Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Football Preview: Ravenwood, BGA, Father Ryan hit the road; BA, CPA to host

Football Preview: Ravenwood, BGA, Father Ryan hit the road; BA, CPA to host

Williamson County has nine teams still alive in the high school football playoffs. Besides the pair of all-county showdowns in Class 6A and Class 5A this week, here's a closer look at the five other postseason games involving local teams:  

Ravenwood (9-2) at Collierville (11-0) 

The Raptors hit the road to face the unbeaten Dragons Friday in the Class 6A second round.  

 

Ravenwood got past Whitehaven 21-14 last week in a tough first-round matchup. Lee Molette caught a 23-yard fourth-quarter touchdown from Chris Parson to provide the difference in an otherwise tight contest as Ravenwood overcame eight penalties that accounted for 106 yards.  

"We can talk about the bad, but we live to play another day. And every single time we line up against that school, it's like this," Ravenwood coach Will Hester said. "The penalties, the special team errors — that's not us. Those were big errors that could have cost us a football game tonight. 

 

"I'm proud of our resiliency and desire to play another game. We're going to have to play better to keep moving on." 

Parson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another in the win. Molette caught five balls for 68 yards and a TD.  

Ravenwood faces a Collierville team that dispatched Independence 44-13 last week in the first round. Harrison Craig returned two punts for touchdowns and Daniel Rainey added an interception returned 47 yards for another TD in the fourth quarter for the Dragons.  

Troy Martin eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for Collierville in the playoff opener as well, rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Indy.  

Ravenwood limited Whitehaven to 233 yards last week and overcame a couple special teams errors in the win. The Raptors defense will face one of its toughest tests yet in the Dragons, who are averaging just over 40 points per game.

 

Battle Ground Academy (6-5) at Lausanne (8-1)  

After hanging on for a first-round win last week, BGA hits the road Friday in the Division II-AA state quarterfinals.  

Sean Williams did a little bit of everything, rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns, hauling in another TD and making 9.5 tackles to lead the Wildcats. BGA edged Chattanooga Christian 28-27 in overtime.  

The Chargers came back in the second half and tied the score at 21 with seven minutes remaining, sending the game to overtime. BGA struck first in extra time with a 6-yard touchdown run from Williams for a 28-21 lead.

Chattanooga Christian answered with a touchdown, but the PAT didn't go through the uprights, giving BGA a wild 28-27 victory. 

Miller Barnett added 10.5 tackles and a half sack for BGA, and Luke Sutherland had 1.5 sacks with 4.5 tackles. Chattanooga Christian threw just two passing plays and had two players gain more than 100 yards rushing.  

The Wildcats will have to try and slow Lausanne's lead back Craig Cunningham, who has rushed for at least 105 yards in each game this season and is a Mr. Football semifinalist, like Williams.  

Cunningham has 1,230 yards on the ground through just eight games with 20 touchdowns. The Lynx earned a first-round bye and last played Oct. 29 — a 49-7 win over Northpoint Christian led by Cunningham's three TDs.  

A BGA win could mean a rematch with regional rival CPA in the state semifinals next week.  

 

Christian Academy of Knoxville (8-2) at Christ Presbyterian Academy (9-2) 

The Lions cruised to a 41-9 win in the first round last week, while CAK shutout DII-AA Middle Region's Franklin Road Academy 21-0.  

Quarterback Cade Law led CPA with five touchdowns last week for the two-time defending state champions. He threw for 226 yards and four TDs and ran in another score as the Lions managed 397 yards of offense.  

London Humphreys hauled in seven catches for 195 yards with three of those TDs from Law.  

Langston Patterson anchored the defense with 12 tackles, including two for loss.  

CAK has shut out its last two opponents and has outscored its last three 84-3. The Warriors only in-state loss came on Sept. 17 against Knoxville-Webb, a 24-23 setback.  

 

Pope John Paul II (7-4) at Brentwood Academy (7-3) 

Coming off a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Eagles will host the Knights in a DII-AAA quarterfinal Friday.  

Pope John Paul II defeated St. Benedict 42-8 last week to advance.  

The Eagles earned a hard-fought 30-28 win at Memphis University on Oct. 29 to earn the extra week of rest.  

 

Father Ryan (7-4) at McCallie (10-0)  

The Irish shut down Memphis University 14-0 last week to reach the DII-AAA quarterfinals but now are tasked with heading to take on unbeaten McCallie in Chattanooga Friday night. 

Bryshon Jackson rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries for Father Ryan in the win, while Matthew Derrick threw a touchdown to James Hinson and rushed for another 30 yards. 

The Irish defense also came away with an interception and four sacks in the shutout.  

McCallie, which had a first-round bye, won at home against the Irish 38-21 on Oct. 15.