By Tripp Vistica
Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) and other private schools in the TSSAA Division II Class AAA found a way to play nine regular season football games plus a shortened playoff system this season, despite everything the COVID-19 pandemic has done to the world and society.
CBHS did not want COVID-19 to take away any of their boys last year of playing football, because they deserve a chance to play one last year after players had given their blood, sweat and tears to be a part of the team. Seniors that have put their hearts and souls into playing for a football team for three years know how hard it is going to be to hang up their helmet for last time.
That helmet means everything to a football player, and it’s one of the most heartbreaking things in the world to hang it up for the last time. That is why these kids deserve some kind of chance to play their final season even if it is a shortened season with a lot of changing variables.
When a couple students, a faculty member and a teacher at CBHS tested positive for COVID-19, the football team had to shut everything down for four weeks making this season even tougher for the Brothers. The positive tests could not have come at a worse time for CBHS, because they were just coming off one their biggest victories of the season. CBHS had four wins and one loss, including the wins over rival school, MUS, and Pope John Paul II (JP II), who was undefeated before CBHS traveled to Nashville and won in blowout fashion by a score of 45-21.
However, their celebration was short lived, after they were told the next day that their season was put on hold for four weeks. Luckily one of those four weeks was bye week for the Brothers, and they would move their game against Briarcrest to the last game of the season.
CBHS head football coach, Thomas McDaniel, did not think they would play this fall, but he was ecstatic when he found out they would be playing a shortened season.
“When they told me that we’d be playing an eight-game schedule this year, I said I’ll take it,” McDaniel said.
After starting the season 5-1 and their season being put on hold, the CBHS football players decided to work out, run drills and train to stay in shape and continue the momentum from their victory over JP II during the four weeks they waited to play again.
CBHS Athletic Director, Mike Kelly, explained that the COVID-19 positive tests were not any members of the football team, but the school administration decided to take precaution when they decided to go completely remote and shut down all afterschool activities for two weeks.
“After the four-week layoff, our kids were just happy to play!”, Kelly said. “It’s a credit to our coaches that we were able to stay sharp and still look like a pretty good football team”,
The players had to take control of the situation and keep their minds on the rest of the season on their own, because no coaches were allowed to be at those player-only workouts. This shows the player’s character instilled to them by not only their coaches, but from the lessons they have learned from the teachers and faculty at CBHS.
Kelly explained that how it felt like they were starting all over again, and how it was like the first game of the season.
“The kids were tired of practicing and excited to get an opportunity to continue to compete,” Kelly said.
The workouts payed off when the Brothers were able to take the field again on October 16 against Memphis Pure Academy inside Tom Nix Stadium and won 52-18. However, like earlier in the season, the Brothers lost the next week to Conway High School from Conway, Arkansas 49-42 dropping their record to 5-2.
The Brothers had lost a game to Bartlett High School 22-19 after beating MUS 28-7. However, when CBHS played Bartlett they had just soundly beaten MUS and were looking ahead to the big game against JP II in Nashville.
With CBHS playing Nashville powerhouse Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) next, the Brothers might have been looking ahead to their next game again, because the winner of the CBHS vs. MBA game will likely decide the Brothers seeding in the playoffs.
CBHS will be in the playoffs, but it is yet to be determined who will win the division. CBHS and MBA are the two best teams in TSSAA Division II Class AAA, so the winner of the game will likely win the division. The Brothers still have to play their make-up game against Briarcrest, but the Brothers will be heavily favored to beat the Saints of Briarcrest.
If the Brothers can pull off a victory over MBA and carry that momentum into the Briarcrest game, they should beat Briarcrest, because if the Brothers win their last two games, they win their division and get the one seed in the playoffs.
It would be a major upset if they beat MBA and lose to Briarcrest, because Briarcrest is an inferior team to CBHS who could be playing to win a division championship which would give the Brothers an easier road to State Championship Game. CBHS would have everything to play for, and this year’s team is older and more experienced than last year’s team.
With CBHS being more experienced, the Brothers won’t be looking ahead to another game this time. However, CBHS will need to play their best game of the year to beat MBA at Tom Nix Stadium before they even think about Briarcrest. First thing’s first, CBHS needs to be ready for a dog fight against MBA before than can even start thinking about Briarcrest or winning a division championship.
With only two games left in the season, CBHS has everything to play for in their final two games, but their next game against MBA is the only thing that should be on their minds right now.
Tripp Vistica 