TSSAA football championships saved best for last day

Tom Kreager, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

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I'm Tom Kreager and I'm the high school sports editor at The Tennessean. I've spent the past three days chronicling the state's nine football state championship games in Chattanooga, a new location after the TSSAA held the games the past 12 years in Cookeville.

Four Nashville area high schools brought home shiny gold balls this weekend.

A team of four photographers and five writers from the USA Today Network from newspapers across the state covered all nine championship games, following every game and telling the stories, taking the pictures and the video highlights from every key moment.

We've told you who won and who lost, but also have gone deeper.

On Saturday, I sat in the stands with Julie Simpson during the Class 2A title gand told the story of a mom watching her son Ty Simpson win a state championship at Westview in his last high school football game while her husband coached in a college football playoff game with UT Martin across the country in Montana.

It was a story that took a week to develop as we sought permission early in the week to allow us access to write the story from a mom's perspective.

We watched as coach John Olive brought home a gold ball in double overtime in Tullahoma's first state championship game.

And then there was the Class 6A championship where Oakland beat Summit in a game full of college football recruits. Georgia commitment Jordan James stood out among the rest. The Patriots have now won 30 straight games and back-to-back titles.

Now, we turn what's next. The TSSAA will name the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football winners on Tuesday at a ceremony at Nissan Stadium. The award reflects the best high school player in each classification from the regular season.

We'll also sit down and re-rank every high school football team in our coverage area. Here's a hint on No. 1: Oakland was first in the preseason, and didn't lose a game in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football championships saved best for last day