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We may be through two weeks of the postseason now, but that doesn’t mean we completely forget about what happened during the regular season.
The 2023 regular featured a little bit of everything from blowouts, classics, and whatever else a fan of high school football fan can hope for.
With that in mind, the 615 Preps crew took some time to reflect and figure out what games in particular from the regular season stood out to them. Whether it was games they were at or ones they wished they could be at, here’s a look at the top five regular season games for Cam, Chris, Joe, KJ, and Scott.
Cam Reid
1. Riverdale 25, Oakland 24, Oct. 27: What a finish! The Patriots jumped out early, but Riverdale stayed calm and rallied late with a miraculous catch on a 2-point try by Braylen Vanderbilt to win it.
2. Henry County 46, Beech 45 (OT), Oct. 6: Chaos at Shackle Island! I wasn’t at this game, but just following the score updates had me on the edge of my seat.
3. Pearl-Cohn 15, CPA 11, Aug. 25: Instant Classic! What a great defensive game for both teams. Both are itching for a shot at a gold ball in a few weeks.
4. Brentwood 21, Brentwood Academy 18, Aug. 25: Welcome Baylor Hayes! Hayes led a late touchdown drive giving the Bruins a 3-point advantage late. The Bruins’ special teams were able to seal it with a blocked field goal at the horn.
5. Lipscomb Academy 34, McCallie 28, Oct. 27: Oh what could have been! Mustang seniors dug themselves out of a steep halftime deficit to knock off previously unbeaten McCallie (Had Lipscomb not been ruled ineligible for the postseason that very same day, the rematch could have been in Chattanooga with a gold ball on the line.).
Chris Brooks
1. Riverdale 25, Oakland 24, Oct. 27: The build to an electric finish was what put this game at the top for me – you could sense in the second half that this wasn’t any typical Battle of the ‘Boro. And the finish was the payoff, regardless of which team won.
2. Mt. Juliet 38, Lebanon 31 (2 OT), Oct. 13: After Lebanon dominated the first half, Mt. Juliet managed to come all the way back from a 21-point deficit to stun the Blue Devils for arguably its biggest win in this series’ history.
3. Henry County 46, Beech 45 (OT), Oct. 6: If you blinked, you might have missed two scores. The fact that Henry County went for the win in the first overtime instead of extending the game was not only the right move but the best one for this list.
4. Antioch 18, Cane Ridge 15, Aug. 31: Cane Ridge was down this year, yes, but this win for the Bears signified their emergence as a team to watch for the future and put them on a path to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. I was supposed to cover this game, but I ended up stuck in traffic on Interstate 24 for over four hours and missed the entire contest.
5. Macon County 6, Smith County 3 (OT), Sept. 8: Had to balance out the higher-scoring games with one dominated by defense – and both units did by keeping the other out of the end zone all night. It was a defensive play in the end zone by Macon County that secured the win, too.
Joe Spears
1. Mt. Juliet 38, Lebanon 31 (2 OT), Oct. 13: A week after I covered another overtime game, Mt. Juliet decided to make an incredible second-half comeback and force not one but two overtime periods against Lebanon. Midway through the third, this is a result I would have never expected.
2. Henry County 46, Beech 45 (OT), Oct. 6: I was convinced Beech had this win in the bag only for Henry County to make a comeback and force overtime on a late kick. Then the Patriots win it by converting a two-point conversion via the Philly Special? Easily in my top two.
3. Riverdale 25, Oakland 24, Oct. 27: I wasn’t at this game but no game kept my attention quite like this year’s Battle of the ‘Boro. Easily the game of the year for most people, this one also had arguably the play of the year with Brayden Vanderbilt’s incredible two-point conversion. This was a true classic.
4. Lipscomb Academy 34, McCallie 28, Oct. 27: Another Week 11 result I did not see coming, Lipscomb Academy had an incredible second-half rally to knock off the state’s top-ranked team. Given the emotions surrounding this game as well as the news announced earlier in the day of the two-year postseason ban, this easily made my top four.
5. CPA 17, Brentwood Academy 16, Aug. 19: I got back-to-back great games to start the year starting off with Mt. Juliet and Cane Ridge on Friday followed by this one Saturday night. CPA rallied from a 16-3 first-half deficit to beat the Eagles at home as Jackson Matthews’ interception in the end capped off a dominant defensive outing for the Lions.
KJ Harris
1. Riverdale 25, Oakland 24, Oct. 27: At halftime, Riverdale found themselves facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit down 17. The Warriors then staged a remarkable comeback, ultimately securing a thrilling victory in a closely contested game that went down to the wire.
2. Henry County 46, Beech 45 (OT), Oct. 6: This clash, determining the region championship, unfolded as a tight contest, with the teams deadlocked at halftime before Beech surged ahead by two scores. In a dramatic turn of events, Henry County orchestrated late-game scoring drives, forcing overtime, where they clinched the region championship with a daring two-point conversion on a trick play.
3. Lipscomb Academy 34, McCallie 28, Oct. 27: This one lived up to its hype as a nail-biter, requiring a heart-stopping late-game winning drive by the Mustangs to secure the victory. In a tense battle that unfolded down to the wire, Lipscomb showcased resilience and precision, sealing the win with a clutch performance when it mattered most.
4. Smith County 14, East Robertson 7, Sept. 22: This game carried heightened significance as the victor would claim the title of the region’s champion. As anticipated, the match unfolded as a defensive battle, but it was Smith County who eked out a hard-fought victory in the second half.
5. Ensworth 17, MBA 3, Aug. 25: In a matchup featuring two defensively sound teams, the scales tipped in Ensworth’s favor with a decisive late-game fumble recovery touchdown, securing them a hard-fought victory over MBA.
Scott Burton
1. Henry County 46, Beech 45, (OT), Oct. 6: An instant classic filled with big plays and bigger comebacks played in one of the best venues in the mid-state. Cap it all off with a gutsy 2-point “Philly Special” for the overtime win, it’s hard to top a game with everything.
2. Smyrna 30, Antioch 26, Oct. 20: Smyrna’s late-season resurgence combined with Antioch’s resurrection to make a region title game even more historic. The event was made even better by the Bulldog’s late-game comeback capped by Thomas Jones’s 11-yard run with 1:56 left.
3. James Lawson 18, Cheatham County 15, Aug. 18: The Lightning’s coming out party, showing off their brand new school and football digs was made all the more meaningful with the season-opening victory. Thirty-one of the game’s 33 points were scored in the fourth quarter, including the winning score on a Zach Capps pass to Mason Hawk with 5.8 seconds left.
4. Brentwood 17, Ravenwood 0, Oct. 27: The atmosphere for the 2023 installment of the “Battle of the Woods” was electric, as both sides of the stands were packed and the student sections were incredibly active. Although the final score was one-sided, the game never seemed to be too far out of reach until the fourth quarter. Between the tailgating, the pregame activities, and the magnificent atmosphere, it was high school football at its best.
5. York Institute 8, Friendship Christian 7, Oct. 13: A defensive gem, this game was incredibly hard fought. York scored the go-ahead late in the third quarter and faked a PAT to take the lead. The Commanders missed a field goal late and the Dragons sealed the game with a pick deep in Commander territory. It was a nail-biter to the very end.
