5 takeaways from 2018 high school football state championships
Nine Tennessee high school football champions were crowned in Cookeville. Here are five takeaways from the four days of BlueCross Bowls.
Alcoa, Rankin add to titles
Probably only one thing makes Alcoa coach Gary Rankin happier than winning his 14th high school football state championship.
Seeing his program surpass its biggest rival for most state titles topped it. Alcoa beat Covington 21-14 in the Class 3A BlueCross Bowl for its fourth straight championship.
Alcoa collected its state-leading 17th championship. Alcoa previously was tied with Maryville.
Brentwood Academy is fourth alltime with 14 football titles.
No Nashville area program had won a Division I state championship since 2015 when three area teams — Nashville Christian (1A), Independence (5A) and Ravenwood (6A) — won gold balls.
Oakland snapped that drought Thursday in dominant fashion. The Patriots shut out Whitehaven 37-0 in the Class 6A BlueCross Bowl. Oakland was the lone Middle Tennessee team to win a Division I football title.
The state championship is the first one for a Rutherford County football program since Oakland won in 2008.
History made twice
The TSSAA made history on two separate occasions over the weekend. However, it’s safe to say it would have
passed on one of those. Davidson Academy’s Lauren Brooks made an extra point with 2:28 left in the second quarter of Friday’s Division II-A state championship game with Friendship Christian. Brooks became the first girl to score a point in a TSSAA football state championship. She added two more extra points in Davidson Academy’s 39-27 win.
Brooks finished the year with 79 points scored in her lone year kicking for the Bears.
Two days later, the TSSAA was forced to make more history. After lightning forced the postponement of the Class 5A championship from Saturday to Sunday, Knoxville Central beat Henry County 14-9. It was the first football state championship game played on a Sunday.
First-time champions
Knoxville Central and Whitwell became first-time state champions.
Central was previously 0-2 before coach Bryson Rosser led the Bobcats to the 5A championship. That included a loss in the 2016 Class 4A championship.
Whitwell beat Cornersville 7-6 on Saturday in the Class 1A championship. It was the first time the school had reached the championship game in 15 playoff appearances.
Memphis shut out for first time since 2014
The Memphis area went 0-3 in BlueCross Bowl games, marking the first time since 2014 that no area team won a title.
Whitehaven lost to Oakland 37-0 in the Class 6A championship on Thursday. Memphis University School lost 28-6 to Brentwood Academy on Friday in the Division II-AAA championship game. And Covington lost 21-14 in the closing seconds to Alcoa on Saturday in Class 3A.
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-2598089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.