Grainger Grizzlies jog onto the field.

Grainger Wins Season Opener on Road at Cumberland Gap

BY DANIEL SPARKMAN CUMBERLAND GAP – Despite some big plays by Cumberland Gap, Grainger’s hard-nosed ground game wins the night with a 42-32 victory over the Panthers. Friday night started with an explosive play from Cumberland Gap’s sophomore running back Brayden Painter as he took the opening kickoff 80 yards to start the game with a six point lead. Panthers sophomore tight end Allen Brooks followed up with the two-point conversion to improve the score to 8-0. Grainger’s first drive of the game ended with a two-yard run into the end zone, the PAT was no good. Panthers keep the …

Jefferson County

Sevier County wins defensive battle 7-6 over Jefferson County

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – If you like a lot of scoring and offensive firepower, then Thursday night’s game between rivals Sevier County and Jefferson County was not for you. It was a defensive slugfest, especially in the second half, as Sevier County scored on its first drive and Jefferson County scored in the second quarter, with the only difference being a blocked extra-point that gave the Smoky Bears a 7-6 season-opening win. “I’ve never heard of an ugly win,” Sevier County head coach Todd Loveday said. “I’ll never apologize to win any kind of game. Jefferson County is a …

Maryville Football

Clemmer shines in first start for Maryville, as Rebels defeat Heritage 45-7

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MARYVILLE – Both teams came into the game with some fresh faces, as Heritage head coach and former Vols assistant coach Joe Osovet was coaching in his first game with the Mountaineers and Maryville was showcasing new quarterback Matthew Clemmer for the first time in its offense. Clemmer, a senior transfer from William Blount, finally got his first start for the Rebels and didn’t take him long to throw his first touchdown pass, as he found Noah Vaughn for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The former Governor threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns …

Two-A-Days: Jefferson County looks to build off successes of 2021

BY CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent Jefferson County only had one scrimmage this summer due to weather and it was against David Crockett last Wednesday. The Patriots won 18-0. Head coach Spencer Riley said that his team still has questions on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Crockett game was approximately one week before the start of their season at Sevier County on Thursday, August 18. “We are going to win with our O- and D-line. I we can continue to improve in those areas, we will be fine,” Riley said. Jefferson County returns junior quarterback Izaiah Hall and …

Alcoa, Maryville Football Top Preseason Top 10

BY DANIEL SPARKMAN As we prepare for Week 1 of High School Football in Tennessee, we have placed the 19 football teams in our coverage area into a Top 10 list. These rankings are based on players that are returning to the team from last year, each team’s performance during the jamboree games, and a team’s previous records. With that said our preseason top 10: Alcoa Maryville Jefferson County Carter Sevier County Gatlinburg-Pittman TKA Pigeon Forge Morristown-West Seymour The Alcoa Tornadoes top the list as they are defending their Class 3A State Championship with a 2021 record of 14-1. Maryville …

Thad Wells

Two-A-Days: New Lakeway Christian Coach Thad Wells views Lions as ‘sleeping giant’

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Lakeway Christian enters its third season as a football program looking to find its footing in Division II Class A. The Lions made big strides in 2021, finishing 4-7 (thanks to a pair of COVID-19 wins) and the school’s first ever playoff berth before losing to Nashville Christian 41-7. While the 2021 campaign doesn’t seem like strides for some teams, it certainly was after Lakeway did not win a game on the field in its inaugural season, as its only win — against Lee (VA) — came in the season opener, which was a COVID-19 forfeit. The …

Two-A-Days: Cosby looking for first playoff berth since 2011

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Cosby is coming off a disappointing season, which saw the Eagles finish 1-8 and having to defeat Hancock County in the season finale for their lone win of the season. The Eagles’ last trip to the playoffs was in 2011 — head coach Kevin Hall’s first season — which was a 45-6 loss at Oneida. Hall, however, is optimistic about the 2022 season, partly because Cosby returns key playmakers in quarterback Tyler Turner and receiver Hayden Green. “Tyler throws a really good deep ball and Hayden is going to be really explosive with the ball in his …

Morristown West

Two-A-Days: Morristown West looks to build on momentum from 2021

BY CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent Last year, Morristown West finished 5-6 overall (5-5 regular season, 0-1 postseason). The Trojans went 4-0 at home but due to some mental mistakes, according to head coach Alvin Sanders, they weren’t able to close out wins on the road. This year, getting the players ready, not just on the field, but mentally, has been the focus. Sanders said the goal is for this year’s team to be better mentally prepared to handle the twists of turns in a game than last year’s squad was. When asked if he feels this team is better than last …

Two-A-Days: Hurricanes look to bounce back after 2-8 campaign in 2021

BY CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent Smoky Mountain Sports sat down with Morristown East head coach Caleb Slover, and this is what the head coach had to say about his 2022 team, the season they had in 2021 and the potential season ahead. Morristown East went 2-8 in 2021 and one big reason for this was that they had trouble putting together four “consistent” quarters. Though this year’s team has some youth in some skilled positions, there are a good number of returnees from last year, as well, who have a year or more of experience under their belts. Starting senior quarterback …

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 …