Week 5 for the WCS Sports Conference Football Season is in the books! Here are the results from Week 5 as well as the Week 6 matchups.
Week 5 Results:
Brentwood 31 - Ravenwood 28
Independence 24 - Franklin 7
Centennial 42 - Dickson Co. 17
Nolensville 42 - Lawrence Co. 14
Page 41 - Antioch 6
Fairview 21 - Camden 14
Summit 30 - Columbia 21
Week 6
Nolensville (4-1, 2-0) vs Brentwood (4-1, 3-0)
Nolensville has only 1 blip on their radar. That was a come-from-behind loss to Page in Week 2. The Knights have averaged 34.4 ppg in their first 5 games. The Knights will be hosting this game as a chance to get their biggest win in the history of their school. They already chalked up their first-ever win over a WCS Sports Conference opponent, beating Summit in Week 4 by a score of 13-8. Why not knock off the #7 ranked 6A Bruins? The Knights WR, Tim Coutras had a career night by having 6 catches for 227 yards, 4 TD's, and capped it all off by getting an INT on defense in their big win over Region 4-4A opponent Lawrence Co. RB, Colton Dooley finished the night with 85 yards on 11 carries and is already over 500 yards for the season at the halfway mark.
Brentwood played their biggest and best game of the year at Ravenwood in Week 5. The Bruins stepped into the most hostile environment anywhere in Tennessee during the Battle of the Woods. This game did not let the capacity crowd down. Electrifying plays from both offenses shined throughout the evening in this Heavyweight bout. None shined brighter than the Sophomore QB for the Bruins, Cade Granzow. Granzow went 7/11 for 215 yards and 3 TDs. More importantly than his stat line was efficiency and timing of his TD strikes. The second half, perfectly thrown pass to the corner of the end zone to Bishop was clutch in sealing the victory. The BruWins Receiving Corp once again had a complete evening with 6 Bruins making catches. Leading the way was Jordan Nicholas with 1 reception for 62 yards and a TD. Avery Williams had 1 reception for 45 yards. Bishop finished with 1 reception for 37 yards and a TD, McKechnie had 1 reception for 43 yards, and Karson Dreier received 1 ball for 6 yards. With this kind of spread-the-wealth mentality, the Bruins are going to be tough to stop. The one aspect that gets overshadowed by the high-flying offense is the Bruins on defense. Two weeks in a row the defense has scored a TD for the Bruins. In the Battle of the Woods, Xiere Howard had a "pick 6" for the TD that could not have come at a more crucial time that right before the half to tie the game at 14 each.
RADAR: Please report to the start line and have your track shoes laced up! This game will be all about who has the best offense. Brentwood is coming in off their big win against Ravenwood from Week 5 and this could be a "Trap" game. I do not see that happening. The Knights will be fired up to knock the current first-place, Region 6-6A Bruins off their perch in this matchup. Granzow and the receiving corp will slice their way through the Knights defense if the defensive line does not pressure him. However, the Bruins will have to not only worry about Coutras but also RB, Colton Dooley who has racked up a ton of yards and TD's for the Knights. The Knights would like to keep the score low......good luck with that. Will the Bruins defense score another defensive TD this week? The Pundits have the Bruins as a BIG favorite at +20.
Ravenwood (4-1, 2-1) vs Father Ryan (2-3, 0-3)
Ravenwood only had two, regular season losses last year. One of them was to Father Ryan on a last second, fake FG that secured the 34-31 win for the Irish. The Raptors are coming off an emotional loss to Rival Brentwood in Week 5. The Raptors had a huge night from QB, Brian Garcia. The shifty Junior had a gritty performance against the Bruins where he threw for 195 yards on 7/19 passing with 1 TD and 1 INT. Wide Receivers, Holmes and Mason each had 2 catches for 87 and 78 yards. The Raptors will look to get back in the winning column this week when the Irish come visiting. The defensive side of Ravenwood has been steady.
Father Ryan is coached by former Centennial and Ravenwood Head Coach Brian Rector. Coach Rector will scheme and find a way to keep the Irish in this game but it will not be enough.
RADAR: It will take more than a trick play to beat the #8 ranked Raptors this year. The speed and size will cause some serious issues for the Irish. Holmes, Garcia, and Mason prove to be too much as Raptor Fast are +13 favorites according to the Pundits.
Centennial (2-3, 2-1) at Riverdale (2-3, 1-1)
Throw out records and past performances in this game! The "Kriesky Bowl" always has a deeper meaning to twin brother rivals Matt and Will Kriesky. The Cougars got just what they needed, which was a big time, region win against Dickson Co. 42-17. The Cougars were led by QB, Grayson Marcel's 10/18, 198 yards, 2 TD performance. Marcel continues to pad his stat sheet week in and week out. The Junior will need to continue this trend as Centennial moves into the second half of the season and tries to punch their card into the Playoffs. Another common theme for #CU is RB, Jariel Wilson. Wilson finished with 128 yards on 12 carries and had 1 TD in the win. WR, Joey Gustafson finished with 4 receptions and 91 with a TD for the Cougars.
