Week 2 Top 10

BY DANIEL SPARKMAN Our Top 3 stay the same after Week 2. A serious of losses changes the rest of the pack, we see Carter, Pigeon Forge and Grainger fall from the Top 10 and The King’s Academy rejoin with newcomers South-Doyle and Morristown East. South-Doyle finished the 2021 season at 6-5 after making it to the First Round of the Class 4A State Playoffs. They enter our Top 10 after a solid victory at Grace Christian – Knoxville. Morristown East finished last season at just 2-8, they enter our Top 10 after a win over Knoxville Halls and their …

Morristown East picks up big win over Halls 34-28

CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent MORRISTOWN – Former Morristown East High principal J.T. Williams said before tonight’s home against Halls that East would treat the Red Devils like herded cattle. One of the East coaches during the game told the players, when they were behind, that they had been working hard and might not get their payday. Turns out, the Hurricanes did get paid with a 34-28 win that ended a 0-for-5 skid against Halls all-time and kept 2021 from repeating. In 2021, East lost to the Trojans and ended up going 0-6 before getting their first win. When East visits Dobyns-Bennett …

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) …

Frias

Morristown West uses early lead to take down East 24-7

CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent In the annual area high school “kickoff” game of the season, the 2022 version of the Kickoff Classic saw Morristown West come storming out of the gate and then cause problems with interceptions and stifling defense to beat Morristown East 24-7. Morristown East coach Caleb Slover also brought up their Achilles heel in 2021 continued, which was the inability to finish drives including in the final quarter when turnovers killed the Hurricanes’ chances to score. Morristown West coach Alvin Sanders, on the other hand, was very pleased with how his team played. It wasn’t perfect and there …

Carter

Carter falls to Webb in opener 46-21

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Carter did not start the season the way Coach Justin Pressley had hoped after a solid showing in last week’s jamboree at Knox Central. The Hornets kept pace with Webb early, trailing just 19-14 at the half, but a 27-point second half by the Spartans sent Carter home with a 46-21 loss. Pressley was unable to coach the game however, as he served a suspension for being ejected during last season’s first round playoff loss to Elizabethton, as Carter assistant Dustin Dudley served as head coach for the game. “We’ve got a lot of stuff …

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 …