CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Brighton Cardinals traveled to “The Pit” at Kirkwood High School for the first round of the 5A TSSAA Football Playoffs on Friday. The Cobras scored early and often, running away with a 31-7 victory for their first playoff win in program history in only their second appearance. Kirkwood is the first team in Clarksville to win a playoff game since Clarksville High defeated John Overton in the first round in 2022.

You can’t start a game much better than taking the opening kickoff to the house, and that’s what Kirkwood did. Jayden Portis went endzone to endzone to score on the first play of the game. When Brighton got the ball, they quickly fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, and Josiah Claybrooks stripped and recovered the ball for a defensive touchdown. Before you blinked, the Cobras held a 14-0 lead.

Hudson Marsh knocked in a field goal before the first quarter expired, and things slowed down from there. However, the Cobras did get one more score on the board before halftime, with quarterback Miles Reding finding the endzone on a scramble to give Kirkwood a 24-0 lead at the half.

“We had a good week of practice. We had a rough start to the week because of bad feelings from last week, but our kids got better because of it, and it showed tonight,” said Kirkwood head coach Chad Watson. “We got off to a really good start because of special teams and defense, and took advantage.”

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Kirkwood didn’t get on the board again until the start of the fourth quarter, where Reding found the endzone again on a rush to put the icing on the cake of the first-ever playoff win for the Cobras. Brighton got on the board with two minutes left in the contest, but it was both too little and too late. The Cobras will celebrate the history they made, but they’ve got a big one next week in the sweet sixteen, as they travel to Page High School.

“We knew the history that was at stake tonight; no one else can be the first one to win a playoff game, and our guys loved the opportunity to do that,” said Watson. “Now it’s about focusing on what we can control. We’re going to have a good week of practice and go see what we can do next week.”

Elsewhere in Clarksville

  • Clakrsville High fell to Independence, 27-20, ending the Wildcats season.
  • Rossview fell to Brentwood, 33-14, ending the Hawks season.
  • Kenwood fell to Munford 60-14, ending the Knights season.
  • Fort Campbell fell to Owensboro Catholic 61-7, ending the Falcons season.

| SCOREBOARD: Check out scores from every Clarksville-area football team