In the moments immediately after yet another instant classic for the Baylor-McCallie football series, this one a 38-35 victory for the visiting Red Raiders as they won on McCallie’s campus for the first time since 1996, there were a lot of implications to unpack late Friday night.
One of the biggest takeaways from the rivals’ sixth meeting in a stretch of three seasons — five of those games have been decided by six points or less, and not until the final possession — is that there will almost certainly be a seventh later this year.
With the level at which Chattanooga’s two nationally ranked private-school programs are currently playing, it would take a sizable upset in the playoffs to prevent a rematch somewhere in the TSSAA Division II-AA bracket. However, unlike the past two years, it’s unlikely the Red Raiders and the Blue Tornado will face off in the BlueCross Bowl state championship game, which will be held at Finley Stadium for the fifth straight season.
That’s due to the fact that two-time reigning champion McCallie’s upset loss at Nashville’s Ensworth earlier this season coupled with Friday’s loss to Baylor will almost certainly relegate the Blue Tornado to a third-place region finish in DII-AAA East. That would place them in the same half of the state bracket as the Red Raiders, and so the local programs would face off in the semifinals (with Baylor hosting) rather than the title game — unless more upsets happen along the way.
Baylor (6-0, 3-0) still has home games with region foes Ensworth and Knoxville Catholic remaining, while McCallie (5-2, 0-2) still must travel to Catholic before wrapping up the regular season with region home games against a pair of Nashville programs in Montgomery Bell Academy and Christ Presbyterian Academy.