Win or go home: teams enter playoffs
After more than two months of grueling matchups each Friday, the calendar has flipped to a new page: the postseason.
And with dozens of games set for this weekend, four of those matchups will involve teams from the farragutpress coverage area.
Fresh off a region title with a record of 9-1, the Christian Academy of Knoxville Warriors will host Pope John Paul II (2-8) in the first round of the Division II-AA playoffs at CAK.
This marks the fourth postseason appearance in as many seasons for the Warriors under head coach Chad Speck, who has engineered a complete turnaround in his time at the helm.
But it will be CAK’s first meeting against the school more commonly known as “JPII.”
Similar history is on the line for Tyler Wynn at Hardin Valley Academy, where the Hawks defeated Ooltewah last weekend to cement their first playoff appearance since 2018.
This week, HVA (7-3) will travel to face Science Hill (7-2) in Johnson City.
The teams last played in Week 3 of the 2020 regular season, as the Hilltoppers defeated the Hawks 48-21. If HVA can pull out a win, it would mark the team’s first playoff win since 2016. For reference, that 2016 squad advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Oakland.
At Webb, the first year under George Quarles will see a postseason trip despite a 2-8 regular season. The Spartans are making their first postseason appearance since 2024, as they lost to Battle Ground Academy 42-7 that season. The road does not get much easier this time around, as Webb will travel to Franklin to face the same BGA team this Friday, Nov. 6. This matchup is one that features two high-profile coaches in Quarles and Wildcats coach Bobby Bentley, who coached at the college level before leading his BGA team to a state championship last season. In this matchup, Webb will look to shut down an offense that features another notable name in quarterback Bo Bryan, the son of country music star Luke Bryan.
And right here in Farragut, Concord Christian (7-3) will make its second consecutive postseason appearance this weekend when it hosts Fayette Academy (6-4) Friday night. It will be the school’s first time hosting a playoff game after Steve Matthews’ squad cracked the postseason for the first time ever last year.
Since CCS does not have lights on its field and playoff games must be kicked off at 7 p.m. ET, the Lions will host the Vikings at Farragut’s Eddie Courtney Stadium.
“I think it’s going to be great,” CCS coach Steve Matthews said. “We are excited about it, and it’s right down the street. For the playoffs, you have to have 7 p.m. kickoffs. Carson-Newman, where we have been playing our games, was unavailable, and Farragut was good enough to let us use their place. Hopefully we will have a great crowd and environment.”
