Central football will make their 10th straight appearance in the TSSAA Playoffs Friday at the top-seeded Sevier County Smoky Bears at 7:00p.m.
The Bobcats clinched a playoff berth with their 41-33 victory over the Heritage Mountaineers, however, fell to the last seed with a 52-34 loss to the Halls Red Devils. As a result, Central will have to travel the farthest they have all season, going out to Sevier County.
Sevier County’s Smoky Bears went 9-1 in the regular season dominating tough opponents such as 7-3 Tennessee High School 28-7, however, they struggled against a lowly 3-7 Hardin Valley team, only winning 19-14.
So what does this mean for Central? The Hardin Valley game, as well as a loss against Jefferson County, exposed that there are flaws with the Sevier County team, particularly if you can overcome their explosive offense.
Central’s biggest challenge will be passing against the suffocating Sevier County secondary that intercepted 17 balls and caused a further 28 incompletions. The Bears also succeed in rushing the pass, sacking opposing QBs 22 times in 10 games.
So, they need to pass short and quickly and the offensive line will need to play their best ball all year but the Cats do have a chance to pull the upset. Should they overcome Sevier County’s suffocating defense and keep their explosive offense at bay, Central has the chance to pull off one of the biggest upsets in 5A history, and advance to round 2 where they will face either Tennessee High or rematch Powell.
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The Central vs. Halls rivalry and the importance of Thursday’s game
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