Football teams having jamborees Friday

It’s not actual football games that count, but it’s close.

A week before all high school football teams in Madison County are set to start their seasons, five of the seven teams in the county are set to compete in jamborees Friday night.

One of them will continue what’s become almost a jamboree tradition in recent years as Trinity Christian Academy will travel to South Side.

The teams began playing each other in a one-on-one jamboree after the multi-team jamboree that once had all county teams involved went away with the COVID-19 pandemic and never came back.

Former coaches Blake Butler (TCA) and Tyler Reeder (South Side) decided to play each other that first year and kept playing ever since.

Now the teams will play this week with both having new coaches – Darren Bowling at TCA and Lester Narcisse at South Side.

A week before University School of Jackson will open its season with one West Tennessee football power in Gibson County (Peabody), the Bruins will host another power from the county up north for a jamboree this week as the Milan Bulldogs will be in town.

And speaking of West Tennessee football powers, Jackson Christian will host another as the Westview Chargers will get one more scrimmage in before the season starts.

When the season opens next week, one Madison County team will open outside the county. That same team will wrap up its preseason outside the county as well.

North Side will travel to Haywood this week as a final tune-up before they travel to Crockett County next week.

This matchup is unique because Haywood has no opponents from rural West Tennessee this season outside of its region games.

Jackson Central-Merry and Liberty Tech both decided not to have a jamboree ahead of opening the season against each other.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news