Playoff mystery

Despite all the steps taken to avoid the fiasco of last year's TSSAA football playoff pairings, drama again is brewing as teams head into the final week of the regular season.

Tyner, which felt it was treated unfairly by having to travel to top-ranked Alcoa in the first round last year, again is at the center of what could be another skewed bracket. Although the ninth-ranked Rams secured the District 6-AA title by beating Howard 27-6 last week, they currently are seeded behind the Hustlin' Tigers in a loaded eight-team Class 3A bracket that includes top-ranked and six-time defending state champion Alcoa, second-ranked Christian Academy of Knoxville, fourth-ranked Polk County, unranked Loudon, 10th-ranked Howard, Kingston and Sweetwater.

The playoff scenarios will be released on the TSSAA website today.

As it stands, Tyner would be seeded sixth in its 3A quadrant despite winning a district that includes three 4A teams likely to qualify for the playoffs.

"It's a crock, that's all I can say," Rams coach Wayne Turner said. "We play in a very tough district and win the thing, and then they put us behind the team we beat. That's a messed-up operation.

"I can promise I'll make a call to the TSSAA to get them to explain how this happens. It's no different than last year, but if it happens I guess it's just a part of life."

Also, second-ranked Signal Mountain in Class 2A is projected to be placed in an extremely difficult six-team bracket that includes top-ranked and eight-time state champion Trousdale County, seventh-ranked Friendship Christian, Cascade, Jackson County and Marion County.

According to TSSAA official Earl Nall, Signal Mountain and Trousdale are so evenly matched that it would likely take the fourth tiebreaker, opponents' overall record, to determine which team would host their potential quarterfinal meeting. That means that a game involving Graves County of Kentucky, which Trousdale defeated in week one, likely will have a bearing on the site of that game.

"It doesn't make any sense," Signal coach Bill Price said. "First of all, how do you take the only two undefeated teams in all of 2A and put them in the same bracket where one has to be a No. 2 seed? That's not fair to either us or Trousdale.

"And why should what happens with a team in Kentucky matter for the Tennessee playoffs? How do you justify it? At some point common sense should come into play when they're making out the brackets. But I don't get to make that decision, so we'll just have to play whoever they put on the field with us."

The biggest bubble team going into week 10 is Chattanooga Christian, which currently holds the final playoff berth in 3A. Although the Chargers hold the final spot, even a win at currently fourth-seeded Bledsoe County wouldn't assure them of a postseason position.

"To be honest, I know very little about what has to happen," Chargers coach Barry Loyal said. "What I told our players was that we just need to go out and take care of us and then let everything sort out. It's exciting to at least be in the mix."


Playoff projections for the quadrants including area teams going into the final regular-season week (teams listed in order of seeding)


Class 1A


First quadrant

South Pittsburg (7-2)

Gordonsville (7-2)

Middle Tennessee Christian (5-4)

Moore County (5-4)

Monterey (4-5)

Clay County (4-5)

Second quadrant

Copper Basin (8-0)

Sunbright (8-1)

Greenback (7-2)

Coalfield (7-2)

Cloudland (6-3)

Harriman (5-4)


Class 2A


First quadrant

Hampton (8-1)

Wartburg Central (7-2)

Rockwood (6-3)

Unaka (5-4)

Oliver Springs (5-4)

Boyd-Buchanan (5-4)

Second quadrant

Trousdale County (9-0)

Signal Mountain (9-0)

Friendship Christian (7-2)

Cascade (6-3)

Jackson County (6-3)

Marion County (4-5)


Class 3A


Second quadrant

Alcoa (9-0)

CAK (9-0)

Polk County (8-1)

Loudon (7-2)

Howard (7-2)

Tyner (7-2)

Kingston (6-3)

Sweetwater (5-4)

Third quadrant

Goodpasture (8-1)

Smith County (8-1)

Pearl-Cohn (6-3)

Bledsoe County (6-3)

East Literature ((6-3)

Sequatchie County (6-3)

Grundy County (5-4)

Chattanooga Christian (4-5)


Class 4A


First quadrant

Greeneville (9-0)

Gibbs (8-1)

Claiborne County (7-2)

Fulton (5-4)

Red Bank (5-4)

Central (5-4)

Scott County (5-4)

East Ridge (4-5)


Class 5A


Second quadrant

Columbia (7-2)

Anderson County (7-2)

Tullahoma (6-3)

Knoxville Catholic (6-3)

Shelbyville (6-3)

Cleveland (6-3)

Lenoir City (4-5)

Clinton (4-5)


Class 6A


Second quadrant

Blackman (8-1)

Riverdale (7-2)

Bradley Central (7-2)

Cookeville (6-3)

Oak Ridge (5-4)

Soddy-Daisy (5-4)

Franklin County (5-4)

Lincoln County (4-5)

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