Tennessee's Cinderella high school football playoff team wants to win for fallen teammate

CORNERSVILLE — The best story of the Tennessee high school football playoffs can be found about 60 miles south of Nashville in rural Cornersville, a town nestled between hills and farm land in Marshall County.

And it's a true Cinderella story.

Welcome to Cornersville, a town of about 1,200 and home of the Class 1A state semifinalist Bulldogs.

Cornersville hosts Lake County at 7 p.m. Friday in the program's first state semifinal in school history. 

It comes after the first three playoff wins in the program's history. Prior to this season, Cornersville was 0-6 lifetime in the playoffs. That includes first-round losses in 1972, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

"I think a lot of people are pulling for us," Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. "A lot of people want to see us win."

The Bulldogs, though, want to win for Bryan.

Sophomore Bryan Giles died in June after accidentally being electrocuted at his home. Giles was an outside linebacker and offensive guard for the Bulldogs.

"We all took it tough," Randolph said from his office in the football fieldhouse, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. "He was well known in the community."

Giles was named an honorary captain this season. When the Bulldogs' seniors walk out to midfield on Friday, they'll carry a black No. 62 Cornersville home jersey  — Giles' uniform. He remains listed on the football roster in memoriam.

"He thought we could do well and he didn't mind telling people that," Randolph said. "He believed in his teammates and their coaches."

Randolph, 40, is a Giles County graduate and was on the 1994 state runner-up basketball team that lost to Sweetwater.

He was an assistant at Marshall County under former coach Tom Turchetta. When Turchetta was fired in 2012, Randolph landed in Cornersville to coach basketball. Randolph resigned that position to take over the football program three years ago.

Randolph played eight freshmen on each side of the ball his first season. The Bulldogs went 3-7. The Bulldogs are 12-1 this year and having the best season in school history.

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This year's junior class is 20 strong. They and five seniors lead this team. There are 52 players on the roster — 30 more from what he inherited when he took over the program in 2015.

"These kids have been special since they were playing youth football at Cornersville," Cornersville principal Brent Adcox said. "We knew they could win football games. We knew they were special."

And this truly is special.

It's special for every struggling program in the state. It gives hope for the perennial underdog. For every Alcoa, Maryville and Oakland there is a Cornersville — a team without a noteworthy postseason history. This has been a year to fill their record books, from the first playoff victory to the most recent — a 21-20 double overtime win over second-ranked Huntingdon.

"It's been crazy," Randolph said. "We probably had close to 2,000 people here. And the crowd stormed the field."

The program has nearly three 1,000-yard rushers this season. Eli Woodard has 1,383 yards with 11 touchdowns in 10 games played. Cameron Whitaker has 1,198 yards and 19 touchdowns in 13 games. And Kolbe McMahon has 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games.

"For all of us, this has been a little different," Woodard said. "It feels special because no one really knows who Cornersville is. 

"Now, they look on a scoreboard and see we beat Huntingdon, and they've been No. 1. It's weird. We just want to keep this going."

And win one — or maybe two — more to honor Bryan.

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com or 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @Kreager.