We've officially reached the halfway point of the high school football season. Yeah, I know - hard to believe, right?
But with the second half of the season set to kick off tonight, we've already seen a few surprises and could be in line for several more.
The first surprise is the way Tyner bounced back from an 0-2 start. The Ram Train is rolling once again. Tyner's upset of Marion County last week put the Rams in position to win their first region championship since 2010 and stopped a couple of streaks. Marion had won 12 straight region games, while Tyner had lost five straight in the series dating back to 2007.
The victory also gave Tyner a bit of its old swagger back, enough that one player couldn't help but take a dig at Marion's notorious tractor whistle that blows long and loud after each big play for the Warriors. The Rams scored three touchdowns in the final five minutes, and as they were kneeling on the ball to run out the final seconds, a Tyner player looked over at the Warriors' side of the field and said loudly, "Blow that whistle again! Let everybody know the Ram Train is in town!"
While reeling off three straight wins, Tyner has avoided the turnovers and penalties that plagued it in losses to Ooltewah and Signal Mountain. Tyner's next four opponents have a combined record of 5-14 this season, which means the Rams have an excellent chance to wrap up their first region title since the current players were still in elementary school.
"That was one of the biggest wins we've had here in a long time," Rams coach Wayne Turner said. "You can see a difference this week at practice. The kids are a lot more confident in what they can do, and it's like I told them after the game, there's no reason we shouldn't be on a roll heading into the playoffs.
"We've got the potential to be a really good team, but we have to treat every game like it's the playoffs and not have any more letdowns."
Our second surprise to this point has been Grace Academy, which is looking to begin 4-1 for the first time since 2006. To do so, tonight the Eagles will have to knock off a rival they've never beaten when they host Boyd-Buchanan, which has won all eight previous meetings by an average score of 44-8.
With all but two starters back from last year's playoff team, Whitwell came into this season with high expectations. But so far the Tigers have exceeded those and are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1959. Yep, it's been almost 60 years since Whitwell has been this good out of the gate, and similar to this year's version, that '59 team was built around defense, not allowing a point until a 6-0 loss to Hixson.
This year's team ranks second in the state in scoring defense - among all classifications - having outscored opponents 208-9. The only points allowed so far were on special teams - a 94-yard punt return in the final minute of last week's 50-point win over Lookout Valley, and a first-half field goal to Bledsoe County.
The best season in program history was 1991, when the Tigers finished 12-2, losing in the Class A semifinals at Franklin Road Academy. But even that year's team lost a regular-season game after a 4-0 start.
The Tigers will be tested tonight by Polk County and have a home date with Class 2A perennial power and third-ranked Trousdale County (which is allowing an average of just 7.6 points per game) in two weeks before a huge Region 3-1A showdown at top-ranked South Pittsburg.
And finally, the feel-good story happening at Lookout Valley continues to be one of this year's pleasant surprises.
The Yellow Jackets opened with two wins (snapping a 19-game losing streak) and even after two tough losses have a good shot at winning their next five games (those opponents are a combined 5-17). The Jackets haven't won seven games in a season since 2011 but are looking to earn the No. 3 playoff spot from Region 3-1A.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.