Prep football jamborees begin tonight

Friday nights in the Chattanooga area belong to high school football once again.

The season officially kicks off next week, but tonight fans can get a glimpse of their favorite teams - and their rivals - with a pair of jamborees.

East Ridge ball carrier Alonzo Russell gets tied up with a McMinn Central defensive player during a scrimmage last month at Bradley Central. East Ridge will take part in the Best of Preps Jamboree tonight at Finley Stadium.

McCallie's B.J. Harris fights for extra yards as Baylor's Gabriel Stulce, left, and Cooper Lewis, middle, try to bring him down during their game last season. McCallie is among the teams competing in tonight's Best of Preps Jamboree at Finley Stadium.

For the third consecutive year, the Times Free Press is proud to help sponsor the annual Best of Preps Jamboree at Finley Stadium. That event, also sponsored by Truck 'N Trailers USA, begins at 5:30 p.m. with Chattanooga Christian taking on Sale Creek.

Every team in the event will play two quarters, and admission is $10. There will be a second lineup of matchups Saturday at Finley, including four teams - Boyd-Buchanan, Central, Ooltewah and Red Bank - that will debut new head coaches.

Similarly, the teams involved in the annual Sequatchie Valley Jamboree tonight at Marion County, which is one of the oldest in the state, will play two quarters apiece and have four teams - Bledsoe County, Grundy County, Lookout Valley and Sequatchie County - with new head coaches.

Among the featured teams at tonight's BOP event will be Notre Dame and Tyner, each of which played in state championship games last season and return the majority of their starters to make them favorites to contend again.

"We've got a lot of guys who are excited to be back out on the field again, and I'm ready to see where we stand before the season gets going," said Tyner coach Wayne Turner, who's entering his 26th season leading the Rams, making him the dean of Chattanooga-area coaches.

"You get to a point where the kids have put in a lot of work and they're tired of hitting each other. They want to see somebody else lined up across from them and play in front of a crowd again."

Highlighted teams with state championship aspirations at tonight's Sequatchie Valley Jamboree include Marion County, South Pittsburg and Whitwell.

Saturday's Best of Preps lineup of teams includes Red Bank, which reached the Class 3A semifinals last year, as well as Baylor, Central and Signal Mountain, all of which have high hopes entering the season.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.