South Pittsburg’s Joseph Lilly (12) looks for running room. The South Pittsburg Pirates visited the Marion County Warriors in TSSAA football action Saturday September 11, 2015 in Jasper.Seven weeks of competition are in the books, yet very little beyond bragging-rights rivalries has been settled.
Ooltewah, East Ridge, Boyd-Buchanan and South Pittsburg are undefeated in their respective football regions, but with Tennessee playoffs scheduled to begin a month from tonight, those four have yet to secure first-place spots.
Many of the races are jumbled, especially beyond the first two spots, and may not be decided until Oct. 30, the final Friday of the regular season.
When asked how he had the Region 4-5A race figured, Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan responded, “I haven’t figured. I know if we keep winning we’ll get the No. 1 seed in this region. I’m worrying about McMinn County.”
McMinn is the Owls’ host tonight.
“If we lose to McMinn, there will be a three-way tie for first,” Bryan said.
That’s as far as he’s figured.
“We tell our kids – have preached it for three years – that we’re playing the most important game of the year (each) Friday night. It’s the next game and that’s the only one that matters,” Bryan added. “I haven’t even looked at the standings for the region we’ll pair up with in the playoffs.”
Boyd-Buchanan and East Ridge have yet to lose this year, and each has a pivotal win, Boyd-Buchanan having beat then state No. 1-ranked Marion County and the Pioneers having knocked off sixth-ranked Notre Dame.
The standings tell Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds that his Buccaneers can clinch the Region 3-2A championship with a win tonight at Polk County.
“We’ve been telling the kids one week at a time: Beat Polk and you’re region champions,” he said.
East Ridge, meanwhile, is well on its way to the team’s best season in more than a decade, but the Pioneers have two Region 3-3A games remaining (Howard and Chattanooga Christian).
“We’re definitely one of the four in (the playoffs),” East Ridge coach Tracy Malone said. “If we win (tonight), we’ll clinch one of the top two spots.”
The region championship, though, could come down to that last-week game against CCS, and the outcome will affect the league’s top three spots.
South Pittsburg got a leg up in Region 3-1A with its storm-delayed victory over Whitwell on Sunday, but the youthful Pirates are in a boat similar to other current league leaders. They need a win tonight to secure a host spot in the postseason and a win on Oct. 30 vs. Grace Academy to win the region. In between those games they have a nonregion contest with Boyd-Buchanan.
Here’s a closer look at each of the regions with Chattanooga-area teams:
Region 1-6A
The lone team of interest in this area is Bradley Central, and the Bears are in the playoffs because all 6A teams are guaranteed a postseason appearance. They’re playing for at least a first-round postseason home game the next three weeks. They still have to play region leader Maryville, winless William Blount and, this week, Hardin Valley, which currently is third in the standings with one more region win (3-1) than the Bears (2-2).
Bradley’s first-round opponent will come from Region 2, which consists of Oakland, Blackman, Cookeville, Smyrna, Riverdale, Coffee County, Warren County and Siegel.
Region 4-5A
Ooltewah has secured a playoff spot, and right now it appears the Owls will be joined by McMinn County, Rhea County and Soddy-Daisy. Cleveland and Walker Valley are still on the conversational periphery. Cleveland, currently in sixth place, would likely have to win out against Ooltewah and White County. Walker Valley, following tonight’s game against White County, closes out the regular season against preseason title favorites Rhea and Ooltewah.
Two key games take place tonight: Ooltewah at McMinn County and Soddy-Daisy at Rhea. Those should go a long way in deciding who hosts in the postseason and who goes on the road.
Region 4-5A teams will be paired with Region 3 teams Farragut, Oak Ridge, Campbell County, Clinton, Lenoir City and Karns.
Region 3-4A
Three of the four playoff teams are decided – Stone Memorial, East Hamilton and Cumberland County – although the order of finish is still up in the air.
The fourth spot appears to be down to Livingston Academy and Hixson. Hixson’s Wildcats play their last region game next week when they host Livingston.
“We messed up at Livingston (lost 21-14) so we put ourselves in a spot where we need some help,” East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood said. “That could cost us a home (playoff) game.”
Stone Memorial, currently 8-0, has the inside track on first but has county rival Cumberland County tonight and East Hamilton on Oct. 30.
Livingston Academy, by virtue of region wins over Central and East Hamilton, could still force a three-way tie for first but would have to win out against Cumberland County, Hixson and Sequoyah.
