Sports
October 7, 2026 by Bill Howard, Correspondent
It was a first-round match that was worthy of being the tournament championship.
In the first round of the Region 2, District 4-AAA Volleyball Tournament Monday night at West High School, fourth-seeded Hardin Valley Academy survived a determined comeback by fifth-seeded Farragut High School to defeat the Lady Admirals 3-2.
The Lady Hawks won the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-15, and it looked like they were going to sweep the Lady Admirals like they did in the regular season.
But Farragut had other ideas and won the next two sets, 25-22, and 28-26, to set up a decisive fifth set. In that set, the teams battled an 11-all tie, but HVA won the final four points to win the set 15-11 and clinch the match.
The result set up second-round matches on Tuesday between FHS and eighth-seeded Lenoir City in the losers’ bracket, and between HVA and top-seeded Maryville in the winners’. The tournament’s format is double elimination.
“I was glad to see that we fought back and didn’t go out in three like last time,” FHS coach Whitney Lee said. “We made some subs and I think that brought some life and new energy.”
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October 7, 2026 by Jake Nichols
In the last two weeks, the Farragut girls soccer team has experienced a key shift. And it took one film review for that movement to happen.
Looking back through her team’s 3-0 loss to Bearden on Thursday, Sept. 24, Farragut soccer coach Jessica Burkhart said she noticed more about her own team’s struggles than anything the Lady Bulldogs did right.
“So we had to have an inner look at who we are and what we do — and we didn’t do those things,” Burkhart said. “We had to come together and figure that out and recenter ourselves, and the girls did that.”
The result was a 1-0 victory over Maryville last Tuesday, Sept. 29, as Farragut wrapped its regular-season with a key region road win.
A timely goal from Ava Upshaw and a key save from Emery Wylie marked the difference in the victory.
Upshaw found the net after a series of close misses from FHS, as Meghan Shimall fired a cross that Upshaw buried less than 10 minutes into the second half.
“Ava and Shim (Meghan Shimall), they’re deadly on the wing,” Burkhart said. “That’s something that’s been a staple that we’ve had, and Ava had some opportunities in the first half, too. It’s just a matter of how long could they keep her out of the net. She buried that one, and it was a great run and ball across by Shim and a great finish by Ava. I don’t know of a keeper that can stop that.”
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October 7, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Last Thursday, Oct. 1, the Hardin Valley Hawks rolled up 432 yards of offense in a 35-0 victory over Farragut. It marked their first win over the Admirals since 2019, and it is the first time since 2014 that HVA has taken down BHS and FHS in the same season.
“Not our night,” Farragut head coach Geoff Courtney said. “They had a couple big plays, and they won the line of scrimmage all night. If that wasn’t evident, you don’t know football. Credit to them — they’ve got a good group this year, and we didn’t play or coach well enough from start to finish.”
Farragut punted on seven of its nine possessions.
Even so, two FHS players — Hayes Sharp and Elijah Sadler — set career-highs against Hardin Valley in the loss.
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October 7, 2026 by Jake Nichols
This week, several local participants will hit the links at Sevierville Golf Club for the Division I and II golf state championships.
Farragut’s Sophie Williams will represent the Admirals after defeating teammate Harper Holmes in a playoff at the Region 2-AA Tournament last Monday, Sept. 28, at Island Pointe Golf Club in Kodak.
On the same course, the Hardin Valley girls team qualified for state for the third consecutive year after beating the Lady Ads by seven strokes with a 167 overall.
Addisyn Newman led HVA as the medalist.
Meanwhile, Bearden advances to state as a team after winning Region 2-AA Tournament with 304. William Ibbotson paced the Dawgs with a 72, pushing his team ahead of a Hardin Valley boys squad that finished five strokes back — thus eliminating the Hawks from contention for a second straight state title.
Still, Hardin Valley’s Arjun Patel does advance on to state as an individual, topping his competitors with a 70 to move on as the medalist.
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October 7, 2026 by Jake Nichols
One team stayed undefeated, two others notched historic wins, a young quarterback had a big night and a veteran coach won the first game of a new era.
All that and plenty more happened for football teams across the Farragut and west Knoxville area last week, as the How the West was Won contest extends through Week 7.
The Christian Academy of Knoxville Warriors rolled over Chattanooga Christian, 27-10, becoming 7-0 as part of their best season since 2011.
Bennett Jelks returned an interception for a touchdown, and Elijah Krokowski had a strip-sack returned for another score as part of a massive day for the Warriors’ defense.
That output and Isaac Kannah’s game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown paced a CAK team that found just one score on the offensive side when Seaton Moffett found Kannah down the sideline.
“Just some grit,” CAK coach Chad Speck said of his team. “We didn’t play our best football, but it was a gritty performance in the second half against a physical team. Our defense really stepped up and turned them over several times.”
The same approach went for Knoxville Catholic at home, where the Irish defended Blaine Stadium with a pivotal 20-14 win over Ensworth in region play.
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October 7, 2026 by Jake Nichols
On the volleyball court, Division II postseason is ramping up in a hurry.
Last Saturday, Oct. 3, the Concord Christian Lady Lions took down the Christian Academy of Knoxville Warriors 3-2 (25-15, 18-25, 25-11, 21-25 and 15-11) to propel the Lions on to the region tournament for their fourth consecutive appearance.
“We have continuously been focusing on staying consistent in our play and mentality,” CCS coach Mandy Richards said. “So this was a great opportunity to put what we have been practicing into play. CAK’s crowd was great and brought a ton of energy, but we stayed focused and took care of business.”
Sophomore outside hitter Laney Hochevar came through with several clutch spikes against the Warriors, while senior Manhattan Shuler directed the offense as the setter.
“Laney is a leader on the court, no matter what position she is in,” Richards said. “Manhattan ran a great offense. Everyone does their job very well and we are very solid.
“We have had some young teams for a few years,” she added. “The girls have expressed how much fun they are having this season, linking together with one another and advancing in our season. This has been our motto all season: Link and Advance.”
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