Region 3 Class 5A and other West Knox County Schools FARRAGUTPRESS THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 • 1C WRITER: KEN LAY • PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN BARILE, TONY CHRISTEN, BOB MCEACHERN PHOTOGRAPHERS
Teams gear up for How the West was Won It’s high school football time in Tennessee again and for the seventh consecutive season, farragutpress and 3 Minute Magic Carwash will team up to sponsor the farragutpress How the West was Won Presented by 3 Minute Magic Carwash, which will award the traveling bronze ball to the top Division I team in West Knox County. “High School football season is the best time of the year,” said Jim Rooney, owner/operator of 3 Minute Magic Car Wash. “It’s extremely big for us to support these kids. “Young athletes are generally leaders and we hire these young people to work at our carwash and it’s great to get a chance to follow them on the football field.” As the 2015 season looms, Knoxville Catholic High School (which finished the 2014 campaign with a 9-1 regular-season record) has won the bronze ball in each of the last two seasons. The Irish will look to claim
bragging rights again this season but regional re-alignment has left KCHS without a game against the other teams (Farragut, Hardin Valley Academy, Bearden and Christian Academy of Knoxville) in the competition. While the Irish won’t see those teams, they’ll get a shot to play three-time defending Class 4A State Champion Fulton at Blaine Stadium. The Falcons have ended Catholic’s season in both 2013 and 2014. Both those games were in North Knoxville. “We have the capability to win a State Championship and [the game against Fulton] will be a great game,” Catholic coach Steve Matthews said. “It should be a great night.” KCHS’s slate of games includes several playoff teams including the Falcons, Central, Anderson County, Carter and Morristown East. Meanwhile, Farragut went 4-6 last season but the Admirals are looking to bounce back from a
sub-par season. Re-alignment has landed the Ads in Region 3-5A where they will play the likes of Oak Ridge, Karns, Clinton, Lenoir City and Campbell County. Farragut also has non-league tilts against Bearden, Powell, Gibbs, South-Doyle and defending Class 5A State Champion West High School. Farragut coach Eddie Courtney may have been surprised that his squad landed in Class 5A, but he still relishes the chance to play for the How the West was Won Trophy. “If you look at it, we’re blessed to have good football teams in West Knox County,” Courtney said. “We may not get the chance to all play each other, but we recognize what everybody does and how hard everybody works.” For Hardin Valley, which won six regular season games last year and had its sixth consecutive winning season, winning the bronze ball would be especially rewarding. That’s because the Hawks
have been re-aligned four times since the school first had a varsity football team in 2009. “It would be an honor to win this award because the TSSAA keeps shifting us around,” HVA coach Wes Jones said, “We’ve been re-aligned four times and so we haven’t been able to establish a rivalry game.” The Hawks open the new season against West High on Aug. 20. Hardin Valley also has key games against Maryville, Bearden, Science Hill, South-Doyle, Jefferson County and Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett. Bearden won just one game last year and the Bulldogs are looking to rebound in the second year of Coach Morgan Shinlever’s tenure. Bearden will play Farragut, Karns, Maryville, William Blount, Science Hill, Kingsport DobynsBennett and Science Hill this season and Shinlever is concerned about doing the little things. “If we play hard every Friday
night, the wins and losses will take care of themselves,” he said. “It’s great for our kids to play for something like this because it carries bragging rights.” CAK won the award in 2011 and 2012, In those seasons; the Warriors also won Class 3A State Championships. Re-alignment removed Catholic from the schedule. Alcoa is still CAK’s big region rival and those two teams have combined to win the last 10 Class 3A titles. While coach Rusty Bradley is hoping that his team can make a return trip to Cookeville, the How the West was Won challenge is one he looks forward to winning. “There are good teams out here and any time you get to play for a championship, it’s always special.” The Warriors, who made the playoffs after a 5-5 regular season, has key games against Alcoa, Grace Christian Academy, Loudon, Kingston, Clinton and Livingston Academy.
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