Although there wasn’t the statewide outcry that resulted from last year’s new Tennessee high school football playoff format, this year’s selection process wasn’t without grumbling. And much like last season, when the TSSAA released its playoff pairings Saturday, the biggest complaint among area programs came from Tyner.
Despite winning the District 6-AA title, the Rams (8-2) must travel to District 5 champion Polk County (9-1) in what will be the premier first-round game in the area Friday night. Tyner, which has won eight straight games, is ranked ninth in the state in Class 3A; Polk County, winner of nine straight, is ranked fourth.
“When we started looking at the brackets last week, we thought this might happen,” Tyner coach Wayne Turner said. “I feel the same way I did then. It’s a real bad deal for us. After having to go play Alcoa in the first round last year and then this, you kind of feel like you’re snakebit a little bit. This new system hasn’t been good to us either year.”
Five of the eight teams in the Rams’ quadrant are state-ranked, including No. 1 and six-time defending state champion Alcoa (10-0), second-ranked CAK (9-1) and No. 10 Howard (8-2). Loudon, which was ranked earlier this season, will host Howard’s Hustlin’ Tigers on Friday.
“That’s got to be the toughest quad in the state,” Polk County coach Derrick Davis said. “When Tyner wins its district and gets a sixth seed, that tells you just how tough it is. I know complaining won’t help anything right now, but it’s not right for either of us. I guess winning your district doesn’t mean anything anymore.
“Tyner plays in an eight-team district that has six 4A teams, and the other team in their class (Howard) is also ranked in the state. Three of the 4A teams in their district made the playoffs, but Tyner doesn’t get rewarded for finishing first or for playing a brutal nondistrict schedule. Whoever wins this game will probably get to play CAK and then Alcoa just to get to the semifinals.”
TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress said he was pleased with the improvements from last year, when the state’s governing body had to redraw several brackets following mistakes.
“Everything ran much smoother than last year,” Childress said Saturdray. “The objective was to come up with the plan that simplifies the process and minimizes confusion, and we did a better job of that. We know we’ll never create a system that satisfies everybody.
“We’ve had minimal calls today, but all of them were about not agreeing with who they’re matched up against. But so much of that is based on geography, and you can’t always avoid having good teams open up against each other.”
There also are three district champions competing in the 2A bracket that includes second-ranked Signal Mountain (10-0), top-ranked Trousdale County (10-0), Cascade (7-3) and seventh-ranked Friendship Christian, which finished second to Trousdale.
Signal Mountain earned a first-round bye and on Nov. 12 will host the winner of Marion County’s visit Friday to Friendship Christian. Should the Eagles advance to the quarterfinals, they likely would travel to eight-time state champion Trousdale, one of the toughest places to play in Tennessee.
“I know you can’t satisfy everybody with the playoffs, but I don’t think the TSSAA makes any sense with these playoff pairings,” Signal Mountain coach Bill Price said. “But that’s all I’ll say about it. We’ll just have to use it as motivation to get better and be ready. We’ve got enough to worry about with our second-round game before we even think about Trousdale.”
Another interesting first-round matchup has Sequatchie County (7-3) visiting Highway 127 neighbor Bledsoe County (7-3) in a rematch of a game played four weeks ago. Bledsoe’s Warriors won that game by six points when Sequatchie had a desperation pass intercepted at the goal line on the final play.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.
Tennessee Playoffs
First-Round Pairings
Class 1A
Quadrant 1
Coalfield (8-2) bye
Cloudland (6-4) at Greenback (7-3)
