Winning means never having to say you’re sorry. But following his team’s victory in the first round of the TSSAA Class 6A playoffs on Friday, Bartlett coach Lance Tucker issued a mea culpa to his squad.

“I ride them pretty hard,” said Tucker. “They’re super kids; they’re the best kids in the world. But they’re still kids. And I know how good they can be. How good they can be as young men and how good they can be collectively as a team. And I ride them hard. 

“I try to apologize to them every once in a while because I want them to know I love them.”

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There was certainly a lot to love in the Panthers’ performance against visiting Centennial, particularly on offense. Behind a spectacular performance from senior quarterback Braylen Ragland, the Panthers rolled up 541 yards of offense in a 46-28 victory.

That will keep Bartlett (9-2) at home next week and give Tucker at least one more week with his seniors. The Panthers will host Brentwood in the second-round in a rematch of the 2020 state semifinal contest won by the Bruins.

Ragland, one of those seniors, wasn’t at Bartlett that season but his contributions in his first year have been immense. The Georgia State commit could hardly have been better against the Cougars, completing 18 of 22 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns while running for 123 more on 16 carries, including a 70-yard TD.

All that production was greatly appreciated against a plucky Centennial team that rolled up 326 yards of its own against a Bartlett defense that was without injured linebacker David Milburn.

“They wouldn’t quit,” said Ragland of the Cougars, who finished fourth in Region 7 and end the year with an 8-3 mark.

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“They had some fight in them. (But) we’re resilient. We knew we had to take care of our defense with our offense. The defense has picked us up so many times during the season, so we had to return the favor.”

Bartlett trailed 7-0 early when Ragland hit speedy Deshaun Catron with a 48-yard pass that tied it. Before halftime, he found Jeremiah Reed from 11 yards out and after the break, connected with Catron again on a 52-yard play.

Catron finished with 141 yards on six catches.

“He’s just an athlete,” Ragland said of Catron. “He’s a playmaker; he’s a gamer. We work hard during the week and our chemistry with our wide receiver group is the best.”

Bartlett also got a big game from running back Geron Johnson, who had 113 yards on 22 carries with two scores. His second, a 4-yard run with under three minutes left, ended a time-consuming drive that finally subdued the visitors.

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“I’m super proud of them,” said Tucker. “We had some huge plays but that’s what we live on all year. We’re a big-play group and we just ... when we make them, we do really well. And when we don’t, it’s a struggle. We missed a couple of shots early in the game and I’m over there getting frustrated.

“But the kids made them from that point on and that’s what it’s all about.”

Brentwood advanced with a 17-7 victory over Collierville. That was the only game that Region 8 lost in its four head-to-head meetings with the Nashville area big boys. Germantown defeated Ravenwood and Houston downed Independence and those two winners will meet next Friday at Houston.

Tucker will be pretty busy at his own stadium, but he was certainly proud to see two of his rivals make it through to the next round.

“All I’ve hear is ‘you can’t beat the Nashville schools,’” Tucker said. “And rightfully so; they’ve owned Memphis for a while now. I hate Collierville couldn’t make it 4 for 4; I know they played their hearts out. But that still speaks volumes. We’ve got a long way to go but we are gaining ground.”

Bartlett 46, Centennial 28

CHS-Taner Lee 2 run (Sam Cochran kick)

BHS-Deshaun Catron 48 pass from Braylen Ragland (Pierce Rogers kick)

BHS-Terrell Neal 1 run (Rogers kick)

BHS-Snap Reed 11 pass from Ragland (Rogers kick)

BHS-Geron Johnson 19 run (kick failed)

CHS-Lee 17 run (Cochran kick)

BHS-Catron 52 pass from Ragland (pass failed)

CHS-Kani Johnson 57 pass from Brendan Jones (Cochran kick)

BHS-Ragland 70 run (run failed)

CHS-Jyrine Otney 25 pass from Jones (Cochran kick)

BHS-Johnson 4 run (Rogers kick)

First downs: Centennial 12; Bartlett 31.

Rushing: Centennial 21-146; Bartlett 51-304

Passing: Centennial 7-26-1-180; Bartlett 18-22-0-237.

Centennial rushing: Taner Lee 14-57; Dominic Reed 6-81; Brendan Jones 1-3.

Bartlett rushing: Braylen Ragland 16-123; Geron Johnson 22-113; Terrell Neal 7-49; Jared Hunt 1-18; Deshaun Catron 2-10; team 3-(-9).

Centennial passing: Brendan Jones 6-22-1-158; Dominic Reed 1-4-0-22.

Bartlett passing: Braylen Ragland 18-22-0-237.

Centennial receiving: Kani Johnson 3-97; Jayden George 2-48; Jyrine Otney 2-35.

Bartlett receiving: Snap Reed 9-81; Deshaun Catron 6-141; Geron Johnson 2-4; Jade Kneeland 1-11. 

Records: Centennial 8-3; Bartlett 9-2.