Top matchups in local gridiron action, Weeks 1-4
It’s almost football time in Tennessee, and with college football still a few weeks away and pro teams about to make their final roster cuts, fans can get their respective fixes with some big early matchups in the high school game.
Week 1 (Thursday, Aug.22 – Saturday, Aug. 24)
Thursday:
Greeneville at Powell
This showdown should be a dandy, as the two-time defending Class 4A state champion Greene Devils come to Knox County to take on the Panthers at Scarbro Stadium.
Greeneville is riding a crest that has seen it win 30 consecutive games. Powell, meanwhile, returns one of the most battle-tested rosters in the second season of coach Matt Lowe’s second tenure at the school.
Powell started 6-1 in 2018 but had to forfeit its first six victories due to using an ineligible player. The Panthers will look to make the playoffs for the first time since Lowe left the first time. Powell will obviously be looking to make a statement in this one.
Friday:
Hardin Valley Academy at Oak Ridge
The Hawks have a new coach in former assistant Mike Potter, who takes the reins at HVA. This game represents a great East Tennessee rivalry, but the Hawks never have beaten the Wildcats, who went 10-3 last season and look to have a talented squad seeking to make another deep postseason run. Oak Ridge will play on its new turf field at Blankenship Stadium for the first time in this game.
Austin-East at Webb
The Roadrunners and Spartans will clash for the first time in recent memory. With two speedy, high-powered offenses, who knows what to expect?
Halls at Gibbs
The two North Knox County rivals renew acquaintances in a key early season regional showdown. Scott Cummings returns to Knoxville as coach of the Red Devils. He won a state championship at West before spending the last few years in Cleveland.
Carter at Rhea County
Scott Meadows is now coaching the Hornets, and he’ll match wits with Mark Pemberton in a battle between a pair of former Knoxville Catholic head coaches.
William Blount at Maryville
On paper, this looks like a potential blowout, but it should be interesting to see how the Rebels respond after suffering their most lopsided loss in years in last season’s playoffs. (Oakland blasted Maryville 38-0 in 2018’s Class 6A semifinals.)
Cleveland at Central
The Bobcats are the defending Class 5A state champs and will enter the game in Fountain City with a 13-game winning streak.
Saturday:
South-Doyle at Fulton
Two of Class 5A’s best meet in this tilt that may be a playoff rematch down the road.
Bearden at West
This rivalry game usually packs a lot of heat, but the Bulldogs have won the last two tilts, which were defensive struggles. Not much is at stake these days, but bragging rights are enough.
Week 2 (Friday, Aug. 30)
Austin-East at Alcoa
This game likely will decide who wins the Region 2-3A title. The Roadrunners lost to the Tornadoes twice last season but were the only team in the region not to surrender at least 35 points to Alcoa’s high-powered offense. The Tornadoes downed A-E 31-8 during the regular season in Knoxville. The postseason rematch netted a 24-6 victory to Alcoa in Blount County. The Tornadoes went on to win another state championship.
Central at Fulton
In addition to bragging rights, The Battle for Broadway has produced some great games since being restored several years ago, and the 2019 chapter of this epic saga likely will be another classic. The Bobcats have lost close games in the last two meetings, and the Falcons were the last team to beat Central. That was Week 2 of 2018.
West at Farragut
Although the Rebels and Admirals no longer are league rivals, this game is still big for both schools. Farragut has become a powerhouse over the last few years, but West always is a tough out, and the Admirals may be rebuilding a bit in 2019.
Grace Christian Academy at South-Doyle
Both the Rams and Cherokees have tremendous skill players and big offensive and defensive fronts, and Grace coach Rusty Bradley’s pass-happy offense can score points in a hurry, but so can Clark Duncan’s offensive attack at South-Doyle.
Week 3 (Friday, Sept. 6)
Powell at Fulton
By the time the Panthers play the Falcons in the Region 3-5A opener for both schools, they already will have been battle-tested with games against Greeneville and Anderson County. Things won’t get any easier once regional play begins. Fulton has owned the series in recent years, and both teams will need this game with West, Oak Ridge and Campbell County looming down the road for both squads.
Science Hill at Hardin Valley Academy
The fact that this is the Region 1-6A opener for both schools makes it big enough, and the Hawks must protect their home field to have any reasonable chance to win the league title.
But this game means more for the Hawks this time around, as they’ll face Wes Jones, who previously was the only head coach in HVA’s short history. He left the school in May to become an assistant for the Hilltoppers and to be closer to his family in northeastern Tennessee, but the players Jones left behind would like nothing more than to beat him and the Johnson City school.
Campbell County at Oak Ridge
In this Region 3-5A tilt, the Cougars will embark upon the road looking for an upset. They’ve played the Wildcats tough at times, so it’s not out of the question. CCHS is in the second year of a rebuilding process, but a win here would be a huge boost for a team that missed the playoffs for the first time in six years in 2018.
But don’t look for ORHS coach Joe Gaddis and the Wildcats to take Campbell County lightly. They simply can’t afford to.
Knoxville Catholic at Ensworth
This game is in Nashville, but it may be one of the hottest tickets in high school football this season. In their years in Division I, the Fighting Irish have won Class 3A, Class 4A and Class 5A state championships. KCHS has never shied away from playing anybody, but this will be one of several Division II-AAA East Tennessee/Middle Tennessee games that the Irish will face this season.
Week 4 (Thursday, Sept. 12 and Friday, Sept. 13)
Thursday:
Maryville at Alcoa
These two powerhouse programs and Blount County rivals will knock heads once again, and while both are contenders to make it to Cookeville and land in the Blue Cross Bowl to play for state titles in their respective divisions, the Rebels will look to regain the upper hand in this rivalry, which once was played before a national television audience on the ESPN family of networks on a Sunday.
The Tornadoes, along with Knox Central, are the only two area teams that have beaten Maryville in nearly two decades. Alcoa broke Maryville’s long winning streak in the series last year.
Fulton at Austin-East
The Falcons and Roadrunners have long been rivals. The Falcons have had the upper hand in the rivalry lately, but these games always seem to be thrillers.
Central at Hardin Valley Academy
The Bobcats and Hawks have quite a modern tradition. The Hawks dominated the series until last year when they were routed in Fountain City.
Both teams feature talented players, but Central has reestablished itself as a football powerhouse and a tough opponent on Friday nights since Bryson Rosser has taken over as head coach.
The Bobcats won their first-ever state championship in 2018. But they also reached the championship game in 2016 and lost to eventual state champion Catholic in the state semis in 2017.
