farragutpress

Football arrives with 2026 Kickoff Classic

August 19, 2026 by Jake Nichols

KNOXVILLE — Amid the buzzing crowd last Friday, Aug. 14, three words were audible: “football is coming.”

Now, it is officially here.

But before teams across the area looked toward their Week 1 matchups, they went through final tune-ups during the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic’s Kickoff Classic last weekend at Bearden High School.

Farragut, Bearden and Hardin Valley all participated, each finding a different result in a quarter of action.

When the Admirals took the field, they did so after traveling back from a scrimmage at Walker Valley the day before.

Running backs Brenton Haag and Carter Collier took a couple early carries, then quarterback Hayes Sharp tried to hit Johnny Jacobs on a pair of long passes.

The latter resulted in a defensive pass interference, but the drive soon fizzled out. West found the same result, though, as defensive linemen Kaden Renfro, John Eddelmon and Thatcher Cherry burst into the backfield.

The Admirals were unable to move the ball on their second drive, and West cashed in with a touchdown to take the lead. The next series, on 4th-and-7, Sharp scampered for what looked to be a first down.

It was called back for a holding penalty, but Bailey Pyle finished the night with one more sack before the Rebels had a high snap on their final play.

“It was a quick turnaround in a short week for our last week of preseason,” head coach Geoff Courtney summarized afterward. “It was good to get over here and play. I thought our defense played well. Offensively, we played a few guys that made a couple mistakes, didn’t get our one drive off the ground. But we’re done with preseason and ready for Sevier County.”

Meanwhile, the Hawks started the night against Fulton, mustering a stop in their first series.

The next play, quarterback Riley Matz flashed some new ink when he found receiver Cruize Furman behind the Falcons’ secondary.

Furman would have cruised into the end zone if not for a looming Fulton defender, who jarred the ball loose for a touchback.

A few plays later, Fulton took advantage with a 12-yard touchdown, but a failed conversion attempt left the score at 6-0.

HVA proved unable to cash in on its next series with the junior varsity, but the young Hawks delivered on their final drive of the night.

Sophomore Reed Everett pounded the ball through the Falcons’ defensive line for two carries before hauling in a pass a couple plays later. After a defensive pass interference put HVA at the Falcon 10-yard-line, Everett scooted past the right pylon, and the ensuing kick gave Hardin Valley an unofficial walk-off 7-6 win. 

“I was really proud of our players, especially our second group,” HVA coach Tyler Wynn said of the Hawks, who will take on Karns this Friday, Aug. 21. “Super resilient, which is what we want to build this thing on. They gave themselves a shot and that’s all you can ask for. I was proud of our kids for finishing.”

Bearden finished off the night as the host school, taking on Powell and South-Doyle in two quarters to finish off the festivities.

The Panthers scored on their first play, running a 70-yard reverse pass. 

The Bulldogs proved unable to match, struggling to move the ball.

But Caz Bane delivered an impressive blow in the Powell matchup to cause a fumble, then Zach Nicaud picked off the Cherokees by pinning the ball to the cast on his right arm.

“That was good to see some of those,” BHS coach Brad Taylor said of his team, which will face West this week. “That’s a testament to coaches and players and their hard work. And Zach, he’s a good football player. That was cool. You hope you don’t get hurt, try to get a lot of people in. Now that box is checked, and it’s on to game week.”

Courtney added similar sentiments in a summary to his own squad, which faces the Smoky Bears on Saturday, Aug. 22, in the First Bank Kickoff Classic at Carson-Newman. 

“The preseason is over,” he said. “All that matters now is what’s ahead.”