With a turbulent regular season in the rearview mirror, prep football teams across Tennessee that qualified for the playoffs can focus squarely on the road ahead.
With COVID-19 issues still lurking, as well as the typical postseason drama that comes with each round’s games, the 26 Chattanooga-area teams that qualified for the playoffs are hoping to avoid any bumps in the road that could bring their season to an abrupt end.
After one of the more bizarre regular seasons for any team in the state, including a wild two-day span in which it went from likely finishing third in its region and having to travel in the first round to winning the league and securing homefield advantage, Red Bank will open the postseason against Grundy County. That is the only first-round matchup between two area teams.
The Lions have not lost on the field this season but did have a region forfeit loss to Brainerd due to a coronavirus quarantine earlier this season. That frustrating situation had Red Bank in line to finish third in Region 3-3A behind Brainerd and third-ranked Loudon.
However their odd two-day journey to the region championship began on Thursday when Brainerd was upset by McMinn Central, which had not beaten a 3A opponent in four years. That set the stage for a winner-take-all meeting at Loudon. The Red Bank defense dominated in a 13-0 decision – which also snapped the Redskins nine-game region win streak – and now the Lions are set up to host at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.