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After a good night of weather for football in Week 3, here’s my half-dozen thoughts on some notable items from the first Friday in September:
Making statements: Two teams that immediately stand out for their wins in Week 3 are Pope John Paul II and Goodpasture.
The Knights have started well in recent years, but region play has always been a problem once September begins. Their 38-21 win at Briarcrest Christian puts them in far better shape to make the postseason than last year. This is a team that could make a ton of noise later on this year if their results in region play keep improving. Cooper Pennington was a big reason why the Cougars took down BGA and he’ll play a huge role going forward.
Goodpasture hasn’t started 3-0 since 2010, when the Cougars reached the Class 2A championship game. Tyler Turner has this Goodpasture team believing they can win any game, and that confidence will come in handy as their toughest competition is ahead of them in region play (vs. Lipscomb Academy on Sept. 18, at CPA on Oct. 16). But it’s a good start and the Cougars are a team to watch in the coming weeks.
The defense doesn’t rest: Perhaps this tweet from Davidson Academy’s Twitter account is all you need to see about Friday’s 35-0 victory over Nashville Christian:
The Bears haven’t lost since falling to the Eagles last year, and they’re already making their case for a three-peat in Division II-A. The next points they allow will be the first of the season, as they’ve outscored opponents 85-0 in two games.
Right direction: Clarksville public schools got to open their season on Friday, and while there were mixed results, Northeast and Northwest each earned region wins to begin their campaigns. So, too, did Montgomery Central, exacting revenge on a Portland team that knocked off the Indians last year and helped send them home for the playoffs.
A Creekbank slugfest: Watertown won a 9-7 battle at Trousdale County on Friday, with a safety coming off a bad punt snap proving to be the difference. Watertown has won Region 4-2A each of the last two years after taking the regular season meeting with the Yellow Jackets, but Trousdale County will certainly hope history repeats itself in the postseason – they’ve knocked the Purple Tigers out in the 2A quarterfinals in both years.
A worthy successor: Trevor Andrews is proving his worth as Ravenwood’s signal-caller, taking over at quarterback after Brian Garcia’s graduation. All he’s done is tossed 12 touchdown passes in three games with no interceptions and completed 38-of-57 passes (66.7 percent) for 556 yards as the Raptors have flown out to a 3-0 start. These next three weeks are tough, however, with home games against Pulaski Academy (Ark.), Brentwood and IMG Academy (Fla.).
Looking ahead: There aren’t a ton of region games in Week 4, but there are a couple with significant playoff implications as Middle Tennessee Christian visits DCA for first place in Division II-A’s East Region, and MBA hosts Briarcrest Christian as the Big Red open their season next week.
