A few departures from the competition and a few additions to local rosters have opened the door for both Boyd Buchanan and Chattanooga Christian School to surge into contender status in TSSAA Division II-AA football this year.
Knoxville Webb won the last two DII-AA East Region titles and raced through the 2022 regular season unbeaten, but the Spartans lost perhaps the best player in the 865 area code when versatile athlete Shavar Young, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound sophomore who already has offers from 10 Southeastern Conference programs, transferred to Brentwood Academy this summer.
Now under the direction of former University of Tennessee assistant Don Mahoney, the Spartans do bring back three all-state-caliber players in quarterback Jack Wagner, who stands 6-4, Vanderbilt-committed receiver/safety Markeis Barrett and linebacker Cooper Cameron.
Gone altogether from the region is Lipscomb Academy, which steamrolled the rest of DII-AA in beating 15 straight league opponents by an average of 42 points and winning consecutive state championships before electing to move up in classification. The Mustangs were so dominant that they crushed previously unbeaten Webb by 37 points in the semifinals and Christ Presbyterian Academy by 42 in the BlueCross Bowl title game.
Those exits should level the playing field for the rest of the state’s mid-sized private school league, although Webb is still the preseason favorite in the East, which includes Boyd Buchanan, CCS, Notre Dame and Silverdale Baptist from Chattanooga, plus Christian Academy of Knoxville, Knox Grace and Lakeway Christian.