The Tullahoma Wildcats committed six turnovers, with three coming in the first quarter as the Centennial Cougars took advantage of the opportunities and shut out the ‘Cats 24-0 at Wilkins Stadium Friday night.

With Tullahoma (8-3) now being eliminated in the TSSAA playoffs, Wildcat head coach John Olive didn’t hide his disappointment on the field following the game.

“I just feel terrible for this senior class and for them to end such a great run with a game like this,” said Olive. “We just kept turning the ball over and Centennial is just too good to do that and have a chance to win. Their defense is outstanding and our offense wasn’t very good.”

For the second consecutive week the Tullahoma Wildcats activated the TSSAA mercy clock on their first possession of the second half and cruised to a 41-14 victory over Lawrence County at Hendrix-Staggs Stadium in Lawrenceburg Friday night.

With the win the ‘Cats (8-2, 4-1) now turn their attention to the TSSAA state football playoffs. Tullahoma is the third seed in Quad 2 of the Class 5A playoff bracket, and will host sixth-seed Centennial (6-4, 2-3), from a very tough District 11-AAA, this Friday night at 7pm at Wilkins Stadium. The broadcast will begin at 6pm on Fantasy 101.5, FantasyRadio.com, and Charter channel six.

“I continue to be very proud of the seniors on this team and their leadership in helping us finish the season strong heading into the playoffs,” said THS head coach John Olive on the field following the game. “All season my question to them has been do you want to make a playoff appearance or a playoff run. We will start finding that out next week.”

The Tullahoma Wildcats scored on their first four possessions, including a game-opening 77-yard kickoff return by Montrell Berry and a 77-yard run from scrimmage by Jared Davis; cruising to a 42-0 victory over Warren County on senior night at Wilkins Stadium. Both Berry and Davis are part of this year’s upper class.

The victory keeps the ‘Cats (7-2, 3-1), who have already clinched second place in District 8-AAA and a TSSAA playoff berth, in prime position to be a top-two seed in quadrant two of the Class 5A playoffs when they begin the first weekend in November. Tullahoma concludes the regular season next week at Lawrence County.

“Once again I am just extremely proud of the seniors on this football team and the leadership they are providing,” said Tullahoma coach John Olive on the field after the game. Olive is now 138-75 in his 19^th season at Tullahoma and 162-90 as a head coach.

Tullahoma followed an opening-play fumble with a goal-line stand and a 97-yard touchdown drive on its way to clinching second place in District 8-AAA with a 34-21 win over Shelbyville at Wilkins Stadium Friday night.

The Wildcats (3-1, 6-2) are now guaranteed at least one playoff game at home when the postseason begins the first weekend in November. Next week the ‘Cats host winless Warren County, a 42-24 loser at home to White County on Friday. Shelbyville (6-2, 2-2) will make the playoffs, but will have to be seeded as a wild card participant.

“I am so very proud of the senior leadership on this football team,” said a relieved John Olive on the field following the game. “They took it upon themselves today and this whole week to keep this team focused on Shelbyville, and they deserve a lot of credit for this win tonight.”

Will the real Tullahoma Wildcat offense please stand up.

During the first seven games of the 2011 season the ‘Cats have shown just about every formation John Olive can draw up, from an up-tempo spread to a double tight end power ‘I’. Every single game the Wildcats have debuted a new look.

With an opportunity to clinch second place in District 8-AAA and host at least one TSSAA playoff game at home, the Wildcats will need to find their offensive identity when the Shelbyville Golden Eagles invade Wilkins Stadium Friday night at 7pm.

Tullahoma’s Dalton Cox stopped Franklin County quarterback Caleb Limbaugh at the one-foot line on a two-point conversion attempt in the second overtime to give the Wildcats a come-from-behind 31-30 win over the Rebels Friday night in Winchester.

With the win the Wildcats (2-1, 5-2) moved into a tie for second place in District 8-AAA with Shelbyville (2-1, 6-1), a 41-6 winner over Lawrence County on Friday. The ‘Cats and Golden Eagles square off October 14 at Wilkins Stadium after both enjoy an open date this weekend.

“My hat goes off to coach Jim Carr and that Franklin County football team,” said an emotional Wildcat head coach John Olive on the field following the game. “I want to thank everybody who participated tonight, including the fans, bands, and the teams. This was what high school football is supposed to be in southern middle Tennessee.”

The Tullahoma Wildcats dominated the first quarter, grabbing a 14-0 lead in the first six minutes, and then relied on its defense to hold down Tyner and beat the Rams 24-14 at Wilkins Stadium Friday night. The homecoming win came before a full home crowd on a cold, wet night that brought out the coats and blankets for the first time this season.

