The Post Route - Week 3

Your guide to Madison County’s high school football games

Region 6-2A

Jackson Central-Merry (2-0) at Camden (2-0)

Last year’s score: Camden 31, JCM 14

Players to watch: JCM CB Keyon Davis

What to know: The first region game of 2024 in Madison County. The Cougars leave the friendly confines of Lane Field for the first time this year and get 70 miles out of Jackson for this one. The Lions are similar to last year in that they’re scoring a lot of points in their first two games – which is good enough for fourth-highest scoring in rural West Tennessee at 49.5 points scored per game. The difference for Camden this year is their defense, which has given up an average of 11.5 points per game.

Historic start: JCM is 2-0 for the first time since the 2004 season. One of the seniors on that 2004 team was Erit Turner, who’s the head coach of the Cougars now.

Non-region games

Trinity Christian (1-1) at University School of Jackson (2-0)

Last year’s score: USJ 28, TCA 19

Players to watch: TCA RB Lekhy Thompkins; USJ WR Mills Terry

What to know: The Lions are a late lost fumble away from making this an undefeated matchup. A pair of teams whose rosters aren’t deep but are making the most of the talent they have are testing each other before they get into region play in the coming weeks. The Bruins are averaging 162 passing yards and 369 rushing yards per game so far on offense. TCA’s numbers aren’t as gaudy, but they are effective at 254.5 passing yards per game and 140 on the ground. Thompkins is a big back that’s tough to bring down and could affect USJ’s depth late if TCA uses him instead of the passing game and the big-play ability of Brayden Waller on the edge. USJ has similar options with Terry on the edge and Noah Spencer in the backfield.

Closing the gap?: It’s been 10 years since TCA won in this series. And the Bruins have been nearly as dominant in the past decade as they were in the first few years the programs played each other. Last year’s nine-point win for USJ was the fewest they’ve won by since winning by three in 2019.

South Side (1-1) at Liberty (0-2)

Last year’s score: South Side 36, Liberty 0

Players to watch: South Side lineman Xavier Davis; Liberty LB Tavion Russell

What to know: The Hawks looked good early last week before faltering late in a Commissioners’ Cup game, while Liberty is looking for anything positive to build on early in the season after being outscored in their first two games 109-6. The Hawks earned their biggest win of last season in this matchup, but it was also their last win of 2023. So both programs are looking for something to build on coming out of this.

Hawks in control: South Side has won every matchup between these programs since 2017, and they’ve played every year. The closest game was a six-point win in ’17 when the streak began, but the average margin of victory is 23.7 points.

Obion Co. (0-2) at North Side (1-1)

Last year’s score: Obion Co. 35, North Side 25

Players to watch: North Side QB Henry Schiebout

What to know: The Rebels are two games into the tenure of a new coach and have had a hard time stringing together points so far. Meanwhile, the Indians are averaging nearly 45 points per game so far. Schiebout adds a bit of stability on offense as his experience playing at Sacred Heart allows him to have the poise to stay in the pocket and go through his receiver options. And if that doesn’t work, he’s shown the ability to tuck the ball and run to get a first down – similar to a familiar name for Indian fans who also wore No. 12 a little more than a decade ago in Adam Craig.

Leading on the ground, too: Schiebout is not only the Indians’ leading passer with 212 yards in two games, but he ‘s also their leading rusher with 88 yards. North Side has five players who’ve rushed for 39 yards or more.

Goodpasture (0-2) at Jackson Christian (2-0)

Last year’s score: Jackson Christian 28, Goodpasture 20

Players to watch: Jackson Christian RB Jay Pirtle

What to know: The Eagles host another Church of Christ-based private school from Nashville, and they had to fight hard with their biggest second-half comeback in 2023 to get this win last year on the road. Goodpasture has a new coach this year – Tyler Turner, who led Liberty to an undefeated regular season in 2015 and to the Class 3A state championship game a year later before leaving for Olive Branch, Miss. This is actually his second stint at Goodpasture as he left Olive Branch for Nashville then left there for Jackson (Miss.) Prep before working as an assistant last year in Arkansas and returning to the Music City and Goodpasture last winter. The Cougars are 0-2, having lost by 18 and 19 points to ECS and Silverdale Academy out of Chattanooga.

Play count: Wide receiver Jay’Len Mosley, who was injured at the end of the 2023 regular season before winning Mr. Football, is on a play count early in his return to the field. Head coach Darby Palmer said the goal is to not put too much on Mosley – who has offers from 18 NCAA Division I programs including seven from the SEC – for the purposes of his health for later in the season as well as his future after Jackson Christian.

Compiled by Brandon Shields