With just two more games left in the regular season, local high school football teams are closing in on the TSSAA State Playoffs.

And with the postseason looming, teams are seeking to pick up momentum as they vie for the best possible seedings in the playoffs.

Hampton at Unaka, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs are coming off a heartbreaker of a loss at South Greene last week.

In a game that gave the South Greene Rebels a good chance at being the Mountain Empire Conference’s sole champions, South held off Hampton 36-30 in an overtime classic.

The Bulldogs (3-5, 2-1) will be looking to shake off the tough loss as they head to Stoney Creek where the Unaka Rangers (2-6, 0-3) are energized after picking up their second win of the season against Hancock County, 38-18, last week.

One of the biggest takeaways from Unaka’s win was the Rangers’ ability to establish a running game, something they have been looking to do all season. Unaka’s Logan Benway accounted for 117 yards on 22 carries while he rushed in two touchdowns.

Unaka’s pass game was in typical form as senior quarterback John “Boy” Ramsey threw for 227 yards while connecting 22-of-34 attempts. Ramsey connected for two passing touchdowns while also running in a TD.

Defensively, Unaka was led Daniel Shearl who pulled in three interceptions while forcing a fumble.

Tonight’s game will be a nonconference bout.

Elizabethton at

Sullivan South,

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

The Rebels and Cyclones will be facing off for a second-place spot in the Three Rivers Conference.

Both teams have 3-1 records in Region 1-4A football with both the teams’ losses coming at the hands of the No. 1 Greeneville Green Devils, who are the Class 4A defending state champions.

The No. 3 Cyclones were able to put up the most points against Greeneville last week as Elizabethton fell 35-20 to the 8-0 Green Devils.

The Rebels didn’t fare as well to Greeneville as they loss 62-7 during the Oct. 5 game.

West Greene at Happy Valley, 7:30 p.m.

For the Happy Valley Warriors, Friday’s game will be all about keeping up momentum heading into the final week of the regular season when HV takes on conference front-runner South Greene.

If Happy Valley (3-5, 2-1) can top the Rebels in Week 10 and Hampton defeats Cosby the same week, then there will be a three-way tie for the Mountain Empire Conference crown. However, if South Greene wins they will be the outright champs.

The Warriors should have plenty of momentum coming into this week’s contest after their dominant 44-12 win over Sullivan North last week.

In that game, senior Dakota Cochran led the way with four touchdowns, 91 yards rushing and 81 yards passing.

West Greene (2-6, 1-3) fell last week to Unicoi, 41-20.

Johnson County at Cloudland, 7:30 p.m.

The Highlanders (7-1, 3-0) have already conquered their conference after steamrolling Jellico last week, 54-12.

As the Region 1-A champs and the No. 1 seed heading into the TSSAA playoffs, the Highlanders will this week nonconference contest against Johnson County as a chance to fine tune for the postseason.

Johnson County is on a roll after winning their last six games.