Why is Pearl-Cohn on cusp of TSSAA football state championship? Talent — and lots of it

It took some time for the emotion to kick in for Pearl-Cohn immediately after its 48-20 win over Haywood in the TSSAA Class 4A state semifinal game Friday night.

But when it did, the Firebirds erupted in a chants of "state," mobbed coach Tony Brunetti and celebrated the return to the state championship game.

When Brunetti and his staff gathered the team at midfield, he subdued that celebration enough to remind his team that they were in this position a year ago and Pearl-Cohn wants to return home with a gold ball.

"I feel like the football gods are blessing us," Brunetti said. "I've always thought that when you do right and do the right things, blessings will come. Right now we're in a position to do something special. We just have to finish."

Pearl-Cohn's path to a TSSAA football state championship

The 4A title game will feature two teams from the Nashville area when the Firebirds (14-0) face Upperman (14-0) at 11 a.m. next Saturday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. The two programs have never met. While Pearl-Cohn is seeking its first state championship since 1997, Upperman has never won a title.

Brunetti's focus in the coming week will be cutting down on mental errors that have plagued the Firebirds. For the third straight playoff game, Pearl-Cohn was flagged for more than 10 penalties. They committed 15 infractions for 112 yards.

"Hurting ourselves," he said. "That's all that is. It's all mental. There's nothing else to it. If we can't cut down on that, we're going to have issues. It's discipline. That's got to get corrected."

Firebirds' talent shows up

Pearl-Cohn's offense continues to override the penalties. Players like Javion Kinnard, Zeion Simpson-Smith, quarterback Keyshawn Tarleton and Malachi Cromwell have not disappointed.

Brunetti was unsure Kinnard would play. The senior running back was dealing with a groin pull this week. But his big-play ability was on display, catching an outlet pass from Tarleton and weaving for a 42-yard touchdown just before halftime. He had a 16-yard TD called back in the third quarter after a Pearl-Cohn holding penalty.

Simpson-Smith's four rushing touchdowns led the Firebirds. He finished with 10 carries for 138 yards. Cromwell added a pair of rushing TDs in the fourth quarter.

"Since the start of spring ball, we've been working toward this," Simpson-Smith said. "Now it's time to finish."

What awaits the Firebirds next week?

The Bees aren't as explosive as Pearl-Cohn on offense, but Upperman's defense has been impressive. No team has scored more than 14 points on it since Sept. 15. The Bees held Greeneville to 14 in Friday's other 4A semifinal to advance to the program's first state championship game.

And Upperman's running game will challenge Pearl-Cohn's defensive front. Haywood ran for 194 yards, and Upperman will bring dual-threat quarterback Bronzden Chaffin, who entered Friday's game with 1,304 yards passing and 932 yards rushing with a combined 24 touchdowns. Ethan Palk leads the team with 1,401 yards rushing and 13 TDs.

"We're not taking anything for granted this year," Simpson-Smith said. "We're happy with this (Haywood) win but we want more. We want that championship."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.