It looks as if the TSSAA did a fairly decent job this season with its playoff pairings but there always are those items that can be scrutinized.
That said, the feeling I get is that most coaches are delighted with the TSSAA's decision to return to the eight-region, top-four plan; interpretation - the top four teams in each region advance to the playoffs with the top two guaranteed an opening home game and the bottom two playing on the road.
If they wanted to retain some of the suspense, guarantee the top three in each region a playoff berth and then save eight spots state-wide for wild cards.
If they wanted to be practical and forget about money - in a lucid moment - they'd consider going back to five classes or even four (rather than five plus the new Super 32). It's not supposed to be about getting as many teams into the postseason as possible but rather about doing your best to determine the best.
• There are 15 unbeaten teams across the various classifications, none in Class 2A and five in Class 5A including Ooltewah and Rhea County. There are three in Class 1A and Class 4A and three in Class 6A.
A bone to pick - of the unbeatens in 5A, four are in the top half of the bracket - South Doyle, Oak Ridge, Ooltewah and Rhea County.
Could've been one of those times you set aside geographic considers and split the undefeated teams. There should be some consideration for finishing undefeated.
A plus for South Pittsburg - all three of the unbeaten teams are in the other half of the bracket from South Pittsburg, a No. 3 seed with a 5-5 record. Second seed in the Pirates' quadrant, and the team they'll see if they win against Clay County, is Copper Basin.
• There are 13 teams with losing records advancing to the playoffs, the worst records of 3-7 belong to Class 2A Loretto and DII-AA Pope John Paul II. In PJP's case, though, it is somewhat understandable. They're in a league with the likes of Ensworth, Brentwood Academy, McCallie, MBA and Baylor. That's five of their losses right there. Six of Loretto's 10 opponents had winning records and half of those were 8-2 or better.
In Class 2A with Loretto are Booker T. Washington and Carver, each with 4-6 records. All three are in the lower half of the 24-team bracket.
• Locally, two of the teams drew byes, those being Copper Basin in 1A and Marion County in 2A.
• Twelve of the area teams will be hosting and three of the games are local affairs - Chattanooga Christian at Notre Dame, Bledsoe County at Red Bank and Grundy County at McMinn Central.
Other local hosts this week include South Pittsburg, Boyd-Buchanan, Signal Mountain, Hixson, Cleveland, Ooltewah, Rhea County, Baylor and McCallie.
Remember, all games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. local time (rather than the customary 7:30).
• There also some second-time-around games in the first round.
Meigs goes to Knox Grace, which it lost to 13-6 on Oct. 3. The CCS-Notre Dame game is a rematch of a Sept. 5 game was by Notre Dame 42-7. In DII-AA, Baylor is hosting Father Ryan, which it just beat 35-28 last Friday and McCallie is at home against the aforementioned PJP II, which the Blue Tornado bested 59-38 on Sept. 5.
• In addition to those second-time-around games, which often are a tough opening draw, some teams drew tough first-round assignments. That's a group that includes Whitwell, which travels to Trousdale County. Most any coach or player who's gone into Trousdale County will tell you that it is a very tough place to play.
That said, Whitwell hasn't shied away from any competition and hasn't tried to alter what they do depending on the upcoming opponent. The Tigers are going to run the football and even without Clay McHone (broken ankle), they still have three guys that have rushed for 500-plus yards, and the back that replaced McHone had the first 100-yard game of his career a couple of weeks ago.
Another tough draw is that of Central, which drew a game at Livingston Academy. With temperatures now beginning to drop, anyone who's played there in November can tell you it's sometimes 10-15 degrees cooler there than Chattanooga, and it seems like the wind is always blowing. Have to note here, by the way that Livingston's lone loss was to District 6-AA champion Hixson. The Wildcats beat them 39-34 and that is by far the most points Livingston gave up all season. Hixson bested Central 33-12 a couple of weeks ago.
The Bledsoe County-Red Bank match could be intriguing if for no other reason than to see how the visiting Warriors contend with the number of gifted athletes Red Bank can throw at them on either side of the ball.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.