By DONOVAN STEWART

The regular season has ended and the playoffs, which are always exciting, are upon us but fthe playoffs are under new management called the "Z" plan.

TSSAA Makes Major Gaffe On Statewide Radio Show - The TSSAA made some embarrassing errors made while announcing the first round playoff pairings on a statewide radio broadcast Saturday. After all since the playoffs were first introduced back in 1969, the TSSAA have made several changes in the playoff system.

The "Z" plan playoff pairings were announced Saturday morning for the eight classifications which translated to 88 first round games, nothing seemed wrong.

Three weeks earlier, the TSSAA had sent a letter to all playoff eligible coaches a list of telephone numbers of teams, they could be playing so exchanging of films would happen. But as members of the TSSAA got back to TSSAA headquarters errors were found in Division II-A, Class 3A, 5A and 6A.

The TSSAA had to remove the playoff brackets off their website to make corrections which caused confusion and frustration for coaches, players and fans alike.

Some of the errors found were: District 16AAA champion White Station was listed a No. 6 seed and was put on the road to face Wooddale a district runner up. The mistake was White Station being a district champion should have been listed as a top three seed because they were district champion. The TSSAA corrected the mistake and White Station is now listed as a No. 2 seed and will play at home against wild card participant Cordova while Wooddale will host Millington.

White County was originally supposed to play Glencliff which is a 94 mile trip in the Class 5A playoffs, and the coaches had met to exchange films. The only problem was White County now travels to Anderson County which is a 130 mile trip.

One of the main reasons for the switch to the Z plan from the traditional five public classes and two private classes which allowed the top four teams from each region to go to the playoffs was to cut down on travel.

But has the first round pairings really cut down on travel? In fact 29 of the 88 playoff games (32.9 %) scheduled Friday will be with teams traveling over 100 miles including.

St. Benedict @ Baylor- 327.87 miles

McCallie @ Briarcrest- 299.94 miles

Riverside Christian @ St. George’s- 222.13 miles

Zion Christian @ SBEC- 218.96 miles

FACS @ DCA- 209.25 miles

Shelbyville @ Clinton- 202.19 miles

Fairview @ Oakhaven- 189.40 miles

Independence @ Arlington- 186.84 miles

Cleveland @ Columbia- 184.58 miles

Fayette Academy @ FRA- 180.73 miles

Chattanooga Central @ Greeneville- 174.49 miles

Scott Co. @ Maplewood- 172.97 miles

Unaka @ Rockwood- 168.95 miles

Craigmont @ Lawrence Co.- 163.28 miles

Brainerd @ Claiborne Co.- 150.33 miles

Jackson Southside @ David Lipscomb- 133.90 miles

Lookout Valley @ Gordonsville- 131.20 miles

White Co. @ Anderson Co.- 129.93 miles

Westview @ Manassas- 129.33 miles

Gibbs @ Red Bank- 123.03 miles

Chester Co. @ Giles Co.- 121.18 miles

Obion Co. @ Fairley- 118.18 miles

Ridgeway @ Hardin Co- 118.11 miles

Lexington @ Spring Hill- 115.60 miles

Marion Co. @ Forrest- 112.72 miles

Seymour @ Tennessee High- 109.18 miles

East Ridge @ Fulton- 108.53 miles

Powell @ Sullivan South- 102.99 miles

Tyner @ Alcoa- 102.41 miles

TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress issued a written apology on the TSSAA website taking responsibility for the mistakes and says that the  TSSAA Board of Control will reexamine the playoffs in November and tweak the system.

We are stuck with the "Z" plan for at least another season but the best situation is to blow it up and go back to the old playoff system. That would save the TSSAA a lot of headache.

FRIDAY NIGHT STAT STUFFERS

Jobronski Gilbert, RB, Milan- Rushed for 211 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Bulldogs defeated Crockett County 26-0 for the 13-AA district title.

Jabriel Washington- QB, Trinity Christian- Rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries in a 40-0 win over Scotts Hill.

A.J. Collier, RB, Peabody- Rushed for 234 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 42-6 win over Gibson Co.

Fitz Lassing, RB, MBA- Rushed for 215 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 35-7 win over Pope John Paul II.

Doug Page, RB, FRA- Rushed for 212 yards and a touchdown in a 10-7 win over Ezell Harding.

Matt Henderson, RB, Cascade- Rushed for 200 yards and scored twice in a 34-12 win over Huntland.

Devrin Young, RB, Knox. Bearden- Rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-16 win over Knox. Catholic.

Zach Flynn, QB, Sevier Co.- Passed for 337 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-27 win over Morristown East.

Chase Brown, RB, Bledsoe Co.- Rushed for 264 yards and scored six touchdowns in a 63-34 win

Travis Haymer, RB, Beech- Rushed for 221 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 47-46 win over previously unbeaten Mt. Juliet.

Terrance Martin, RB, Franklin Co- Rushed for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 17-16 loss to Columbia.

BY THE NUMBERS—PLAYOFF EDITION PART I

4- Teams that made the playoffs for the first time in school history (Signal Mountain in 2A, Stone Memorial in 4A and Zion Christian and Rossville Christian in Division II.

17- Total offense by Meigs Co. in a 42-0 loss to Polk Co.

24- Teams that have made the playoffs this year with a losing record up from 12 last season.

35- Rushing touchdowns scored by Alcoa running back Jaron Toney.

1978- The last season that Douglass made the playoffs.

1986- The last season that Lawrence County made the playoffs.

1994- The last season that Cornersville made the playoffs.

1995- The last season that Cannon County made the playoffs

1999- The last year that both Scott and Kirby made the playoffs

2003- Last season that both Obion County and South Fulton made the playoffs, both made it this season.