If Boyd-Buchanan, the top-ranked football team in Class 2A, takes care of business tonight at Polk County, it will extend one of the longest region winning streaks in the Chattanooga area.
The Buccaneers are going for their 24th consecutive league win, and it would secure the Region 3-2A championship. While that streak is the longest among area Tennessee prep teams, the Bucs have a long way to go to catch Georgia power Calhoun, which has a current streak of 113 consecutive region wins.
The Yellow Jackets’ streak is so impressive there are players on the roster who weren’t even born the last time the program lost to a region opponent, in 2001.
Although modest by that comparison, Boyd-Buchanan’s run is still impressive.
“I was pretty nervous about that streak coming into the year because of how tough the new region we’re in is,” Bucs coach Grant Reynolds said. “Having Marion County (ranked No. 2 in the state), Tyner and Meigs County (both of which were ranked earlier this season) plus a lot of other good teams meant we had to be at our best every week. Hopefully being in such a tough region will have us prepared for the playoffs.
“Having a winning streak like that just says a lot about the work ethic of our staff and players.”
Boyd-Buchanan, Calhoun and East Ridge are also the last remaining unbeaten teams in the area this season. All are 7-0, with the Bucs and Pioneers going into region road games tonight while the Yellow Jackets are idle. The Bucs still have South Pittsburg (5-2) and region foe Silverdale Baptist (4-3) remaining, while the Pioneers finish the regular season with Loudon (2-5) and region opponent Chattanooga Christian (5-2), and Calhoun closes with Murray County (3-3), Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (0-7) and Coahulla Creek (3-3).
At the opposite end of that spectrum, the number of area winless teams more than doubles the undefeated. In addition to the aforementioned LFO, with just three weeks remaining in the regular season, Central, Lookout Valley, Polk County and Signal Mountain are also still searching for their first win of 2015.
Grant Reynolds shouts instructions to Boyd Buchanan football players in a September 2015 game against Tyner. Reynolds was the Buccaneers’ head coach at the time, and now he’s back in Chattanooga as coach of the East Hamilton Hurricanes.Central plays East Hamilton (5-3) tonight, then faces Sequoyah (3-4) and Cumberland County (4-3). LFO is at Adairsville (5-1) tonight, with Sonoraville (4-3) and Calhoun remaining. Lookout Valley is at South Pittsburg tonight, then has first-year program Tennessee Christian Prep and Sale Creek (1-6). After playing Boyd-Buchanan tonight, Polk County still has Meigs County (3-4) and Marion County (7-1) remaining and Signal Mountain plays Notre Dame (4-2) tonight before finishing with Giles County (1-6) and Howard (2-6).
Blanchard, Lilly, Harris among area stat leaders
While Bradley Central’s Tyler Carpenter rocketed to the top among area receivers with a 16-catch, 286-yard performance against Dobyns-Bennett on Oct. 9, it is Northwest Whitfield’s Will Blanchard with the best yards-per-catch showing this season. Blanchard had just three catches against Ringgold on Aug. 22, but averaged 48.7 yards per reception, 0.2 yards better than Soddy-Daisy receiver Tre Carter, who had four catches for a 48.5 average against Red Bank on Aug. 21.
South Pittsburg’s Joseph Lilly still has the best yards-per-carry effort, averaging 42 yards on just three carries in the Pirates’ win over Copper Basin on Sept. 18. Closest to him at 35 yards per carry is Calhoun’s Olicio Dennis, who gained 105 yards on just three carries against North Murray on the same date.
Topping the list for yards-per-completion average (for quarterbacks with at least 150 yards) is North Jackson’s Trey Harris, who completed 5 of 10 passes for 190 yards (38.0) against Locust Fork on Sept. 4. Second on that list is Ringgold’s Devin Lancaster (28.9) for a 22-of-32 night against Heritage on Aug. 28.
Former Eagle continues playing career out West
Former Signal Mountain standout Hunter VanDyken, who excelled as a linebacker and running back, is currently playing for Western State Colorado University, an NCAA Division II school located in Gunnison, which is located in the southwestern part of the state. Gunnison was a three-year starter and four-year contributor for the Eagles.
Calhoun’s Rice invited to prestigious event
Calhoun senior Landon Rice had some special visitors Monday.
The tight end/defensive end received his Under Armour All-American Game jersey during a ceremony at the school. Rated one of the top tight end recruits in the nation and committed to Auburn, Rice will play in the Jan. 2 game in Orlando, joining top recruits from across the country.
“Landon is a special player, and he’s deserving of this honor,” Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said. “Only the best get selected for that game, so that tells you something about what people think of him.”
The 6-foot-5 Rice has 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns on offense this season, along with 26 tackles for the top-ranked Yellow Jackets.
Red Bank coaches take time to play
In order to lighten the mood during the Lions’ off week, Red Bank’s coaching staff faced players in 7-on-7 games.
Coach Chad Grabowski said the coaches tied or beat each team they faced in the silly scrimmages. The adult team included eight coaches, the team’s trainer and Grabowski’s 12-year-old son.
“We showed the boys that we can still play,” Grabowski said. “No doubt that (trainer) Josh Ivens was the MVP for us. He juked some of the kids so much that they were the brunt of jokes.”