Boyd Buchanan Coach Gary Rankin Looks to Add to State Title Trophy Case

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Boyd Buchanan is in the state title game in just the second season under head coach Coach Gary Rankin.

Rankin has coached in this game dozens of times, but for his players, this is the first time they are on the state title stage.

News 12’s Brian Armstrong spoke to him about this accomplishment.

Boyd Buchanan’s head coach Gary Rankin is surrounded by state titles.

Said Rankin:”I’ve got a case there and that’s what it’s for. I mean, we’ve had that case there and uh, you know, hopefully one day I thought we might go put a ball in there, you know, with this runner up or state champion and it looks like we’ll put one in there. So that’s that’s a good goal that we’ve reached.”

Boyd Buchanan faces Christ Presbyterian Academy with a state title on the line on Thursday.  Not many expected Boyd to make it this far this season.

Said Rankin”Certainly happened a lot quicker than we thought it might. Uh, I know there’s a lot of people that are surprised that we’re in the championship game, and I’m one of them. My goal this year, at the start of the year, was to try to have one playoff game at home. And I knew that we had to come in first or second in our region. But I really wanted to get a playoff game at home, and I thought that was the next step. Realistic step for our program in the second year.”

Coach Rankin has coached against CPA before in state title games.

Said Rankin:”I’ve known them for years. We played them three times when I was at Alcoa in the state championship game. Uh, I know, I know their head coach, I know some of their assistants, uh, know the headmaster. I mean, I know that program. Uh, they’re one of the best programs in the state, bar any classification, anybody. This is their sixth or seventh straight time in the state championship game. Uh, that’s a hard, hard thing to do in the private league, in any division.”

And with CPA having so much state title experience, he needs to make sure his players are ready for the moment.

Said Rankin:”Well, that’s hard. And I don’t know if I have an answer. We’ll see tomorrow. You know, you hope your kids are relaxed and they play well. And I think that comes maybe from the coaches and comes on down. You know, our kids are relaxed. They’ll play hard.”