Commanders thump Cascade
LEBANON -- Steven Hollis ran 15 times for 131 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns as Friendship Christian rolled to a 42-6 victory over Cascade Friday in the second round of the TSSAA Class 2A playoffs at Pirtle Field. The Commanders (now 10-1) showed no signs of rust after having earned a first round bye last week as the top seed in their six-team pod.

FCS scored twice in the first quarter and two more times in the second to take a 28-0 lead into intermission.

Quarterback A.J. Long completed 9-of-11 passes for 175 yards with touchdown passes of 45 yards to Hunter Watts and 35 yards to Stefan Remus.

All told, Friendship racked up 18 first downs and 460 yards in total offense while holding Cascade (7-5) to 201 yards and just seven first downs.

The defending Class 2A state champs, FCS advances to a quarterfinal game Nov. 16 at home against Marion County (9-2). Marion County knocked off Trousdale County 48-21 Friday night.

MJ sweeps past Dickson County
DICKSON -- Speeding for yards around the edge, Mt. Juliet blew past Dickson County with 22 second half points on the way to a 39-10 victory over the Cougars Friday in a second round TSSAA Class 6A playoff game.

Leading the scrappy DCHS team just 17-10 at intermission, Mt. Juliet (11-1) took the second half kickoff and drove 80 yards on six running plays with Austin Chaplin scampering the final six for a 23-10 lead with 9:35 remaining in the third.

Dickson County was flagged for an unsportmanlike penalty on the play, moving the ensuing kickoff up 15 yards. The Bears opted for an onsides kick that was recovered by Daniel Alejo at the Cougar 28. Three plays later Ben Cheatham ran in from three yards out and Mt. Juliet had a comfortable 28-3 lead.

"With the 15 yard penalty, we really had nothing to lose," said MJ head coach Roger Perry. "We'd worked the onsides kick all week and it was executed perfectly."

Mt. Juliet piled up 437 yards on offense and 14 first downs while allowing the Cougars 252 yards and 12 first downs. As a team, the Bears rushed for 415 yards on 46 carries -- an average of over nine yards per pop -- with three backs breaking the 100 yard barrier.

Chaplin led the way with 133 yards on 9 carries, Contrez McCathern had 125 on 13 tries and a pair of TDs while Caleb Hopkins ran for an even 100 yards on nine attempts.

QB Nolan Chowbay finished just 1-for-5, but a couple of balls sailed right through the hands of the intended receiver. His only completition was a 22-yard strike to Jalen Graham for a first half touchdown.

MJ defenders Deontre Nealous and Tavner Simmons each intercepted Dickson County passes for the only turnovers of the game.

Mt. Juliet advances to a quarterfinal game Nov. 16 at Brentwood High -- a 34-14 winner over Nashville Overton.

Dickson County ended the season with a record of 10-2.