Here is a look at some of the matchups tonight as the first round of the 2015 TSSAA football playoffs kicks off.
As always, our Live Scoreboard will have instant updates all night long.
Division II-AA
No. 6 seed Father Ryan (4-6) goes to No. 5 seed Ensworth (4-6) for a 7 p.m. start. Father Ryan ended its season on a down note. The Fighting Irish lost four of their last five games and ended the season with a loss against Baylor. They will have their work cut out for them if they hope to make it to the second round. Ensworth, after a stellar season last year, had a rocky year but were still dangerous on any given Friday. They beat Father Ryan two weeks ago 37-17.
No. 1 seed Brentwood Academy has a bye.
Class 6A
No. 2 seed Franklin (7-3) hosts No. 7 seed Houston (1-9). Because all 32 teams in Class 6A make the playoffs, the first round could have a few games that are duds. This game will probably be one of them. Franklin finished the year very strong, winning five straight after a 2-3 start and ending the season by blowing out Lebanon 35-0. They finished second place in Region 3-6A. The Rebels should see at least the second round of the playoffs.
Ditto Ravenwood. If Franklin was good, Ravenwood was even better. The No.1 seed Raptors (9-1) host No. 8 seed Bartlett (3-7). The Raptors, Region 3-6A Champs, only loss this year came at Centennial in early September. It would be extremely surprising if Ravenwood did not have this one locked up by halftime.
Class 5A
In 
one of our Games of the Week, No. 1 seed Centennial (9-1) hosts No. 4 seed Southwind (8-2). As far as lower seeded teams go, Southwind is better than usual. The Jaguars are coming all the way from Memphis and the super-competitive Region 8-5A. All four teams that made the playoffs in Region 8 could easily have switched places and have very similar records. Brighton (9-1), Memphis Central (7-3) and Mumford (8-2) finished ahead of Southwind, and pretty much they all gave each other their losses.
Centennial, however, is having one heck of a year. The Cougars beat everybody in Region 7 and two top-tier Class 6A schools in Franklin and Ravenwood. Their only loss came at the claws of the Independence Eagles all the way back in August. But nobody has had a chance against Indy this year, the Eagles have just been off the charts. But the Cougars, who will be pushed but should prevail against Southwind, might get a shot a rematch. If they both make it to the semifinal round- which will take three wins to get to- they will face each other. The Cougars are certainly good enough this year to make it that far.
Indy, on the other hand, is a lock to make it at least that far. It is hard not to be impressed by the undefeated Eagles. They lost their All-State quarterback Andrew Bunch for more than half the season but kept blowing opponents out without blinking, winning Region 5-5A by three games if you count tiebreakers. And they host No. 4 seed Cane Ridge (8-2) on while playing their best football of the year. With Bunch really getting completely comfortable and in sync after three games back, Indy scored a season-high 56 points last week against second-place LaVergne.
No. 3 seed Brentwood (5-5) goes to No. 2 seed Memphis Central (7-3). The Bruins finished third in Region 7-5A, doing very well in the region- going 5-2, getting all its wins from teams in 7-5A. The two losses came from first place Centennial and second place Henry County. Brentwood ended its season on a high note, blowing out Clarksville 42-10. Memphis Central is a powerful team that can score a lot of points. They won their last three games scoring at least 30 points. But on the season they have given up a lot of points. This could turn into a bit of a shootout.
3A, 4A & Div II-A Playof Preview
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