COLUMBIA – One school’s quest for an undefeated season ended Friday night while the other marched on, as Nashville Christian defeated Columbia Academy 34-9 in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
The No. 2 seed Eagles had success in their ground attack, rushing for 282 yards.
“Our guys were running hard,” NCS coach Jeff Brothers said. “We had a couple scheme things that we felt would work, and they did.”
Nashville Christian (12-0) advances to play at Union City in the semifinals.
“Union City is the defending state champion and they’re undefeated as well,” Brothers said. “It’s going to take our very best effort.”
Three players carried the workload for Brothers’ squad as Blake Barfield had 13 carries for 107 yards, C’Dmareio McGraw added 83 yards and Kyle Tidwell chipped in 61.
Tennessee high school football playoff scores
The No. 1 one seed in the quadrant, Columbia Academy had early opportunities but struggled turning long possessions into touchdowns. The Bulldogs offense ran 37 plays in the first half compared to Nashville Christian’s 19, yet trailed 20-3 at the half.
Nashville Christian ran just four plays in the opening quarter as the Bulldogs started the game with drives of 13 and 15 plays.
“We knew they were a good offense,” Brothers said. “We knew they were going to move the ball. We didn’t come in here thinking we would give up zero yards.”
Quarterback Jackson Cary kept Columbia Academy (11-1) in the game, completing 20 of 37 attempts for 200 yards. His 11-yard fade to Taylor Thompson cut the NCS advantage to 20-9 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.
Aided by three Eagle penalties, Columbia Academy opened the contest with a 3-0 lead thanks to a 25-yard field goal by Thomas Garrison.
Nashville Christian responded quickly, using only two minutes before McGraw got free for a 69-yard touchdown run. The play put the visitors on top 7-3 with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Momentum swung heavily in the Eagles’ favor during a minute-long stretch of the second quarter that saw Nashville Christian boost its advantage to 20-3. Junior Daniel Bituli first found the end zone on a 5-yard run before defensive lineman Nathan Hargrove intercepted Cary three plays later and scampered 17 yards for a score.
