What to know about the state semifinals
Tom Kreager, Toyloy Brown III, Cecil Joyce, Joseph Spears, George Robinson and Wynston Wilcox
The TSSAA football playoffs have reached the state semifinals for Tennessee high school public schools. Here is what you need to know about Friday’s games.
All contests kick off at 7 p.m. local time.
CLASS 1A
Coalfield (12-1) at Clay County (12-1)
Through the first three rounds of the 1A playoffs, Coalfield has outscored its opponents by a combined 149 points.
Clay County has given up just 12 points in its three playoff games
Clay County will appear in its first semifinals in the program’s 85-year history.
For the Bulldogs to reach their firstever championship game, they will need to slow down Coalfield quarterback Cole Hines. In the Yellow Jackets’ 56-0 win over Oliver Springs, the senior completed 10-of-12 passes for 325 yards with five touchdowns.
Mckenzie (13-0) at MASE (13-0)
MASE’S defense has been phenomenal all season. They have shutout nine of their 13 opponents this year and have allowed just 54 points. Mckenzie will undoubtedly be the Phoenix toughest opponent yet. The Rebels have been one of the top teams in the state all year. This game will come down to can MASE contain Mckenzie running back Marquez Taylor. If they do that, they will be playing for the program’s first ever state title.
York Institute (9-4) at Tyner Academy (12-1)
Dual-threat quarterback Miles Leffew has thrown for 1,235 yards and ran for 876 yards this season while accounting for 31 total touchdowns. He will draw Tyner’s attention. The Rams’ defense has been lights out this season, posting five shutouts and had four other games where opponents scored seven points or less. That includes a 35-7 quarterfinal win at East Robertson vs. Mr. Football
semifinalist Zech Prince.
Riverside (11-2) at Huntingdon (11-2)
This game is a rematch of the Week 4 matchup where Huntingdon cruised to a 33-7 win over Riverside. Huntingdon trailed for most of the night in its 14-3 quarterfinals win over Union City before scoring twice with 10 and a half minutes to secure the win.
Riverside beat Lewis County 33-26 to avenge its regular loss behind 271 rushing yards and five touchdowns from Desmond Thomas. The Panthers are in the semifinals for the third time since 2019 while this is the Mustangs first semifinals appearance since 2019.
CLASS 3A Alcoa (12-1) at Giles County (10-3)
Alcoa first-year coach Brian Nix is trying to lead the Tornadoes to their eighth consecutive Class 3A championship and is coming off a 56-21 win over Gatlingburg-pittman. Giles County needs Kamauri Turner to rush the ball well in order for the Bobcats to remain competitive. The junior had 27 carries for 131 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the Bobcats’ 24-13 win over Sweetwater. The Tornadoes are led by region MVP Jordan Harris, a running back and defensive back.
East Nashville (11-2) at Covington (11-2)
Since losing its final two games of the regular season, East Nashville appears to have come around winning three straight to make it back to the Class 3A semifinals. The Eagles picked up narrow wins over White House and Waverly before avenging its Week 11 loss to Smith County with a 40-27 win last week.
Slowing down Skylan Smith and Mr. Football semifinalist Jamarion Dowell will be the Eagles biggest challenge. Dowell ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers 24-10 win over Dyersburg while Smith added on 96 yards on the ground.
CLASS 4A
Anderson County (13-0) at Red Bank (11-2)
Anderson County is in its second semifinal in the program’s 40-year history. The Mavericks are led by Walker Martinez, who has 3,681 passing yards and 51 touchdowns on a 70% completion rate through 13 games.
Red Bank’s defense has been stout the last two rounds of the postseason as it has held its last two opponents both to six points.
Pearl-cohn (11-2) at Haywood (13-0)
The Firebirds are making another trip back to West Tennessee following a 4824 win at Lexington last week. That game saw D’arious Reed catch a pair of touchdown passes and the duo of Malachi Cromwell and Javion Kinnard combined to rush for 211 yards and a touchdown.
Haywood continued humming along, beating Milan 64-14 and making it back to the semifinals for a sixth consecutive season. Sophomore back Cam Miller ran for 116 yards and four touchdowns in the win while Mr. Football Semifinalist Jamari Person had seven receptions for 125 yards. The Tomcats have outscored their opponents 648-136 this season.
CLASS 5A
Knoxville West (13-0) at Powell (11-2)
Powell, the defending Class 5A champions, will have a rematch of last season’s semifinals when it plays against Knoxville West Friday. Powell won last year’s matchup 35-7 but this time around, the Rebels are undefeated, defeating teams still in the playoffs such as Alcoa and Maryville.
West’s Brayden Latham is a big reason for the improved play. In last week’s 49-7 win against Daniel Boone, the senior had 13 carries for 208 rushing yards with four touchdowns.
Page (11-2) at Henry County (11-2)
This may be the premier rematch in the state. Page and Henry County staged an epic state semifinal last year in which Page scored 35 points in the fourth quarter and overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Henry County 56-52. Page scored four touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game to advance to the 5A title game. Henry County hasn’t forgotten and quarterback Ryan Damron is looking to lead his team to a 10th straight win and Henry County’s first state championship appearance since 2018.
Lake Heffington ran for 146 yards and three TDS while Jayce Kendall had 120 yards receiving in Henry County’s quarterfinal win over Springfield. Page quarterback Colin Hurd threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s quarterfinal win over Nolensville
CLASS 6A Maryville (10-3) at Oakland (12-1)
It’s the ninth consecutive season Maryville and Oakland have played in the state semis, with each team having won four. Oakland has won the past two and has not lost at home to Maryville since 2014.
Maryville is without 6A Mr. Football semifinalist Noah Vaughn, who had more than 1,300 yards rushing before a Week 10 injury, but Gage Ladue has rushed for 1,100 yards and 15 TDS. He also has a team-leading 454 yards receiving and four TDS. Quarterback Matthew Clemmer has passed for more than 1,700 yards and 17 TDS with eight interceptions. Oakland’s Eric Taylor has rushed for 12 touchdowns in eight games since returning from an injury. Quarterback Kade Hewitt has rushed for 627 yards and 15 TDS and has passed for 1,314 yards and 11 TDS.
Beech (12-1) at Bartlett (11-2)
Bartlett has been playing its best football lately and that’s largely due to the play of senior quarterback Braylen Ragland and the Panthers’ defense. But the Panthers haven’t seen an offense quite like Beech. The Buccaneers have three rushers that have combined for 3,362 and 38 touchdowns. That includes Darius Johnson (1,450 rushing yards) and JP Courtney (1,202 yards). Bartlett has done well against the run this season and if it can force Beech to pass, that will be Bartlett’s best chance at its first ever state title appearance.