TSSAA
Four Sumner County high school football teams completed their regular seasons on Friday evening and waited to learn their opponents for the first round of the state playoffs next week.
Region 5-5A champion Independence awaits a visit from Gallatin after the Green Wave’s 54-28 loss to visiting Cane Ridge on Friday. The Eagles (10-0) enter the postseason on a 25-game winning streak, while the Green Wave (6-4) have dropped their last two contests.
The two teams last tangled in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, with Independence prevailing by a 42-7 margin.
Beech’s 35-12 loss at Hillsboro means the Buccaneers will travel to Shelbyville in the first round. The Buccaneers (7-3) finished third in Region 6-5A as a result of the loss.
Beech lost at Shelbyville in the second round of the 2014 playoffs, falling 42-41 in double overtime.
Pope John Paul II will host its first playoff game since 2006 as the fifth-seeded team in Division II-Class AA East/Middle Region. The Knights defeated their opening-round opponent, Baylor, by a 21-19 margin on Oct. 14. The winner of that game will travel to face Memphis University School, the West Region’s top-seeded team, next Friday.
>> Westmoreland will travel to Region 3-2A champion Marion County next week in a rematch of last season’s opening round game.
The Eagles suffered a 42-0 loss at Marion County in last year’s first-round battle, while the Warriors advanced to the Class 2A championship game before falling to Trezevant by a 40-35 margin.
TSSAA state playoff brackets