#TNHSFB Playoffs: Recapping Round Two

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Things started to get serious in the second round as we had several top matchups take place across the state with some surprising results. We dive into those games below with our Round Two Recap. </h2>     Class 1A   - Pretty much everything from the Class 1A ranks in Round Two was a blowout except for one game which saw Union City go into M.A.S.E. and defeat the top seeded Phoenix, 35-34. This was a surprising outcome for many across the state for me, I saw this possibly happening as the Golden Tornadoes brought in a veteran backfield in [player_tooltip player_id='362090' first='Keaten' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='414886' first='Jacob' last='Arnold'] that have won a lot of ball games and they proved to be difference makers in this contest.    It was a close win and a hard fought path to achieve victory but Union City got the job done against a talented M.A.S.E. team that had pieces to win a Class 1A state title.    The victory over M.A.S.E. is huge for the Golden Tornadoes but they must forget about it quickly as they move on to face the top team from the West TN region in Class 1A and that's Dresden. It will be another tough challenge for Union City but with Brown and Arnold handling business in the backfield, I could see the Golden Tornadoes pulling off the upset but they must play their best game of the season in their hopes of beating the top seeded Tigers.    Round Two Scores    Oliver Springs 34 Greenback 12   Coalfield 31 Rockwood 0   South Pitt 58 Clay Co. 0   Gordonsville 35 Whitwell 15   Moore Co. 35 Eagleville 0   McKenzie 43 Collinwood 0   Dresden 49 Middle Coll. 14   Union City 35 M.A.S.E. 34   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/06/jakearnold2.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-854012" style="width:506px;height:auto" /></figure>   - - - - - - - - - -   Class 2A   - The biggest game from the Class 2A ranks proved to be not a blowout but close to it as East Robertson traveled down to previously undefeated Marion Co. and took down the Warriors in a 24-7 win to advance into the Quarterfinals. The Indians received a big game from Mr. Football semifinalist [player_tooltip player_id='497421' first='Isaiah' last='Groves'] as well as a strong defensive performance, spearheaded by senior linebackers [player_tooltip player_id='332217' first='Elijah' last='Groves'] and Dallas Caffrey.    The Indians offense did their job and scored enough to win but credit has to be given to their defense as they shut down a high scoring Marion Co. offense that had been clicking on all cylinders without much push back throughout the season. Well that changed last Friday when the athletes on the Indians defense showed up and became the difference in moving on to the Quarterfinals.    - Another Class 2A title contender went down in Round Two as Mitchell, who had been one of the best teams all year inside this classification took it on the chin in a 18-8 surprising loss to Memphis Business Academy. Nobody across the state saw this loss happening but you have to give credit to Memphis Biz and their defense for shutting down [player_tooltip player_id='1102959' first='Lamarious' last='Liggins'] and his Tigers offense.    - Having the upset of Mitchell puts the Fairley Bulldogs and the Huntingdon Mustangs on target to meet up in the Semi-finals next week and compete for a spot in the Class 2A championship. If both teams can handle business this Friday against Riverside and Memphis Biz, both will meet up for a shot to compete in Chattanooga for that elusive “Gold Ball”.    Round Two Scores   Hampton 36 Bledsoe Co. 31   York Inst. 34 Oneida 7   Smith Co. 45 Fayetteville 12   East Robertson 24 Marion Co. 7   Riverside 33 Peabody 7   Huntingdon 49 Milan 20   Memp. Biz Acad. 18 Mitchell 8   Fairley 34 Oakhaven 0   - - - - - - - - - -   Class 3A   - Chalk is what took place here in Class as all the top seeds won and advanced except for one game where #2 seed Liberty Creek went on the road and defeated #1 seed Fairview, 49-27. It was yet another strong performance from the Wolves as they have been on a tear of late with one of the hottest quarterbacks in the state running the show in [player_tooltip player_id='258674' first='Brian' last='Rager']. This is also the furthest this Wolves program has gone in the playoffs under their short existence, so it's quite impressive to see Liberty Creek in this position to compete for a semi-final spot this Friday in what could be an entertaining game against state title contender East Nashville.    - Giles Co. was another impressive team in Round Two as they took McMinn Central to the woodshed, defeating the Chargers, 70-29 behind a stellar performance from senior playmaker [player_tooltip player_id='239447' first='Kamauri' last='Turner']. The 5'9 versatile athlete produced five touchdowns on the night along with an interception on defense while continuing to push his recruiting stock to another level.    