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 seventh installment, this one focusing on TSSAA Class 2A.
One of the state’s smallest classifications is loaded with one of the largest groups of prep football teams capable of challenging for deep playoff runs.
Last year, three TSSAA Class 2A programs from the Chattanooga area — Bledsoe County, Grundy County and Marion County — advanced past the first round of the state playoffs, with Bledsoe reaching the quarterfinals for a second straight season and Marion making it back-to-back trips to the BlueCross Bowl at Finley Stadium.
Looking to repeat as champions for the first time in 30 years, the Warriors fell just shy as Huntingdon used a ball-control offense and stingy defense to win its first state title in 22 years.
Each of those three teams returns plenty of the ingredients needed for more playoff success this fall. Meanwhile, Polk County, the area’s only other Class 2A program, underwent a change in leadership as veteran head coach Derrick Davis stepped down and former Wildcats player Zack Miller was picked to take over.