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Week 9 takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 9
Week 9 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Early look at playoff races in each region
Who's in the playoffs, who's not, who's in contention for region championships
Top 10 teams after Week 8
Here's a look at the latest top 10 in rural West Tennessee
Week 8 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
West TN Blitz top 10 after Week 7
Here's a look at the latest top 10 in rural West Tennessee
Week 7 Takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 7
Week 7 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
West TN Blitz top 10 after Week 6
Here's a look at the latest top 10 in rural West Tennessee
Week 6 Takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 6
Week 6 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Blitz Top 10 after Week 5
A couple of teams re-enter the ranking
Quick hits
The Eagles are dealing with a little more turnover than they’ve had to deal with in recent years, but there’s still a good amount of experience coming back.
One key place where there is change is on the coaching staff as former defensive coordinator Rob Phillips was named the head coach at Columbia Academy in Middle Tennessee in early April. Nathan Adams is the new defensive coordinator.
Kelsey Rose is a key player for Adams to have in his planning for the defense. He’s a three-star athlete that committed to Minnesota early in the summer then later changed his commitment to South Florida. Rose is classified for recruiting purposes as an edge rusher, but his combination of size and speed could make him effective at whatever position(s) the coaching staff decides to put him in on either side of the ball.
The Eagles have been one of rural West Tennessee’s most successful programs over the last decade as head coach Darby Palmer has they’ve made the playoffs all but one year of the nine he’s been head coach. The one time they didn’t make the postseason was 2019. Since then, they’ve made it to at least the quarterfinals every year. But they’ve won the region championship once in that span in 2024.
JCS has four non-region games, and Palmer tries to schedule difficult. In doing that, three of the four non-region opponents are from the bigger Division II Class AA. The fourth one is perennial power Union City in the opener.
Position groups
Offensive line — There are only two returning starters for this group, but they’re both sophomores. Neyland Roe and Tyson Bond started both ways as freshmen last year. Sawyer Dean, Nolan Arnold and Hayden Goldie have been in the program for a while. Jackson Sharp and Jeremiah Jenkins will also contribute.
Backfield — Jay Pirtle and Kylan White have solidified the running back position. Payne Short will add some depth there as a freshman. Carson Scott was the frontrunner in the quarterback competition as the Eagles will need a new starter this year. Scott developed a lot over the spring, but Jack Wiggington is a sophomore who pushed him in the competition.
Receivers — There’s depth here with Hudson Little, Cade Robinson and Waylon Graham along with other guys who’ve been working hard like Davis Willington and Jayden Hughes.
Defensive line — This will be a strength of the team as they bring everybody back. Roe and Jenkins will be on the interior with Dean and Sharp rotating in. Bond and Rose will be on the outside trying to get around the tackles.
Linebackers — White is a senior, and Mikhail Taylor is a sophomore who both have a lot of ability and experience. Robinson and Short will be backing them up.
Secondary — Little, Kingston, Huges, Waylon and Short were all on the field some last year as defensive backs.
Special teams — Little will be kicking. Nolan Arnold will be snapping.
2026 stats
No stats yet this season. They appear here once a game's book has been read and checked.