TSSAA football playoffs first-round takeaways: Bearden, Oak Ridge, Gibbs pull off upsets

Aaron Torres
Knoxville

 Here are five takeaways from the first round of the high school football playoffs in the Knoxville area.

Bearden upsets McMinn County 

McMinn County beat Bearden (5-6) in Week 6 and scored 37 points on the Bulldogs. But Friday night, Bearden upset McMinn County 23-6 in Class 6A. McMinn County (9-2) averaged over 36 points, but Bearden's defense allowed the fewest points it has all season. The Bulldogs forced two turnovers — a fumble and an interception — recorded an interception and blocked a field goal. Bearden will face Dobyns-Bennett (9-2) on Friday. Dobyns-Bennett beat Bearden 39-14 in the regular season. 

Oak Ridge stuns Soddy Daisy 

Oak Ridge wasn't a typical No. 4 seed. While the Class 5A Wildcats had an inconsistent season, they had impressive win over two Class 6A playoff teams — Mt. Juliet and Farragut. Against No. 1 seed Soddy Daisy (6-5), Oak Ridge used its defense to upset the Trojans 40-23. Oak Ridge (6-5) recorded five interceptions, with linebacker Jacob Berven recording two. It was Oak Ridge's first win in three weeks. Oak Ridge has a rematch with West (10-1), which it beat 24-7, on Friday. 

A Farragut player attempts to run through Oak Ridge's Jacob Berven (38) during the Oak Ridge and Farragut football game on Friday, September 13, 2019 at Oak Ridge High School.

Gibbs runs past Tennessee 

Gibbs' strength has been its running game, with two 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Troy Davis (1,173) and running back Ethan Humphries (1,200). The Eagles followed that game plan in a 20-13 upset over Tennessee. Gibbs (8-3) rushed for 284 yards against the Vikings (9-2) , with Humphries and Davis accounting for 280. Humphries scored all three of Gibbs' touchdowns. The Eagles have won five straight games. They face Central (9-2), the defending Class 5A state champions, next week. Gibbs beat Central 28-17 in Week 11. 

Gibbs' Troy Davis (7) is tackled by South-Doyle's Terrell Brown on Friday, September 6, 2019.

Grace's Caleb Curcio scores 5 TDs

Grace Christian quarterback Cooper Riggs was named one of the five semifinalists for the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award in Division II-AA. Riggs has passed for 2,523 yards and 25 touchdowns, but he didn't throw a touchdown pass in the Rams' 35-20 win over Goodpasture (4-7). That's because running back Caleb Curcio took care of the scoring load, rushing for 192 yards and five touchdowns. The Rams (9-2) will host Lipscomb Academy (6-5) next week. 

Can Farragut upset Maryville? 

Maryville faces Farragut in the Class 6A second round. When Farragut and Maryville played in Week 6, the Admirals lost 35-24. The Admirals, however, only trailed by four points midway through the third quarter before Maryville scored back-to-back touchdowns to put the game away. Farragut scored a season-high 56 points Friday against Bradley Central. And the Admirals are fully healthy as they have starting running back Matt White back. White didn't play against Maryville because of a shoulder injury.