Winning a state championship wasn’t a requirement for earning a spot as a finalist for this year’s Scrappy Moore Coach of the Year award. But it certainly didn’t hurt – four of the six claimed at least one state title this past school year, and the other two reached championship games.
This year’s finalists are Brainerd boys’ basketball coach Levar Brown, Signal Mountain cross country and track and field coach Dustin Carpenter, Meigs County softball coach Jeff Davis, Trion baseball and softball coach Jason Lanham, Gordon Lee softball coach Dana Mull and Bradley Central wrestling coach Ben Smith.
The winner will be announced at the annual Times Free Press Best of Preps banquet tonight at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Doors open at 5:30, and the guest speaker is former University of Tennessee All-American and current Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive back Eric Berry.
In only his third season as head coach, Brown guided the Panthers to the Class AA state tournament for the second straight year. Brainerd reached the championship game for the first time since 1997, which was also the last time a Hamilton County boys’ basketball program played for a title in any classification other than Class A. With a starting lineup that included two juniors and a sophomore, Brainerd narrowly lost the state championship game and finished the season with a 30-6 record.
Carpenter guided the Lady Eagles cross country and track teams to Class A/AA state championships. In his second season as the cross country coach, four of his runners finished among the state’s top 15. In track, the Lady Eagles won sub-sectional and sectional titles along the way to their third straight state title. They had runners score points in 13 of the 18 state events, including five as state champions.