Memphis high school football 2017: By the numbers

Numbers are the life-blood of sports.

They tell you who's doing well, who's struggling and, most importantly, who is winning and losing. Here's a by-the-numbers rundown of things you'll need to know as the 2017 high school football season gets under way Friday. 

2: Everyone's goal is to get to Tucker Stadium at Tennessee Tech for the BlueCross Bowl state championship, but two local teams will get an early look at what it's like to play on a college field.

ECS will take on two-time Alabama state champion Bessemer Academy on Friday at Samford. White Station will entertain Montgomery Bell Academy on Sept. 28 at Rhodes College.

3: Three teams enter this weekend looking for their first victories in over a year. Manassas, MLK Prep and Sheffield were winless in 2016, so here's wishing them a better go-around this time.

5: From a preparation and attention-getting standpoint, MAHS coach Cedric Miller is a big fan of playing on Thursday night. The Lions will play five games on Thursdays, starting with Douglass at Melrose on Aug. 31.

The Lions played seven times on Thursday last season, going 6-1, including a forfeit victory over Trezevant.

8: Shelby County schools with double-digit victory totals in 2016. Class 6A state champion Whitehaven led with 15, followed by Division II-A winner Lausanne (14), 4A champions East (13), Cordova (12) and MUS, Raleigh-Egypt, Central and 2A champion Trezevant all with 10.

9: Tennessee will award state championships in nine classifications with the addition of Division III-AAA. Florida and Illinois, two states with much larger populations, have eight. Texas leads the way with 12, including 6- and 8-man classifications while Alabama awards championships in 10 classifications.

16: When Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering took its team picture prior to the start of last week's jamboree, someone joked "here's the Sweet 16." The Phoenix begin their first season of varsity play with just 16 hardy souls on the roster.

18: Whitehaven has won 18 straight games against Shelby County competition heading into its season-opener against Mitchell Saturday in the Whitehaven Classic. The last local team to defeat the Tigers is Arlington, which won 28-25 on Sept. 4, 2015.

20: This is the 20th season for MUS coach Bobby Alston, the longest tenure at one school of any coach in Shelby County. Alston's Owls have won four state titles, and he has a career record of 153-67 (.695).

His predecessor Jake Rudolph held the job from 1959-1997, meaning MUS had had just two coaches since the Eisenhower administration.

36: Three years ago, injuries and attrition forced Arlington to start a ninth-grader named Tate Kolwyck at quarterback. Now a senior, he'll make his 36th consecutive start as the Tigers visit Raleigh-Egypt. Last season, the Vanderbilt baseball commitment threw for 2,560 yards with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 games.

100: Cordova's winning percentage last year against teams not named Whitehaven. The Wolves went 12-2, losing to the Tigers in the regular-season finale and then again in the 6A state semifinals.

Cordova will get another shot on Sept. 1 in what will be one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the season.

120: The combined total of points Douglass and FACS allowed in their final games of 2016. The Red Devils lost to eventual state-champ Trezevant 64-30 in the second round of the 2A  playoffs while the Crusaders fell to St. George's 56-30 in the Division II-A quarterfinals.

Unless things are much improved, expect Friday's game between the two at FACS to be a wild one.

224: Career victory total for St. Benedict's John Cooley, the winningest active coach in Shelby County. Cooley, beginning his second season with the Eagles, compiled most of those wins during a 22-year tenure at Ridgeway. He also coached Horn Lake for four years.

820: The distance in miles from the MUS campus to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando where the Owls will face Seminole Ridge (Fla.) on Sept. 1. It's the farthest any Shelby County team is traveling for a game this year.

Interestingly, MUS is also involved in the game with the shortest distance. When Ridgeway visits on Friday it will be coming from 0.9 miles away.

849: Receiving yards for Matthew Priest of FACS, the top returning pass catcher from last season. The senior ranked seventh in Shelby County last fall.

2,215: Rushing yards for Eric Gray of Lausanne in 2016. The Mr. Football winner is the top returning rusher in Shelby County.

2,812: Yards for FACS quarterback Jack Grissom, who is the top returning passer from last season. He had 29 touchdowns and threw just seven picks in 12 games.

6,844: Spare a thought for David Carter and the rest of the St. George's coaching staff as the Gryphons visit Center Hill for their opener. They must find away to replace running back Chase Hayden, quarterback Ben Glass and receiver Corey Jones, who between them combined for 6,844 yards from scrimmage while accounting for 90 touchdowns.

Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas.