DUNLAP, Tenn. -- Dickie Brown gets to keep his secret for at least another week.

For the last two decades, change has been the main constant in Chattanooga-area high school football programs.

Having experienced about every situation a high school football coach can face, Benny Monroe knew he had a decision tougher than any fourth-and-inches call.

Ooltewah High School senior defensive end and University of Tennessee commitment Jacques Smith will have to sit out Friday night’s first-round playoff game between the fifth-ranked Owls and seventh-ranked Knoxville Farragut. Owls coach Benny Monroe today confirmed the suspension, which he cited was for disciplinary reasons.

It's tough to steal the excitement of a day as anxiously anticipated as the release of the state football playoff brackets. But that's just what happened Saturday when TSSAA officials reached into their bag and handed out far more tricks than treats.

Having won five of its last six games to finish second in a district full of larger high schools, Tyner appeared poised for a deep run in the Class 3A football state playoffs. But that potential took a gut-shot when the playoff brackets were announced Saturday morning.

The TSSAA unveiled its new playoff format Saturday, and 21 Chattanooga-area teams earned the right to begin competing for a state championship.

Two plays into the game, Brentwood Academy had set the tone as well as an ominous trend of things to come. The Eagles scored less than a minute in and consistently continued using their tremendous speed advantage to run away from McCallie for a 42-21 Division II-AA victory.

JASPER, Tenn. -- Needing someone to step up and ensure its season would continue into the playoffs, Marion County got a take-charge game from two seniors on offense.

There are nights, as he patrols downtown, that officer Lee Mayweather will stop along Chestnut Street and gaze up the hill where AT&T Field sits. Closing his eyes briefly, Mayweather can picture the black track that encircled the football field where Kirkman High School once played and remember the three years he spent playing on Hawk Hill.