2025 Sports Year in Review, Part II
Fireworks end the year
The first half of 2025 was certainly worth remembering for athletes and coaches across the Farragut area. But
the final six months included plenty of noteworthy moments too.
Webb School of Knoxville ended the year with a splash hire, bringing in renowned coach George Quarles to revive its football program. Webb reached just one win in 2025, and former coach Don Mahoney stepped down in November following a three-year stint with the program. The Spartans hope Quarles will have the same level of success that he saw at Maryville, where he won 11 state championships in 18 seasons with a 250-16 record. Also, Quarles became the fastest high school coach in history to reach 200 wins. Before returning to the Knoxville area, Quarles departed his post in Maryville to become an assistant coach at Furman. He then became the head coach at East Tennessee State University for two seasons and coached tight ends at Austin Peay in 2024. Now, the Jefferson County graduate is glad to be back in the 865 area code.
“I’m really excited to be back in East Tennessee and the Knoxville area,” Quarles said in a brief interview with farragutpress. “I am also glad to be back in high school football. It’s a fresh start for Webb and for me.”
Note: for more on Quarles’ new gig at Webb, see the Jan. 14 issue of farragutpress.
In other gridiron news, Concord Christian made its return to varsity football this past season. Under second-year head coach Steve Matthews, the Lions reeled off a 6-5 record to reach the playoffs for the first time ever. In its Division II Class A matchup against Jackson Christian, CCS lost 27-13 to bring its season to a close. But the Lions still managed to finish on top in the How the West was Won contest, presented by Billy Houston Group, Realty Executives It was a tight race between Concord Christian and Christian Academy of Knoxville, as both teams finished the regular season at 6-4. However, CCS won based on point differential, having put together a scoring margin of plus-170 versus CAK’s scoring margin of plus-54. This past season, CCS also scored 49 points or more four times with five wins featuring 42 points or greater. Moreover, the only Lions win that did not see 40 or more points for Matthews’ squad was a 35-0 shutout over the Georgia Force.
On the soccer pitch, Bearden girls soccer won its fourth Class AAA state title in the last five years with a 1-0 victory over Houston in Murfreesboro. Bearden’s win came off the foot of Kennedy Lucas, who nailed the golden goal in the second overtime off an assist from Western Kentucky signee Tyler Roth. The Farragut Middle School softball program won a title of its own in October, claiming the Tennessee Middle School State Championship with a 6-2 victory over Jefferson County in Athens, Tennessee, on Oct. 2.
Farragut Middle School cheer won its first state title in program history, while the FMS dance team followed its national title with a state championship in jazz later this year. They finished runner-up in pom but claimed regional championships in both events too. That success extended to the cross country course, where FHS finished its TSSAA season in fifth with a score of 229 at the Class AAA State Championships in Memphis. Sam Shagan led the team at 14th overall, finishing at 16:12.10 to cap off a year in which he also claimed a Section 2-AAA title by completing a 5,000-meter course in 15:56.36. On the girls side, Christie George came in 31st at the state meet to lead an FHS team that featured 14 total runners in attendance. Meanwhile, the Hardin Valley boys team came in seventh in the same classification with a score of 238, and Webb’s Calysta Garmer won her second straight Division II-AA state title with a time of 17:05.60. She paced a Spartan team that had four runners in the top 10 for a first-place finish — Webb’s third team state title in as many years. The Knox Catholic girls finished as state runners-up, while the boys notched third overall.
In golf, the Christian Academy of Knoxville girls and Hardin Valley Academy boys both wrapped their seasons with state titles. The Hawks unlocked plenty of history in their run, claiming their first Division I-AA state title in school history. Eli Glenn led HVA with a two-day 36-hole total of 141, while Hunter Mousa had a two-round total of 143. For CAK, it was a second-straight title in Division II-A, marking the second time the program has gone back-to-back. The first was 2015-16. This time, senior Western Kentucky signee Isabella Coughlin led the team to its 11th state title in Division II-A.
The Farragut area also saw success on the youth cross country course, as 10-year-old Yetzal Ortega won the junior level cross country championship.
Farragut reached the 6A playoffs for the second consecutive season, nearly pulling off an upset over Dobyns-Bennett, while Hardin Valley finished .500 to mark its best season in several years. The Admirals also beat Bearden for the first time since 2022 and advanced to the playoffs for the second consecutive season under Geoff Courtney. They did receive some bad news just before Christmas, as former FHS quarterback Corbin Hobson announced that he is transferring to Grace Christian Academy. This past season, Hobson threw 131 completions on 243 attempts for 1,628 yards and 12 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Without Hobson, the Admirals will turn to rising juniors Hayes Sharp and Kyle Clark as they seek another playoff berth in 2026.
Aside from Farragut’s success this past season, there was also gridiron glory in a newer way. On Oct. 18, the Hardin Valley flag football team defeated McGavock 38-30 for a Unified Flag Football state title. Numerous Knoxville schools have added flag football amid growing popularity, and the Hawks went 3-0 at the state tournament this year to claim the crown.
In November, Christian Academy of Knoxville recorded its first Division II road playoff win in school history, beating Goodpasture 42-35.
In July, a five-gymnast team from Farragut-based Heidi’s Musical Gymnatics took third out of 40 teams at Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In swimming, 14-year-old Snmy Zimmer broke a pair of meet records to help the Village Green community center swim team end a 13-year Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association reign of dominance. Led by head coach Sarah Fortney, the VG Gators won the program’s first GKAISA championship since 2011. In the process, they unseated powerhouse Knoxville Racquet Club to capture the 2025 Tom Schumann Memorial GKAISA Meet.
As part of its five-win football season, Hardin Valley toppled Bearden 24-7 on Sept. 19 to pick up its first region win since 2020. The Hawks later added Jared Tharpe to the coaching staff in December.
Knoxville Catholic volleyball punched its state ticket on Oct. 18, then lost to Christ Presbyterian after knocking off Baylor 3-0. Farragut native Joe Carson, a member of a 3-on-3 Senior Olympic basketball team based out of North Carolina, won gold at the National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa.
In the dead heat of summer, schools across the area were red-hot with All-State selections from the Tennessee Sports Writers’ Association. Six schools were represented with athletes from Farragut, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Knoxville Catholic, Bearden, Hardin Valley and Webb all making the cut. Between those six schools, there were a whopping 40 selections across five different
sports: baseball, softball, boys soccer and boys and girls track and field.
