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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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In Tennessee prep football playoffs, all roads lead to Chattanooga for BlueCross Bowl

Photo illustration by Jamie Poole with staff photo by Matt Hamilton and Getty Images / Chattanooga's Finley Stadium will host the BlueCross Bowl state championship games for all nine TSSAA football classifications on Dec. 2-4.
Photo illustration by Jamie Poole with staff photo by Matt Hamilton and Getty Images / Chattanooga's Finley Stadium will host the BlueCross Bowl state championship games for all nine TSSAA football classifications on Dec. 2-4. Photo illustration by Jamie Poole with staff photo by Matt Hamilton and Getty Images / Chattanooga's Finley Stadium will host the BlueCross Bowl state championship games for all nine TSSAA football classifications on Dec. 2-4.

Remember that prep football road trip we talked about a few months ago?

In our special section previewing the 2021 season, we talked about having a full tank of gas, the car pointed toward the open highway and how memories made along the way would outweigh any potential bumps in the road.

Well, the passenger load has been lightened after 10 Tennessee teams from the Chattanooga area ended their season last week without qualifying for the postseason. And more will be told their road trip has ended over the coming weeks as they aren’t able to keep up with the accelerated pace of playoff travel.

So buckle up for what promises to be a wild ride for the 26 area teams that qualified, as well as 204 others around the state, who have earned the green light to merge into the playoff lane beginning Friday.

Regardless of how winding the path may be, for the teams that manage to stay on course over the next four weeks – avoiding distractions and potential hazards along the way – all roads lead to Chattanooga, and the hope that they will not exit before reaching Finley Stadium.