First-round opponents will come from Region 4, which consists of contenders Marshall County, Page, Spring Hill and Lawrence County.
Region 2-3A
McMinn Central is currently clinging to the fourth playoff spot, but the Chargers host unbeaten Christian Academy of Knoxville (8-0, 3-0) tonight with a final league game, which will likely determine their fate, versus Scott County on Oct. 30.
McMinn Central is currently a game ahead of Scott. The region championship should come down to a game on Oct. 29 between Alcoa and CAK. Kingston appears headed for a third-place finish.
“Even if we beat CAK and lose to Scott County, we probably wouldn’t get in because Scott County would have the head-to-head,” Chargers coach Josh Goodin said.
Region 3-3A
Surprising East Ridge (7-0, 3-0) is atop the standings, and only Howard tonight and Chattanooga Christian on Oct. 30 stand between the Pioneers and an unbeaten region season. They’ve locked up a playoff spot, but even a first-round host role is still in question.
Notre Dame likely will finish second and CCS third, with its only region loss to date against the Fighting Irish. However, CCS hosts Red Bank tonight, and a Red Bank win could drop the Chargers to fourth. However, a CCS win tonight and another on Oct. 30 could force a three-way tie for the title among the Chargers, the Pioneers and the Fighting Irish.
Region 3 will be paired with Region 4, which likely will send DeKalb County, Upperman, Sequatchie County and either Smith County or Grundy County into the postseason.
Region 4-3A
Sequatchie County missed its opportunity at the region title when the Indians lost a shootout (35-25) at current leader DeKalb County. Coach Adam Caine’s charges, currently third in the standings, still have a glimmer of hope at the championship but would have to have help from Upperman and winless Cannon County. Whether they’ll even get a first-round home game depends heavily on their regular-season finale at home against Upperman. Before that, though, they must beat Cannon County and longtime valley rival Grundy County.
Grundy still has a playoff shot in Casey Tate’s first year at the helm, but huge games for the Yellow Jackets take place tonight against York Institute in Coalmont and again on Oct. 30 at Smith County.
In the postseason Region 4 teams will be paired with East Ridge, Notre Dame, CCS and either Red Bank or Howard.
Region 3-2A
A win tonight at Polk County will allow Boyd-Buchanan to secure the region championship. Marion County has a playoff berth and could secure No. 2 with a win tonight at Bledsoe County. There is, though, a jumble for the two remaining spots among Tyner, Bledsoe County, Brainerd, Meigs County and Silverdale Baptist.
Much will be learned after tonight’s games, specifically Meigs at Tyner and Silverdale at Brainerd. Wins tonight could set up a third-place showdown on Oct. 30 between Tyner and Brainerd.
“If Brainerd beat Silverdale and Bledsoe, they’ll be no worse than fourth, and if they beat those two and Tyner, they could finish third,” one region peer said.
Region 3 pairs with Region 4 for the postseason, and that region includes probable region winner Forrest, Westmoreland, Eagleville, Cascade and Community.
Region 3-1A
While South Pittsburg is the only team left without a region loss, the Pirates have clinched nothing more than a playoff spot with two region games left – tonight against winless Lookout Valley and then the final week (Oct. 30) at home vs. Grace Academy. That regular-season finale could decide the region championship.
Whitwell handed Grace its lone league loss and could get a host role but will have to beat Sale Creek tonight and Copper Basin in two weeks. Then it may hinge on the outcome of the Grace-South Pitt game.
Although all teams are still mathematically in the playoff picture, Copper Basin holds the advantage on Sale Creek and Lookout Valley for the fourth berth.
South Pittsburg and region friends with be paired with Region 4, which consists of Columbia Academy, Fayetteville, Mount Pleasant, Moore County, Huntland, Cornersville, Franklin Grace, Summertown and Richland.
Division II-AA
Everybody, just as in Division I’s Super 32, is in the playoffs, but Division II-AA is seeded with out-bracket games and then quarterfinals.
Where Baylor and McCallie end up likely will come down to both teams’ outcome against Pope John Paul II and then Baylor’s game with Montgomery Bell Academy. The Red Raiders could be seeded second or third and McCallie fourth. If McCallie finishes fourth, the Blue Tornado likely would face PJP II in the first round. A second-round game at Baylor could be next depending on how the Red Raiders fare with MBA next week.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.