Absolutely no one was scoreboard-watching during the first rounds of the Region 2-A/AA wrestling tournament.
This time of year it's about advancing as many wrestlers as possible to state, but Friday's opening session - preliminary and quarterfinal matches and the first round of consolations - took less than two hours, so there was little time to check who stood where in the team championship race anyway.
"I have no idea," Red Bank coach Shane Turner said. "I haven't looked and haven't asked. There were a lot of pins. I'm glad it happened fast. We can get these kids home and get them to bed and get ready for tomorrow morning."
There were eight pins in the small round-of-16 and 33 more in the quarterfinals and initial consolation round. Hixson High School coach Garrick Hall, whose Wildcats are hosting the tournament at Hixson Middle School, had everything ready to go - from scales and the weigh-in routine to mats and competent scorers at each table to the concession stand and hospitality room.
But he also had not checked the team scores.
"I'm not looking at the scores now," Hall said. "I'm looking at getting kids into the state tournament. If the points come, they come; if they don't, they don't."
The tournament resumes at 9:30 this morning, with the championship and consolation finals scheduled to begin no later than 3 p.m.
For the record, Red Bank's 52 points lead the tournament and are 13 better than Hixson.
Notre Dame (28), East Ridge (24) and Central (19) filled out the top five after the first day, with the latter one point better than surprising Whitwell. Boyd-Buchanan (16), Signal Mountain (15), Chattanooga Christian (11), Sequatchie County (11), Tyner (9.5), Howard (9), Brainerd (0) and Sale Creek (0) rounded out the field.
Turner was dialed in on his Lions.
"I probably won't look at the team scores until after the semifinals," he said. "If we do what we're supposed to do, we'll win."
This morning's semifinals are when teams can start racking up serious bonus points, because winners of those matches are assured of at least second-place points (barring disqualification).
"I don't want to come off as arrogant, but we looked like a state championship team in this first round tonight," said Turner, whose Lions won the Class A/AA state duals title last weekend in Franklin. "We got bonus points in every match but one, and we had a freshman (160-pounder Jackson Hash) get into the semis. He's one of the guys we're hoping to get through."
Hixson, the only team given much of a shot to stay within hailing distance of the Lions, did that despite missing Brody Gregory (220), who was kept from the tournament when he was unable to get a doctor's release due to a continuing pulmonary problem.
"So far, so good," Hall said. "It looks like the layoff was good for us. The kids had a chance to get healthy, and they're looking good and battling. That's all I can ask."
The top four finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advance to the state tournament next week at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo in Franklin.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.