Wrapping up another great high school football season
The 2006 high school football season has now come to a close. What began as football practice on hot grassy fields all across the state just over four months ago culminated with the crowning of five state champions this past weekend here in Murfreesboro.
Temperatures dipped into the upper 20?s for the 2A game on Friday night but not even the cooler weather could chill the enthusiasm brought to Floyd Stadium by fans of the 10 teams that were fortunate enough to qualify for this year?s BlueCross Bowl.
In a number of areas, this year?s championship event was a weekend of firsts.
Playing competitive football in early December was a totally new experience for three of the teams that competed on MTSU?s artifical turf. Two of these teams ? Jackson Christian and Friendship Christian of Lebanon ? played in the 1A contest.
For winning coach Brian Stewart of Jackson Christian, capturing the 1A championship in Friday?s opening game was a dream come true for Eagle fans. It was Stewart?s first year as a head coach. What can the Mississippi native possibly do in the future to top this year?s success?
The 2A game also had special significance. As Alcoa Coach Gary Rankin accepted the winning coach?s plaque at the game?s conclusion, he set a new standard for high school football coaches in Tennessee.
Alcoa?s championship, the third straight for the Tornadoes and eighth in school history, marked the first time that a coach has won a state football championship at more that one school. Rankin captured four other golden ball trophies during his tenure at Riverdale High School.
Alcoa?s win over Goodpasture and Maryville?s victory over Hillsboro also equaled another record. There have now been five different occasions where a team has won state championships on the gridiron in three straight seasons.
Alcoa first did it in 1977, 1978 and 1979. Cleveland did it in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Maryville first did it in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Alcoa and Maryville now have a combined 18 state football championships to their credit. That?s pretty impressive, especially when you consider that the two towns border each other in Blount County.
Maybe the biggest and best first time occurrence came in the 5A championship game where Smyrna avenged its regular season setback to defending 5A champ Ravenwood and secured its first football championship in school history.
The game again featured teams from Rutherford and Williamson Counties. That?s happening a lot lately. In 2002, Brentwood beat Riverdale and in 2004, Riverdale beat Franklin. The last time a 5A title game failed to feature a team from one of these two counties was in 1999 when Sevier County defeated Nashville?s Glencliff, 31-27.
It was a special weekend and another special year for all of us who love high school football. Congratulations to all the winners and to all teams that played in Murfreesboro.
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Murphy Fair publishes the annual TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW. His Website (murphyfair.com) gives fans further insight into the prep football scene.