Bledsoe County head coach Josh Owensby talks to his quarterback Chaise Sorrow (19). The Bledose County Warriors visited the Sequatchie County Indians in TSSAA football action Saturday September 25, 2015.TSSAA playoffs
(All 7 p.m. local time)Thursday gamesClass 6ARiverdale (5-5) vs. Bradley Central (7-3) at FinleyClass 5AClinton (4-6) at Ooltewah (8-2)Class 1AMt. Pleasant (6-4) at South Pittsburg (7-3)Division II-AAPope John Paul (2-8) at McCallie (5-5)Friday gamesClass 5ACleveland (5-5) at Farragut (9-1)Campbell County (5-5) at Rhea County (7-3)Soddy-Daisy (7-3) at Oak Ridge (9-1)Class 4AEast Hamilton (6-4) at Page (7-3)Class 3ASmith County (6-4) at East Ridge (10-0)Chattnooga Christian (7-3) at DeKalb County (7-3)Sequatchie County (7-3) vs. Notre Dame (7-3) at FinleyRed Bank (3-7) at Upperman (8-2)Class 2AEagleville (5-5) at Boyd-Buchanan (10-0)Westmoreland (5-5) at Marion County (9-1)Tyner (7-3) at Watertown (8-2)Bledsoe County (5-5) at Forrest (9-1)Class 1AGrace Academy (5-5) at Fayetteville (8-2)Moore County (6-4) at Whitwell (5-5)Copper Basin (3-7) at Columbia Academy (9-1)
Josh Owensby and Adam Caine entered their first year as high school head coaches with a like-minded approach. Making themselves a niche in the postseason likened them to other head football coaches at every level.
Like their peers, these two learned as their initial seasons progressed.
"You can't fight every battle," said Caine, whose Sequatchie County team plays Notre Dame at Finley Stadium on Friday. "I used to try to fight them all, and I learned pretty quick I'm going to die at an early age if I continue to do that."
An offensive coordinator and assistant head coach before becoming Bledsoe County's head coach, Owensby thought he knew what he was getting into but discovered that his education really had just begun.
"I learned a lot as the year progressed," he said. "You think you understand what goes on, but until you really get to do it you find out that you don't have answers you thought you had."
His Warriors are on the road Friday to play Region 4 champion Forrest, but there was doubt that they'd succeed. A loss to Class 3A Sequatchie was the start of a four-game losing streak that included region games against Boyd-Buchanan, Marion County and Tyner.
"We really had to focus on keeping the team together," Owenbsy said. "I felt we had enough talent to get into the playoffs if I didn't lose them before week 9.
After that streak with two region games remaining, Owensby told his players that their playoffs had begun.
"We treated weeks 9 and 10 as playoff weeks," he said.
Bledsoe beat Brainerd with a crucial goal-line stand and then rallied the next week to get past Meigs County - its ticket into the playoffs.
"I think I'm most proud of the kids coming back those last two weeks. They responded so well after what they went through in weeks 6, 7 and 8. Those three weeks were brutal," Owensby recalled.
After a 5-0 start, Sequatchie also suffered its bumps, but the Indians were in position to win their region last Friday. They missed a couple of opportunities and wound up finishing third yet have given Caine what he hoped he would find when he moved to Dunlap.
"I'll be honest. I have had the time of my life," he said. "I didn't realize how bad an itch I had to be the man in charge until I got it. I love setting the tone and creating the philosophies, where you want the program to go and how you want it to look."
And, like Owensby, Caine has pride in the product.
"We may not be the most talented group, but these guys answer the bell every time we ring it, and they play every game to win it," he said.
Thursday games
With bad weather expected Friday, four TSSAA games involving area teams have been moved to Thursday: Clinton at Ooltewah, Pope John Paul II at McCallie, Mount Pleasant at South Pittsburg and Riverdale against Bradley Central at Finley Stadium.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.