Week 4 takeaways: Pope John Paul II keeps Bishop's Cup; Independence cools off Blackman

Upsets. Rivalry games. And big-time performances.

Week 4 had a little bit of everything.

Here are five takeaways from Friday night.

JPII keeps Bishop's Cup

Pope John Paul II is keeping the Bishop's Cup Trophy for another year.

The Knights beat rival Father Ryan 28-17 in the two Nashville area Catholic schools' rivalry contest. It marked the fourth straight regular-season win over the Irish for JPII.

The win came in a non-region contest. JPII joined DII-AAA West Region this year while Father Ryan remained in the East.

Antwan Roberts ran for 194 yards on 29 carries and scored on a 1-yard run. Teammate Sawyer Watts hit Rory White for a 77-yard touchdown pass with 4:15 left in the third quarter to put the game away at 28-10.

Watts was 4-of-12 passing for 145 yards and two total touchdowns. 

Father Ryan's DC Tabscott was 18-of-33 passing for 216 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 63 yards on 11 carries.

Independence cools off Blaze with rout

Independence found the perfect time to have its best offensive night of the season.

The Eagles routed Blackman 49-7 for their third straight win. It was the most points allowed by the Blaze (1-3) since Week 1 of the 2016 season, when they also started the season 1-3.

And it may be a sign for Region 6-6A: Independence's offense is as talented as ever.

Ethan Cash was 24-of-37 passing for Independence with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Chayce Bishop had 11 catches for 210 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Eagles (3-1).

Brentwood Academy rebounds from loss

Manny Scott scored off his longest run of the year with 3:40 left to help Brentwood Academy beat Whitehaven 17-14 and get back on track after losing a Division II-AAA East region game to McCallie a week prior.

Scott finished with four carries for 78 yards. He also caught a 42-yard touchdown catch from Wade Williams. The two TDs are the lone ones of the season for him.

The loss was the first for the Tigers (3-1). BA improved to 3-1.

Briggs surpasses 900 rushing yards

Spencer Briggs and Gallatin are in unfamiliar territory.

Briggs, a senior running back, is 27 yards from surpassing 1,000 rushing yards, and Gallatin is 4-0 for the first time since 2011 after the Green Wave's 7-0 win over Mt. Juliet.

Briggs had 183 yards on 34 carries and scored the game's lone touchdown. He rushed for under 900 yards as a junior, first-year coach Chad Watson said. 

Briggs has 973 yards on 100 carries this season with 10 rushing TDs.

The win was catapulted by big defensive efforts from James Mason and AJ Branham. Mason had 14 tackles and a sack. Branham had 12 tackles and two sacks.

Lipscomb, Dilfer get signature win

Don't look now, but first-year coach Trent Dilfer has Lipscomb Academy on a two-game win streak.

The Mustangs (3-1) had their most impressive win of the season, beating Class 5A Page 24-14. Luther Richesson was 19-of-29 passing for 217 yards and three scores for Lipscomb, which got 197 total yards from running back Jaden Lyles. Lyles ran for 114 yards and had 83 receiving yards.

Lipscomb Academy hosts Goodpasture (2-2) on Friday.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.