It wasn't always pretty or easy, but the Tellico Plains Bears wrapped up a 7-3 season and playoff berth on Friday night against Midway with a 36-7 win.
The Bears fought injuries, sloppy play, and a tough Midway defense to claim their first playoff spot since 2001.

Who and where the Bears will play was uncertain at the time of press, but Tellico will likely be on the road due to qualifying for the playoffs with a wild card bid due to Rockwood's 35-7 win over Harriman on Friday night.

According to the TSSAA, a Tellico win and Rockwood loss was the only way the Bears, who beat Rockwood 21-6 earlier in the season, could receive the 2A automatic bid from District 3-A.
The playoff brackets were due to be released early Saturday morning.

Tellico was forced to use a number of different combinations offensively Friday night as junior Deion O'Dell did not play due to an injured shoulder.
O'Dell is expected to be back next week.
That left the trio of Josh Stinnett, Donovan McKenzie, and John Sloan to pick up the slack and all three responded.

There was nothing glamorous about the stats - a combined 25 rushes for 44 yards - but Stinnett and McKenzie were responsible for four Tellico touchdowns.
Sloan led Tellico with 33 yards on the ground on just three attempts.
Tellico struggled early in the game, picking up only 14 yards on their first two series.

However, the Bears' defense was as tough as it has been all year, limiting Midway to only five yards its first two drives.
McKenzie got Tellico on the right track late in the first quarter when he returned a punt 32 yards to the Midway 2, setting up a Stinnett touchdown from there.

McKenzie added the extra point to give Tellico a 7-0 lead with 4:12 to go in the first quarter.
But the Bears' offense went into a shell following that score and Tellico again relied on its defense.
Sacks by Casey McAlister, Dalton Rhinehart, and Zeke Massingail, along with interceptions from Cody Atkins and McKenzie, kept the Green Wave offense from gaining any momentum in the second quarter.

The Bears struck again late in the second quarter by taking advantage of a Midway penalty.
The Green Wave was called for roughing the punter and the Bears used a 30-yard run by Sloan to set up a short, 1-yard plunge by McKenzie to take a 14-0 lead at the half.
Jordan Hendrix recovered a Midway fumble to open the second half, setting up a short field for the Bears.

After a flurry of penalties, including offsetting personal foul penalties that erased a 33-yard touchdown run by Sloan and led to Midway's Matt Oliver being ejected, Stinnett again cashed in, this time from 7 yards out.

McKenzie's extra point was true and Tellico held a 21-0 lead with 7:07 to play in the third quarter.
The Green Wave capitalized on a Tellico mistake for their only score of the game late in the quarter.
McKenzie had a snap go through his hands on a punt, setting up Midway just 29 yards from the end zone. It took just one play for Midway to score on a pass play and the Bear's lead was cut to 21-7 with 1:13 to go in the quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Tellico went to the air to gain their 21-point lead back.
Stinnett was 4 of 6 for 49 yards on a drive, including a 20-yard strike to McKenzie that made the score 28-7 with 7:05 to play.
Midway quickly moved the ball down the field on the ensuing drive with hopes of pulling off an improbable comeback.
A conversion on fourth-and-20 and a pass interference call aided those hopes, but Eric Croft quickly erased them when he picked off a Midway pass and raced 98 yards for a score to put the game on ice.

Tellico converted the two-point conversion, with only seniors in on the play in honor of Senior Night, with a McKenzie run to go up 36-7.
McKenzie added to his memorable night with by recovering a muffed kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Tellico turned the ball over on downs.
To find out the latest information about the Bears playoff opponent and location, check The Advocate & Democrat Web site at www.advocateanddemocrat.com.