For Cloudland and Hampton, the playoffs start on Friday night. The ‘Landers and Dogs both have home second-round games at home after earning byes with the No. 2 seed in their respective quads. We take a look at each game as we get ready for Friday night.
No. 2 Cloudland vs. No. 3 Coalfield (Class A Playoffs) – Orr Field, 7 p.m.
The ‘Landers will welcome a strong Yellow Jacket defense to Orr Field for what will be a chilly defensive battle. Coalfield is averaging just over 25 points per game, while the defense is limiting opposing offenses to just 19 points per game (including six games where they held opponents to under 20 points). For the home team, Cloudland is scoring over 30 points per game and limited just over 11 points per game.
The Yellow Jackets enter with a 7-4 record, but this Coalfield squad is proof records can be misleading. Coalfield has a loss to Knoxville Catholic (Class 3A), Greenback, Oneida (Class 2A) and Notre Dame (Class 3A). All four are highly ranked in their respective classes, and have given the Yellow Jackets additional experience throughout the year.
Coalfield is anchored on the offensive line by Tennessee commit Zach Stewart, while Addison Bible has had a solid year at running back.
A frigid night on Roan Mountain has set the stage for this to be an instant classic.
No. 2 Hampton vs. No. 3 Grace Christian (Class 2A Playoffs) – JC Campbell Stadium, 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs welcome a former conference foe to JC Campbell Stadium to see two powerhouses square off in the second round. The Rams have won four of their last five, including a 35-23 victory in the first round over Meigs County, while the Bulldogs have won their last eight games dating back to a 14-8 loss to Oneida.
The offenses will be on display as the Bulldogs have scored 370 combined points this season (37 per game), while the Rams are scoring just under 28 points per game. The defenses are not to be overlooked either as Hampton as allowed just 13 points per game and the Rams have given up only 15 points per game.
Jimmy Clevenger has passed for over 900 yards for the Rams, while Cameron Kuerschen has nearly 1100 yards rushing on the season.
Hampton hopes to get Coby Jones back in action, but Dylan Ford will be ready to fill-in if needed for the Bulldogs.
