#TNHSFB Playoffs: Round Two Recap

Wrapping up Round Two of the TNHSFB Playoffs, we recap the biggest stories with also a little look ahead in the Quarterfinals where we have some big time games to follow! Purple Wave Knock Off Top Seed, Cross Town Rival Possibly the biggest game in the West Tennessee region last Friday was the Purple Wave traveling to cross town rival Briarcrest Christian for a clash between two power programs, stacked for a title run. The kicker though is that only one of these teams could advance and what a performance it was from Christian Brothers in their big win over the Saints, 35-33. Earlier this season, Briarcrest defeated the Purple Wave and did so in a strong fashion but the second time around, the Christian Brothers team was ready and they leaned heavily on their [player_tooltip player_id="101973" first="Dallan" last="Hayden"]. The Ohio St. commit was a beast on Friday night, taking control early and establishing himself as a force that had to be dealt with all night long. The Saints defense did not have an answer for Hayden as he helped put the Purple Wave up big early and a big enough lead to stave off Briarcrest’s 4th quarter comeback. Christian Brothers have now won their 1st two playoff games and have begun to look like the team that was pre-season picked by #PRZTN as the top team in the West Region of the D2-Class AAA ranks. The way the Purple Wave are playing right now does not bode well for the opposition. Both sides of the ball are playing together and at a high level currently that makes you think they have what it takes to go all the way but they have a tough task ahead in the Big Red of MBA. This Friday the Purple Wave will travel to Nashville to take on the Big Red in a huge Semi-Final matchup that will push either squad onto Chattanooga for the D2-Class AAA state title. By the way the Purple Wave are playing right, I’d say they are up for the task! Magic Season Continues for Lebanon The 2021 season has been one of the best in school history for Lebanon and they get to keep writing their story after picking up their biggest win of the year on Friday night when they defeated a good Riverdale team in Round Two, 30-17. This was not only a needed win to advance into the Quarterfinals but it was also a statement victory for the Lebanon program that has done some great work over the past few years and it looks to be paying off now. Riverdale’s defense came into this game only giving up 6 points per game but that didn’t scare the Blue Devils offense. The game started off slow and Lebanon got behind, 10-0 but it didn’t phase them as junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="123166" first="Jaylen" last="Abston"] gathered his offense and they immediately kicked things into gear. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> It’s about pride.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BDP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BDP</a> <a href="https://t.co/ty5GWS1vNg">pic.twitter.com/ty5GWS1vNg</a> — [player_tooltip player_id="225975" first="Aidan" last="Donald"] (@AidanDonald5) <a href="https://twitter.com/AidanDonald5/status/1459540483584274445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Junior wideout Anthony Crowell was also a big reason behind the Blue Devils offensive explosion on Friday night and he continues to establish himself as one of the top playmakers in the Middle Tennessee region. The game remained close until the back end of the 4th quarter where Lebanon took control with a 13 point lead and never looked back. It was a great collective performance from both the Lebanon offense and defense that won this game and it took everybody on the sidelines to get it done. What’s up next for the Blue Devils is yet another home playoff game but this one is against possibly the best team in the entire state in the Oakland Patriots. Lebanon will be up for the challenge and it’s great to have this big matchup at home in front of the Blue Devil home crowd because they will need them! Trousdale Co. Pulls Off Big Road Upset This game was a Semi-Final caliber matchup in the 2nd round that took place at the Class 2A perennial powerhouse Meigs Co. but the home team didn’t come away with the win. The road Yellow Jackets from Trousdale Co. walked into the Tigers stadium confident, believing they were the better team and they proved just that in their close, hard fought 16-8 win over Meigs County. It wasn’t easy as the Tigers gave everything they had and then some in their efforts to comeback and win but Trousdale Co. was just too tough up front and had more athletes, led by [player_tooltip player_id="153047" first="Keenan" last="Burnley"] and Kane Burnley, that pushed them over the top. Meigs Co. has been the representative for all Class 2A teams in the state title game over the past few years but now a new competitor will take their place and it very well could be these Yellow Jackets. Trousdale will stay on the road in the Quarterfinals as they face their long time foe in Watertown, who is the top seed and it’s a rematch from just a month ago. The Yellow Jackets lost to the Purple Tigers, 31-21 but this is a new game and new opportunity for both teams and whoever wins this game, could be the favorite to play in Chattanooga. Cinderella Doesn’t Exist in 2021 The 2021 Tennessee High school Playoffs have been entertaining but the one thing lacking is a Cinderella, the Underdog. We don’t have those teams or that one team that has come out of nowhere to make a run or upset some top level programs. What we have seen thus far are the teams that have been expected to win, do so and they haven’t really been challenged. All the top title contenders like Oakland, Maryville, Lipscomb Acad., CPA, Lausanne, McCallie, Knox. West, Powell, Alcoa, Peabody and others all remain and I don’t know if any of them will be challenged until the Semi-Finals. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> That’s the game! Let’s Go Pats! ⭕️ On to the 3rd round! <a href="https://t.co/YKU9xpy57S">pic.twitter.com/YKU9xpy57S</a> — 𝙊𝙖𝙠𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (@PatsNationTN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatsNationTN/status/1459354690592907265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The one classification that looks wide open now is Class 2A after Meigs Co. was outed last Friday. The teams to watch on that level and even before the Tigers loss are MAHS and Westview and they both have to face each other to get to Chattanooga. As we head into the Quarterfinal round, it’s beginning to look like we might get all the favorites we thought might get in Chattanooga after all. Several more games must be played but Finley Stadium might be packed full of powerhouses and high competitive football contests. Etc …. - Looking ahead into Friday, we have several big time matchups across the state, pitting state title quality teams against each other, so this might be the most entertaining playoff week yet! Here are some of the biggest matchups set for Friday: McKenzie at Fayetteville (Class 1A), Trousdale Co. at Watertown (Class 2A), M.A.H.S. at Westview (Class 2A), Covington at Dyersburg (Class 3A), Elizabethton at Greeneville (Class 4A), Pearl Cohn at Tullahoma (Class 4A), Knox. Central at Knox. West (Class 5A), Page at Green Hill (Class 5A), Oakland at Lebanon (Class 6A), Ravenwood at Summit (Class 6A), DCA at USJ (D2-A), CPA at Lausanne (D2-AA) and Chrst. Brothers at MBA (D2-AAA). Those are some stellar matchups, loaded with college level talent, so Friday night should be fun! <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> It’s official! Green Hill 🆚 Page Next Friday, ⏰ November 19th 7:00pm 📍Hawk’s Nest Whether you had prior plans or not, you have new ones now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoHawks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoHawks</a> <a href="https://t.co/9uqFHBDLXA">pic.twitter.com/9uqFHBDLXA</a> — Green Hill Sports Network (@ghsportsnetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/ghsportsnetwork/status/1459368506391207938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>