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As we get closer and closer to the start of the 2025 high school football season, we decided that to go forward, we needed to also take a look back.
Our coverage area is rich with its football heritage and that’s not something new. For decades, teams with a 615 area code have won region titles, posted 10+ win seasons and several have gone on to win a state title or several.
We decided to go ahead and look at each of the schools in our coverage area and narrow down the best singular season for each program.
Over the next three days we’ll look at the teams in large, medium and small class categories. While the schools may have been in another class at the time, where they are in each list is based on their classification now.
Large Class teams include 6A and Division II-AAA. Medium Class teams include 5A, 4A, and Division II-AA. Small Class teams include 3A, 2A, 1A, and Division II-A, and each grouping has roughly 30 teams in it.
On Monday we looked at the top seasons for each our large class programs and yesterday we took a look at the best seasons for our medium class programs.
Here are the best seasons for each of our small class programs:
Class 3A
Cheatham County (2012, 12-1): This is a season that Cheatham County fans won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The Cubs rolled to 12 straight wins by an average of nearly 27 points. However, CPA ended the dream run in the quarterfinals by a score of 37-21.
Fairview (2013, 12-1): Chris Hughes has had some good teams during his 16 seasons at Fairview but the ‘13 group was a special one. Going unbeaten in the regular season, the Yellow Jackets averaged 41.3 points per game and beat Harpeth (52-28) and Westmoreland (41-20) in the postseason before losing to CPA 35-20 in the quarterfinals.
Harpeth (1999, 11-2): Two years after setting a program record with 11 wins, the Indians once again one 11 games. This time however they made their furthest playoff push beating Camden 47-0 and Houston County 43-6 before losing to Huntingdon 45-14 in the quarterfinals.
Maplewood (2007, 12-3): In 2007 the Panthers played for a state title for just the second time since 1975. Ralph Thompson’s group lost back-to-back games early in the year to Hillsboro and Ooltewah before rattling off nine straight wins and playing Maryville in the 4A championship game.
Stratford (1991, 12-2): For three straight years in the early 90’s the Spartans won 11 or more games. The group that started that run was the ‘91 squad that ultimately edges out the ‘92 and ‘93 teams as they won the region championship and made it to the semifinals.
Sycamore (2001, 11-2): Sycamore’s ‘01 group was a special one as it’s still the program’s only double-digit winning squad. A 36-14 loss to Marshall County was their only ugly result on the year as they would go on to ultimately lose to Crockett County 9-7 in the quarterfinals.
Watertown (2018, 12-1): Isaac Leedham says that this group should have played for a state title and very likely would have won. Hard to disagree with that as the Purple TIgers ran through their schedule only for Trousdale County to get some revenge in the quarterfinals edging them out 15-8 on a rainy and muddy night.
Westmoreland (1977, 12-1): The Eagles have put together some great seasons but only one of their teams made it to the semifinals. In 1977 they set a program record with 12 wins and if it wasn’t for a 7-5 loss to Lake County, they would have played Alcoa for the state championship.
Whites Creek (1998, 9-5): In 2005 the Cobras set a program record but they didn’t make quite the run that the ‘98 team did. A back-and-forth regular season ultimately saw the Cobras win four straight postseason games, three of those by five points or less, before facing Maryville for the Class 4A title.
White House Heritage (2024, 9-4): While the Patriots’ 2014 team set a program record in wins, their season came to an end in the second round. Last year’s squad not only went unbeaten in region play but also made their deepest postseason run making it to the Class 3A quarterfinals.
Class 2A
Cannon County (1978, 10-2): The lone 10+ win season in the Lions’ history, their only regular season loss was to Lynchburg. They’d go on to win five consecutive games, including a 25-8 playoff win over Castle Heights, before losing Goodpasture in the second round.
East Nashville (2023, 12-3): While Jamaal Stewart set the groundwork in his three prior seasons with the Eagles, Damein Harris took them to another level in his first season. East Nashville set a program record with 12 wins and their only losses coming to FRA (42-21), Smyrna (17-14) and Alcoa (42-20) in the Class 3A championship game.
