Chattanooga Prep senior Zaire McCrary became the first college football signee in school history Wednesday, when the standout lineman celebrated his decision to continue his career at Tennessee’s Maryville College, an NCAA Division III program.
McCrary was all smiles as he put on his new Scots team apparel in front of friends and family at Chatt Prep. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder, however, was not a pleasant force to deal with on the gridiron as he was dominant in the trenches for the Sentinels.
Offensively, McCrary helped guide the way for a 1,400-yard rusher, junior Marquis Gardner, in a balanced attack. Meanwhile, his abilities to stuff the run and create backfield pressure also earned McCrary the Region 3-3A defensive lineman of the year award as he led Chatt Prep with 20 tackles for loss (including six in a 6-0 win against Hixson) and five sacks.
His two-way abilities helped the Sentinels earn their second straight state playoff berth in TSSAA Class 1A last fall, and the Sentinels won a postseason football game for the first time.
Chatt Prep, which opened with a class of sixth graders in August 2018, has grown by a grade level each school year, making 2025 the school’s first year with a graduating class.
Big signing days
Boyd Buchanan and McCallie celebrated multiple college signees Wednesday as the Buccaneers had 10 and the Blue Tornado had nine.
Boyd Buchanan’s signees: Noah Elam (Young Harris lacrosse), Houston Hicks (Centre College football), Ethan Lane (East Tennessee State University football), Logan Martin (Bryan College baseball), Fiston Mugisha (Pellissippi State men’s soccer), Drew Pollard (Lee University men’s soccer), Jada Sanders (Covenant College women’s basketball), Hayden Sarchet (Trevecca Nazarene men’s soccer), Brayden Standerfer (Maryville College football) and Hudson Wamack (Wofford College football).
McCallie’s signees: Logan Carroll (Berry College swimming), Mason Carver (Union Commonwealth baseball), Sean Couvertiere (Dickinson College football), Kaleb Gallman (Ohio Dominican men’s basketball), Henry Imorde (Washington and Lee tennis), Kylik Mathews (Cleveland State basketball), Ethan Provost (University of San Diego rowing), Zach Schurr (Kutztown State swimming) and Keylan Syam (University of the Cumberlands football).
Stolen base machine
Soddy Daisy senior softball Skylar Gooden leads the state with 56 stolen bases and set a program single-game record with eight stolen bases in a win over Bledsoe County. Gooden’s .544 batting average ranks fifth in the Chattanooga area. She has helped the Lady Trojans close the season with wins over Silverdale Baptist, GPS, Boyd Buchanan and East Hamilton.
Moore family moves on
Former Chattanooga Christian School assistant Greg Moore has been hired as the next head coach for the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy girls’ basketball program.
Following him to the Lady Hawks is his daughter Momo Moore, who was ranked by ESPN as one of the top 25 freshmen girls’ prep basketball players in the country this year. Moore is a two-time Tennessee Miss Basketball finalist and averaged 30 points while shooting 40% from 3-point range and 50% from the field this past season, helping lead CCS to the Division II-AA state quarterfinals.
Owls show progress
Ooltewah has put together a massive turnaround on the baseball diamond as the Owls enter the District 6-4A tournament with 13 more wins than last season. The Owls scored eight runs in the final two innings Monday night to earn a 9-8 walk-off victory over Rhea County. The win provided Seth Hickman’s team the first 20-win season for Ooltewah since 2017.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.