#TNHSFB Playoffs: Round One Recap
Postseason play has arrived and last Friday in round one, action was hot and we had some intense games but the top teams moved on and there weren’t too many big surprises.
Here we recap all the top stories from Round One and how things stack up headed into the second round.
Top Title Contenders Move On
Round One of the Tennessee High School playoffs was an exciting moment for all parties involved as we had a lot of close, hard fought games and some teams who picked up their first ever postseason victories but one thing we did not have was major upsets.
We had a few minor victories by some teams that you would consider upsets but all the big boys, all the powerhouse programs won and are still intact.
Some of the top title contenders this season all had victories, including Oakland, Summit, Riverdale, Maryville, Powell, CPA, Collierville, Page, Tullahoma, Haywood, Greeneville, MAHS and others all won and moved on into the second round.
None of the heavily favored title contenders lost and all of them had relatively easy wins in round one but the path gets tougher in round two.
MAHS has a big home game vs. Huntingdon, Greeneville hosts Fulton, Powell brings in McMinn Co. who had an impressive round one win, Riverdale plays in what may be one of the best games of the week as they have to go on the road and face a very talented Lebanon team.
The path will get harder for every team that continues to win but for these power programs, they have the teams to face adversity and continue to march on based on the overall talent collected within all these programs listed above.
Round one provided a taste, a preview of what’s to come as the Tennessee high school state playoffs will ramp up with intensity, nail biting action, so all the top contenders better not sleep and be ready to compete because it’s win or go home season!
Gallatin Pulls Off Road Upset
It’s been a long process for head Chad Watson in his time at Gallatin but the work he and his staff have been doing might finally be paying off as the Green Wave went on the road in Round One of the playoffs and defeated Smyrna, 24-7.
This is considered an upset by many around these parts as Smyrna had put together a strong 2021 season and was playing at home with a solid senior class leading the way, however, the road Green Wave felt different.
Gallatin stepped up to the plate big time in the trenches and set the tone in the 1st half with their physical play across the line of scrimmage. Their physical tone was also set by the Green Wave defense as they locked up Bulldogs junior quarterback Landon Miller and the rest of the Smyrna offense, shutting them out in the 2nd half.
Aided by a strong rushing attack led by underclassmen Za’Kyian Brinkley and power five offered prospect, Jaheim Merriweather Jaheim Merriweather 6'1" | 190 lbs | RB Bearden | 2024 State TN , the Green Wave performed well on both sides of the ball and that’s the consistency that must take place in postseason play if you plan to win and survive.
It was an impressive performance from the collective overall team that now pits the Green Wave in the second round against long time rival Hendersonville. It will be the second playoff game in a row on the road for Gallatin but that shouldn’t phase them as they are playing with house money and playing good football at the right time.
Double Overtime Thriller Goes to Admirals
There is no better way to start postseason play other than a high scoring, double overtime contest that is settled by a one point victory. Well that’s exactly what happened last Friday when Farragut went on the road in Round One and defeated Science Hill in thrilling fashion, 57-56.
This was an entertaining game that went back and forth and obviously was not settled till the very end. Both the Admirals and Hilltoppers would throw punch after punch until someone caved in but it was the road team that would walk away as the victor.
Going into this game, Farragut had the offense that you thought could put up big points but the home Hilltoppers came to score the ball too. The Admirals got the job done by both the air and the ground game while Science Hill flexed their muscles up front, running the ball at will.
The back and forth affair between these two teams would be settled until the second overtime where the Admirals came away with the one point victory, led by a strong performance from senior quarterback Dawson Moore Dawson Moore 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB Farragut | 2022 State TN .
The Admirals offense must again put up some strong offensive numbers this week in Round Two as they are back on the road again facing a strong, talented team in the Bradley Central Bears. It will be tough but Farragut has the offensive firepower to give Bradley some troubles, so the Admirals could be a part of another close, hard fought contest that isn’t settled till the end or it could be a blowout…we shall see!!
Etc …..
– What was once a possible dream season for Mt. Juliet has now come to an end with a 1st round loss last Friday to Columbia, 30-10. The Golden Bears was once viewed as a Class 5A title contender early in the season but things quickly fell apart at the back end of the year and now their season is over.
This is somewhat of a disappointing result as the Golden Bears have a very talented team with multiple D1 college prospects, notably Ethan Crisp Ethan Crisp 6'3" | 205 lbs | LB Mt. Juliet | 2023 State TN , Ayden Bussell Ayden Bussell 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Mt. Juliet | 2023 State TN and Osize Daniyan Osize Daniyan 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR Mt. Juliet | 2023 State TN but as a whole, Mt. Juliet could not find the right potion, the right mixture for this team to come together and succeed.
The positive about all this is that Mt. Juliet returns the three guys mentioned above next season along with several others that should pit the Golden Bears right back at the top in consideration for the Class 5A championship but work must be done in the offseason to get things right and back on track.
– One of the biggest upsets of Round One came out west where the road Jackson North-Side Indians defeated the #1 seed Kirby Cougars, 14-13 in what was one of the closest, hard fought games of last week’s schedule. The Indians have some dudes, so this victory isn’t as surprising to me as it would be to others but either way, it was an impressive win over a Kirby team that has some dudes as well and had been playing good football at the end of the season.
Jackson North-Side must pull out another upset this week in Round Two as they hit the road again to face off with a good South Gibson team that has beaten some top teams this 2021 season. Don’t be surprised if the Indians come away with another victory because they have some horses to get the job done.
– Watch out for the Red Raiders from Baylor as they may have possibly flipped the switch back in the right direction, especially after their Round One road victory over a stout Ensworth team, 20-13. The home Tigers have been hot of late but were missing some top players for this game, however that did not phase Baylor as they came ready to play and put it on Ensworth, riding a stellar rushing performance from sophomore back Caleb Hampton Caleb Hampton 5'10" | 210 lbs | RB Baylor | 2023 State TN to a well earned victory.
Baylor now comes back to Nashville for Round Two as they face another talented team in MBA but both teams have horses to lead either one to victory, so this should be a fun, entertaining contest to watch and follow.