By Donovan Stewart
MaxPreps.com
The first round of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) playoffs got underway last Friday and we found out that the No. 4 is a lucky one, and Huntingdon’s Kennon Holder put his name in the record books.
First Round Lessons
No. 4 Seeds Rock. Six No. 4 seeds were victorious on Friday as Gleason, Sycamore, Kingston, Page, Wilson Central and McMinn County went on the road and won beating No. 1 seeds. Throw in No. 3 seed Fairview defeating No. 1 Camden and Jackson Christian defeating No. 1 Carver in Class 2A, eight No. 1’s went out off the bat, which is very unusual.
The Record Breaker. Huntingdon junior running back Kennon Holder didn’t expect his performance Friday night to be THAT GOOD. Holder carried his Mustangs to the second round by breaking the state record of 477 rushing yards in a game set by Jack Keisling from Livingston Academy in 1947.
Holder rushed for 503 yards and six touchdowns on 37 carries as Huntingdon defeated University School of Jackson 63-38.
Alcoa Defense. The Tornado defense is very talented, giving up 31 points all season. Alcoa has outscored its last eight opponents 398-7, and have shut out seven out of their eight opponents, including four straight.
Ensworth’s Tavares Jefferson and Opoku-Darwa = Danger. The backfield duo of Jefferson (1,141 yards rushing, 939 passing, 33 total touchdowns) and Darwa (1,848 yards and 21 touchdowns) have combined for 3,920 yards of total offense, and a huge reason the Tigers are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Division II.
Gleason, Middle Tennessee Christian School Make School History. Both Class 1A schools made history last Friday for different reasons. Gleason won its first playoff game in seven tries with a 36-30 win over Trinity Christian.
MTCS lost to 42-20 to top seeded Wayne County, but the Cougars were making their first playoff appearance in school history.
Class 1A Superlatives
Team of the Week – Gleason. That’s right, I’m showing a lot of love for the Bulldogs this week because anytime a 5-5 team wins a playoff game it’s exciting for that school. But when you win the first playoff game in school history as they did Friday night, that’s historic.
Player of the Week – Ethan Tummins, McEwen. The hard-runnin’ Tummins has been a tough target to tackle all season rushing for 1,870 yards for the year. He added 202 on Friday to mark four out of five games he has busted the 200-yard barrier.
Friday’s Picks – South Pittsburg over Friendship Christian, Trousdale County over Watertown, Knoxville Grace over Greenback, Oneida over Midway, Union City over McKenzie, Gleason over Lake County, McEwen over Cascade, JoByrns over Wayne County
Class 2A Superlatives
Team of the Week – Marion County. The Warriors have won nine games in a row after starting the season 0-2. They finished off York for the second time in a matter of three weeks, which is hard to do.
Player of the Week – Kennon Holder, Huntingdon. The junior running back rushed for a state record 503 yards and scored six times in the Mustangs’ win in the first round.
Friday’s Picks – Alcoa over CAK, Loudon over Happy Valley, Boyd Buchanan over Westmoreland, Marion County over Smith County, Lewis County over Goodpasture, Christ Presbyertian Academy over Fairview, Milan over Westview, Huntingdon over Jackson Christian.
Class 3A Superlatives
Team of the Week – Page. The Patriots went to Jackson Southside and won.
Player of the Week – William Officer, David Lipscomb. The sophomore has been subbing for Zach Rogers since he went down three weeks ago with a separated shoulder and has responded with two 200-plus rushing games in the last three weeks. With the arrival of Officer, who had 228 yards and three TDs against Chester County, Rogers is only playing on defense.
Friday’s Picks – Station Camp over Sycamore, White House over Dekalb County, Austin East over Kingston, Knoxville Catholic over Anderson County, Mitchell over Haywood, Dyersburg over Sheffield, David Lipscomb over Lexington, Giles Co. over Page
Class 4A Superlatives
Team of the Week – Knoxville West. The Rebels fought off Red Bank in three overtimes, sending the Lions home for the first time in the first round since 1999.
Player(s) Of The Week – Jamison Knox, Mark Guyton and Jaszy Parker, Memphis East. Awesome in East win over Hardin County. RB Knox (201 yards), FB Guyton (179) and Parker (154) were unstoppable in the shootout victory.
