EDITOR’S NOTE: As spring football practice gets underway for high school teams across Tennessee, the Times Free Press is taking a look back at how last season ended while offering a sneak peek at what the expectations are for Chattanooga-area programs in 2026. Our weeklong series continues with its fifth installment, this one focusing on TSSAA Class 4A.
New classification, same result for Alcoa.
Last year, in their first season since opting to move up one level, the Tornadoes picked up where they had left off by manhandling TSSAA Class 4A competition on the way to their 11th consecutive BlueCross Bowl state championship.
Alcoa had won 13 of the past 14 titles in Class 3A, and after making the jump, the Tornadoes hammered all five of their opponents in the 4A playoffs by at least 20 points — including a 25-point margin at Red Bank in the quarterfinal round — to win the program’s 19th state title in the past 22 years, as well its 24th of all time, the most in Tennessee prep football history.
As for Class 4A programs in the Chattanooga area, Red Bank won Region 3 for the second time in three years and was the only local team to advance past the first round.