Meigs hosts Tyner in 3-3A showdown
Bryson Hiefnar has lived up to the Meigs County mantra: “Run the football and play aggressive defense.”
The 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior fullback and linebacker has been a workhorse for the Tigers, who will try to wrap up the sixth undefeated regular season in program history and this year’s TSSAA Region 3-3A title Thursday with a home win on senior night against Tyner.
“Bryson made the weight room a point of emphasis this offseason, and by the end of it he was the strongest person in our program,” first-year Meigs County head coach Tommy Bunch Jr. said. “He was lifting 1,100 pounds on three lifts. Not only did he get stronger, but he built a top-notch work ethic that has helped him become a leader for this team.”
Hiefnar was a heat-seeking missile on defense right from the jump with a combined 32 tackles (seven for loss) in the first two weeks against Hixson and Kingston. As of late, he has provided the offense a jolt with back-to-back career-high performances in which he totaled 140 yards against Polk County and Brainerd.
“He has really started to come into his own at fullback for us,” Bunch said. “He is not just a role player back there anymore but is a force for us running the ball. He is a major complement to our other players we have on offense.”
The Tigers (9-0, 4-0), with a state ranking of No. 3 this week and three shutouts so far this year, expect the regular-season finale to be one of their toughest challenges yet. Tyner (4-5, 3-1 region), which lost 16 starters from last season’s Class 2A state championship team, has won four of its past six games.
The Rams have scored a combined 82 points during their last two games, against McMinn Central (a 48-34 loss on Oct. 6) and Rhea County (a 48-30 win last Friday). In the road win over the Golden Eagles, a game the Rams controlled handily from start to finish, senior quarterback Jamarie Ballard helped spark a well-balanced offense that accumulated more than 200 yards each passing and rushing. Ballard had 271 total yards and three scores.
Now, after an 0-3 start against nonregion competition, Tyner has a chance to create a three-way tie for first place in 3-3A with Meigs County and McMinn Central (7-2, 3-1), which visits Central (3-6, 1-3) on Thursday.
“We opened the year with Red Bank, Bradley Central and McMinn County, who have been three of this area’s better programs in the past five to 10 years,” first-year Tyner head coach Christian Mainor said. “Those teams made us better and have helped us get to a place where in October we are playing games that have region title implications and playoff seeding implications. October was the time we wanted to be playing our best ball.”
Just two years ago, the Tigers finished their most recent undefeated regular season with a 19-18 home win over the Rams. Another tough test wouldn’t surprise Bunch.
“They are the defending state champs and a very good football team,” the Meigs coach said. “I have told our guys all week to not even look at their record because it is not indicative of who they are. They played a brutal schedule at the beginning of the season.
“Tyner has gotten better every week. We feel like they are playing their best football right now. They are well coached along with big and strong. We expect probably the biggest challenge we have had all season tomorrow night. They are a great opponent, and those are the type of teams you want to play.
“We feel really good about our chances to run the football and play aggressive defense.”