SHIELDS: Emotions, stakes high in Week 10

Tonight is the night the regular season for TSSAA football ends.

For some, it will simply signal the beginning of the transition to the playoffs.

For others, it will signal the transition to another sport.

And there is a group of seniors who won’t play college football next year that will step off the football field tonight, helmet in hand, for the last time.

Because of all that, emotions will be high. Tensions will be as well.

And for some teams, the stakes will be even higher. The teams participating in the University School of Jackson-St. George’s, Crockett County-Westview and Munford-Hardin County games already know they’re in the playoffs but are playing for district titles.

Others don’t have that playoff assurance.

Here’s a look at some of those games.

• Haywood at North Side: This game went down to the wire last year, and don’t be surprised if it does again this year.

North Side has made its name the last couple of seasons winning close games.

Haywood has enough athletes to keep the Indians from winning.

The added motivation of the winner getting a runner-up finish, which is probably the only way Haywood makes the playoffs, could play a factor in determining the outcome here as well.

• McNairy Central at Chester County: When it comes to the playoffs, McNairy is in a similar situation to that of Haywood.

They have a shot at winning a top-two spot in the district. But without the win, a 3-7 record probably keeps the Bobcats out of the playoffs.

• Dresden at Huntingdon: The Mustangs come into this game on a rare two-game losing streak.

A win tonight for the Lions would give them their biggest victory of the year.

Either way, the winner will finish second in the district behind McKenzie, while the loser has to hope 5-5 is good enough to get in the playoffs.

• Middleton at Scotts Hill: We’ve talked plenty throughout the season about the history Scotts Hill makes with each win it’s gotten since getting its third win of 2014 in Week 2.

A win tonight would be No. 6, which is the unofficial magic number to reach to be assured a playoff spot.

• Humboldt at Peabody: With a record of 7-2, Peabody is in the playoffs.

With a record of 5-4, Humboldt is on the bubble going into this game.

Winning the game and the District 14-A runner-up title that goes along with it will give the Vikings the assurance they need to know they’ll be playing next week.

• Fayette-Ware at Lexington: When was the last time Lexington went into Week 10 without full assurance of playing somewhere in Week 11?

The Tigers enter this game 5-4. They’ve scored three points in the past two games. Fayette-Ware comes in with a couple of talented athletes in key positions that could cause the Lexington’s coaching staff to change a lot of players’ positioning around this week.

To say this night is going to be interesting is an understatement. We could see some of the bext performances of the season for some teams and/or players.

Enjoy it while you can because there are five weeks of football remaining after this week.

Brandon Shields is the sports editor for The Jackson Sun. Contact him at 425-0751 or at bjshields@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon.