Clarksville High football falls to Henry County but playoff hunt still on

When a team wins on Friday nights, coaches caution against peeking too far into the future.

But in the event of a loss, coaches try to look at the bigger picture.

The bigger picture for Clarksville High is that with five games left, and each game a Region 7-5A game, the Wildcats' 49-27 loss to Henry County Friday night is just a blip on the schedule.

"You're essentially playing 10 games to play five," CHS coach Isaac Shelby said. "I've been saying it all year. We're trying to build toward the playoffs because I feel like we can do damage if we can get there."

Shelby should know. He's a veteran of Class 5A playoff games. Four times he reached the postseason with his former team Northeast and the 2013 Eagles team that reached the state semifinal had a 6-4 regular-season record.

Clarksville High (2-3, 0-1) is on a two-year playoff drought and parched for a return trip. Shelby still feels his team is on track.

"The first half of our schedule was pretty brutal," Shelby said. "And that's not saying we don't have tough games ahead of us, but we feel like we can compete against anybody, so even losing to Henry County, we feel we can be in a position to get a home playoff game."

To do that, Clarksville needs to finish second in its region standings. Unless Henry County (3-2, 2-0) has a meltdown, the Patriots are on track to wrap up the No. 1 spot in the region. That means the No. 2 spot is up for grabs with teams like Northeast and West Creek in the best position, along with Clarksville.

The Wildcats face Dyer County next week and are confident its offense has found a rhythm. Josh Watch provided 14 points, alone, with two kickoff returns (89 and 86 yards) for touchdowns. But for a team that scored only 31 points in its first three games, the last two weeks have yielded 69 points.

"There's progress there," Shelby said. "There's also work we have to do. But we're building toward something special."

Reach Prep writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com or (931) 245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.