Matt, Jake, Wesley and Johnny Stone wear state championship rings at South Pittsburg High School.COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For one South Pittsburg family, state football championships are passed down like a family heirloom.
Johnny Stone was on South Pittsburg’s 1969 team that won the first state championship under the TSSAA playoff format. His oldest son Wesley was an offensive lineman on the next team to claim a 1A title for the program in 1994, and younger son Matt was a linebacker on the Pirates’ 1999 championship squad.
Wesley’s oldest son Jake is the the Pirates’ junior quarterback, having claimed one championship ring last year and having the chance to add another today when South Pittsburg plays second-ranked Wayne County in Tennessee Tech’s stadium at 1 p.m. EST.
Wesley Stone is an assistant coach and worked on the title-winning staffs in 2007 and 2010.
“It’s amazing when you think how much that family has been a part of our tradition,” Pirates coach Vic Grider said. “It’s very special for them because they all take so much pride in our program. That family lives South Pittsburg football, and we haven’t won a championship without one of them either playing or coaching with us.”