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 lesson learned for Red Bank's football team is as old as the game itself: It's not how you start, it's how strong you finish.
by Stephen HargisSilverdale Baptist raced out to a 28-point lead in the first quarter and rolled to a TSSAA Division II-AA East Region win over Knoxville Grace on Friday night.
by Stephen HargisEast Hamilton's volleyball team came up just short of the program's first state championship Friday.
by Stephen HargisIt's not that Northwest Whitfield's Ray Morrison wasn't affecting last Friday's football game against Heritage. It's just that, with a nickname like "Big Play Ray," the senior receiver wasn't affecting it the way he expected.
by Stephen Hargis and Lindsey YoungIt began simple enough, just a lift to and from little league practice. But eventually those routine short rides progressed from a way to get familiar to becoming family.
by Stephen HargisBradley Central remained unbeaten Friday, but just barely.
by Stephen HargisPreview some of the biggest high school football games in the Chattanooga area for the ninth week of the 2021 season.
by Stephen HargisThe tone was set early.
by Stephen HargisThere was no hangover for McCallie from last week's impressive win over rival Baylor.
by Stephen HargisOne of the biggest stories of this prep football season is being written by one of the smallest programs in our area.
by Stephen HargisA simplified offense helped lead Chattanooga Christian School to a statement win Friday night.
by Stephen HargisEven among the select, they have achieved upper-class status.
by Stephen HargisIn what has already been a wild ride of a prep football season for the Chattanooga area, we're now beginning the stretch run toward the playoffs, a time when the intensity ratchets up enough to make the improbable possible.
by Stephen HargisIt's Baylor versus McCallie week, which means one thing in the days leading up to Friday's kickoff - McCallie has released a slick hype video. Check out this year's video here:
by Stephen HargisA strong second half, including a 14-point fourth quarter, helped Rhea County defeat Red Bank in a nonregion game Friday night as the Golden Eagles won for the fourth straight game and scored 35 points for a third consecutive week.
by Stephen HargisThe similarities have been striking. Following the same script that paid off 20 years ago when he helped rebuild a downtrodden Central High School football program, Curt Jones has the Purple Pounders poised once again for a revival.
by Stephen HargisSouth Pittsburg was able to shrug off not only the drama of this week, when head coach Chris Jones abruptly resigned to return to coach in the CFL, but also a sluggish first half in a lopsided Region 3-1A win over Whitwell on Friday night
by Stephen HargisThe sleet and frigid December wind blowing across Vanderbilt's Dudley Field set a dramatic backdrop for the culmination of an icy situation in Tennessee high school sports that had grown colder by the year.
by Stephen HargisTo see the big picture of the TSSAA's separation, first into enrollment-based classifications and then divisions between public and private schools, you have to go back more than half a century.
by Stephen HargisJust five months after calling it his dream job, Chris Jones has resigned as South Pittsburg High School's head football coach.
by Stephen Hargis