For more than two decades, Maryville maintained a stranglehold on TSSAA Region 2-6A football.
The Rebels dominated unlike any other large public-school program in Tennessee, winning 144 consecutive region games and every league championship from 2000 through 2021. But then Cleveland snapped that streak with a four-point upset of Maryville in 2022, opening the door for three different teams to win the region crown over the past four seasons.
Maryville reclaimed region supremacy last fall, however, and will be favored once again this season, although Oak Ridge has a lot of explosive playmakers. Both Bradley Central and Cleveland appear to have the ingredients to be playoff-caliber teams, and they could even push either of the top two teams to earn a home game in the first round of the postseason.
The Times Free Press is previewing a Chattanooga-area region in Tennessee or Georgia each day as the start of a new prep football season arrives in three weeks. After looking at the two TSSAA private-school classifications with local teams, we continue the series with Region 2-6A.
Team to beat: Maryville went unbeaten in the region last year, winning each of those matchups by at least 25 points. Rebels senior quarterback Will Jones is headed to Jacksonville State next year, tight end J.T. Allen is a Football Bowl Subdivision prospect, and all three starting linebackers are already committed: Dax Cole to Florida Atlantic, J.P. Peace to Tennessee and Wyatt Wilber to Minnesota.
Watch out for: If Oak Ridge can piece together a solid offensive line (all five starters from last year graduated), the Wildcats will be dangerous.
Brody Sparks is a solid quarterback who transferred in from Knoxville Carter, and he has one of the nation’s highest-rated tight ends to throw to in Malik Howard, who has committed to Tennessee. Running back Damilyan Porter is coming off a season-ending knee injury but has all-state caliber talent, and Jeremiah Stevens (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) is a new arrival who could present a lot of problems at defensive end. He’s also the younger brother of Tennessee freshman defensive end Hezekiah Harris.
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Best game: Cleveland is expected to be much improved in year two of Chris Brown’s tenure as head coach. When the Blue Raiders host county rival Bradley Central on Oct. 2, they will be looking to reclaim momentum in the series. The Bears have won nine of the past 10 meetings, but four of those were decided by six points or less.
Dream schedule: Hardin Valley narrowly missed the playoffs last year, returns a good portion of its nucleus and has the easiest nonregion schedule by far. The Hawks’ four opponents from outside the league this season were a combined 12-29 last year, with only one of those teams reaching the playoffs. They also play three of their last four regular-season games at home.
Nightmare schedule: The most difficult part of Coach Brown’s attempt to turn Cleveland around is an absolutely brutal schedule. From beginning the season against three nonregion foes who all reached the Class 5A playoffs last year (Walker Valley, McMinn County, Tullahoma) to opening the region slate at powerhouse Maryville and facing Tyner — a 3A semifinalist last year — to playing three of their last five on the road, there is no letup for the Blue Raiders.
Predicted order of finish: 1. Maryville, 2. Oak Ridge, 3. Bradley Central, 4. Cleveland, 5. Hardin Valley, 6. Bearden, 7. Farragut.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.