The joyful look on Christ Presbyterian Academy senior Preston Patterson’s face said it all.
It didn’t matter that CPA and Lipscomb Academy hadn’t played each other in a few seasons. Any day the Lions defeat their rival is a good day, he said, after powering CPA to a 35-24 win over the Mustangs in the first round of the Division II-AAA TSSAA football playoffs on Nov. 7.
“I know when we get in this game there’s going to be a chip on each side,” Patterson said. “For us, they’re the team we always want to beat and for them, we’re the team they always want to beat.”
CPA (3-8) will face Ensworth (7-3) in the DII-AAA quarterfinals on Nov. 14.
Patterson swapped places at running back with his twin brother, Rawls, who suffered a season-ending injury against Knoxville Catholic, and rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. He played the entire game on defense, too, helping seal the game late with a sack.
Patterson came into the game with one carry this season. He and Bradshaw Klym, who rushed for 85 yards and two TDs, combined for 201 yards rushing, carrying the load in CPA’s first playoff win since moving up to DII-AAA.
CPA and Lipscomb’s rivalry burned hot for three straight seasons from 2020-22. They battled for region titles and met for the DII-AA state championship in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Lipscomb won two of three.
But their series was put on pause when Lipscomb moved to DII-AAA before the 2023 season and former Mustangs coach Trent Dilfer accepted the UAB coaching job. A non-region game never materialized and was never really discussed, CPA coach Ingle Martin said.
CPA resumed control of DII-AA, winning the 2023 and 2024 titles convincingly, before the TSSAA moved the Lions up to DII-AAA using a new success formula. Lipscomb was in an opposite region, but the move created a possibility for the teams to meet in the playoffs.
Patterson played scantily as a freshman when the teams met in 2022. But he knew how fierce the rivalry was by watching older brothers Langston and Kane play during that stretch.
He got his first actual taste of it on a night CPA imposed its will on the ground.
“We knew me and Bradshaw were going to have to do it tonight to get the win. I mean, you saw it. I scored twice, he scored twice. There was nothing they could do to stop it,” Patterson said. “We run the same play over and over, and at the end of the day it comes to physical strength, and our line’s got it.”
Martin didn’t rule out a potential non-region game against Lipscomb in the future.
“Absolutely (it could happen),” Martin said. “Who even knows (what classification) we’ll be in in the next few years. (The TSSAA) might put us somewhere else. Who knows where they’ll put us. Maybe McCallie and Baylor will have to go play the Titans. I don’t know what they’re gonna do. There’s no telling.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also helps write The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
