From special years for the entire team to remarkable performances by individual players, here are the top surprises of the 2025 prep football season for the Chattanooga area, listed in no particular order.
Calhoun’s playoff loss: To some, it may have seemed a foregone conclusion that Calhoun, the 2024 GHSA Class AAA champion, would travel to top-ranked Sandy Creek for a semifinal showdown.
And then Douglass happened.
The Astros made the trip from Atlanta and unleashed a relentless pass rush on a rainy night at Phil Reeve Stadium in a 12-0 quarterfinal shocker, sacking Yellow Jackets quarterback Trace Hawkins four times and pressuring him on many more attempts. The Douglass defense was directly responsible for nine points, including a late interception that was returned for a touchdown and sealed the upset (with the other two from an earlier safety).
The Astros held second-ranked Calhoun to 208 total yards — while managing just 184 against the Jackets’ own stout defense — in getting their eighth shutout of the year. However, their own season ended the following week with a 34-0 loss at eventual champion Sandy Creek.