In a matter of days Dalton went from a possible No. 1 seed from Region 7-AAA to having to win out to make the state playoffs. Now that they’re in, the Catamounts, as the No. 4 seed, have to travel tonight to 9-1 Gainesville, the Region 8 champion.
Dalton coach Matt Land insists that the Cats, who had to forfeit four wins after the GHSA ruled they had used an ineligible player, is ready for the challenge.
“We’re all No. 1 seeds and we’re all No. 4 seeds,” Land said. “You put them all in a hat and draw them out and play who you play. We had the fortunate situation in 2001 where we were beaten by Rome, which cost us the region championship. But it put us in a different bracket, and whereas Rome had to meet Statesboro in the second round, we didn’t get them until the finals.
“I can assure you we’re not worried about where we’re seeded.”
Blunder costs Smyrna
A game official who worked the Class 6A first-round playoff game between Smyrna and Franklin admitted this week that a mistake was made in how the the second overtime session was administered.
According to Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, the official admitted Smyrna was forced to be on offense first in the second overtime despite having the ball on offense first in the initial overtime. The order of possession is supposed to alternate from one overtime to the next.
Smyrna lost 29-26 to Franklin in two overtimes. Smyrna was forced to settle for a Marshall Burkett 30-yard field goal in the second overtime. Franklin then won the game on a 10-yard pass.
Assistant director Mark Reeves said the TSSAA would not prohibit the officiating crew from doing another playoff game this week despite its blunder last week. Reeves said the officials’ association, which was a West Tennessee group, can make the decision not to send that crew out this week.
Smyrna coach Matt Williams argued animatedly that the official had the ruling incorrect before the start of the second overtime. Five of Smyrna’s 11 games this season ended in overtime, including a regular-season win over Franklin that ended in two overtimes.
Franklin won the coin toss in overtime last Friday night and played defense first. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime.
Kimbrow cuts cost East
Maybe the only person in the state capable of slowing Memphis East running back Brian Kimbrow was his own head coach, Marcus Wimbley.
After Kimbrow, the state’s top-rated prospect and a Vanderbilt commitment, began the season by rushing for 1,492 yards in the first five games this season, Wimbley changed the offense, moving his most talented player from running back to receiver. At the time East was 5-1 overall, but with Kimbrow getting significantly fewer touches, the Mustangs won just two of their next five games and were ousted from the playoffs in last week’s first round.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Kimbrow, who has been timed in 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and is considered the fastest player in Memphis, had more than 30 scholarship offers before choosing Vanderbilt.
He ran for 300-plus yards in three of the Mustangs’ first five games, including 441 in a win over Hamilton, but after a loss to MUS, Wimbley switched to a more wide-open style of offense. Kimbrow, who was shifted to receiver, averaged fewer than eight touches over the final five games.