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Now that the 2020 season is over, it’s report card time again for area teams.
The final set of grades goes to the teams in Class 5A, 6A and Division II-AAA, the large classes in the area.
Click here to see each team’s midseason grade for comparison.
All records include any wins or region losses due to COVID-19 cancellations, and a C grade is considered average for this exercise.
Class 5A
Region 5
Summit (13-1, state champions): They not only survived, but thrived, most of the season without Keaten Wade. Destin Wade more than proved his worth and the Spartans cashed in on their shot at the school’s first state title. Even though they’re moving up to 6A next year, they should be considered a threat to contend there, too. (Previous grade: A) Final grade: A+
Page (4-5, lost in 5A first round): They got to host a playoff game, but an angry Hillsboro team put a fast end to any postseason hopes. (Previous grade: C) Midseason grade: C
Columbia (6-6, lost in 5A second round): Could have made a sneakily deep run if not for those meddling kids at Summit. (Previous grade: B) Final grade: B
Region 6
Beech (9-2, lost in 5A quarterfinals): I believe the quarterfinal game against Summit was the true state championship game. No shame in losing to the eventual champs, but the Bucs were the second-best team in 5A this year, in my opinion. (Previous grade: B+) Final grade: A-
Gallatin (4-7, lost in 5A first round): Gallatin rescheduled a bunch of games due to COVID-19 cancellations, and scheduled some tough opponents. While credit is due for that decision, they paid a heavy price for it on the field, losing seven of their last eight, most of them at home. (Previous grade: C+) Final grade: C-
Hillsboro (5-3, lost in 5A second round): The late start put them behind the eight-ball, culminating in a second-round shutout loss at Beech. But they were able to play, and they did look good at times this year. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: B-
Hillwood (3-3, lost in 5A first round): Hillwood raised some eyebrows offensively when they got on the field, but the Hilltoppers were no match for Summit once November rolled around. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: C
Hunters Lane (3-3): The Warriors’ six-game slate came against all Metro teams, and resulted in a mixed bag of results. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: C-
Glencliff (0-5): Five games, only one with more than six points. They missed a golden opportunity to break their long losing streak when they fell by six at Whites Creek. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: F
Region 7
Northeast (7-3, lost in 5A quarterfinals): If it wasn’t for Henry County, Northeast’s season would look better. But a quarterfinal appearance is still a good season for a lot of teams, so I can’t count off too much for losing twice to a tough opponent. (Previous grade: B) Final grade: B+
Clarksville (5-5, lost in 5A second round): Not only did the Wildcats crawl out of the bottom of the region at midseason, they were a field goal away from a quarterfinal appearance. It’s a good finish after a rough start. (Previous grade: D+) Final grade: C+
Kenwood (2-6): The Knights were playing for third at midseason, and ended up on the outside looking in. (Previous grade: C) Final grade: D+
Northwest (1-7): Unfortunately for the Vikings, their season was lost almost as quickly as it began with injuries at the quarterback position. (Previous grade: D+) Final grade: D-
West Creek (2-7): Things just never really got any better for the Coyotes after a four-point loss at Portland in the third game of the season. (Previous grade: C-) Final grade: D-
Class 6A
Region 3
Oakland (15-0, state champions): What other grade can you possibly give to a team this dominant? (Previous grade: A+) Final grade: A+
Riverdale (10-3, lost in 6A quarterfinals): Two state champions handed the Warriors their three losses this season. They did everything else they needed to do, but one big cross-town hurdle tripped them up twice. (Previous grade: A) Final grade: A–
Blackman (4-6, lost in 6A first round): The Blaze battled back from a 1-5 start to get into the playoffs, and that’s still something, no matter if the schedule lightened up a bit on the back end. (Previous grade: D) Final grade: C
Siegel (0-10): Most teams that finish winless usually have a loss by 35 or more points. Siegel didn’t have any, and although that’s not much of a positive, it might be a clue toward improvement next season. It’s also why they’ll avoid an F for this year. (Previous grade: D-) Final grade: D-
Rockvale (1-7): A couple of close calls on getting win number two, but no dice. Unfortunate that the Rockets were unable to play Siegel at the end of the season, as that was another opportunity to win late in the year. (Previous grade: C) Final grade: D+
Region 4
Hendersonville (8-4, lost in 6A second round): Always good to win a playoff game, but at some point, you’ve got to figure out how to make a deeper run. When you’re sitting at the table across from Oakland and Riverdale, that’s not an easy task. But the Commandos did take the region for themselves, and that bumps their grade up slightly. (Previous grade: B-) Final grade: B
Mt. Juliet (7-4, lost in 6A first round): The Golden Bears’ grade gets bumped down for the exact opposite reason Hendersonville’s went up. (Previous grade: A) Final grade: B
Wilson Central (6-5, lost in 6A first round): Not a bad season for the Wildcats, and Zavier Ali was a big reason they made the postseason. Not many teams fared well against Riverdale’s defense, so Wilson Central isn’t alone there. (Previous grade: B-) Final grade: B-
Rossview (5-4, lost in 6A first round): After a decent start, the Hawks faltered down the stretch and stumbled in the playoffs, only to be fed to the Oakland machine in round one. Had they not won at Lebanon, this grade would have plummeted. (Previous grade: C+) Final grade: C-
Lebanon (5-5): With two games left, the Blue Devils were in prime position to not only make the playoffs, but avoid Oakland in the first round. Two close losses later, they saw none of it and watched from home. A brutal finish to what was a decent season. (Previous grade: C+) Final grade: C-
Station Camp (1-10): The Bison were able to snap a long losing streak, but it took an added postseason game to do it. It doesn’t exactly excuse the first 10. (Previous grade: F) Final grade: F
Region 5
Smyrna (7-4, lost in 6A first round): Winning the region title makes it a memorable year for the Bulldogs. Losing convincingly to Franklin makes it a forgettable postseason. (Previous grade: B) Final grade: B-
La Vergne (5-6, lost in 6A first round): La Vergne’s games were always entertaining, with plenty of points on both sides. It was a tough finish for the Wolverines, however, dropping four of their last five. (Previous grade: B-) Final grade: C+
Stewarts Creek (5-4, playoff game cancelled due to COVID-19): Such a tough way to end the season, unable to play in the playoffs due to COVID-19, especially considering they had a shot to win the region title themselves before being forced to shut down. A bit unfair to dock the Red Hawks for that, so we’ll go with the grade I had for them at the time their season ended. (Previous grade: C+) Final grade: B-
Cane Ridge (3-4, lost in 6A first round): One of the questions that we’ll never be able to answer is how good this Cane Ridge team could have been had they been able to start on time. It just seemed like the Ravens couldn’t get going with any momentum once they did hit the field. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: C
Antioch (1-5): It felt like Antioch was on the outside looking in from the beginning. (Previous grade: incomplete) Final grade: D
McGavock (1-5): You could really say the same thing about McGavock. (Previous grade: incomplete) Midseason grade: D
Overton (1-3): Likewise, Overton was in the same boat as Antioch and McGavock. (Previous grade: incomplete) Midseason grade: D
Region 6
Brentwood (11-4, lost in BlueCross Bowl): The Bruins overcame a lot in the postseason to get to Cookeville, but they couldn’t overcome allowing 28 points in the first quarter to Oakland. (Previous grade: A-) Final grade: A
Ravenwood (6-5, lost in 6A second round): It just felt like the Raptors should have went farther than they did, but they caught a hot-running Franklin team at the wrong time. (Previous grade: B) Midseason grade: B-
Independence (7-3, lost in 6A second round): There’s no solace in being called the best third-place team in the state, but had the Eagles gotten past Brentwood again, there’s a very good chance we might have been talking about them in the championship game. (Previous grade: A-) Final grade: A-
Franklin (7-6, lost in 6A quarterfinals): The Admirals’ offense took off and surprised some folks down the stretch to make a quarterfinal run. Next year, however, their region gets even harder. (Previous grade: C) Final grade: B-
Centennial (2-7): Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Cougars in 2021, but at least 2020 will be behind them. (Previous grade: C-) Final grade: D+
Dickson County (1-9): Bad news is they finished last in the region again. Good news for the Cougars is they don’t have to see this region next year, as they move to one they’ll have a shot to be more competitive in. (Previous grade: D+) Midseason grade: D
Division II-Class AAA
East Region
Brentwood Academy (11-1, lost in Division II-AAA semifinals): We thought the Eagles could win state. McCallie thought otherwise. (Previous grade: A+) Final grade: A
Father Ryan (6-3, lost in Division II-AAA quarterfinals): The Fighting Irish got a home playoff game for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything with it. That five-game winning streak to close the regular season does bump the grade up, though. (Previous grade: C) Final grade: B-
Ensworth (3-7): Just a rough season for the Tigers, as they never really got rolling. (Previous grade: C-) Final grade: D+
West Region
MBA (6-3, lost in Division II-AAA semifinals): MBA’s defense wasn’t as strong as last year, and MUS was able to knock them off in a shootout because of it. (Previous grade: A) Final grade: B+
Pope John Paul II (8-3, lost in Division II-AAA quarterfinals): The best season in school history didn’t end with a playoff win, but it did show that the Knights’ future looks pretty bright. (Previous grade: A-) Final grade: A-
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