Sports
March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Late Monday night, March 9, Farragut’s five seniors sat together near the top of the bleachers at Sevier County High School.
Having played together since sixth grade, they could have been waiting for a pickup game based on their relaxed posture. Instead, with wet hair and “STATE BOUND” shirts, they smiled after clinching the program’s first state tournament berth since 1983.
In a fitting twist, all five were Farragut’s top five scorers on their biggest night in Admiral uniforms.
“We’re just a brotherhood here,” senior Britton Lewis said. “We have shirts that say family, and Coach Burris has done a great job with that. We knew that was our goal, to go to state. And he’s kept us accountable to that.”
“Man, that means the world to me because it’s my group,” Burris added with a smile. “I hope that doesn’t sound selfish, but this is the group that came in with me. They bought into what our staff asked, telling them they would reap the benefits. And tonight they did.”
Lewis led the Ads with 15 points on the night, pacing FHS against a Sevier County team that upsetMaryville to lock up a host spot in sectionals. Fittingly, four of Lewis’ points came during two straight fast breaks during the run that put the game away.
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Saturday night, March 7, the Bearden Lady Bulldogs did not have their best stuff against Morristown East.
Monday night, March 9, the boys squad went back and forth with Maryville in one of the better games in the area.
In the end, though, both Bearden teams are headed to the state tournament — the girls for the second consecutive year, and the boys for the first time since 2022.
It is the fourth time they have made the state tournament in the same year. Also, it marks the Bulldogs’ 13th state appearance and the ninth state appearance for the Lady Bulldogs, who have an eye-popping 36 and 32 wins this year, respectively.
For the girls, they reached this point via a 56-43 win over Morristown East in Saturday’s Class 4A sectional, reaching the TSSAA Class 4A State Tournament for the second consecutive year.
In the process, the Lady Bulldogs cemented a 42-1 record over the last four years, the lone blemish being a region championship loss to Farragut in 2024.
“I think until I heard the actual numbers, it doesn’t do it justice until you sit and think about it,” Bearden girls coach Justin Underwood said. “Basketball is such a streaky sport, so to have that over 43 games is extremely impressive and reflects those kids and what they’ve accomplished. This senior group has etched itself among the best in terms of what they were able to do at Bearden.”
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
The Bearden baseball and softball teams have gotten started on the diamond this spring, and both programs have begun to see results roll in.
Dave Prichard’s Bulldogs opened with a 3-2 win over Karns. Carter McCallum stole second and third before scoring on an error by the Beavers catcher, marking the third of three straight runs for BHS in the top of the fifth.
The Dawgs overcame a 2-0 deficit in two of the three previous at-bats, as Fenn Piper knocked an RBI single to score Boone Piper before Jack Fennell snuck another RBI single into center to score Finn Piper. From there, Walter Pankau closed it out in the seventh to cap a two-inning outing with four strikeouts, while Colton Perkins went five innings with seven strikeouts and two hits and as many runs given up.
Things were far different against Lenoir City, as the Dawgs tore through their first two district tilts with wins of 11-1 and 10-0.
In the 11-1 victory, Fenn Piper went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, while Charlie Loftin gave up just two hits and an earned run with three walks and four strikeouts.
The next day, three different Bulldogs — Tyler Cline, Hunter Harris and Jack Fennell — notched 2 RBI apiece, while Perkins brought home three runs off his own bat. Grayson Wright dealt nine strikeouts in that one while giving up three hits and no runs.
“It’s always good to get off to a good start like that,” Bulldogs coach Dave Prichard told the farragutpress. “We had struggled trying to answer some questions in the preseason, but we saw some growth and had a chance to work on some things. Felt good about our front end pitchers but there are still some things to work on offensively.”
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
The Farragut lacrosse seasons have begun for this season, so there is plenty to report for the Admirals thus far.
On the guys side, the Ads are off to a 3-0 start, having dispatched Christian Academy of Knoxville, Knox Catholic and Signal Mountain by scores of 20-4, 9-5 and 18-6, respectively.
FHS has shot out to quick starts in each matchup, building early momentum to find success.
“That quick start helps build confidence with the team and the execution and plays we want to run,” head coach Ben Sachs said. “Then it gives our defense a chance to be more aggressive and pull the trigger on certain formations.”
Freshman Matthew Kitchiner led the team with six goals and two assists against Signal Mountain.
“He was a force for us,” Sachs said. “We have a very blessed community where a lot of young men are stepping into roles that are difficult, but they understand the I.Q. and the chemistry to play well. And they can’t do that unless the upperclassmen like Brock Lockhart and Brody Gruver lead by example.”
“When you come in as a freshman, you’re typically undersized and don’t have that I.Q,” he continued. “But a lot of our guys do that work in the offseason with upperclassmen, so they can have confidence.”
That confidence also has been formed via a strong pipeline in the FHS youth program, as kids who begin playing together as early as 9 years old find themselves on the same fields years later.
That will be a crucial component for the next five outings. After Spring Break, the Ads will take on Webb, Briarcrest, Baylor, Ravenwood and Hillsboro.
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Greg Curtin has seen the gravitational pull of a new sport on an untapped population, having played football for Kentucky before a move to the Netherlands.
