The folks in Bradley County, wrestling fans or not, are enjoying the awakening of the rivalry between Bradley Central and Cleveland, and they're well aware that another chapter in the area's wrestling history is likely to be written this week.
The two teams are part of the field for the Class AAA Tennessee state wrestling tournament that begins Thursday in Franklin.
Actually, they are an integral part.
"Based on what we've competed against, they're the two teams everybody will be chasing," said fellow Region 4 coach Alan Morris. "Bradley has the potential to put five in the finals and Cleveland has the potential to upwards of six."
The Bradley-Cleveland series this year has been near-epic. Bradley ended a three-year losing streak by upending the Blue Raiders in the team's regular season dual meet. Cleveland then returned the favor in the region duals, pulling out a 37-31 victory with a pin in the last match breaking a 31-all tie. Cleveland went on to win the state duals, beating Wilson Central, the team that knocked off Bradley in the state semifinals, to win its third straight duals championship.
And then Bears outlasted the Blue Raiders to win their first traditional region championship in a race that went down to the final two weight classes.
"So much depends on the brackets. There are several weight classes where the draw could cause things to go different ways," Soddy-Daisy coach Jim Higgins said. "I think they're the favorites but as far as making some noise there's something out there to fight for and we're hoping to be in (the team title race."
The Bears and Stone Memorial each qualified 13, but while Bradley will take nine region finalists, Stone Memorial has just three.
There are 11 teams with at least 10 qualifiers. Cleveland and Dobyns-Bennett have 12 apiece, Knox Halls and Soddy-Daisy 11 and Arlington, Heritage and Wilson Central 10.
Few coaches mention the championship chase without throwing Wilson Central's name in the ring. The Wildcats have been state duals runners-up each of the past three seasons and definitely have been among the stronger challengers for the traditional state title.
"Wilson Central definitely is in the picture, but I really think Bradley and Cleveland will be the top teams," Morris added. "So much depends on the brackets. It could change a finalist into just a placer or a kid you thought might place into a finalist."
Knox Halls from Region 2 had the most champions (seven), but Cleveland, Region 8 winner Arlington and Region 3 winner Heritage had six apiece. Wilson Central, the Region 7 winner, had five.
Other region winners were Dobyns-Bennett (Region 1), Tullahoma (Region 5) and Summit (Region 6).
The AAA tournament begins at 4 p.m. with the rounds of 32 and 16 and the first two rounds of consolations.
The A/AA and Division II boys' tournaments and the girls' tournament begin on Friday.
The girls' championships begin at 11 a.m. and the boys' championships at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.