The TSSAA's state championship games for football are set, and a third of this coming week's BlueCross Bowl matchups at Tennessee Tech University will involve Chattanooga-area programs.
One area team is scheduled to play each day in Cookeville, with McCallie aiming to repeat as Division II-AAA champion on Thursday, Class 1A's South Pittsburg hoping to make its first title game appearance since 2013 a victory on Friday and Meigs County in the Class 2A final for the second straight year and hoping to finish on top this time Saturday.
McCallie (8-3) faces Memphis University School (10-2) at 8 p.m. Eastern at Tucker Stadium. It will be the day's third and final BlueCross Bowl, with Lipscomb Academy (10-2) and Christ Presbyterian Academy (10-1) in the DII-AA game at noon and University School of Jackson (10-2) facing Davidson Academy (12-0) in the DII-A game at 4 p.m.
McCallie earned the second championship in program history with a 28-7 win against Montgomery Bell Academy last December after back-to-back home victories in the first two rounds of the 2019 playoffs. This year, the Blue Tornado's postseason path has been all on the road, with a 42-28 quarterfinal win at Christian Brothers in Memphis followed by a 28-18 semifinal victory at Brentwood Academy on Nov. 20.
"The look on our kids' faces after the game, that's what makes it special to me," McCallie coach Ralph Potter told the Times Free Press after the win at BA. "We've fought through a lot this season to earn the chance to get back and play for it all again."
South Pittsburg fought through a six-year run of frustration in which the program had regularly ventured deep into the playoffs but was unable to make it to Cookeville. The top-ranked Pirates ended that skid with Friday night's 42-0 demolition of second-ranked and previously unbeaten Coalfield.
South Pittsburg (13-1) will face Fayetteville (12-2) at 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday, the middle game of the day, sandwiched between Class 3A's Alcoa (13-1) versus Milan (11-1) at noon and Class 5A's Oak Ridge (11-3) versus Summit (13-1) at 8 p.m. The Pirates' fifth and most recent state title was won in 2010, with two title game appearances since then but no celebration.
"This is what we strive for every year, and it's just a really good feeling to get over that hump to get back," South Pittsburg coach Vic Grider said after Friday's home win. "I'm really happy for our players, and especially for our seniors who have been so close for several years and helped us finally get back and have the opportunity to go do something that not many get to say they've accomplished.
"We've still got one more to go, so we can't afford to celebrate yet."
Meigs County is well aware of the heartbreak that comes with losing the season's final game. The Tigers lost the 2019 Class 2A final to Peabody, 27-16, but get another shot at the Golden Tide at 4 p.m. Saturday. That day's first game pits Elizabethton (14-0) and Haywood (10-3) in 4A at noon, with the 8 p.m. finale between Oakland (14-0) and Brentwood (11-3) in 6A.
Meigs County improved to 13-0 - Peabody has the same record - with Friday's 16-13 semifinal win at Trousdale County. The Tigers are making their fourth appearance in a title game and still looking their first championship, with last year's loss coming after runner-up finishes in 1980 and 1995.
Now another opportunity awaits. By the end of the week, nine new TSSAA football state champions are set to be crowned, and coach Jason Fitzgerald's team wants to be in that number.
"Even at the start of last year, we were told we weren't going to be able to do anything," said Meigs County senior Will Meadows, who has rushed for 1,700 yards this season. "We were told we would be lucky to make it out of the third round. Here we are going back to play for the state championship.
"Nothing would be greater than to go out and get that ring."
If McCallie, Meigs County or South Pittsburg wins, it would mark the third straight year a Chattanooga-area team has won a title, with Whitwell winning the Class 1A championship in 2018 to start the run. Before that, no area team had lifted a trophy since 2010, when South Pittsburg and Signal Mountain (2A) represented with victories in Cookeville.
BlueCross Bowl tickets are $12, must be purchased in advance at https://gofan.co/tssaa and are good for one game only. Parking is $10 per vehicle.
BOYS' BASKETBALL
East Hamilton 75, Buckhorn 72: East Hamilton jumped out to a 22-14 lead after the first quarter to propel Wednesday's victory. The Hurricanes (4-1) made nine 3-pointers and were led by Darwin Randolph (26 points), Marcus Long (21) and Cade Pendleton (15).
Sale Creek 69, Rockwood 37: The Panthers made seven 3-pointers and were stingy on defense, only allowing four points in the second quarter to improve to 2-1 earlier in the week. Blake Ellis led all scorers with 18, while Peyton Adkins added 13 for Sale Creek (2-1).
Red Bank 72, Meigs County 62: The Lions (2-1) were led in scoring Wednesday by Taylor Swanson (19 points, four steals, four assists) and Ryan Barber added 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
Upperman 54, Bradley Central 36: The Lady Bees outscored the Bearettes 30-14 in the second half and had five players score in double figures led by Brooklyn Crouch's 17 in Friday's home victory. Lee University signee Anna Muhonen led Bradley Central with 11 points and six rebounds.
Knoxville Catholic 44, Notre Dame 41: Sydney Mains had 28 points for Catholic, which was outscored 17-11 in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame's Makayla Skaggs hit two 3-pointers in the fourth, while Kenzie Campbell scored 15 points and Mary Fillauer 12.
Dade County 52, Sonoraville 48: In a game played earlier in the week, the Lady Wolverines got 22 points and four steals from Jayda Wood, 12 points from Stella Henry and 10 from Ali Thompson in the nonregion win. Alexa Geary led Sonoraville with 18 points and seven rebounds.
WRESTLING
Northwest Whitfield finished fifth in the Hillgrove Duals earlier in the week, going 3-2 with wins over Hillgrove, North Paulding and Gainesville. Victor Pineda went 5-0, defeating a state champion and a state runner-up, while Eli Johnson was 4-1 and Gabe Bergeman 3-1 for the Bruins.
Compiled by Stephen Hargis, Marty Kirkland, Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact them at sports@timesfreepress.com.