It was there he led a U.S. women’s tackle football team, witnessing an impressive turnout for a sport that had only been viewed during the Super Bowl.
“There’s a lot of unrecognized interest,” Curtin said. “Then, one person starts a league and 160 girls show up. You’re like, ‘Where do these people come from?’ As soon as someone says, ‘Here’s your opportunity,’ there they are.”
Curtin has seen a similar rise in girls flag football, as he is leading the Lady Admirals for the first TSSAA-sanctioned season in 2026.
FHS, Bearden and Hardin Valley have fielded teams, each one of the 14 Knox County schools that participated in the inaugural campaign more than a year ago. The top seven teams from each district are seeded for a district tournament, then the winner of
that tournament reaches the eight-team state tournament in May.
Still, the biggest changes for this year are the rule differences on the field.
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
An errant Nolensville pitch thumped into the backstop at the Ballpark at Farragut on Friday. March 6, Ninety feet away, Zain Kureshi-Smith leaped off third base, only to return when the ball rolled right to Knights catcher Evan McElvain.
Still, he kept his eyes peeled for another opportunity. It arrived with another wild pitch, which sent McElvain into a scramble and, eventually, an overthrow of pitcher Kyson Barney.
That left a perfect window for the player nicknamed “Turbo,” who sprinted home and slid across the plate to deliver a 4-3 victory after a rollercoaster eight innings in the Admirals’ home opener.
“I was just a little hesitant because of the first one,” Kureshi-Smith said of the wild pitches, his hair mussed after teammates bombarded him at the plate. “The ball bounced off a little weird. And all our players can hit it hard, so I didn’t want to give myself up.“
His two-out test in patience proved effective, as did Kureshi-Smith’s approach at the plate and in the field. Before scoring the winning run, the centerfielder tied the game 3-3 on a two-out, two-RBI double to undo a two-run shot from McElvain in the top half of the eighth.
Combined, those plays brought a fitting end for the prep baseball edition of a Pay-Per-View prize fight, which brought plenty of pro scouts to Friday’s contest.
“It’s always good to be victorious against a team like that,” FHS coach Garrett Copeland said. “They’re a really good team that will compete for a spot in Murfreesboro, so it’s always good to challenge ourselves against a team like that.”
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March 11, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Knoxville Catholic High School’s boys basketball team saw its season come to an end in Division II-AA State Tournament semifinals Thursday, March 6.
The Irish battled valiantly but came up on the losing end of a 75-72 four-overtime thriller against Briarcrest Christian School, which was eventually crowned 2025-26 state champion on Saturday at F&M Bank Arena on the campus of Austin Peay State University.
KCHS, which finished with a 24-7 record this season, defeated Briarcrest to win the 2019-20 state title before everything was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a physical contest Thursday, Catholic had four starters foul out, leaving Cade Murphy as the Irish’s lone starter on the floor by the end of the marathon game, which ended up being the longest contest ever played in TSSAA Division II State Tournament history.
The Saints, which won their 31st game in the state title game against Pope John Paul II Saturday, March 7, withstood every punch that KCHS threw in this epic battle that went back-and-forth throughout.
But Catholic’s reserves, out of necessity, made some crucial plays as starters, Malachi Brown, Warren Brown, Travis Martin and Landon Lee, all had to leave the contest after picking up a fifth foul.
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March 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Webb storms back for second-straight state title
Greg Hernandez knows what it’s like to be on the losing end of a state championship basketball game.
But after a state title loss in 2024, his Webb Lady Spartans have claimed two straight state titles — the latest last Saturday, March 7, in a 48-47 win over Lipscomb Academy at Austin Peay State University.
In two straight games, the Lady Spartans staged improbable comebacks. The first came in a 16-point comeback to beat Christ Presbyterian Academy 59-54 in a semifinal rematch of last year’s state championship game. Then, Webb trailed by 12 Saturday against Lipscomb Academy.
Clemson signee Meeyah Green stole the ball and scored the game-winner with 6.1 seconds left.
“What a way to end a career for Meeyah Green,” Hernandez said. “The biggest stage, the biggest moment. For a player of her caliber to make a play when her team needed it, to make a steal and layup and have the final blocked shot, it shows what a player and competitor she is.”
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March 11, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Coming into the 2026 season, Bearden High School girls lacrosse team had to replace some key players that graduated in 2025.
The Lady Bulldogs and coach Dawn Coe are rapidly finding replacements for the players who departed following last year.
“We lost a lot of scorers and a lot of great defensive players to graduation,” Cole said. “We’ve had some kids really step up on defense and we’ve really had some kids step up and score goals.”
Through the first four games of the 2026 campaign, the Lady Bulldogs have a 2-2 overall record with wins over Pigeon Forge (17-2) and St. Cecilia Academy (16-5). Bearden’s losses have come to Page and Father Ryan, two of the Nashville Area’s top teams. The Lady Patriots are the defending state champions while the Lady Irish are a power in the Midstate.
“Page is the defending state champion and Father Ryan, out of Nashville, has a really good team,” Coe said. “They have a Division I and Division II (college) recruit on their team.”
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