Nolensville shut out Centennial 31-0 on Thursday, Oct. 8, rolling to its eighth straight win and second shutout in three Region 5-5A games.

The Knights led 24-0 at halftime and added another score after the break to finish the rout at Centennial, according to TSSAA score reports compiled by Yahoo Sports. Nolensville improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in region play. Centennial dropped to 0-8.

The win keeps Nolensville on a collision course with defending Class 5A state champion Page for the Region 5-5A title. Page entered Week 8 at 6-1 overall and 2-0 in region play, according to the Williamson Herald. If both teams keep winning, they would meet in a winner-take-all region championship game.

Head coach Scott Stidham's squad has been dominant on defense all season. The Knights shut out James Lawson 21-0 in Week 6, beat Hillsboro 36-6 in Week 7 and blanked Centennial in Week 8. Entering the week, senior defensive lineman Tyler Barth led the team with six sacks and senior Jake Sentell had five, according to The Tennessean's statistical leaders.

Senior running back Tristen Lithmexay has powered the offense. Through seven games entering Week 8, Lithmexay had 816 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 128 carries, averaging 116.6 yards per game, per The Tennessean. Individual stats from the Centennial game were not available.

615 Preps ranked Nolensville No. 3 in its medium-class area rankings entering Week 8, up one spot from the previous week. On3 listed the Knights at No. 25 in Tennessee.

Stidham set the tone for this kind of season back in August. "We have a chance to be pretty good, but we also have the chance to be pretty average and the difference between having a great season and an average one is about this much on every play," he told the Williamson Herald in an Aug. 20 preseason preview.

The 8-0 start is the program's best since Nolensville completed its only unbeaten regular season in 2022. Last year, the Knights went 8-5 overall, losing to Henry County 31-24 in the second round of the playoffs.

Williamson County schools head into fall break following the Thursday games. Nolensville's next game is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at Rossview.