoogaarea teams managed to maneuver their way through Tennessee’s 10-game regular season having accomplished that goal: Bradley Central in Class 6A, Meigs County (3A), Marion County (2A), South Pittsburg (1A) and Boyd Buchanan (Division II-AA).
As the TSSAA playoffs get set to kick off this week, those regular-season accomplishments — however impressive — no longer matter, although the goal of winning out resets for all 232 teams that qualified across the nine classifications, including 26 teams from the Chattanooga area.
But while there are no more than half as many games potentially remaining ahead — the six teams in each public school classification that can win five straight over the coming weeks will bring home state championship trophies, while the Division II playoffs are one round shorter for the three private school classifications — each matchup will get twice as hard with the pressure and anxiety that seemingly rests on every snap.
“We’ve proven a lot to ourselves and other people who doubted us in the regular season, but now we’ve got to keep doing it all over again in the playoffs,” Marion County coach Tim Starkey said.
The No. 2-ranked Warriors finished the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1995, which was also when they won the most recent of their four state titles, and will host Westmoreland in Class 2A’s first round Friday night. Marion has faced Westmoreland in the opening round in five of its last seven playoff appearances and has never lost that matchup.
In 6A, top-ranked Bradley Central also finished unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since its most recent state title run in 1976, and the Bears won a region championship for the first time since 1980. Now they will host West Ridge, a team that has lost three of its last four games while scoring an average of 14 points per game during that stretch.
“It’s always scary when you get to this point of the season and you’ve been playing well and have an opponent who has struggled,” Bears coach Damon Floyd said. “You know any team that has reached the playoffs is good enough to be dangerous, so you have to worry about a lot of scenarios and just make sure your players are focused just on that week.”
Despite moving up in class this year, 3A’s third-ranked Meigs County worked its way through the regular season without a loss for the fifth time in the last seven. The Tigers open at home against Grundy County, which is one of two matchups of area teams. The other is also in 3A as Sequatchie County hosts Tyner.
Likewise, South Pittsburg is no stranger to unbeaten regular seasons, with three of its six state championship teams having accomplished that feat before winning the title. The top-ranked Pirates, who own wins over five ranked opponents and have outscored their six 1A foes by an average of 54-3, open the postseason against Jo Byrns, which has not beaten an in-state team this season.
The Red Devils’ only win came against Kentucky’s Ballard Memorial, and they have scored more than 14 points only once since that victory in their second game. Despite that lack of success, they qualified for the playoffs because they play in a region with only four teams.
Boyd Buchanan, 10-0 for the first time since 2015, is on the opposite side of the bracket from three of the other four teams ranked among the state’s top five in DII-AA. The No. 2-ranked Buccaneers open at home against Goodpasture, which has lost seven of its last eight games.
Although McCallie lost for the first time this season when Lipscomb Academy rallied for 27 unanswered points in the second half Friday night, the Blue Tornado have a first-round bye in the DII-AAA playoffs, as does reigning state champion Baylor, meaning three more wins for either would secure the title. Those Chattanooga rivals are on opposite sides of the bracket, so if they meet for a second time this season — McCallie beat Baylor 34-31 on Sept. 29 would be for the title.
The complete DII-AAA bracket will not be released until after Lipscomb Academy appeals being ruled ineligible for the playoffs by the TSSAA for recruiting violations. That appeal will be heard and ruled on Monday afternoon.
Finley Stadium will be the site of the BlueCross Bowl state finals for the third consecutive season, with the TSSAA in March extending Chattanooga’s contract as host of the threeday event for two years through 2024. This year’s title games are Nov. 30-Dec. 2, with the DII-AA, DII-A and DII-AAA matchups on Thursday, Classes 3A, 1A and 5A on Friday, and 4A, 2A and 6A on Saturday. Kickoffs each day are set for 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.