Alcoa State Champs

Two-A-Days: Alcoa sets sights on 8-peat with Nix at helm

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Alcoa completed its seventh consecutive Class 3A championship run last December, defeating East Nashville 45-14. The Tornadoes now hold the longest streak of TSSAA championships in the common era. Believe it or not, however, Alcoa is only halfway to breaking the nation record of consecutive state titles, as St. Louis from Hawaii won 14 straight from 1986 through 1999. South Dakota’s Sioux Falls Washington has also been credited with 14 straight from 1951 through 1964, but during that day and age, many of those titles were viewed as mythical. Regardless, Alcoa seemingly has a stranglehold on Class …

Seymour

Seymour holds off Heritage 27-12

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – The Eagles were clinging to a 14-12 lead over winless Heritage early in the fourth quarter, when Brendon Harris went into the end zone for a score, giving Seymour a 21-12, en route to a 27-12 win in a game that was closer than expected. “I saw resolve and a lot of grit,” Seymour head coach Scott Branton said. “We came out and played pretty well in the opening, but we fell a little flat when we got that early lead. It came back to bite us a little bit.” The Eagles scored first when …

Sevier County shuts out Pigeon Forge in first ever meeting

BY BRIAN  HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Neighboring Class 5A Sevier County and Class 3A Pigeon Forge squared off for the first time in the schools’ history on Friday night and the Smoky Bears came away with a resounding 14-0 win. Sevier County had starting linebackers Garrett Hawkins and Stephen Cain back for the first time since the opener against Jefferson County and it helped, as the Smoky Bears used a stifling defense to hold the Tigers to just 112 total yards. All of Pigeon Forge’s yards were on the ground, as Sevier County held Tigers quarterback Tyson McFall to 0-of-6 passing …

Northview Academy shuts down Claiborne 35-0

BY BRIAN HAMILTON NEW TAZEWELL – Northview Academy traveled to New Tazewell on Friday night to take on Claiborne in a non-region contest. After getting blown out by Alcoa last week, the Cougars responded with a dominant 35-0 win over the Bulldogs. “Cruz-Mendoza had some good runs and we moved the ball around — it wasn’t just one guy,” Northview Academy head coach Heath Woods said. “We are looking forward to building off this.” Northview jumped out to a 22-0 halftime lead, en route to a 35-0 win. Cougars quarterback Alex Cruz-Mendoza ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns on …

Carter starts 1-0, opens with home win for first time since 2015

BY BRIAN HAMILTON STRAWBERRY PLAINS – Carter came from behind and stunned Webb 26-21 on Friday. The Hornets opened the season at 1-0 for the first time since a 46-34 win over Knoxville Halls in 2015. It was also the first time Carter has won a home opener since 2015. The Hornets trailed 7-0 after the first quarter and had three touchdowns called back in the period. Early in the second quarter, Webb would have a touchdown called back, before tossing an interception. Carter then proceeded to drive the ball all the way to the Webb 18-yard line, where it …