“We played well enough to get the win and that’s the goal,” said Wildcat head coach John Olive on the field following the contest. “We knew Tyner would be a physical team and the game would be kind of sloppy on this cold, wet field. We are just happy to not have to come from behind late in the game to win on homecoming night. Congratulations to these seniors.”

Tullahoma (1-1, 4-2) survived a sluggish offensive night against a solid Tyner defense that played its best game of the season. The Wildcats will step back into District 8-AAA action next week, heading down Highway 41A to take on the Franklin County Rebels (1-1, 2-3), who had an open date this weekend.

Tullahoma turned four Lincoln County turnovers into 20 points in the first 18 minutes, led 27-7 at halftime, and went on to a 41-20 win over the Falcons in its 2011 home opener at a carnival-like Wilkins Stadium Friday night.

For the ‘Cats it continued a pleasant trend during the first half of the 2011 season that has seen the Tullahoma defense force 17 turnovers in its five games. Head Coach John Olive likes the way his defense is performing.

“Our defense did an outstanding job once again of forcing turnovers,” said Olive on the field following the game. “Then the offense did its job by punching it in on the short field. I’m so proud of these seniors and the leadership they are providing to this team.”

The Tullahoma Wildcats turned two of Coffee Co.’s five turnovers into touchdowns during a six-minute stretch that sandwiched the Red Raiders’ halftime homecoming festivities and kept the Coffee Pot on Jackson Street for another year with a 32-7 win Friday night at Carden-Jarrell Field in Manchester.

The win, in the 87^th meeting between the intra-county rivals, was the fourth in a row for Tullahoma and the 16^th in 19 tries for Wildcat head coach John Olive. The coach knows his team didn’t dominate the line of scrimmage, but credited superior team speed as the reason for the win.

“I thought their line won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball”, said Olive on the field following the game. “We played better in the second half but the difference was Trey Burks and Montrell Berry. They have great speed and ran really hard tonight.”

The Tullahoma Wildcats proved they can play with the best Class 5A team in the state of Tennessee at Columbia Friday night, but made critical mistakes at the most-inopportune times in a 13-10 loss to the defending state champions on a hot, humid night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Tullahoma (1-2, 0-1) fumbled twice in the red zone in the second half, then watched Columbia (3-0, 2-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 5A by every poll in the state, consume the final four minutes with machine-like execution to do what champions do - find a way to win.

“It’s a tough loss and we’re all disappointed,” said Wildcat head coach John Olive on the field following the third Thursday night TV game in as many years for his team. “I hope our guys realize they can play with the best team in our district. I’m so proud of the effort we gave tonight, and it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t find a way to win.”

John Olive had one major concern heading into Friday night’s high school football contest between his Tullahoma Wildcats and the Cookeville Cavaliers. He expressed that concern and proved prophetic during his pregame interview with Fantasy Sports Network analyst Binns Jordan.

“I notice that big number eleven (Ross Davidson) is suited up for them tonight,” said Olive on the field 15 minutes prior to kickoff. “He is supposed to be injured but obviously they are going to play him and see if he can go. I’m afraid they are going to line up and try to run it down our throats, and if they do I just hope our young men can respond.”

To be blunt, the Wildcats didn’t respond very well as Davidson carried the ball 19 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a 14-7 Cookeville win. After the game Olive, as he often does when the Wildcats don’t play well, was quick to put the responsibility on himself.

The Tullahoma Wildcats turned three of McGavock’s five turnovers into 20 points on their way to a season-opening 36-12 victory over the Raiders Friday night in Nashville. The Wildcats led 36-0 with 90 seconds remaining in the first half, and the mercy rule clock ran until McGavock scored with 8:08 remaining in the contest against Tullahoma reserves.

Tullahoma (1-0, 0-0) will travel to Cookeville this Friday to face a Cavaliers team that dropped its season opener 21-7 to Brentwood Thursday night. The game will be broadcast live on Fantasy 101.5FM, FantasyRadio.com, and Charter channel six, with pregame beginning at 6pm and kickoff at 7. McGavock (0-1, 0-0) hosts Mt.  Juliet this weekend.

“I’m really pleased with the effort that our young men and our coaching staff gave this week,” said victorious head coach John Olive on the field following the game. “I thought our defense played a great game, forcing five turnovers; the offensive line had a good night, and our running backs and receivers ran hard and fast.”

The Tullahoma Wildcats will open the 2011 football season when they visit McGavock on Friday, Aug. 19 in Nashville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm, and as head coach John Olive enters his 19^th season at the helm, he knows he has a challenge in front of him to equal last year’s performance.