Second in a two-part series
Take one team loaded with talented players, a savvy coach and strong community support. Pour into a pressure cooker. Sprinkle in an off-season training program, team unity and tradition and stir continually over 10 weeks of the regular season. And don’t forget a dash of luck. Bring to a boil in the playoffs, making sure not to overheat, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a state championship season.
Sound easy? It’s far from it for high school football teams working toward the same ultimate goal.
Since the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association began its playoff system 50 years ago, the brackets have expanded six times, including a public/private split, reached the point that 230 teams earn playoff berths and nine champions are crowned each season. The recipe for claiming one of those gold ball trophies, however, remains uncertain.
“It’s gotten to be easier to make it to the playoffs, but it will never be easy to win a championship,” said Bill Price, who quarterbacked Red Bank to the 1978 Class AAA championship game and later coached Soddy-Daisy to its first playoff appearance and Signal Mountain to the Class 2A state championship in 2010 before retiring with 172 career wins. “You have to have a lot of talent, good coaches and community support just to have a chance. The further you make it, the tougher it’s going to be.