Friday’s Picks – Maryville over Knoxville West, Rhea Co. over Powell, Sullivan South over Morristown East, Greeneville over Tennessee, Henry Co. over Fairley, Memphis East over Melrose, Hillsboro over Mt. Juliet, Beech over Maplewood.
Class 5A Superlatives
Team of the Week – McMinn County. The Cherokees went to Kingsport and sent the upset shockwave of the week beating undefeated Dobyns Bennett 28-24.
Player of the Week – Whitehaven’s Defense. The Tiger defense was very nasty against Craigmont, getting a shutout and allowing only 88 yards of total offense.
Friday’s Picks – Smyrna over Wilson Central, Oakland over Cookeville, Farragut over McMinn Co., Ooltewah over Soddy Daisy, Millington over White Station, Whitehaven over Germantown, Franklin over Hendersonville, Brentwood over Centennial
Class Division II-A Superlatives
Team of the Week – FACS. FACS got a huge game on the ground from Dane Wilson to knock out defending champion St. George’s.
Player of the Week – Dane Wilson, FACS. Wilson craved up the Gryphon defense for 200 yards and two touchdowns in only 17 carries.
Friday’s Picks – Harding Academy over First Assembly Christian School, Davidson Academy over Southern Baptist Educational Center
Class Division II-AA Superlatives
Team of the Week – Brentwood Academy. The Eagles used the 1-2 punch of Joshua Tate and Victor Caro to hammer Briarcrest 40-6.
Player of the Week – Orleans Opoku-Darwa, Ensworth. The Tiger junior rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-17 win over McCallie.
Friday’s Picks – Ensworth over Brentwood Academy, Memphis University School over Montgomery Bell Academy
Friday Night Stat Stuffers
Kennon Holder, RB, Huntingdon – Rushed for a state record 503 yards and scored six touchdowns on 37 carries in a 63-38 win over University School of Jackson.
Orleans Opoku-Darwa, RB, Ensworth – Rushed for 252 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 34-17 win over McCallie.
William Officer, RB, David Lipscomb – Rushed for 228 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 48-14 win over Chester Co.
Ethan Tummins, RB, McEwen – Rushed for 202 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 27-10 win over Mt. Pleasant.
Demario Carter, RB, Sheffield – Rushed for 205 yards and scored a touchdown in a 14-7 win over Dyer County.
Dane Wilson, RB, First Assembly Christian School – Rushed for 200 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 42-21 win over St. George’s.
J.C. Griggs, RB, Westview – Rushed for 264 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 38-20 win over Oakhaven.
Jabriel Washington, QB, Trinity Christian – Threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-30 loss to Gleason.
Michael Fromke, QB, Christian Academy of Knoxville – Threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 25-14 win over Gatlinburg Pittman.
Daniel Willis, RB, Greenback – Rushed for 205 yards and scored three times in a 49-7 win over Hampton.
Shannon Meady, RB, Carter – Rushed for 219 yards and one touchdown in a 22-21 loss to Anderson Co.
Jamison Knox, RB, Memphis East – Rushed for 201 yards and one touchdown in a 64-36 win against Hardin County.
By the Numbers – Playoff Edition
Consecutive years making the playoffs;
26- Milan (1982)
21- Trousdale Co. (1987)
17- Donelson Christian Academy (1991)
17- Goodpasture (1991)
17- Lewis Co. (1991)
17- Lincoln Co. (1991)
17- White House (1991)
16- David Lipscomb (1992)
16- Dobyns-Bennett (1992)
15- Gatlinburg Pittman (1993)
13- Jackson Christian (1995)
12- Dyersburg (1996)
12- Maryville (1996)
12- McKenzie (1996)
12- Brentwood High (1996)
11- Brentwood Academy (1997)
10- Jackson Southside (1998)
Stew’s Top 10 (Regardless of Classification)
1. Maryville (4A) 11-0
2. Henry County (4A) 11-0
3. David Lipscomb (3A) 11-0
4. Ensworth (DII) 11-0
5. Memphis University School (DII) 11-0
6. Montgomery Bell Academy (DII) 10-1
7. Franklin (5A) 10-1
8. Alcoa (2A) 10-1
9. South Pittsburg (1A) 10-0
10. Millington (5A) 11-0
Questions ? Comments ? Contact Donovan at dstew4vu@yahoo.com
