The addition of a fourth classification in basketball resulted in the rearranging of districts and regions, which has createda new path to the TSSAA high school state tournament.
But is the path to Murfreesboro easier for Montgomery County's teams now?
The feeling among Clarksville coaches is mixed. Most welcome the move to 4A but many aren't thrilled with having the city split between District 13 and 14. Northwest and Kenwood moved to 14-4A with Henry County and Dickson County. Clarksville, Northeast, West Creek and Rossview make up District 13-4A with Springfield.
District 13-4A and 14-4A now make up Region 7, giving the city schools a better opportunity to flood the region semifinals with their own teams. Entry into the region title game means an automatic Class 4A sectional berth and one step away from MTSU's Murphy Center and the state tournament.
ButClarksville's path will be obstructed by Memphis.
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"Our sectional opponent is a Memphis school and we all know that Memphis is a different world when it comes to high school basketball," Rossview boys coach Johnny Jackson said. "The teams that come out of there year-in and year-out are some of the best in the country."
Clarksville schools are matched with Region 8-4A in the sectional, which includesMemphis Central, Memphis East, White Station, Whitehaven and last year's Class 3A boys state champs, Houston.
"Do I think (making state) iseasier? No," said Rossview girls coach Justin Woods, who guided the Lady Hawks to the 2014 state tournament. "It might in other sports, but in basketball, Shelby County and Memphisand Rutherford Countyhave been dominating."
Clarksville coach Ted Young took his boys to the state tournament last year, losing to Houston, 70-58, in the quarterfinals. It was the fifth time Young guided CHS to state.Clarksville leads all schools in Montgomery County with 14 trips, including a championship game appearance in 2007.
For years Williamson and Davidson counties provided the sectional matchup for Clarksville schools. In Young'sfive trips to state Clarksville has faced Hunters Lane, Overton, Franklin (twice) andHillsboro in the sectional.
With Region 8-4A looming in the distance, the region championship game becomes huge. The region winner avoids travelingthree-plus hours to west Tennessee.
"You used to say when you got to the region championship, 'Whew, we made it to sectional' and that at least gives us a shot at state," Clarksville girls coach Brian Rush said. "But now that region championship is going to be all-important."
Rush has guided Clarksville's girls to four state tournaments, including three straight (2010-12). His 2017 team beat Centennial in the sectional before losing to Houston at state.
"Those Memphis area schools are just great teams and they always have been," Rush said. "That's not an easier sectional for us, but you have to embrace the challenge."
Memphis schools haven't been as dominant in the Class 3A girls state tournament in the last decade. Blackman or Riverdale has won eight of the last nine championships. Memphis Central's 2011 state title was the last time a Shelby County public-school girls program won it all.
But West Tennessee has put four teams in the state championship game during that span — Houston (2018 and 2019), Memphis Central (2017) and Ridgeway (2014).
It's been a different story on the boys' side. Memphis East has won four state titles since 2012, including a three-peat from 2016-18, and Southwind won it in 2013.
Northeast's boys have been to three state tournaments, including two state semifinal appearances. Third-year coach Sam Young was a Hillsboro buzzer-beating shot away from guiding the program to its fourth in 2020, a state tournament that was canceled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I know most know the caliber of basketball that comes from Memphis," said Young, who guided Houston County's girls to its only state tournament appearances in Class A in 2014 and '15. "I look forward to the challenge."
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Reach sports writer George Robinson at grobinson@gannett.com or (931) 245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.
