What's on the line for Chattanooga-area football teams as playoffs approach

Howard's JaCobi Dixon, left, and Marcus Reed tackle East Ridge's Desmon Drake last Friday at Howard. The host Hustlin' Tigers won to run their streak of victories to four.
Howard's JaCobi Dixon, left, and Marcus Reed tackle East Ridge's Desmon Drake last Friday at Howard. The host Hustlin' Tigers won to run their streak of victories to four.

As one of the most complicated prep football seasons in Tennessee history nears its end, the playoff scenarios for Chattanooga-area teams are pretty simple. Mostly.

With this the final week of the regular season, the seven public-school regions in which area teams are members have already decided their champion and the top spot for at least the first two rounds of the TSSAA playoffs, which kick off next week.

The biggest remaining questions are in three regions where second place - and a home game in the first round of the playoffs - is on the line. In Region 2-6A, where state second-ranked Maryville already owns a league title for the 21st straight year, the winner of the McMinn County at Bradley Central game will finish second, while the loser is third and will travel in the first round. The winner of Cleveland at Ooltewah will earn the fourth and final playoff spot, while the loser's season is over.

In Region 4-5A, fourth-ranked Rhea County has put together one of the quietest undefeated seasons in the state. The Golden Eagles (9-0, 3-0) own the region title and are one of only two Class 5A teams currently without a loss. They host Marion County in a nonregion game with the chance to cap the program's first undefeated regular season since 2014.

Behind Rhea in 4-5A, the winner of Soddy-Daisy at Walker Valley will finish second, and similarly in Region 2-4A, the winner of Howard at East Hamilton will be runner-up to Anderson County. The fourth and final postseason spot from 2-4A will be decided as East Ridge hosts Hixson.

After opening the season with a forfeit win, Howard once stood at 1-3 on the field and had lost by a combined 108-13 margin, including two shutouts. Since then, the Hustlin' Tigers have won four straight, allowing just nine points per game during that stretch. East Hamilton has been headed in the opposite direction, having lost its past two games by a combined score of 83-16.

"The biggest thing is we're extremely young and it just took longer than we wanted to grow up as a team," said Howard coach John Starr, who has nine sophomore starters on offense and four on defense. "We never panicked. Even when we got hammered early in the season by Brainerd and Tyner, our kids didn't quit. We were embarrassed, but they came back to practice to get better, and we saw hope even in those darkest of times.

"I told our coaches that since the kids weren't quitting on the team, we couldn't quit on them. We just kept working to get better. We trailed late in three of the games we've won, so that says a lot about the fight these kids have."

Fourth-ranked Red Bank already had one of the most intriguing stories this season, and after Brainerd was upset by McMinn Central on Thursday night, things got even more interesting. The Lions have yet to lose on the field, but a Region 3-3A forfeit loss to Brainerd, due to being quarantined for COVID-19, had them locked into a third-place finish, which also meant having to travel throughout the playoffs.

However, when McMinn Central earned its first win over a 3A opponent in four years by knocking off Brainerd 26-22, that gave the Lions new hope for potentially winning the region and getting to host at least during the first two rounds of state.

photo Staff photo by Robin Rudd / Brainerd's Jaylan Dupree (21) tries to get past McMinn Central's Jyrel Arnwine on Thursday night in a Region 3-3A game at Brainerd. The visiting Chargers won 26-22.

Red Bank travels to reigning region champion and third-ranked Loudon on Friday. A win by the Lions seals the region crown, with Loudon finishing second and Brainerd third. But a Loudon win would relegate Red Bank back to third, with Brainerd getting the second spot because of its forfeit win over the Lions.

"We've done what we were supposed to do and overcame the odds that weren't our fault to begin with, so now we're right where we expected to be before the season started," Red Bank coach Chris Brown said. "It's an uplifting feeling to know what we've got the opportunity to play for now.

"Everything we thought we had lost, as far as an opportunity, is now in front of us."

Also in 3-3A, the winner of the Sweetwater at Signal Mountain game will take the fourth playoff spot.

Meanwhile in 4-3A, due to Sequatchie County having to forfeit to Upperman this week, Grundy County earned the final playoff berth regardless of the outcome of its final regular-season game.

In 2-2A, second-ranked Meigs County has already wrapped up its fourth straight region title and can secure its 22nd consecutive league win in the regular-season finale at Wartburg. A win would make this group of Tigers seniors 39-1 in regular-season games and 48-4 overall for their Meigs careers.