Riverdale is coming off a 49-6 loss to Rutherford County foe Oakland. They have already played one WCS opponent in a 24-7 loss to Franklin.
RADAR: Matt Kriesky and the Cougars will avenge their 57-45 loss to Riverdale in 2017. Look for Jariel Wilson to carve up the Warriors defense, especially if he gets to the second level of their defense. Look for Marcel to continue racking up the stats behind center. The Pundits have Centennial and Coach Matt Kriesky as a +11 favorite in the Kriesky Bowl.
Page (4-1, 1-0) at Summit (3-2, 2-0)
Even though both teams have played their rivals already, this game is huge for both programs. The Region 5-5A crown will be within the grasp of the winner of this ball game. There will still be some work to do against Region opponent Shelbyville for both squads but a win would give a leg-up on the competition. Page is coming in on
Summit is coming into this game possibly a week earlier than expected. The Spartans had a lackluster first half performance against Columbia Central where they trailed 21-0 at the half. However, the Spartans came alive and reeled off 30 unanswered points in the second half to win 30-21. The Spartans scored 21 points in the third quarter alone behind RB, George Odimegwu's 191 yard, 2 TD night.
RADAR: This is the arguably the best game of the night for the WCS Sports Conference because of the regional standings and a Playoff berth that the outcome could impact. Michael Burdick is a game-changer on both sides of the ball for the Patriots. However, with Summit being a run-first style team that could negate his 'ball-hawking" abilities. The Defensive line will be the key for Page to attempt to contain G.O.. The Secondary will be the key for Summit to keep QB, Cade Walker at bay. Which will break down first?? The Pundits like the arm of Walker and their D-line in this Region Matchup. They have the Pats as a +8 favorite.
Franklin (2-3, 0-3) vs Hendersonville (4-1, 2-0)
The Rebels are still looking at the big picture of the Playoffs. They have had an extremely difficult road with having one of highest strength of schedules out there. To add to it they have powerhouse Hendersonville coming into town with their "ground-and-pound", Wing T offense. Franklin is coming off a tough loss to Region 6-6A opponent Independence. They must focus on the road in front of them and hope for some help down the backstretch of Weeks 6-10. The Rebels stingy defense has done a great job all season long. They are only allowing 16 ppg. However, the offense is averaging 13.2 ppg. If the Rebs can get the ball in the end zone they have a Championship level defense to back themselves up. The key to the offense is efficiency. The Rebs must make the most of their possessions and limit turnovers. QB, Joshua Nichols has had a stout season but threw 3 INT's on 10/25 passing for 108 yards against an athletic Independence secondary. His main target all year has been WR, Chancellor Bright. The defenses are going to start double teaming Bright and use zone coverages to shade towards him. With teams knowing his capabilities his window for open receptions will be short and small for the remainder of the season. He finished with 2 catches for 23 yards in Week 4. The staple on offense for the Rebs is RB, Matt Gaca. Gaca rushed for 97 yards on 16 carries for 1 TD. Gaca also had 4 receptions for 33 yards. Gaca will be the key to Bright getting open. If Gaca can continue to have big nights this will help possibly alleviate some of the pressure that the Wide Receivers are getting.
Hendersonville is coming into this game having already beaten a WCS team. The Commandos defeated Centennial 52-26 in Week 2. Hendersonville is averaging 35 ppg. The Franklin defense will have its hands full trying to contain the size, and speed of Hendersonville's Wing-T. They currently only have one loss and that was to Top 10 Ranked Blackman in Week 1.
RADAR: Look for Gaca to continue having productive nights. The amount of time of possessions will be reduced because of the run-first style of play Hendersonville brings. With possessions limited the Rebs need to strike quick and often. This game will be closer than people think. The Pundits have Franklin as -7 underdog and I believe they will give the Commandoes all they want and possibly pull off the upset.
Fairview (4-1, 2-0) vs Greenbrier (2-3, 1-2)
The Jackets are coming in on a hot streak after winning four in a row. More impressively is that the Jackets are averaging 38 ppg. and scoring 49 three times this year already. This point production looks like the Mean Machine National Flag Football Team that Coach Chris Hughes captained back this summer. The Jackets won with only running 34 plays total in the Week 5 win over Camden 21-14. Their point production has them sitting in first in Region 6-3A play with only three more Region games left. Logan Nardozzi ran the ball 11 times for 123 yards. Kam Harris-Lusk finished with 28 yards and 2 TD's on only 6 attempts but caught 2 balls for 33 yards.
Greenbrier is coming in beating White House Heritage 42-21 during Week 5. The Region 5-4A team has put up 35+ points three times this season.
RADAR: The Jackets are coming in hot after winning four games in a row. Nothing will change that in Week 6 including Greenbrier. The Jackets have had two "uncomfortable" wins in the last two weeks by only winning by a combined 14 points to Waverly and Camden. That stat has the Pundits keeping this one a little closer than most would think as the Jackets are +13 point favorites. Look for the passing game to pick back up as Greenbrier will definitely attempt to stop Harris-Lusk and Nardozzi in the run game. The Jackets will cover and run away with this game.
Independence (2-3, 1-1) has BYE WEEK. Next at Brentwood on 9/24/18
