Once the football teams that qualified for postseason began play in the TSSAA state playoffs, the seniors fortunate enough to still be playing knew any upcoming game could be the last in their prep careers. McCallie tackled that problem last week, and its 19 seniors hope for the same result Friday.
The Blue Tornado will hit the road for the second consecutive week in the Division II-AA playoffs, this time traveling even further than the trip to Battle Ground Academy in Nashville where they slipped past the Wildcats 24-17 with a touchdown in the waning seconds. McCallie (5-5) will make the trek this week to take on Memphis University School (7-3) in a game scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EST.
McCallie has scored 21 or more points eight times this season, so its offense has been plenty noticeable. But it’s when the defense plays well that the Blue Tornado wins, and they feel that will need to be the case against the Owls’ multifaceted attack.
“They’re big and very athletic,” McCallie coach Bubba Simmons said. “Their approach offensively is, if they can just run straight at you, that’s their game plan and they’re very content and happy to do that. They also have an option package they can go to. It’s whatever they feel like. That’s what makes them hard to defend.”
Despite his team’s defensive linemen often being undersized compared to the opponent, and that’s the case again, Simmons likes their disposition. He said from front to back, the players on defense rely on the techniques they’ve been taught, and depend on and play for one another.