East Robertson (2023, 13-2): While the end result is one that will sting for folks in Cross Plains for some time, there’s no denying that the 2023 season was still the best in program history. The Indians set a program record for wins, dominated Smith County in the quarterfinals to avenge their only regular season loss and came up just six points short of a state title in their first championship appearance.
Gordonsville (1984, 14-0): After allowing points in their first five games, the Tigers would go on to record shutouts in their next eight games. Three of those games included playoff wins over Celina, Ezell-Harding and Copper Basin. A championship matchup against ECS proved to be a little harder but Gordonsville still left the day with their first state championship.
Smith County (1985, 11-3): Several seasons could have fit the bill for the Owls but we’re going with their first 10+ win season. Gary Rankin’s ‘85 team suffered narrow losses to Gordonsville and Macon County in the regular season but bounced back with some classic wins over Polk County and Unicoi County before eventually losing to Austin-East in the semifinals.
Trousdale County (1997, 15-0): Want to talk about dominant? En route to what would be their fourth of nine eventual state championships, the Yellow Jackets never allowed more than eight points in a game. Winning by an average of 44.7 points, they recorded five shutouts on the year including a 91-0 win over Monterey and a 45-0 win over Clarksville Academy in the Class 1A championship.
Class 1A
Eagleville (2011, 11-1): The 2011 season marked a massive shift for the Eagles who had only recently started competitive play in 2003. They claimed the Region 9-1A title and breezed through their schedule to an undefeated regular season.
Innovation Academy (2024, 0-9): Last season was the Sentinels’ first as a TSSAA program and they had some struggles after playing a brutal schedule that included Nashville Christian, Bradley Central, Brentwood Academy and South Pittsburg.
Jo Byrns (2010, 13-1): In 2008 the Red Devils made their first championship appearance. Two years later they one-upped that by going unbeaten in the regular season in dominant fashion. Their dream run ended in the Class 1A championship with a loss to South Pittsburg.
Red Boiling Springs (2014, 6-5): The Bulldogs made history in 2014 with their first ever playoff appearance. This season also marked the program’s first time ending the year with a winning record since 1978 and also saw them close the regular season out by winning four of their final five games.
Division II-A
DCA (1996, 15-0): Unlike their first run to a gold ball in 1988 that featured a few close games, the Wildcats second state championship was one of dominance. A nine-point win over CPA was their closest in a season where they won by an average of 34.7 points and beat St. Benedict 51-3 for the Class 1A championship.
Ezell-Harding (2001, 15-0): It could be argued that Ezell’s 2001 team was the best team in the state regardless of class. The Eagles dominated their opponents winning by an average of 34.7 points. Their postseason run was even more impressive as they won those four games by an average of 27 points and closed the season out with a 63-26 win over Cloudland.
Friendship Christian (2022, 13-0): What makes the Commanders’ 2022 run standout compared to others is the magical postseason run they went on. Friendship opened the playoffs blocking a PAT to beat DCA 14-13 and a week later outlasted USJ 24-20. They closed the season by holding off Nashville Christian in a back-and-forth 34-27 DII-A championship game.
MJCA (2017, 8-4): The Saints set a program record in 2017 winning eight games including a first round 31-18 playoff win over Jackson Christian. While they did lose in the quarterfinals, it was a close one as Davidson Academy held on for the 28-24 win.
MTCS (2023, 12-1): A 12-point loss to the eventual Class 1A champion South Pittsburg Pirates is all that kept the Cougars from perfection. In the end it doesn’t really matter as they cruised through the rest of their schedule and beat Friendship Christian 28-13 for their first state title.
Nashville Christian (2024, 12-1): Choosing between the Eagles’ two championship runs is hard as they were dominant in each. We’ll lean towards the most recent one as their only loss came to BGA by seven and their 12 wins came by an average of 35.7 points.
PCA (2024, 6-5): The Lions second full year as a program was their best so far. Highlighted by blowout wins over MJCA, Ezell-Harding and MTCS, PCA close out the regular season winning four of its final six games.
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