Alcoa, Gatlinburg-Pittman Take First Two Spots in Week 8 Top 10

BY: DANIEL SPARKMAN Alcoa, Gatlinburg-Pittman have proven their worth continually defeating strong opponents, so this week they take the first two spots in our Week 8 Top 10. Gatlinburg-Pittman jumps Maryville after their 48-40 victory over Hampton. Alcoa and Maryville both had byes in Week 8, along with Sevier County and Pigeon Forge. Jefferson County defeated Hardin Valley 17-7 on Friday night. Carter evened out their record to 4-4 after their win at Morristown West by a score of 13-7. Grainger drops after their 20-7 loss to Northview Academy. Finally, Cosby drops their game at Oakdale 50-12. Here is our Week …

Week 7 Leaves Three One-Loss Teams Remaining in Top 10

BY DANIEL SPARKMAN Alcoa, Gatlinburg-Pittman and Sevier County are our only remaining teams with just one loss. Morristown West and Jefferson County each have two. This week Heritage drops out of the Top 10 after a 41-0 loss to still undefeated West. And for the first time this season, Lakeway Christian drops from the Top 10 after losing their last four games and dropping to 3-4 on the season. This team has already amassed more on the field wins than in their previous two seasons combined. This week Pigeon Forge hops back in at #9 after a 21-20 victory over …

Top 10 Following Week 1

BY DANIEL SPARKMAN Several teams start the season in the hole with a loss in Week 1. Out of our Preseason Top 10 we lose The King’s Academy and Seymour and welcome Lakeway Christian and Grainger. Lakeway Christian is looking for a strong start in their 3rd season on the field and trying to improve on a 3-4 record from a year ago. Grainger finished last year even at 5-5 but didn’t manage to win any region games, they hope to improve that percentage this season.  Here is our Week 1 Top 10: Alcoa (1-0) Maryville (1-0) Sevier County (1-0) …

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 …

Pigeon Forge hangs on for 21-20 win over West Greene

BY BRIAN HAMILTON PIGEON FORGE – Pigeon Forge built an early lead and was forced to hold on for a 21-20 win against West Greene to advance to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs. West Greene got on the board first when Ethan Turner returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown, giving the Buffaloes a 7-0 lead after one quarter. A 6-yard touchdown run by Brady Maples tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter, followed by a 13-yard Aiden Howard touchdown run, which put the Tigers ahead 14-7 at halftime. West Greene came out and …

Pigeon Forge hangs on against Austin-East 24-14

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Pigeon Forge came away with a 24-14 win at Austin-East on Friday night, as the Tigers overcame a slow start to gain control and seal the game with an interception late in the fourth. Pigeon Forge fumbled on the first drive and them fumbled the snap on their next offensive play. The Tigers were lucky to survive the damage only trailing 6-0 with 8:38 left in the first. Ayden Littles ran for a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put Pigeon Forge in front 7-6, which was the halftime score. “We had so many …

Pigeon Forge drowns Northview playoff hopes in forks of river

BY BRIAN HAMILTONi PIGEON FORGE – There are forks in the Pigeon River. Some go north, some go south. Pigeon Forge appears to be improving offensively, while Northview seems to be fighting upstream. Against the current, it will be for the Cougars’, as a 17-0 loss to Pigeon Forge drops Northview to 0-3 in the region. Northview was shut out by Pigeon Forge on Friday, all but ending the Cougars’ playoff hopes. The Tigers got on the board first with a 39-yard Abe Gonzalez field goal, giving Pigeon Forge a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Pigeon Forge increased its …

Pigeon Forge blows out Scott 35-6

BY BRIAN HAMILTON PIGEON FORGE – Tigers head coach Scott Meadows picked up his 150th win at Pigeon Forge with a 35-6 win over Scott. “Our guys played hard tonight and played with a lot of emotion,” Meadows said. “We started off really well. The biggest thing is we held onto the ball.” A blocked punt, which was picked up and taken to the end zone by Noah Dyer, gave Pigeon Forge a 7-0 lead after one quarter of play. The Tigers would take a 28-0 lead to the locker room at halftime and a 35-0 lead after three quarters. …

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 …

Pigeon Forge downs Sullivan East 48-12 after rain delay

BY BRIAN HAMILTON PIGEON FORGE – A week after a heartbreaking road loss to Hampton, Pigeon Forge came out firing on all cylinders against Sullivan East, winning 48-12 after a 90 minute weather delay. The Tigers intercepted Sullivan East’s Judson Statham on their first possession and put together a 58-yard drive to take a 6-0 lead. Tyson McFall ran for a 15-yard score to capitalize on the turnover. The Patriots, however, would respond with a big play and tied the game at 6-6 after their extra-point was blocked. Pigeon Forge responded with a Brady Maples 11-yard touchdown to give the …