Finley Stadium hosted the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl this past December for the first time.

It might be mixing sports terms but there really is no other way to describe the reaction to the first year of Chattanooga hosting the BlueCross Bowl.

The ninth and final game of this year's BlueCross Bowl football state championship event at Finley Stadium showcased arguably the best matchup of the three-day event.

Ty Simpson finished a storybook senior season with a mesmerizing performance at Finley Stadium.

Tullahoma High School's football team had waited 100 years to play for a state championship, so a little extra time after regulation was not an issue.

BlueCross Bowl state championship football game results.

Preview Saturday's BlueCross Bowl state championship games at Finley Stadium.

The sixth state championship in South Pittsburg High School football history came in most improbable fashion.

Friday's late-night crowd at Finley Stadium saw quite the quarterback duel between Jordyn Potts and Jake McNamara. Potts finished with the upper hand in the battle of star gunslingers.

Alcoa senior Major Newman took off with the TSSAA Class 3A BlueCross Bowl state championship trophy above his head Friday afternoon to show off the Tornadoes' seventh straight gold ball.

Final scores and photos from Friday's BlueCross Bowl state championship football games at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga

Preview Friday's BlueCross Bowl state championship games at Finley Stadium.

When it came to winning a third straight state title, McCallie's football program found a way to put a new spin on yet another TSSAA Division II-AAA championship: perfection.

A year from now, McCallie's football program could be celebrating a fourth straight state championship. That might be a scary thought for every other TSSAA Division II-AAA program, but it's not without reason.

Paul Wade has been a part of 11 TSSAA football state championships as a coach, but this year's Division II-A BlueCross Bowl win for Donelson Christian Academy over Nashville Christian has a spot right near the top.

Lipscomb Academy left no doubt.

Final scores and photos from Thursday's BlueCross Bowl state championship games in Chattanooga.

For a high school football program defined by consistency, this has been a year littered with uncertainty as South Pittsburg has overcome a laundry list of bona fide stumbling blocks.

Welcome back to the Scenic City, high school sports fans.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, McCallie senior linebacker Aaron Crowder will attempt to lead his school's football program to its third straight TSSAA Division II-AAA state title.

Preview Thursday's BlueCross Bowl state championship games at Finley Stadium.

Visitors to Chattanooga this week for the BlueCross Bowl will find plenty of options when it comes to places to eat and the even better news is you won't have to travel far from Finley Stadium to find them.

Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Flacco once competed at Finley Stadium, as have heralded American soccer standouts such as Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach and Michael Bradley.

The 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.

To 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.

To the casual high school football fan in and around the Scenic City, it just might be the greatest upset in Southeast Tennessee prep history.

Nobody is getting any time off this weekend at the two Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurants in Chattanooga.

Emotions will certainly be running high for McCallie senior defensive tackle James Howard in Thursday night's Division II-AAA Blue Cross Bowl state championship game.

Considering the obstacles the South Pittsburg High School football team had already cleared this season, it was only fitting that the Pirates once again had to prove their resolve to return to the BlueCross Bowl.

Tim Morgan needs your help. Actually, the nine BlueCross Bowl games that will be played Dec. 2-4 at Finley Stadium to crown TSSAA football state champions need your help.

In much the same way our country always recognizes Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, the McCallie School football program is starting to become synonymous with the first Thursday in December.

Remember that prep football road trip we talked about a few months ago?

With three more Chattanooga FC home matches and two more University of Tennessee at Chattanooga regular-season football games remaining on their respective schedules, it would appear that the marquee athletics events for 2021 at Finley Stadium are coming to a close.

It took overtime, but ultimately Chattanooga was awarded a huge win Tuesday in its bid to host the BlueCross Bowl football state championships.