Tigers, Rockets take to the road

The prep football season is down to the nitty and gritty this week as both Marshall County and Forrest take to the road for a pair of key Week 9 match-ups that will go a long way in deciding playoff seeding and a home game in the first round on November 4.

The Rockets will face archrival Cascade in Wartrace Friday night and they will be in for the fight of their lives as they face a Champion team that has won four Sept. 9.

The number eight ranked Champions will also be in an especially sour mood Friday night as they will not forget the 45-21 pasting put on them in Chapel Hill last season.

straight after a 34-0 shellacking at the hands of Wayne County on

Before that, Cascade had won four straight by a combined score of 117-44, dating back to the 2006 season, and the Champions have won 13 out of the last 18 games in the storied series.

The Rockets on the other hand have rebounded well after a gut wrenching loss to Eagleville in Week 6 with convincing wins over MTCS and Huntland.

The contest will feature two of the best workhorse running backs in 2A with Cascade's Jakiel Hughes and Rocket runner Zach Ray.

Hughes has gained 1,070 yards on 151 carries this season and has scored 10 touchdowns rushing, while Ray has gained 918 yards on 171 carries and he has found the end zone 10 times on the ground and has thrown for a score.

It will be a chilly night in Bedford County under the lights and the ability to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage will be a major factor in who moves up in the standings.

At press time, Cascade was in the number eight slot in the 2A playoff quadrant, while the Rockets were three spots back at number 11.

The winner Friday will vault past the loser in the standings and the final week of the season will decide their respective playoff fates as they both must face formidable foes on the road to end the year.

Forrest (6-2, 3-1) finishes the season with a road game at Moore County (5-3, 2-2), while the Champions (6-2, 4-0) travel to currently undefeated and fifth ranked 1A Eagleville (8-0, 4-0).

The game at Wartrace may be one of the best football games of the year as the two hungry squads battle for pride and playoff position, but look for Forrest to make it two in a row with a last second 31-28 win on an Angel Reyes field goal.

The Tigers also have a yellow bus trip this week as they travel to Rudderville to take on the Page Patriots (4-4, 3-3) in another battle for playoff positioning in Class 4A.

Marshall County (6-2, 5-1) sits solidly at number thirteen in the 4A quadrant, while Page hangs precariously at the bottom in the number 30 slot, needing an upset win over the Tigers to stay alive.

The Tigers have won back-to-back games since a home loss to Fairview in Week 6 and take on a Pats team that has won the last two games in the series, including a 13-7 win last year at Preston Hopkins Field in a contest that the Tigers should have won if not for a late penalty flag that nullified the apparent go-ahead touchdown.

Tom Turchetta's squad will get revenge and be ready for the challenge.

MCHS will not lose again in the regular season as they beat Page 31-10 this week and hammer East Hickman on senior night in Lewisburg next week.

The Cornersville Bulldogs (0-8, 0-5) have only two chances remaining to break the goose egg on the winning column this season and this could be the night that the Frog Bottom crew gets it done.

The depleted Dawgs just will not give up and their perseverance will pay off when they defeat Collinwood (1-7, 1-4) in Cornersville this week 21-17.