Friday Five Week 4 By Chad Withrow

It’s Rivalry Week and if you haven’t taken a look at Donovan Stewart’s Games of the Week across the state, you should do that now. Link. There are plenty of great match-ups and the list is not exclusive to middle Tennessee. I had a hard time separating games that I think will be more competitive with games that I know will feature terrific atmospheres. I settled on a healthy mix of both because I know some of you want to go see a good game with big time college prospects on both sides of the ball and some of you want to go to a game that both schools/communities care deeply about and are guaranteed to have a lot of people in the stands. All of us would prefer both and a few of these games offer up that possibility. I’m currently on my way to Bristol and looking out on the horizon from I-40 while thinking about how many great places there are in this state to watch football. Because I’m headed to Bristol (and because Kevin and Donovan did such a good job profiling these games), I’ll let their great work explain the match-ups in more detail. Here are my Five Games of the Week for Week 4 in order…

     1. Independence (3-0) @ Smyrna (3-0)

Kevin Smith did an incredible job breaking down this match-up between two teams that have state championship aspirations in their respective classifications. Here is the breakdown in this week’s Coach Speak .

     2. Brentwood (1-2) @ Franklin (2-1)

Atmosphere, atmosphere, and a little more atmosphere in this old time Williamson County showdown. The football will be pretty good too. Here is Donovans Stewart’s Victory Formation .

   3. Hendersonville (2-1) @ Beech (2-1)

See Game #2 for the reason why this one made my list. Even though Hendersonville is a clear favorite in this one, Hendersonville/Beech or Beech/Hendersonville is always special in Sumner County. Here is a list of Donovan Stewart’s Games of the Week .

    4. Centennial (2-1) @ Ravenwood (2-1)

Yet another great rivalry match-up in Williamson County makes my Top 5 as Centennial travels to Ravenwood. The Raptors are trying to avenge their only loss from 2015. Here is Kevin Smith’s Coach Speak .

    5. Pope John Paul II (2-1) @ Father Ryan (2-1)

This is an enormous rivalry amongst the mid-state Catholic community. It’s also a big early season barometer for two head coaches trying to gain upward mobility in Division II-AA. Donovan Stewart has more in this week’s Victory Formation .