By: Anna Glenn Grove
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. –– Oakland High School set the stage for what was the fifth annual Music City Showdown. Team Tennessee Black and Team Tennessee Gray both made statements led by strong defensive performances. Coach Corey Alexander began this tournament five seasons ago and said it is the culmination of a lot of hard work.
“[We are] ultimately trying to create an environment where we can really have fun and compete. [We also want to] show the rest of the country that Tennessee has some of the best football in the country,” Alexander said.
Team TN Black finished undefeated in pool play defeating NPA Navy and TN Select White. They tied with 901 Phenom 18-18 in their second game of the morning. This was the first time Team TN Black headed into the tournament undefeated all season and earned themselves a No. 3 seed.
“They’re my team that normally doesn’t have as many guys, but they play really well together,” Coach Alexander said. “They’ve competed hard, they’ve been hungry, they’ve made some great plays.”
Team TN Gray won two games against the Clarksville Eagles and NPA Green but fell 23-11 to EFD Playmakers. This landed them into the No. 6 seeded position. Team TN Gray showed off a strong offensive performance in the morning for a combined 48 points but was unable to get an offensive rhythm going in the tournament.
Team TN Black defeated the Clarksville Eagles 25-6 in the first round of the tournament but was unable to keep the momentum going into the second round. They fell closely to NPA White in the game following.
Both teams showed bright spots on the defensive side of the ball and Coach Alexander was impressed with his players.
“We are keeping teams to no scores, we’re making interceptions, we’re getting great stops – it’s been really fantastic.
Team Tennessee will continue to build off of this strong defensive performance as they head to Memphis for another tournament next weekend.