The TSSAA’s state championship games for football are set, and a third of this coming week’s BlueCross Bowl matchups at Tennessee Tech University will involve Chattanooga-area programs.
One area team is scheduled to play each day in Cookeville, with McCallie aiming to repeat as Division II-AAA champion on Thursday, Class 1A’s South Pittsburg hoping to make its first title game appearance since 2013 a victory on Friday and Meigs County in the Class 2A final for the second straight year and hoping to finish on top this time Saturday.
McCallie (8-3) faces Memphis University School (10-2) at 8 p.m. Eastern at Tucker Stadium. It will be the day’s third and final BlueCross Bowl, with Lipscomb Academy (10-2) and Christ Presbyterian Academy (10-1) in the DII-AA game at noon and University School of Jackson (10-2) facing Davidson Academy (12-0) in the DII-A game at 4 p.m.
McCallie earned the second championship in program history with a 28-7 win against Montgomery Bell Academy last December after back-to-back home victories in the first two rounds of the 2019 playoffs. This year, the Blue Tornado’s postseason path has been all on the road, with a 42-28 quarterfinal win at Christian Brothers in Memphis followed by a 28-18 semifinal victory at Brentwood Academy on Nov. 20.
“The look on our kids’ faces after the game, that’s what makes it special to me,” McCallie coach Ralph Potter told the Times Free Press after the win at BA. “We’ve fought through a lot this season to earn the chance to get back and play for it all again.”