Harriman (5-5) at Copper Basin (8-1)
Sunbright (8-2) bye
Quadrant 2
South Pittsburg (8-2) bye
Eagleville (5-5) at Moore County (6-4)
Cornersville (4-6) at Middle Tennessee Christian (6-4)
Gordonsville bye
Quadrant 3
Jo Byrns (10-0) bye
Clarksville Academy (6-4) at Collinwood (6-4)
Columbia Academy (6-4) at Nashville Christian (8-2)
Wayne (9-1) bye
Quadrant 4
Bruceton (5-5) at Union City (5-5)
Huntingdon (4-6) at South Fulton (6-4)
Lake County (8-2) bye
Class 2A
Quadrant 1
Hampton (9-1) bye
Unaka (6-4) at Boyd-Buchanan (6-4)
Oliver Springs (6-4) Rockwood (7-3)
Wartburg Central (8-2) bye
Quadrant 2
Trousdale County (10-0) bye
Jackson County (6-4) Cascade (7-3)
Marion County (5-5) at Friendship Christian (8-2)
Signal Mountain (10-0) bye
Quadrant 3
McKenzie (9-1) bye
White House Heritage (7-3) at Mt. Pleasant (7-3)
Forrest (6-4) at Dresden (8-2)
Riverside (9-1) bye
Quadrant 4
Humboldt (7-3) bye
Westwood (5-5) at Adamsville (5-5)
Douglass (3-7) at Peabody (5-5)
Trinity Christian (6-4) bye
Class 3A
Quadrant 1
South Greene (6-4) at Happy Valley (7-2)
Sullivan North (7-3) Gatlinburg-Pittman (7-3)
Elizabethton (6-4) at Chuckey-Doak (7-3)
Austin-East (6-4) at West Greene (7-3)
Quadrant 2
Sweetwater (5-5) atAlcoa (10-0)
Howard (8-2) at Loudon (8-2)
Tyner (8-2) at Polk County (9-1)
Kingston (6-4) at CAK (9-1)
Quadrant 3
CPA (5-5) at Goodpasture (9-1)
Sequatchie County (7-3) at Bledsoe County (7-3)
Grundy County (6-4) at Pearl-Cohn (7-3)
East Literature (6-4) at Smith County (9-1)
Quadrant 4
Manassas (4-6) at Camden (10-0)
Westview (7-3) at Oakhaven (8-2)
Stewart County (5-5) at Fairview (9-1)
Lewis County (4-6) at Milan (9-1)
Class 4A
Quadrant 1
East Ridge (4-6) at Greeneville (10-0)
Central (6-4) at Fulton (6-4)
Scott County (6-4) at Claiborne (7-3)
Sequoyah (4-6) at Gibbs (9-1)
Quadrant 2
Marshall County (4-6) at Maplewood (9-1)
Page (6-4) at Red Bank (6-4)
Macon County (5-5) at David Lipscomb (7-3)
Livingston Academy (5-5) at Giles County (8-2)
Quadrant 3
Boliver Central (4-6) at Liberty Magnet (8-2)
White House (5-5) at Montgomery Central (6-4)
Chester County (5-5) at Greenbrier (6-4)
Creek Wood (4-6) Lexington (8-2)
Quadrant 4
Covington (5-5) at Trezevant (9-1)
Sheffield (6-4) at Hillcrest (7-3)
Kingsbury (5-5) at Crockett County (7-3)
Obion County (5-5) at Ripley (7-3)
Class 5A
Quadrant 1
Morristown East (5-5) at Powell (10-0)
Morristown West (7-3) at Anderson County (8-2)
Sullivan South (6-4) at Daniel Boone (8-2)
Tennessee High (6-4) at Knoxville West (8-2)
Quadrant 2
Lenoir City (4-6) at Columbia (8-2)
Shelbyville (6-4) Knoxville Catholic (6-4)
Cleveland (6-4) at Lawrence County (7-3)
White County (5-5) at Tullahoma (7-3)
Quadrant 3
West Creek (4-5) at Henry County (9-1)
Hendersonville (7-3) Gallatin (7-3)
Clarksville Northeast (6-4) at Beech (8-2)
Clarksville (5-5) at Springfield (8-2)
Quadrant 4
Memphis East (4-6) Ridgeway (10-0)
Mitchell (6-4) at Hardin County (6-4)
Dyer County (5-5) at Craigmont (9-1)
Melrose (4-6) at Jackson Northside (10-0)
Class 6A
Quadrant 1
Jefferson County (6-4) at Dobyns-Bennett (10-0)
Hardin Valley (7-3) at Bearden (7-3)
Farragut (6-4) at Sevier County (8-2)
Science Hill (6-4) Maryville (9-1)
Quadrant 2
Coffee County (3-7) at Bradley Central (8-2)
Oak Ridge (6-4) at Cookeville (6-4)
Lincoln County (5-5) at Soddy-Daisy (6-4)
Franklin County (5-5) Riverdale (7-3)
Quadrant 3
Brentwood (7-3) Smyrna (9-1)
McGavock (8-2) at Mount Juliet (8-2)
Franklin (8-2) at Oakland (8-2)
Nashville Overton (8-2) at Blackman (9-1)
Quadrant 4
White Station (5-5) Whitehaven (9-1)
Wooddale (7-3) at Arlington (8-2)
Collierville (6-4) at Dickson County (8-2)
Germantown (6-4) at Brighton (9-1)
Division II-AA
McCallie (3-6) at Briarcrest (8-2)
Baylor (8-1) bye
St. Benedict (6-4) at BGA (5-5)
Christian Brothers (9-1) bye
Father Ryan (4-6) at MBA (8-2)
Ensworth (7-2) bye
Pope John Paul II (2-8) at Brentwood Academy (8-2)
MUS (7-3) bye
Alabama first-round area pairings
Class 2A
Ider (7-3) at Lineville (7-3)
Class 4A
Brooks (6-4) at North Jackson (10-0)
Class 5A
J.O. Johnson (5-5) at Fort Payne (10-0)