6A Storylines for this season

Today I'm talking about the storyline in 6A that intrigue me the most. This isn't a preview, more like a glance at most of the teams that will contend in 6A this year....

Can Maryville continue its 2-6A dominance? For the last 25 years Maryville has been not only one of the most dominant programs in the state, but the country as well, winning an incredible 14 state championships over the last quarter century, with 6 of those titles occurring after they jumped up to Class 6A.

While Maryville hasn't won a state championship since 2019, they've still been nearly automatic in region play, winning 22 league championships in a row, but that could all change in 2023. Bearden, Bradley Central and Cleveland all could challenge the Rebels for the region crown.

Bearden boasts a young but talented team that showed improvement over the course of the 2022 season. Bradley Central has added some key players this off-season, most notably UT commit Boo Carter. Cleveland made a splash by hiring Chandler Tygard away from Blackman. If Maryville is going to be dethroned, Bearden feels like the favorite to do so.

That said, this isn't the first time Maryville has had to fend off challengers in it's own Region. I still like the Rebels to repeat as 2-6A on the strength of its coaching staff and strong running game?

Can Oakland make it 4 state titles in a row? Under HC Kevin Creasy, Oakland is accustomed to making history. However, this season they will be attempting a feat only 2 other public school programs have achieved: 4 consecutive state championships. 

The road won't be easy for Oakland, once again a potential matchup with Maryville looms large as well as potential challengers in its own region. Oakland faces a challenging slate right off the bat with games against Independence, nationally ranked Center Grove (IN) and 4A power Haywood.

Can Riverdale break through and beat Oakland? Is this a rebuilding season for Blackman? Continuing with the Rutherford County theme, we take a look at Riverdale and Blackman....

Riverdale is the presumptive favorite to challenge Oakland for the title in Region 3-6A and for good reason. Braden Graham form a very formidable QB-WR duo. Riverdale's offense was up and down in it's first season with Graham, but the Warriors were definitely hitting on all cylinders at the end of the season. With matchups against Henry Co., Beech, Germantown and Cane Ridge, we will get a very good idea if Riverdae is up to the challenge
 If they are, it could be a pretty special Week 11 matchup at Oakland. 

As I alluded to in the previous post, the hiring of Matt Kriesky was a really solid move by Blackman. Kriesky brings stability as well as toughness to a program that has been missing both. That said, in the short term the transition might be a little rocky for the Blaze. 

The schedule isn't really daunting, but there aren't really alot of games where they would be a favorite either. Truly one of these seasons where they could go 3-7, or they could go 8-2. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle

Wide open 4-6A? Let's start off by saying I do believe Mt. Juliet is the favorite to win this region, but I don't think it's an overwhelming one. 2nd- 6th in this region could very well hinge on injuries,  getting a lucky bounce, etc.

Lebanon, Gallatin and Green Hill should be the other 3 teams to fill out the top 4,   each of them has their pros and cons. Lebanon is a replacing a senior class that won 20 games the last 2 seasons.  Green Hill is pretty much replacing their entire offense and Gallatin is I'm Year 1 of a new coaching staff.

Cookeville and WC are probably a year away from challenging for the playoffs, but both could pull an upset that throws playoff seeding into turmoil.  It's definitely a region to watch in 2023

Is Cane Ridge back? Eddie Woods hit the ground running at the beginning of his tenure at Cane Ridge, winning 44 games from 2015-2018. The next 3 seasons tells a different story, winning only 18 games from 2019-2021.

Last season was a big bounce back for the Ravens, going 11-2 and advancing to the quarterfinals for the 1st time since 2017. The Ravens will schedule will be a definite answer to this question witj matchups against Mt. Juliet, Riverdale and East Nashville

2 horse race in 6-6A? Just about every season, the WillCo region throws a few wrinkles out there over the course of the season and this season might not be any different.

Going into the season, Independence and Brentwood look to be the 2 contenders for the region crown. Both teams will have solid qb with a strong set of skill players. However, you can never count a Will Hester- coached Ravenwood team and Summit is too good of a program to be down for long

Region 8-6A: Can Germantown and Bartlett maintain momentum? Can Whitehaven bounce back? It's not often a school makes the semifinals in the playoffs and has to look for a new HC in the off-season but that's exactly what happened with Bartlett. The Panthers' hiring of Chris Smith puts them in a good position to add to the 2 semifinal trips in the last 3 years.

Germantown took another step forward in Year 2 under Gene Robinson, going 10-3 and advancing to the quarterfinals before losing a hard fought game to Bartlett. Their week 4 matchup against Riverdale is a game that nobody has really talked about but has the potential to be a classic

For the better part of the last 15 years, Whitehaven has been THE standard for Memphis area football among public schools. Nobody in the state has done a better job of sending his players to the next level like Rodney Saulsberry. However the last 2 years they have been a very un-Haven like 12-9. Some think it's because 8-6A has stepped up its game recently, some think it's proof that they are on the way down. Personally,  I think the program is too good and too talented to stay down for long.

Did I leave anyone out? Make sure to leave a comment below. You can contact me at tennesseeprepfootball@gmail.com. You can also subscribe to me on linktree



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