Stephen has covered sports in the tri-state area for the Times Free Press for more than 26 years and was named Sports Editor in February of 2015 after 10 years as assistant sports editor, where he oversaw the prep sports staff. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP newsroom, having won 54 awards at the state, regional and national level ranging from investigative work to feature and news writing, including 22 awards in the past three years. Stephen was named one of the top 10 sports writers in the nation at the Associated Press Sports Editors' conference in Kissimmee Fla., in 2012, and has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists with Green Eyeshade southeast regional awards three times, where his work was noted for its high standards of ethical journalism. He received an Associated Press national award for a season-long story following the Taft Youth Center football team, became the first writer from the TFP staff to win first-place as the state's top overall sports writer by the Associated Press Media Editors and has also been named the state's overall Writer of the Year three times in the past four years. He has been awarded the state's top prep writer a record 18 times, including each of the past six years, is the first writer on the TFP staff to win the prestigious Lawrenceburg Quarterback Club's Sports Writer of the Year and was recognized with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award for Contributor of the Year in the state. He is also a regular contributor previewing and highlighting prep football on local television. In 2013, Stephen co-authored a book about University of Tennessee football entitled "Game Of My Life". Stephen is a lifelong Chattanooga area resident and has two children, Riley and Lauren.
The new football coach at Brainerd High School is a familiar face.
by Stephen HargisIt took exactly one inning for Baylor's softball team to respond to its first loss of the season.
by Stephen HargisBarely more than a month after taking over the Tyner Academy football program, Tyrus Ward has resigned, citing an unexpected career opportunity that has come up.
by Stephen HargisOn Wednesday the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association made two announcements, each influenced by COVID-19, that will affect spring sports attendance guidelines as well as changes to the annual Spring Fling format.
by Stephen HargisFour Chattanooga-area basketball players were included among those honored on the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's boys' all-state team Tuesday.
by Stephen HargisFour Chattanooga-area players were included among those honored on the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's girls' all-state basketball team Monday.
by Stephen HargisArguably the state's most heated high school football rivalry will no longer be played — at least for the foreseeable future. New South Pittsburg coach Chris Jones has informed Marion County coach Dale Pruitt that he intends to break the two-year contract between the county rivals, which was agreed upon before he took over the program.
by Stephen HargisThe question he gets asked most often — and the obvious one for anyone who doesn't know him — has also been the easiest to answer for Chris Jones.
by Stephen HargisA frigid first half of shooting and too many defensive lapses in the second half proved to be a crippling combination for the Cleveland boys' basketball team.
by Stephen HargisFor much of Thursday's matchup against top-ranked Jackson Southside, clutch shooting kept the Howard boys' basketball team not only close but ahead.
by Stephen HargisSometimes the greatest coaching moments come away from the game.
by Stephen HargisThe TSSAA has informed South Pittsburg High School that its hardship request for all-state defensive lineman Gio Davis has been approved, allowing the rising senior to remain eligible to play for the program.
by Stephen HargisIt was a season that became the barometer by which all others are gauged in the Chattanooga area. Nearly a quarter of a century later, none have come close to measuring up.
by Stephen HargisIt took overtime, but ultimately Chattanooga was awarded a huge win Tuesday in its bid to host the BlueCross Bowl football state championships.
by Stephen HargisThe customary sights upon walking into any local ballpark - parents sitting in folding chairs along the chainlink fence, pre-teen kids playing tag behind the stands - were early signs of a return to normalcy.
by Stephen HargisThe game plan for both city's bid packages has been finalized and all that's left now is to execute them, then nervously await the TSSAA's Board of Control decision on a winner.
by Stephen HargisSequatchie County's baseball team started its season with a blast.
by Stephen HargisLike so many other aspects of life's routine, high school stadiums and playing fields in the Chattanooga area were silenced last spring as the nation began to cope with COVID-19.
by Stephen Hargis and Lindsey YoungSouth Pittsburg High School has been notified by the TSSAA that its football program is being placed on probation for two years due to an improper benefit given to a player's family.
by Stephen HargisOoltewah High School has named Shannon Williams as its new head football coach.
by Stephen Hargis