From the
Upper Deck
Region Won't
Assure Teams Of Greatness
By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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Friday night will be a special night.Okay, so it's Halloween night. And no, I'm not wearing a
mask, thanks for asking.
It will special in that a regional title will be
decided Friday night. McKenzie hosts Huntingdon for the
Region 6-2A crown.
There's a lot riding on this game. There's Huntingdon's
defense of the regional title and proof that last year's
hiccup in the playoffs is an aberration. Meanwhile,
McKenzie is faced with the legacy of being mastered by
the Mustangs.
Lost in all of this is one rudimentary fact: winning a
regional title is fun, fine, good, nice and something to
write your friends and neighbors about. But it's really
window dressing.
Huntingdon won the region last year and promptly lost to
Fairview in the first round. In 1999, Dyersburg was
unbeaten and won its region before losing to Melrose in
the first round. Gibson County, a fourth-seed, twice
knocked off Oakhaven, a top seed.
Time and time again, regional champs fall. It doesn't
happen often, but it does happen. What's more important
is what you do in the post-season.
Last year, McKenzie was a third-seed and it went all the
way to the Class 2A semifinals. Huntingdon, 6-4 in 1999,
went all the way to the Class 2A championship. Fayette
Ware was 4-6 and reached the 1996 state semifinals.
This will be a game for the ages. It will perhaps be one
of the best match-ups between these two teams in
decades. The 2001 game was good for McKenzie in that it
won and went on a great run. The 1981 game was an
intense defensive struggle that the Mustangs won 2-0
late.
The 1973 game was exciting as Terry Bateman drilled a
lengthy field goal to knock off the Mustangs.
There have been dandy games in this lopsided series.
There are those who say, "I don't care if we go 1-9 as
long as we beat Huntingdon/McKenzie." But one fact
remains: Neither team needs to win this game to have a
great season. McKenzie proved that last year with its
second straight semifinal visit.
I hope to close out this season with a flourish. I was
19-4 last week, which upped my mark to 162-205 for 79.2
percent.
Here's to this week's fare:
McKenzie over Huntingdon: Could be wrong about this, but
I have a hunch the Rebels are due.
West Carroll over Halls: The War Eagles capture the
region crown outright with this victory and will be home
for two rounds as long as they win.
Bruceton over Gleason: The curtain closes on a tough
season.
Tennessee over Duke: Maybe just maybe the Vols can look
like a real team.
Bethel over Cumberland: It's homecoming and the 'Cats
make it two in a row.
Elsewhere, I see:
JCS over USJ, Trinity over Middleton, Fayette Academy
over Perry Co., Greenfield over Lake Co., Adamsville
over Riverside, Westview over Trenton, Union City over
Dresden, Milan over Humboldt, South Side over Lexington,
Crockett Co. over Fayette Ware, McNairy over Bolivar,
Obion over Brighton, Covington over Dyer Co., Dyersburg
over Hardin Co., Haywood over Munford, Ripley over
Gibson Co. and Brentwood over Henry Co.
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