Germantown enters 2018 after going 11-1 in 2017
GERMANTOWN — It was a 2017 end-of-October gift that just happened to be full of treats for the Germantown football team.
By virtue of their eight-point victory over defending TSSAA Class 6A state champion Whitehaven, the Red Devils clinched a perfect regular season, won a Region 8-6A title and earned the right to host Houston in a first round playoff game.
And then, one week after eliminating the Mustangs by 32 points, elimination was suddenly a dark cloud that settled in over the Germantown sideline.
Coach Chris Smith, his staff and all the players that had once enjoyed an undefeated record was forced to call the season over at 11-1 following a 17-14 loss to White Station.
“After that last whistle, it hurt a lot,” senior defensive back Jalon Greer said. “But, it put a lot of drive; a lot of motivation into me to help the team. Now, I feel we’re ready for it.”
The 2018 season begins Friday with a road trip to Jackson North Side, and one can bet the Red Devils won’t be afraid to use drive and motivation in an effort to reach the top of the 6A mountain again.
“That’s what makes last year even more impressive,” said Smith, who was selected by his peers as the region’s top coach. “Hindsight is 20/ 20 – I don’t think, at the time, we fully grasped the appreciation of what it takes to go undefeated.
"The kids had to practice hard, watch tape; if they came out flat one half, there might not be any coming back from it, so I just thought for 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds to be that consistent throughout the whole year against the competition we were playing – it was pretty incredible.”
One thing the Germantown faithful can be happy about in 2018 is team depth, including the quarterback position, which is manned by all-region first teamer Ethan Payne and his backup/top receiver Cameron Baker.
“I feel like we’ve got a little more experience on both sides of the ball coming back,” Smith said. “Probably more experience than we’ve ever had here, with seven or eight guys on both sides of the ball that started or played significant time last year. So, we’re cautiously optimistic.”
Said Payne, a Tennessee baseball commit: “We know each other really well. Our timing is down almost to perfection. We’ve worked a lot of reps together (in practice), so I think it will show in games.”