McNairy Central
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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
Week 8 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across 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.
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
Week 5 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Week 4 Takeaways
What we took away from the results from Week 4
Takeaways from Week 3
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 3
Quick hits
Head coach Justin Truett said he appreciates how much improvement the team made overall from the start to the end of the 2025 season, and he’s looking for a similar process in 2026.
The Bobcats did improve by a win year-over-year compared to 2024. Truett says the floor for the program is higher than it was last year, which should be the spark to an even bigger improvement in 2026.
The Bobcats will be looking to try to start better this year for the season as a whole and also in a lot of individual games, and if they can do that, this team has potential to make some noise in the region and playoff race.
The Bobcats kept Liberty on the schedule even though the Crusaders left Region 7-3A and region play overall going into last season. If McNairy makes the playoffs, they will have a home game against an athletic team from Jackson to prepare them for their first-round opponent.
The McNairy Central sports programs lost one of their biggest supporters during the offseason when Jeff York, a longtime sports writer and school sports historian, passed away on Christmas Day in 2025.
Position groups
Offensive line — Will Heath is the main returner for this group and will be the one called upon to be the leader on the field and in the trenches if the Bobcats are going to move the ball consistently down the field.
Backfield — Jackson King carried a lot of the load offensively last year at quarterback and will do so again this year since he’s a versatile athlete that can play just about any position. Cayden Crabb is a sophomore who could get some reps at quarterback but will probably see more time at receiver. Jardarius Gaines had a productive year in 2025 at running back and had more than 200 yards as a freshman early in the season against Belmont. He runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash.
Receivers — Zack Sides, Damari Stafford, Jasper Hickman and Jadarion Campbell will be the nucleus of this group. Stafford transferred into Selmer this year, and Hickman is a dynamic athlete with speed.
Defensive line — Ayden Huggins plays end and is a big athlete. Bryson Stafford is a sophomore who will play both ways and is a bigger athlete. Luke Fowler, Dayne Duckey, Brayden Robertson and Noah Williams will all be in the mix. Williams is a versatile athlete that could also see time in the secondary.
Linebackers — Jace Keistler will be the leader for this group and will try to bring the younger guys along and help them prepare before the first game.
Secondary — Many of the guys listed in the receivers will pull double duty and play both sides of the ball.
Special teams — Inval Vanzuela will be the kicker and punter. Sophomore Colby Shelton will be the long snapper. Jackson King and Gaines will handle the bulk of the returning duties.
2026 stats
No stats yet this season. They appear here once a game's book has been read and checked.