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It’s here. Week 11 has finally arrived.
The postseason kicks off next week but before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to get through the final week of the regular season. And what a week it’ll be.
Postseason berths are on the line as well as region titles. If you want drama, Week 11 in the Nashville area high school football scene has it for you and then some.
Here’s a little more insight on each of our top-10 games for the last week of the regular season.
Thursday Spotlight Game: Mt. Juliet (9-0, 5-0 Region 4-6A) at Green Hill (9-0, 5-0)
Halloween night is going to be a special one in Mt. Juliet as the Region 4-6A title is up for grabs between the town’s two teams. For the first time ever, both Mt. Juliet and Green Hill enter this heated rivalry both unbeaten.
The Golden Bears survived a scare from Franklin last week while Green Hill clinched a top-two spot in the region by beating Cookeville.
This game features a great quarterback duel between Mt. Juliet senior Tyler Travers and Green Hill junior Kannon Burroughs as well as a pair of shut down defenses. The winner of this game has never been the home team.
Friday Spotlight Game: Brentwood (8-1, 4-0 Region 6-6A) at Ravenwood (9-0, 4-0)
Ravenwood didn’t get to celebrate the high of beating Oakland too long. The Raptors host their hated rival with the region title on the line.
It could be argued that Ravenwood hasn’t played a defense quite as good as Brentwood’s. The Bruins haven’t allowed more than 16 points in any game this season and are allowing a mere nine points per game.
On the flip side of that, it could be argued that Brentwood hasn’t played an offense quite as prolific as Ravenwood’s. The Raptors have been held to below 20 points once and are averaging 35.7 points on the year.
DCA (8-1, 3-1 Division II-A Middle) at Nashville Christian (8-1, 4-0)
Is DCA a true state title contender in Division II-A? We’ll know after this game.
The Wildcats have one loss on the year to a good Columbia Academy team. However, that Bulldog team that they lost to 28-7, was blown out by Nashville Christian 45-7.
This is also the game you want to watch if you want a great quarterback duel. Mitchell Carey’s put up video game-like numbers since becoming DCA’s starter. He’ll go against one of the nation’s best and the presumed DII-A Mr. Football winner Jared Curtis.
Fairview (4-5, 2-1 Region 6-3A) at White House Heritage (6-3, 3-0)
A lot of craziness would have to happen for White House Heritage not to win the region title. With that said, winning against Fairview simply prevents any of that.
The Patriots will be looking to bounce back after getting blownout by East Robertson. Thankfully they have an explosive offense led by standout sophomore quarterback Xavier Murray.
That doesn’t bode well for the Yellow Jackets. Fairview also enters this game off of a loss and were torched on the ground by Sycamore’s Hicks Hunter. A loss here and a win by Sycamore would drop Fairview out of a top-two spot in the region.
Gallatin (3-6, 2-3) at Lebanon (3-6, 2-3)
Win and you’re in. Lose and you’re out.
That’s what it boils down to as the Green Wave make the trek over to Lebanon. Both of these teams have dissapointed this season but a win here means a whole new start to the season in a sense.
Figuring out both of these teams has also been a mystery. Gallatin’s blown a few teams out but also has some head-scratching losses. Lebanon’s in the same boat and was ran out of the stadium by Hendersonville last week.
Gordonsville (6-3, 2-0 Region 4-1A) at Clay County (7-2, 2-0)
If Gordonsville hopes to be taken as a true state title contender, the Tigers need to travel to Celina and win this game.
The Tigers were great offensively against Bledsoe County but struggled to get any stops last week. That doesn’t bode well against a team that’s scored 30 or more points in each of its last three games.
Finding a way to slow down Nate Adams will be the key to victory for Gordonsville. He will likely be a Mr. Football contender in Class 1A and Clay County’s offense runs through him.
Oakland (8-1, 4-0 Region 3-6A) at Riverdale (8-1, 4-0)
Riverdale has the luxury of hosting Oakland off of a loss and a team that still likely remembers how last year’s regular season game ended.
Thankfully for the Warriors, they tout one of the area’s best defenses. Riverdale hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in any game this season and that was the season-opener against Smyrna.
Oakland enters this game a bit beat up as well as both T.T. Hill and Daune Morris suffered injuries against Ravenwood. Even with that said, the Patriots will still be able to rely on guys like Craig Tutt and Chase Bandy.
Page (9-0, 4-0 Region 6-5A) at Nolensville (6-3, 4-0)
Nolensville is the last team standing in front of Page’s aspirations to finish as the unbeaten region champs. The Knights also enter this game off an upset loss to Summit.
Page let up points for the second time this season last week against Centennial. In the end it didn’t matter as they rolled to a 49-7 win.
That same Centennial team gave Nolensville all they could handle in a 10-6 win for the Knights. Page is the heavy favorite entering this game but Paul Derrick teams have been known to play spoiler in the past.
Pearl-Cohn (7-2, 6-0 Region 5-4A) at Marshall County (9-0, 6-0)
After starting the season 0-2, Pearl-Cohn’s rolled through its region schedule fairly unscathed. A scare from Station Camp was their lone blunder but they got past that and now have a shot at the region title.
Marshall County won’t be a pushover. The Tigers are unbeaten and have dominated most of the teams they’ve faced this season.
This game could also potentially determine the Class 4A Mr. Football winner. If Marshall County is unable to slow down Javion Kinnard, Pearl-Cohn should win. However, if the Firebirds’ defense can’t contain Tyler Thompson, it could be a long night for Pearl-Cohn.
Summit (3-6, 1-3) at Independence (2-7, 1-3)
The Border Battle has special meaning this season. Neither Summit or Independence has experienced much success this season but the winner here punches their ticket to the postseason.
Momentum is the key word here. After struggling on offense for a majority of the season, Summit found a spark on that side of the ball over its last two games. The Spartans rolled past Overton 48-7 two weeks ago and upset Nolensville 20-13 last week.
Independence had some momentum with back-to-back wins over Overton and Fairview. The Eagles came back down to earth last week suffering a 20-6 loss to Brentwood.
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