Tyler Palmateer, Nashville TennesseanSat, November 29, 2025 at 5:44 AM UTC·3 min readOmarion Starnes had to keep himself from laughing so Pearl-Cohn football coach Tony Brunetti wouldn’t hear him.
The Firebirds senior running back was helping carry a large jug of water, and Brunetti knew it was meant for him. The coach zigged and zagged, hiding behind players as he tried to avoid the iciest of ice baths in 30-degree temperatures.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStarnes landed a decent blow, but Brunetti held no grudges after the Firebirds defeated South Gibson 42-28 on Nov. 28 to reach the TSSAA football Class 4A state championship game against Alcoa (13-1).
After all, it was Starnes who may have saved the Firebirds’ season.
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His heads up play to return an onside kick for a touchdown in the second quarter began a tidal wave as the Firebirds (10-4) came back from a 21-0 deficit to reach the state championship for the seventh time in school history.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“This is all I’ve been praying for,” said Starnes, who also had eight carries for 63 yards and a rushing TD. “It feels good to go back. We ain’t finished. We’ve got one more still.”
This is Brunetti’s fifth time to take Pearl-Cohn to a state final. But he said few of the previous state semifinals compared to this experience. The Firebirds couldn’t stop South Gibson’s run-dominant offense early on and trailed by three touchdowns with just over two minutes left in the first half.
The Hornets (10-4) went for an onside kick after their third score and Starnes chose to pick it up and run instead of falling on it.
“We were down too much. I had to do what I had to do to get the energy for my team,” Starnes said. “It’s a timing thing. You’re supposed to beat them before it gets 10 yards. On that last bounce, you just grab it and go.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPearl-Cohn scored the game’s next 35 points. Junior quarterback LJ Funk believes Starnes changed the course of the game.
Funk will play for a state championship for the first time. He transferred from Brentwood the year after Pearl-Cohn’s 2023 title run.
“The emotions are crazy. It feels great,” said Funk, who finished 7-of-9 for 218 yards, one TD and an interception. “We had a tough stretch early in the season. I think a lot of people counted us out. But we all knew we had to lock in and we could make it happen.”
Alcoa has won 10 straight state championships. All of those came in Class 3A — including a 27-0 win over Pearl-Cohn in 2019 — before the school chose to move up to Class 4A this season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“They put their pants on just like you put your pants on. They put their shoulder pads on just like you,” Brunetti said of his message to players. “Anybody can win this game. You just have to believe. Like tonight, people made plays. You’ve got to have a little luck here and there and guys have to make big plays.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at [email protected] and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Pearl-Cohn defeats South Gibson, reaches TSSAA football title game
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