All four 3-2A playoff spots are locked in as fifth-ranked Bledsoe County has already wrapped up its first region title in a decade and can finish the regular season unbeaten for the first time in program history with a win at Tellico Plains. Marion County is second, followed by Tyner and Tellico Plains.

When fourth-ranked Copper Basin had to forfeit this week's showdown at top-ranked South Pittsburg because of COVID-19, that gave the Pirates the region crown and left Copper Basin second; both will host first-round games next week. Sale Creek is locked into third, and the final playoff spot will be decided by the Whitwell at Lookout Valley game.

The top six teams in Division II-AA East qualify for the playoffs, which means only Notre Dame has been eliminated. Chattanooga Christian, which could finish anywhere from second to fifth, hosts Silverdale Baptist for positioning, and Knoxville Grace at Boyd Buchanan will also affect the region order.

In DII-AAA East, Baylor will finish fourth unless it upsets top-ranked Brentwood Academy and McCallie loses at Ensworth, which would move Baylor up one spot. All of Ensworth's league losses have come by single digits, so reigning state champion McCallie, which has lost its past two games, will have its hands full if it's going to get back on the right track heading into the postseason.

Georgia teams still have three weeks of regular-season games remaining. Two of the prominent games involving area teams this week include Darlington at Christian Heritage and Northwest Whitfield at Heritage.

In the new-look Region 7-A private, the Darlington (5-2, 1-0) at Christian Heritage (5-1, 1-0) game will go a long way in determining the top-two finish. A tight loss to Darlington kept Christian Heritage from winning its first region title a year ago, giving this rematch an extra boost.

The Lions rolled past region foe Walker 35-0 last week as Evan Lester set a school record with 258 receiving yards and scored three times, but coach Jay Poag's team has an offense that is balanced and dangerous. Joining Lester, who has season yardage totals of 660 receiving and 203 rushing, with major contributions are quarterback Christian Thomas (1,160 yards, 11 touchdowns) and running backs Solomon Locke (658 rushing yards, five touchdowns) and Gage Leonard (497 rushing yards, nine touchdowns).

The Lions also boast a defense that has posted two shutouts and held two other opponents to fewer than 10 points, led by leading tacklers Ben Hermann (65), Ben Willamson (41) and Lane Massengale, who has 41 tackles, five sacks and 22 quarterback pressures.

In the aforementioned Region 7-AAAA matchup, Northwest is likely facing a must-win situation. The Bruins were 4-0 before losing 54-35 to Central-Carroll and 44-8 to Cedartown the past two weeks. The offense will look to quarterback Owen Brooker (1,300 passing yards) and receivers Ray Morrison and Matt Redmond to get back on track.

The Bruins' problem on the other side of the ball of late has been giving up huge chunks on the ground - more than 400 per game the past two weeks. That may not be a problem against a Heritage offense that prefers to attack via the pass. The Generals rallied from a two-touchdown deficit a week ago to stun Central-Carroll and avoid an 0-2 start in 7-AAAA.

The strength of both defenses lies in the secondary, so the team that musters a ground game and avoid turnovers is likely to come out on top.

Lindsey Young contributed to this story.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

photo Bledsoe County football coach Dewayne Tabor's team has already won the Region 3-2A title and has a chance to finish the regular season undefeated.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Friday, Oct. 30, 2020All times Eastern; kickoff 7:30 p.m. unless notedTENNESSEEBledsoe County at Tellico PlainsBrentwood Academy at BaylorCleveland at OoltewahGrace Academy at Franklin GraceHixson at East RidgeHoward at East HamiltonKnoxville Grace at Boyd BuchananMcCallie at Ensworth, 8McMinn County at Bradley CentralMeigs County at WartburgRed Bank at LoudonRhea County at Marion County, 8Sale Creek at Fayetteville, 8Sequatchie County at Upperman, 8Smith County at Grundy County, 8Silverdale Baptist at Chattanooga Christian, 7Soddy-Daisy at Walker ValleySweetwater at Signal MountainTyner at Polk CountyWhitwell at Lookout ValleyGEORGIAAdairsville at SonoravilleB.E.S.T. Academy at TrionCalhoun at Woodland-BartowCedartown at RidgelandChattooga at Dade CountyCoosa at Gordon CentralDarlington at Christian HeritageLaFayette at Coahulla CreekLakeview-F.O. at North MurrayMurray County at RockmartNorthwest Whitfield at Heritage

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