The Post Route - Week 6
Your guide to this week’s high school football games in Madison County
North Side (4-1) at Dyersburg (3-2)
Last year’s score: Dyersburg 21, North Side 13
Players to watch: North Side RB Quinn Jenkins
What to know: North Side nearly knocked off the Trojans last year when they weren’t supposed to compete with them very well. This time around, the question is can Dyersburg compete with North Side. The Trojans are probably the best team North Side has played so far this year, or at least since Week 1 when they took their loss to Crockett County. But the players that spent the first couple weeks getting used to their new positions seem to have settled in and are thriving in helping the team compete. Dyersburg’s size will bring a new challenge for the Indians on the road that will prepare them for region play later.
Four wins in a row: The Indians are on a four-game win streak. The last time they won four in a row was the four Fridays in September of 2021 in which they were perfect for the month before losing to Haywood in the first Friday in October.
Riverside (4-1) at TCA (3-2)
Last year’s score: Riverside 36, TCA 34
Players to watch: TCA CB Owen Atwood
What to know: This wound up being one of the most memorable games of the year for 2023 in rural West Tennessee football when the Lions led Riverside by two scores going into the fourth quarter. This could be another game in which TCA’s lack of depth could be a big factor in keeping them from competing as well in the fourth quarter as they can in the first, so maintaining ball control would be beneficial for the team in black and purple.
Change of venue: Because of predicted inclement weather moving through the area on Friday night, TCA Athletic Director Dexter Williams announced on Monday that this game would move to Bethel University’s stadium and turf field. TCA’s play-by-play broadcaster Dave McCulley is also one of the associate athletic directors at Bethel, so negotiating that move probably didn’t take a lot of arm twisting.
South Side (1-3, 0-1) at Lexington (1-4, 0-1)
Last year’s score: Lexington 35, South Side 14
Players to watch: South Side OL Carson Brewer
What to know: Despite how the Hawks played last week in the second half of their first Region 6-4A game, South Side has a solid shot at getting a spot in the playoffs this year. They’ve just got to finish in the top four in a six-team region. Winning last week would’ve been good for that cause, but that’s an opportunity gone. Lexington is one of at least two teams who’ve taken a major step back so far this year as a program. If South Side can put together a full four quarters of top-level play on their part, particularly on defense, they’ve got a chance at knocking off Lexington. This team has had trouble scoring points or even moving the ball down field at times. South Side’s defense has the potential to be among the most impactful defenses they’ve played. But they can’t have a quarter where they let up and let them score two or three times because South Side’s offense hasn’t shown yet that it can score four touchdowns in a game yet.
Improving offense for Tigers: South Side’s offensive output has been pretty consistent all season, keeping its point total each game between 13 and 20 points. Lexington’s point total has had a trend, however, since scoring 48 against an inferior opponent in Week 1. The Tigers hit rock bottom in Week 2 with no points, then six points the next week, then 21 and 28 last week.
Adamsville (3-2, 0-2) at Jackson Central-Merry (4-0, 2-0)
Last year’s score: Adamsville 28, JCM 6
Players to watch: JCM WR Michael Massey
What to know: JCM easily got its biggest win since its rebirth four years ago last week when they knocked off Milan on the road. The game this week against Adamsville is homecoming, which brings its own distractions. This is one of a couple of games in the county this week that could be seen as a trap game as JCM could also be looking ahead to a game next week against North Side. But the coaching staff will do its best this week to ensure the Cougars keep their minds right and understand what’s most important to the program at this point, and getting a win this week would put the team in a good position to compete for a playoff spot with big games remaining on the schedule
Closer games for Cougars: Whether they win or lose, Adamsville’s closest game so far this season is their Week 1 win over Fayette Academy by 19 points. JCM’s games, however, keep getting closer and closer as the Cougars have won all four of their games. Their first win was by 54 points, then 16, then 14 and 11 last week at Milan.
Tipton-Rosemark (3-2, 1-0) at Jackson Christian (4-1, 1-0)
Last year’s score: Jackson Christian 41, Tipton-Rosemark 0
Players to watch: Jackson Christian LB Eli Craig
What to know: The Rebels appear to be a better team this year, at least offensively, as they’re scoring more points this year. The Eagles took a few minutes before they got going offensively last week, so they could be trying to get a better start this time around as they try to remain at the top of the region standings.
Out-of-town region win streak: The Eagles haven’t won a region championship in a while, but they’re usually finishing second to one of their neighbors in town. The last time they lost to a region opponent from outside Jackson was on Oct. 30, 2020, when they lost at home to Davidson Academy 52-10. Since then, the Eagles have won 12 of those games in a row including last week’s win over Fayette Academy.
University School of Jackson (5-0, 0-0) at St. George’s (1-3, 0-0)
Last year’s score: USJ 40, St. George’s 7
Players to watch: USJ LB Alex Wallace
What to know: Even though this is the first region game for both teams, the Bruins could be in danger of this being a trap game for them. They won a very emotional game last week at South Gibson, and there could be some lingering effects from it – particularly since the health of quarterback Corben Howard is a big question this week. But with a game against a one-win opponent coming up before a showdown at home against Northpoint Christian next week, the Bruins could be in danger of looking ahead.
Rule clarification: There was in instance last week in which USJ had to punt two times in a row at South Gibson in a series of events that frustrated the Bruin faithful that had made the trip to Medina. On the first punt, one of the officials blew an errant whistle in the middle of the play as the South Gibson returner appeared to signal for a fair catch, mishandled the kick and players from both teams tried to cover the ball. After a couple of minutes of discussion, the officials went by what’s supposed to happen according to the rule book and replayed the down.
Scotts Hill (0-5, 0-2) at Liberty (0-4, 0-2)
Last year’s score: Scotts Hill 41, Liberty 14
Players to watch: Liberty LB Jayden Groce
What to know: Neither team is scoring a lot. Neither team’s defense is stopping the opposition very often. Two teams that badly need a win will have a great opportunity to get one this week, and another chance like this probably won’t come before the end of this season. Liberty has an athletic advantage and a depth advantage, and if they can utilize those, they could see success.
Hard times: Scotts Hill and Liberty have combined to have lost games by 50 or more points five times so far in 2024. And that number could’ve been higher as Liberty lost another by 49, and Scotts Hill lost another by 48.
Compiled by Brandon Shields
