Cascade can gain playoff berth Friday

Cascade's offensive line has paved the way for 1,221 rushing yards through their six wins. (T-G File Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Cascade has an opportunity to accomplish one of their goals they set back in the preseason when they roll into Eagleville on Friday night with a chance to clinch a playoff spot on the line.

The seventh-ranked Champions (6-0, 5-0 Region 5-A) battle their rival Eagles (3-3, 2-3) with bragging rights on the line when the teams kick off at 7:30.

The last two meetings have been lopsided with Cascade claiming both by a combined score of 114-23. They haven't lost a regular season game to a team not named Jo Byrns since falling 19-0 at McEwen on Oct. 15, 2005.

"What's happened in the past has happened in the past," Champion coach Kenny Parker said. "It doesn't have anything to do with this year."

Pride and a playoff spot for the visitors won't be all that's on the line. If Eagleville wants to return to the postseason for the first time since 2005, they'll likely need to win out.

"They know it's going to be pretty tough for them if they have that fourth loss," Parker said. "We've got to go out and expect the unexpected on Friday night. We're looking at the possibility for them to onside kick and fake punts and things that you wouldn't expect in situations because it's do or die for them."

Last week, Cascade held off a much-improved Forrest team in the fourth quarter to come away with a 24-23 victory despite allowing three touchdowns in a span of 8:49.

Eagleville was tied at 8-all at halftime before falling 17-8 to third-ranked Jo Byrns. The other Eagles' losses are a seven-point overtime defeat at Forrest and a six-point loss to Middle Tennessee Christian.

"They're playing well right now. In the films we've got, they've played some good football, got a really good defense, will get after you," Parker said.

Talent is rarely a problem for the Eagles. They won only two games a year ago but have found new life under first-year coach Steve Carson and a veteran staff that includes former MTSU coach Tom Fiveash and former Brentwood Academy coach Carlton Flatt.

"They're athletic. They're physical up front. They've got good size," Parker said. "Defensively, they run the field good, they tackle well.

"Offensively, the quarterback (Jared Wilson) does a good job, he's a good athlete, throws the ball well. They've got a good fullback-tailback combination. They've three guys (Cory Nelson, Jo Jo Wilson and Raphael Foster) that are playmakers. They put some weapons on the field. You can't key on one of them because if you key on one of them, the other ones are going to get you."

Their lone score against powerful Jo Byrns came via the big play as Nelson (22 receptions, 387 yards) brought in a 34-yard pass from Jared Wilson.

"They're good at creating the big play. (Nelson) can stretch the field and run by you, but he can also catch the little 5-yard pass and run after he catches it because he's got some unbelievable moves," Parker said.

The Champion defense must put pressure on Jared Wilson and not let receivers get behind the secondary. If they can negate the big play, their chances of winning increase greatly. Limiting penalties shouldn't be too difficult as they didn't lose a single yard due to a yellow hankie last week.

The Orange and Black offense is averaging 37.2 points per game, good enough to rank fourth in Class A, even though their running game hasn't been as productive as it's been in the past. They're averaging 4.7 yards per carry through their five region contests. All-Region 5-A tailback Matt Henderson (84 carries, 362 yards) has had to dodge potential tacklers in the backfield on a consistent basis.

"We knew going into the games that people were really keying Matt," said Parker, who also noted graduating four seniors from the offensive line. "We're getting a little better up front every week, but this is a versatile team. We don't necessarily have to count on one aspect of our game. We want to be where if you're expecting us to run, we're going to throw and if you're expecting us to throw, we're going to run.

"We haven't rushed the ball as much, but we've hit some big plays that sort of kept us away from that. I think we can run the football. As long as we're putting points on the board, I don't care how we put them on the board.

"I will say this, in the situations that we've had to there at the end of the game, our running game has stepped up and spoke for itself where we're able to run the football, eat the clock and things like that."