The list of unbeatens has been pared significantly with South Pittsburg being the most recent to be shuffled aside.
The Pirates hosted a battle of local small school titans and fell to Signal Mountain in what was likely the District 6-A championship.
One should note, however, that under the fairly new TSSAA playoff revisions, that South Pittsburg will be in the Class 1A playoffs and Signal in the Class 2A playoffs.
In addition to Signal Mountain, other unbeaten teams in the Chattanooga area include Baylor, Bledsoe County, Copper Basin along with Dade County and Calhoun in North Georgia and North Jackson and Fort Payne in Alabama.
Baylor (5-0, 3-0) is off this week after a big district win over Montgomery Bell Academy on Thursday. The Red Raiders’ next challenge is Oct. 1 at Finley Stadium against rival McCallie, which is 2-2 and 1-1 heading into its game this week at MBA.
Howard (4-0) is tied for the District 6-AA lead with Tyner but the Tigers step out of district play this week and into a serious challenge at unbeaten Alcoa (4-0).
Signal Mountain (5-0) travels to Chattanooga Christian to visit a pass-oriented Chargers offense.
Copper Basin (5-0) steps across the state line for a short trip to Andrews, N.C. (3-1).
North Jackson (4-0) had its closest game of the year but remained unbeaten with a 24-6 win over visiting Guntersville. The Chiefs host R.A. Hubbard this week.
Fort Payne, which has scored no fewer than 38 points in four games this year, puts its 4-0 record on the line at home against Cullman.
Bledsoe County, which started 4-0 against non-district foes, picked up its first District 7-AA win with a 39-7 victory at Notre Dame. The Warriors have an open date this week before hosting Sequatchie County on Oct. 1 in what could be the game that decides the District 7-AA championship.
Dade County (3-0) intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in posting a shutout over Armuchee. The Wolverines play their first region game Friday at Gordon Central.
Calhoun, which has recorded consecutive shutouts in its last two games, has an open date this week.
N Stefan Nelson was among the area’s leading tacklers last year but East Ridge’s linebacker outdid himself Friday, recording 21 solo tackles (five for loss and two sacks), five assists and a blocked field goal.
A steady defensive performer for LaFayette this year has been Koran Dyer, who had 10 tackles and forced a fumble in the Ramblers’ big win over Murray County.
N Is Grundy County better than 1-3? The Yellowjackets lost Friday night to Marion County after neither team was able to score in the second half but they outrushed the Warriors 184-61 and had more yards (226-154). Marion had a big special teams play in the game, a 48-yard punt return by Drew Owenby.
N Polk County’s future opponents know well about quarterback Jared Allen. The senior who accounted for seven TDs two weeks ago got the Wildcats’ first three TDs in a key District 5-AA win over Sweetwater as the team improved to 3-1 and 2-0. Key here, though, considering the Wildcats’ offensive scheme was wingback Tyler Lee’s 83-yard run in the second quarter. Lee missed all but a couple of plays in the team’s win over CCS two weeks ago with what coaches feared was a broken toe or turf toe.
Teams that still have to play Sweetwater should be aware of quarterback Gavyn Davis, who rushed for 225 yards and passed for 148 – that’s 373 total yards – against a normally stingy Polk defense. Davis’ efforts will likely lead to some extra drills at Polk this week.
Area prep football standings
TENNESSEE
District 5-AAA
Soddy-Daisy 2-0 4-1
Cleveland 2-0 3-1
Bradley Central 1-1 4-1
Rhea County 1-1 1-4
Ooltewah 0-1 2-2
McMinn County 0-1 1-3
Walker Valley 0-2 2-3
District 7-AA
Sequatchie County 2-0 2-2
Bledsoe County 1-0 5-0
Chattanooga Christian 1-1 2-3
Grundy County 0-1 1-3
Notre Dame 0-2 1-4
District 6-AA
Howard 2-0 4-0
Tyner 2-0 3-2
Central 1-1 3-1
East Ridge 1-1 2-2
Red Bank 1-1 2-2
East Hamilton 1-1 1-3
Brainerd 0-2 1-3
Hixson 0-2 0-4
District 5-AA
Polk County 2-0 3-1
Sequoyah 1-0 2-2
Meigs County 1-1 1-4
Sweetwater 0-1 2-2
McMinn Central 0-2 0-5
District 6-A
Signal Mountain 2-0 5-0
South Pittsburg 1-1 3-1
Lookout Valley 1-1 1-3
Marion County 0-1 2-2
Whitwell 0-1 1-3
District 5-A
Boyd-Buchanan 2-0 3-2
Copper Basin 1-0 5-0
Grace Academy 0-1 1-4
Silverdale Baptist 0-2 0-5
Division II-AA
Baylor 3-0 5-0
McCallie 1-1 2-2
Division II-A
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee 0-2 1-3
GEORGIA
Region 7-AAAA
Northwest Whitfield 0-3 0-3
Region 7-AAA (A)
Dalton 0-0 3-1
Heritage 0-0 3-1
Ridgeland 0-0 3-1
Ringgold 0-0 3-1
LaFayette 0-0 2-2
Southeast Whitfield 0-0 1-2
Region 7-AAA (B)
Murray County 0-0 1-3
Region 7-AA (B)
Calhoun 1-0 4-0
Gordon Central 1-0 3-1
Sonoraville 1-0 2-2
Dade County 0-0 3-0
Chattooga 0-1 0-4
Lakeview-F.O. 0-1 0-4
North Murray 0-1 0-4
Region 6-A
Trion 1-0 3-1
Gordon Lee 0-1 1-2
ALABAMA
Region 7-4A
North Jackson 3-0 4-0
Region 7-5A
Fort Payne 3-0 4-0
Region 6-2A
Ider 2-1 3-1