The Times Free Press continues its prep football primer series with TSSAA Region 3-4A
Overview: Few Chattanooga-area regions experienced as much change since last season as this one. Two teams exited as region champ East Hamilton moved up to Class 5A and playoff qualifier Central dropped to 3A, while Signal Mountain and Loudon joined the league from 3A. Loudon beat both Soddy-Daisy and Signal Mountain as a nonregion opponent last year. Another change is that Hixson will be under the direction of a new head coach as former Wildcats star Nick Rivers was promoted from the staff as an assistant, and he infused an uptick in enthusiasm during spring workouts. The Wildcats reached the playoffs last season thanks largely to a defense that held five opponents to 15 points or less. Hixson also has experience in how to win close games as three of its wins last year were by three points and another was by a touchdown. Although Red Bank finished second in the region standings, the Lions rallied in the playoffs to knock off East Hamilton on their way to reaching the semifinals.
Can any team challenge Red Bank for the region’s top spot?
Loudon is the only other member of this league that had a winning record last season, but the Redskins do not have near the amount of talent as the Lions bring back from a team that won 11 games and led top-ranked and eventual state champion Anderson County in the third quarter of their semifinal. Topping the list of game-changing talent is defensive end Kobe Smith, who recently committed to Duke University. Last season, Smith was in on 81 tackles, including seven for loss, and had 11 sacks, 13 quarterback pressures and nine forced fumbles. Also back is the versatile Daune Morris, an electric playmaker who is rated as one of the state’s top junior prospects and already has offers from more than 20 college programs, including Colorado, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.