The TSSAA football playoffs continues Saturday with the Class 4A BlueCross Bowl state championship game.
Macon County (12-2) faces Melrose (11-3) at 11 a.m. at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. This is Macon County’s first state championship appearance after shocking Anderson County in the semifinal last week.
The Tigers are 4A’s No. 1 team in the latest USA TODAY Sports Network rankings and have won eight straight games coming into Saturday’s matchup.
Melrose is making its first state title appearance since 2005 and hoping for the school’s first championship since 1998.
Stream Tennessee HS football games live on NFHS Network
Zach Borders rushed 47 yards for a touchdown, his third of the game, as Macon County has pulled away for a 38-14 lead over Melrose with 7:54 left in regulation. Borders now has 218 yards on 20 carries.
Zach Borders scored from the 1, his second touchdown of the day, to increase Macon County’s lead over Melrose to 31-14 with 9:42 left in regulation. Borders had a 23-yard run earlier in the drive to set up the TD.
Rhyan Brown scored his second touchdown of the third quarter, this time from 20 yards out, to help the Wildcats cut the Macon County lead to 24-14 with 3:07 left in the period. That was the score heading to the fourth quarter. The two teams have combined for 38 points in less than two quarters.
Zach Borders rambled 20 yards for a touchdown as Macon County answered Melrose’s TD to go back up by 17 with 5:44 left in the third. He now has 12 carries for 105 yards.
Zach Borders had two carries for 18 yards on the first two plays of Macon County’s initial possession of the third quarter, which helped him take the program’s single-season rushing mark of 1,743 yards. He now has 1,750 yards and counting.
Melrose cut into the Macon County lead on the first possession of the third quarter, as Rhyan Brown scampered 25 yards, breaking numerous tackles along the way, for the touchdown. The Tigers lead 17-7 with 9:09 left in the third.
Eli Gammon booted a 35-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half to extend Macon County’s lead over Melrose to 17-0 at halftime. The six-play, 36-yard drive came after the Tigers forced a Wildcat punt. Gabe Borders has 14 carries for 90 yards to lead the Tigers. Macon County will kick off to begin the third quarter.
Melrose fumbled for the fourth time (second lost) at the Macon County 49 and the Tigers made the Wildcats pay with a 2-yard touchdown run by Brennan Flowers. Macon County leads 14-0 with 6:17 left in the second quarter.
Gabe Borders hit Luke Gammon for a 32-yard touchdown strike with 9:17 left in the second quarter to give Macon County a 7-0 lead over Melrose. It was Borders’ first pass attempt. He also has 63 yards rushing.
Macon County and Melrose are scoreless at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats have fumbled three times (one lost) and Macon County has punted twice and also lost a fumble. The two teams have combined for 114 yards. Gabe Borders has rushed for 38 yards for the Tigers.
After Macon County punted on the game’s first drive, Melrose drove inside the Tiger 5, but a fumble recovery by the Tigers at the 1 helped stave off the touchdown. Macon County will have to drive 99 yards. A 41-yard reception by Tavarco Jackson helped the Wildcats get into scoring position.
How to watch TSSAA football playoffs: BlueCross Bowl games
The championship games will be televised across the state on these stations (channel numbers over the air, cable channels can be found here):
- Nashville: WUPX MyNetwork TV Channel 30
- Memphis: WMC-TV+ Channel 5.5
- Knoxville: WKNX Channel 7
- Chattanooga: WFLI MyNetwork TV Channel 53.2
- Jackson: Jackson Energy Authority E+ broadband Channel 6 (not OTA)
- Tri-Cities: WCYB.2 CW Network Channel 5.2
TSSAA football championships schedule: Full BlueCross Bowl game schedule
All times Eastern; Games in Chattanooga
Thursday, Dec. 5
Friday, Dec. 6
Saturday, Dec. 7
- Class 4A: Macon County (12-2) vs. Melrose (10-3), 11 a.m.
- Class 2A: Marion County (12-2) vs. Milan (13-1), 3 p.m.
- Class 6A: Oakland (13-1) vs. Houston (12-2), 7 p.m.
What to know
Macon County senior running backs and twin brothers Zach and Gabe Borders lead the Tigers into the state title game as a two-headed monster in the backfield. Zach has run for 1,667 yards and 18 touchdowns while Gabe has rushed for 1,491 yards and 23 touchdowns. The duo ran for 370 rushing yards combined and five touchdowns in the team’s 43-41 semifinal win over Anderson County.
Gerald and Jarrett Morrow, twin brothers, have guided Melrose back to the state title game in nearly 20 years and will try to end Melrose’s 26-year title drought. Jarrett’s son Jamarion Morrow is a four-star running back in his first season with the team after transferring from Germantown. The senior Texas A&M commit scored his team’s lone touchdowns, upsetting defending 4A state champs, Pearl-Coh, 14-7 last week. Jamarion Morrow has a total of 1,013 yards and 26 touchdowns in eight games this season after returning from a preseason injury. Melrose will also rely on senior running back Rhyan Brown who has 1,117 yards and 14 TDs.
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Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports
