When it comes to the entertainment factor, TSSAA Region 3-5A was second to none in the Chattanooga area this fall.
As an example of just how wild the ending to the region race was, East Hamilton entered the final week of the prep football regular season ranked sixth in its classification in the Tennessee Sports Writers Association state poll, but the Hurricanes wound up finishing as 3-5A’s No. 4 seed for the playoffs.
Friday night essentially became a game of musical chairs, with the top four seeds swapping potential positions before producing a final standings of Rhea County as region champion, followed by Walker Valley, McMinn County, and East Hamilton in seeding order for the postseason from the seven-team league. Those top four teams combined for 30 wins and outscored opponents 1,453-769 during the regular season.
The Golden Eagles won their first region title since 2021 after 3-5A’s best defense held a Walker Valley offense that had averaged 47 points per game against region foes to just 10 on Friday.
Meanwhile, East Hamilton wound up fourth despite leading the region with its scoring average of 44.2 points per game and hanging 56 on Rhea County in a Sept. 26 road win that wound up being the Golden Eagles’ lone league loss.