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 sixth installment, this one focusing on TSSAA Class 3A.
With the bogeyman (Alcoa) no longer around to terrorize them, the teams that remained in TSSAA Class 3A last year breathed a sigh of relief as the door was opened for someone new to win the BlueCross Bowl for that classification. After winning 10 straight 3A championships — and 18 of the past 20 — Alcoa elected ahead of the 2025 season to move up to 4A, where the Tornadoes extended their streak of state titles.
In Alcoa’s absence, Martin’s Westview, the 2024 runner-up to the Tornadoes, won the program’s second gold ball trophy (the first was for the 2021 Class 2A title) as the Chargers rode the record-setting right arm of sophomore quarterback Graham Simpson to a 14-0 season capped by a dominating performance at Finley Stadium.
Simpson — the younger brother of former Alabama starter Ty Simpson, who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the No. 13 overall pick at last month’s NFL draft — helped Westview set or tie nine championship game records while completing 18 of 21 passes for 566 yards and seven touchdowns, with the Chargers scoring 55 first-half points in their 62-21 BlueCross Bowl win over Gatlinburg-Pittman.
On its way to the title matchup, Gatlinburg-Pittman ended the seasons of two Chattanooga-area teams, Meigs County and Tyner, doing so by a combined seven points. However, the amount of talent returning for those two programs and Sequatchie County makes 3A the classification with the most area teams capable of making deep playoff runs this fall.