Chattanooga's annual Best of Preps Jamboree at Finley Stadium expands for 2021

The annual Best of Preps Jamboree has outgrown the confines of a two-day event.

With four new teams added to the high school football preseason exhibition, including perennial Tennessee small-school powers Marion County and South Pittsburg, this year's jamboree has expanded to be held over three days, Aug. 12-14 at Finley Stadium. Previously the jamboree had been held over two days.

"We have talked about making it a three-day event for a few years, so it just made sense that since we were adding more teams, now was the right time to make that move," event organizer Todd Agne said. "You want to respect the teams and their fan bases by having them play later in the day so that more people who want to attend can do so.

"We feel like we have certainly elevated the amount of attention the jamboree will get by adding the teams we have to what was already a great lineup. We're happy that we get to put teams with a long tradition of success in Chattanooga's premier stadium so they can showcase their programs to not only their fans but also folks who might otherwise not get to see them play."

The Best of Preps Jamboree, sponsored by Chattanooga Sports, will feature 23 area teams and could also be seen as a test run for the three-day extravaganza of TSSAA BlueCross Bowl state championship games, which will also be held at Finley Stadium in December after a dozen years in Cookeville.

The Sequatchie Valley Jamboree had been one of the state's longest running such events, but four of the schools that had participated - Lookout Valley, Marion County, Silverdale Baptist Academy and South Pittsburg - opted to join the Best of Preps field instead.

There will be seven quarters of action at Finley Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 12, and eight quarters both Friday and Saturday, with play beginning at 6 p.m. all three days and each team playing two quarters. Tickets are $10 for each day's games and are available now at each participating school.

Among the higher profile matchups will be Marion County versus East Ridge as well as Chattanooga Christian versus Signal Mountain on Thursday. Friday's key matchups include Boyd Buchanan facing Tyner and two-time reigning Division II-AAA state champion McCallie taking on Cleveland. Saturday's schedule is highlighted by Red Bank versus South Pittsburg, East Hamilton versus Notre Dame plus Baylor against Walker Valley.

The event will also feature numerous college prospects, including McCallie receiver Kenzy Paul, who recently committed to Vanderbilt, Boyd Buchanan tight end Karson Gay and Baylor linebacker Trey McDonald - both are committed to Virginia - and South Pittsburg defensive lineman Gio Davis, who has offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss and Arizona State among others.

Other college prospects who will be competing include East Hamilton athlete Jeremiah Flemmons and receiver and teammate Kaunyea Burgans, Red Bank defensive back Reco Tremble, who has multiple offers from Football Bowl Subdivision programs, and Chattanooga Christian running back Boo Carter, who as a sophomore already has an offer from Tennessee.

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

Staff photo by Robin Rudd / East Ridge football coach Tim James gives directions to Jermaine Smith during the second day of the Best of Preps Jamboree on Aug. 17, 2019, at Finley Stadium.