The Bobcats have a big one this coming Friday and will need another huge performance from Turner as they travel on the road to undefeated Meigs County. This could be one of the best games of the Quarterfinal round and a possible upset as Giles Co. brings an athletic squad to town that the Tigers haven't seen too much of this season.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/amsmith.jpg?w=320" alt="" class="wp-image-803258" /></figure>   Round Two Scores   Gatlinburg-Pittman 48 Kingston 7   Alcoa 47 Austin-East 6   Meigs Co. 42 Sequatchie Co. 28   Giles Co. 70 McMinn Cent. 29   East Nashville 40 Stratford 14   Liberty Creek 49 Fairview 27   Dyersburg 21 Westview 18   Covington 38 Ripley 6   - - - - - - - - - -   Class 4A   - The quarterback showdown of [player_tooltip player_id='398083' first='Silas' last='Teat'] versus [player_tooltip player_id='207322' first='Carter' last='Smith'] went to Teat as Marshall Co. went into Tigers territory and defeated previously undefeated Hardin Co., 45-23 in what was an outstanding offensive performance. Marshall Co. was not phased by being on the road on the gridiron of an undefeated team as they scored early and often with Teat being at the forefront of that effort.    The senior lefty signal caller tossed the ball 22 for 26 with 262 yards and four touchdowns through the air while also producing a rushing score on the ground as well. Teat showed up big time on the big stage for his team while his playmakers produced for him and his defense kept one of the best quarterbacks in the state in check. What Marshall Co. has now is a rematch with region foe Pearl Cohn, who they lost to just a few weeks ago on the same field Teat and his Tigers will compete on this Friday.    - One of the top ten contenders for the 4A state title went down last Friday when Dyer Co. traveled down to Memphis and defeated Melrose, 33-28. It was an up and down season for the Golden Wildcats and a year probably wasted as Melrose had a great offensive 1-2 punch in [player_tooltip player_id='301355' first='Joe' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='616519' first='Rhyan' last='Brown'] but Williams will be graduating in the spring.    The Choctaws on the other hand continued their recent winning ways as they are hot and playing at a high level, headed to Haywood on Friday to hopefully pull off another upset. It will be another tough challenge but Dyer Co. has the chops to get it done.    Round Two Scores    Greeneville 42 Gibbs 0   Anderson Co. 21 Elizabethton 7   Macon Co. 28 Red Bank 7   Upperman 28 Stone Memorial 14   Pearl Cohn 41 Station Camp 16   Marshall Co. 45 Hardin Co. 23   Haywood 47 Millington 26   Dyer Co. 33 Melrose 28   - - - - - - - - - -   Class 5A   - The fireworks coming from the 5A ranks in Round Two came in the East Tennessee region as we saw two top seeds go down by the hands of two familiar foes who traveled on the road with a mission at hand. Powell went over to Sevier Co. and took down the Smoky Bears, 31-7 while 5A title contender Oak Ridge saw their season come to end by way of [player_tooltip player_id='268184' first='Joshuah' last='Keith'] and the Clinton Dragons, 24-21.    I could see Powell beating Sevier Co. as the Panthers know how to play in the postseason but I didn't see Oak Ridge going down to Clinton. The Wildcats have been strong all year, led by a potent offense but they weren't able to score enough to advance past a hot Dragons team that has seen their defense step it up, led by the play of Purdue commit, [player_tooltip player_id='360065' first='D'Mon' last='Marable'].    Keep an eye on Clinton moving forward as they are a team that could play their way to Chattanooga as they have a veteran squad with several players destined for college ball.    Round Two Scores   Powell 31 Sevier Co. 7   Knox. West 30 Morristown-West 0   Clinton 24 Oak Ridge 21   Walker Valley 37 Lenoir City 11   Centennial 20 Shelbyville 14   Page 37 Tullahoma 7   Henry Co. 46 Hendersonville 42   Southwind 45 Beech 22   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/07/jkeith2.jpg?w=400" alt="" class="wp-image-930247" /></figure>   - - - - - - - - - -   Class 6A   - Everything across the 6A landscape for Round Two was all chalk as every top seed except for Jefferson Co. won their game and most of them won by decisive margins. Probably the most impressive performance from the second round was Houston defeating region rival Collierville, 40-7. It was the second win of the year for the Mustangs over Collierville and a complete beatdown of the Dragons. Senior back [player_tooltip player_id='277794' first='Damon' last='Sisa'] was too much to handle and junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='816017' first='Chandler' last='Day'] had an outstanding showing behind center to move the Mustangs into the Quarterfinals.    - The best from the 6A ranks was top seed Jefferson Co. seeing their season come to a close after their 23-20 loss to Bearden. The Patriots had only lost once all season but ran into a hot Bulldogs team that is playing strong football right now, led by their talented backfield in [player_tooltip player_id='222283' first='Jaheim' last='Merriweather'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='806042' first='Jayzon' last='Thompson']. The Patriots must now move onto the offseason while Bearden advances to the Quarterfinals against one of the top teams in the state, Bradley Central.    Round Two Scores   Bearden 23 Jefferson Co. 20   Bradley Cent. 37 Maryville 14   Riverdale 42 Cookeville 21   Oakland 24 Mt. Juliet 2   Ravenwood 38 Smyrna 9   Brentwood 38 Summit 14   Houston 40 Collierville 7   Germantown 38 Bartlett 16   - - - - - - - - - -   Private Schools    - Jackson Christian saw their dream season come to end last Friday when they took a second round road loss to Columbia Academy, 48-41. Even with missing star player [player_tooltip player_id='219345' first='Jaylen' last='Mosley'], the Eagles still performed well offensively but they might have missed him most on defense where the Bulldogs were able exploit the JCS secondary.    Senior [player_tooltip player_id='268198' first='Connor' last='Rosson'] has done a great job of steadying the quarterback position this season for the Bulldogs and he continued that strong play in the second round. He is being helped by solid skill players but it's his O-line with [player_tooltip player_id='860493' first='Joshua' last='Byers'], [player_tooltip player_id='1323060' first='Blake' last='Barker'] and others that are leading the way. Both Rosson and the O-line must continue their play moving forward as they have stiff competition in front of them, starting this Friday against top seed MTCS.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/jbyers.jpeg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-1042262" style="width:355px;height:auto" /></figure>   D2-Class A R2 Scores   Columbia Acad. 48 Jackson Chrst. 41   MTCS 56 First Assembly 28   Nash. Chrst. 45 TCA 28   FCS 35 DCA 0   - One of the biggest wins of all schools in the Tennessee High School playoffs in Round Two was Davidson Academy going down to Memphis and knocking off top seed Lausanne, 36-35. Led by senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='268180' first='Knox' last='Roberts'], the Bears fought hard the entire way until they found a way late to pull ahead by one and bring home an upset road win. The Lynx might have had more overall talent but the Bears are a resilient club with veterans that wasn't phased by their circumstances.    - A surprising score from the Round Two action was FRA defeating Knox. Webb, 50-15 in what many felt would be a close contest, settled at the very end. The most surprising factor about this game was the margin as I did not see FRA blowing out the Spartans but that's what happened and it was an impressive showing by the Panthers within a huge playoff setting.    Knox. Webb had no answers for the Panthers offense, especially [player_tooltip player_id='150281' first='Ty' last='Clark III'], who ran around and through the Panthers defensive front seven, which has two future college players. It was a stellar showing by FRA but can they keep up this Friday as they are set to face a familiar foe in CPA, who could be viewed as the top title contender now with Lausanne and Knox. Webb out of the picture.    D2-Class AA R2 Scores   Davidson Acad. 36 Lausanne 35   Boyd Buchanan 28 Northpoint Chrst. 3   CPA 48 USJ 11   FRA 50 Knox. Webb 15   - Two stunning upsets took place last Friday in Round Two where two sleeper title contenders went down as MBA came from behind to defeat Ensworth, 17-14 while Knox. Catholic traveled all the way to Memphis and beat MUS with a last second field goal, 31-28. Both of these results were stunning in their own regard as nobody picked either MBA or Knox. Catholic to be the victors but that's why you play the game as you never know who will show up.    MBA has been playing good football of late as their youth began to grow up by season's end. Led by stud linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='331623' first='Jake' last='Moore'], the Big Red defense has been steady all year long and has been the consistent factor that has MBA sitting in the semi-finals.    The Fighting Irish have had an up and down year but have shown flashes of excellence. Last Friday was some of their best football yet as they went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the West Tennessee region and walked out with a stunning upset.    Both of these teams have to regroup as they both face the two best teams on the private school ranks this season in Baylor and McCallie. Maybe the magic remains for MBA and Knox. Catholic to pull off another upset and continue to path towards a D2-Class AAA title.    D2-Class AAA R2 Scores   McCallie 49 Brentwood Acad. 10   MBA 17 Ensworth 14   Baylor 49 Chrst. Brothers 7   Knox. Catholic 31 MUS 28   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/02/keismith.jpg?w=400" alt="" class="wp-image-648876" /></figure>