Maplewood football coach hopes underwhelming win wakes team up for region title showdown

Maplewood moved one step closer to claiming a Region 4-4A title Thursday against Nolensville, but the Panthers’ 20-13 win left little to celebrate.

Quarterback Bobo Hodges and a prolific Panthers offense underwhelmed, struggling to its lowest scoring output since a Week 2 loss at East Nashville. Their defense, meanwhile, was plagued by second-half lapses that allowed the Knights to claw back in the closing minutes.

“It was just one of those nights,” Maplewood coach Arcentae Broome said. “We had blown coverages and missed assignments, and it’s not like we’ve got young kids out there. Every kid on the field except for maybe two or three are seniors.”

“We just got the big head," Hodges added. "Basically, we thought we were going to beat by 20. They proved us wrong.”

In other words, it was far from a championship performance, and one that Broome hopes will serve as a wake-up call for the Panthers (8-1, 4-0 in 4-4A).

“You practice like you play, and if you don’t put forth the effort you need to put forth, you’re going to have games like this,” Broome said. “You can talk region championships, you can talk playoffs, you can talk (BlueCross) Bowl and all that different stuff, but if you’re not focused on it at all times, you’re going to have nights like this and you’re going to have nights like getting beat by East.”

Maplewood hosts fellow 4-4A unbeaten Tullahoma in two weeks for the region championship.

Hodges, who came into the game with a state-leading 30 touchdown passes, completed just two of his first seven throws. He accounted for a pair of second-quarter scores, running one in from 4 yards out before firing a 31-yard touchdown pass to a diving Makell Smith. But the 6-foot, 185-pound senior seemed a bit off his mark throughout.

“The passing game, the running game, we just couldn’t get anything going,” said Hodges, who finished 13-of-23 for 141 yards — well below his 246.4-yard average. “We just need to buckle down and keep going."

Smith, who finished with six catches for 77 yards, also found the end zone on a first-quarter scoop-and-score, recovering a Colton Dooley fumble 54 yards for a touchdown. 

Nolensville quarterback Ryder Galardi was picked off twice in the first half but bounced back to fire a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Zach Campbell. Galardi finished 19-of-30 for 273 yards, while Campbell hauled in nine receptions for 184 yards. 

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8026, and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.