Whitehaven football blanks Germantown, advances to fifth straight semifinal appearance
Khari Thompson
Whitehaven used touchdowns from Devin Boddie and Marcus Taylor to end Germantown's 12-game winning streak Friday night with a 14-0 victory in the Class 6A quarterfinals.
The Tigers (10-3) advanced to their fifth straight state semifinal appearance. They will host Ravenwood next Friday.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Whitehaven's defense, which gave up 38 points to Germantown (12-1) in its Region 8-6A finale loss. The Red Devils offense averaged just over 40 points during the regular season.
"We went back to the basics. We went back and just drew up, this is what you're supposed to do," said Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry. "Doing your assignments, playing together, and we just focused on jetting out job done. When guys stay together and play together, great things happen and we played great team defense today."
Whitehaven has beaten Germantown the last three times that the Red Devils have made it to the quarterfinals. The last time Germantown made it to the semifinals was in 2004.
Whitehaven won the 2016 state championship before losing to Cane Ridge in the semifinals last year. Ravenwood (11-2) knocked out Cane Ridge in this year's second round and advanced to the semifinals with a 47-24 win over rival Brentwood.
"I love that. We've seen them before," said Saulsberry. "I really appreciate Ravenwood winning so we can see a familiar team and have a little chip on our shoulder because we owe them one. They beat us the last time we played."
That game was a 20-13 Ravenwood win in the 2015 semifinals back when this year's seniors were freshmen. That Ravenwood team went on to beat Maryville in the state championship.
This year's Whitehaven seniors are loaded with talent. The Tigers have four of the top-30 senior prospects in the state, according to 247Sports. Wide receivers Keveon Mullins (South Carolina commitment) and Devin Boddie (Vanderbilt commitment) are Nos. 10 and 26, respectively. Offensive guard Melvin McBride (Tennessee commitment) is No. 16, and tight end Cormontae Hamilton (Ohio State commitment) is No. 23.