SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - For three generations, much of the championship foundation for South Pittsburg High School football has been built on solid Stone.
The Pirates are the only program in Tennessee - regardless of classification - to have played for a state title every decade since the TSSAA playoff format began in 1969. And each of the 12 championship game appearances by South Pittsburg has included at least one member of the Stone family.
As a sophomore for the 1969 state champions, Johnny Stone is the family's patriarch of playoff pedigree. His sons Wesley (offensive lineman in 1994) and Matt (linebacker in 1999) were starters on the program's next two title teams, followed by Wesley's oldest son Jake, a quarterback and safety for the 2010 champions. Wesley was also an assistant on the 2007 title team and Jake, as well as other members of the family, were a part of the six runner-up teams.
As top-ranked South Pittsburg (13-1) prepares to play Fayetteville (12-2) on Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern in the Class 1A BlueCross Bowl at Tennessee Tech University, senior two-way starter Jared Stone will extend impressive streaks for his family and the program.
"I don't know of another family in the community who is more vested in our program for as long a period of time," Pirates coach Vic Grider said. "We're a tight-knit community, and you could name other families, like the Blevins and Robinsons, who have had a lot of guys come through here, but for the Stones to be a part of championship teams for more than 50 years is just unreal.
"I can't imagine the amount of pride they feel, because I know how much the program means to them. The thing about Jared is he epitomizes what that family is all about. They're so bought in to making the program successful. He's another guy from that family who just goes out and plays his guts out every week. They're consumed with our program being successful."
Much of the team's 3,000-plus rushing yards in 2020 have come behind the 6-foot, 225-pound Stone's blocks, and he ranks behind only teammate and all-state outside linebacker J.J. Beene's tackles total with 82.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / South Pittsburg senior football player Jared Stone (58), who starts on the offensive line and at linebacker for the Pirates, checks out the state championship rings won by family members, from left, Johnny, Wesley, Matt and Jake. He will try to add his own family stone by helping the Pirates beat Fayetteville in the Class 1A BlueCross Bowl at Tennessee Tech.Earlier this season, Stone became the first member of his family to be named a Mr. Football finalist, joining senior running back Hunter Frame - who has more than 1,800 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns - to make the Pirates one of only two teams to have two of the three finalists for the award in any classification.
"I was water boy in 2010, and that's when I started to understand how big a deal this is to our family," said Jared, a two-time all-state offensive lineman who also starts at middle linebacker. "I've been reminded a lot, especially the past couple of years, about it so I felt a lot of pressure coming into this year to make sure I wasn't the one who stopped the streak.
"It's just something that's a really big deal for our whole family to be a part of. I was 8 years old the last time we won a state championship, but I remember the celebration after the game and I want to be a part of that, too. We've been close the last few years, so we have to get it done this time, no ifs, ands or buts."
The good news for Pirates fans is that between Wesley and Matt there are four more Stone boys coming up from the youth leagues, beginning with Jared's younger brother Jace, who will be a freshman next season.
"I loved winning it as a player, but whether it was my brother or any of my sons, I would gladly give up my ring for them all to get one," said Wesley, who is the longest-tenured assistant on the staff. "I guess we start all over next year with Jace trying to be the next one in line to get there, so the pressure starts all over again."
Helping the Pirates return to the title game for the first time since 2013 - and looking to win the program's first championship in a decade - has certainly been a highlight in an otherwise somber year for the Stones, who have absorbed the deaths of five family members, including three lost to COVID-19.
"I don't hunt and I don't fish, so when my kids were growing up, I would always take them to watch the Pirates practice football in the evenings. That was our thing to do together, and I do the same thing with our grandkids," said Johnny Stone, whose younger brother Donnie passed away last week after battling the coronavirus for several weeks. "My brother still wore his high school letterman's sweater, even though it was tattered, to games because he was so proud to have been a part of it. This football program has just always been big part of my family's life.
"Obviously I'm very proud of my sons and my grandsons, and I told Jared something recently that I had told the other boys when they had their chance to play in a championship: You only get to travel that road once, so give it everything you've got."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.