615 Preps Week 12 Area Rankings: Let the playoffs begin!

The regular season flew by in the blink of an eye and suddenly postseason football has arrived.

Unlike the 11 previous weeks, the stakes are higher as teams face win-or-go-home scenarios as they all look to punch their tickets to Chattanooga.

Week 11 set up everything we’ll see going forward as region titles were clinched as were playoff spots. The week also brought another round of changes in this week’s area rankings.

The 615 Preps staff has put together a list of the top five large, medium, and small class teams in our coverage area following last week’s action. This rankings are based off of results, head-to-head matchups and current form for teams.

Large Class teams include 6A and Division II-AAA. Medium Class teams include 5A, 4A, and Division II-AA. Small Class teams include 3A, 2A, 1A, and Division II-A, and each grouping has roughly 30 teams in it.

Large Class

1. Oakland (10-0): The Patriots gave up a season-high 21 points to Riverdale but outscored the Warriors 21-7 in the second half to secure the 35-21 win.

2. Brentwood Academy (9-0): Things weren’t easy for the Eagles this week as they had to hold on to a slim lead late to Lipscomb Academy 30-22.

3. Ravenwood (10-0): Close early on, the Raptors asserted their dominance over the final three quarters beating Brentwood 41-6 for their largest ‘Battle of the Woods’ win.

4. Blackman (9-1): Beating Rockvale in every phase of the game, the Blaze scored on a pair of interception returns and a kick off return en route to a 35-7 victory.

5. Green Hill (8-2): The Mayor’s Cup will get to stay with the Hawks for another year as they cruised to a 39-13 road win over Mt. Juliet.

The rest of the top 10

6. Riverdale (7-3)

7. Ensworth (7-3)

8. Antioch (9-1)

9. Brentwood (6-4)

10. Lebanon (8-2)

Medium Class

1. Page (9-0): Air Force commitment Knight Wilson would not be stopped in the Patriots’ 28-6 win over Nolensville. He finished the night with six tackles, a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and a blocked kick.

2. FRA (8-1): Due to Columbia Academy’s roster numbers being so low due to injuries, the Panthers picked up a forfeit win Friday night.

3. BGA (9-1): Kaedyn’s Marable threw for three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 35-0 win over GCA giving him 40 passing touchdowns entering the postseason.

4. Beech (8-1): The Buccaneers made it four wins in a row over the Commandos as they beat Hendersonville 49-16. They’ve now scored 40 or more points in six straight games.

5. Pearl-Cohn (6-4): It was a short night for most of the Firebirds’ starters as they closed out a perfect region run by beating Liberty Creek 42-10.

The rest of the top 10

6. Springfield (9-1)

7. Nolensville (8-2)

8. Goodpasture (7-2)

9. Macon County (7-3)

10. GCA (7-3)

Small Class

1. Nashville Christian (10-0): Jared Curtis capped off off his final regular season home game in style rushing for three touchdowns in a 35-21 region-clinching win over Friendship Christian.

2. East Robertson (10-0): Tennessee commitment Zach Groves would not be denied of a region title Thursday night scoring three touchdowns and recording three sacks as the Indians beat East Nashville 32-22.

3. Gordonsville (10-0): The Tigers run of dominance continued Thursday night as they hosted crosstown rival Smith County and rolled to a 29-7 win.

4. Friendship Christian (8-2): Jayden McGowan had a nice night for the Commanders scoring twice but the defense had issues limiting Curtis and the Eagles rushing attack.

5. Fairview (8-2): Down much of the night, the Yellow Jackets pulled out all of the stops scoring 15 points in the final six minutes to beat Waverly 29-28 for the Region 6-3A title.