CHATTANOOGA – A decade ago in 2015, three separate Williamson County high school football teams emerged as state champions for the first time. It was the most successful season in WillCo history with Ravenwood High School, Independence High and Brentwood Academy all raising gold balls at the end of the season, including a rare 15-0 record-breaking season for the Eagles.
This week in Chattanooga, four local teams will be playing for the same championship glory, including two teams from that storied season 10 years ago in Class 6A Ravenwood and Division II-AAA Brentwood Academy. Both Battle Ground Academy in DII-AA and Page in Class 5A will also be fighting for championships.
Here’s a closer look at the pair of Division I teams playing Friday and Saturday.
CHATTANOOGA – Championship week at Finley Stadium kicks off Thursday with two Division II hi…
Page (13-0) vs. Sevier County (13-1), Friday 7 p.m.
In recent memory, one local team in Brentwood Academy was runner-up five consecutive season from 2000-04. The Patriots are looking to capture the program’s first gold ball after four straight silvers to try and avoid the grouping with the Eagles, who are also in the state finals this week.
“We need to limit the penalties, win the turnovers and win on special teams – if we win those three aspects of the game, I think we win the night,” said Page senior Knight Wilson, who will suit up for a 60th high school game Friday alongside longtime teammate Jake Rathbone.
“I don’t think our community and a lot of our players realize how truly blessed we are to play,” Wilson said. “This will be me and Jake’s 60th game – you can’t even comprehend how special that is. So, I just tell the guys to take every single moment in and enjoy it because it goes by real quick.”
Page lost 27-20 to Sevier County last season in the finals running out of time despite scoring with 1:28 to play. The Smoky Bears won the turnover battle and scored 24 unanswered. They stole all the momentum headed into the half after Bryson Headrick scooped up a blocked field goal and raced 62 yards for the touchdown before the break for a 17-7 lead.
Headrick, Sevier County’s all-time leader in touchdowns and interceptions, has 1,116 yards receiving on 65 receptions with 17 TDs this season. He also has 25 tackles with five interceptions as the Smoky Bears return to the finals for the fourth time in program history and first back-to-back.
Returning championship MVP Cooper Newman leads the offense throwing for 3,487 yards with 45 touchdowns to just four interceptions with a 74% completion rate for Sevier County. Nathan Patterson leads the ground game with 1,216 yards and 13 scores rushing.
Both defenses have flexed all season with Sevier County forcing 29 turnovers, while Page has accumulated 26 takeaways.
Joey Galazin is among the defensive leaders with Headrick for the Smoky Bears with nearly a dozen tackles per game to go with three sacks and a pick on the season. Parker Newman adds 111 tackles this season with four interceptions. The tight end is second on the team in receiving with 966 yards and 10 scores, too.
Junior quarterback Cameron Kruse leads Page’s most consistent offense over the five-year stretch for the Rudderville boys throwing for 2,078 yards with 29 TDs to three interceptions on a 74% completion rate. He’s also rushed for six scores for a ground game paced by running backs James Pierre and Isaac Otey behind the Patriots loaded offensive line. Pierre has rushed for 963 yards and 10 TDs and Otey has 856 yards and 16 scores with the likes of Rathbone, Jordan Curll, Sloan Bass and Caleb Coffman plowing the way up front.
Cayden Aukerman is the top receiver for Page with 49 catches for 941 yards and 14 touchdowns. Wilson has six touchdowns to go with his 35 tackles and three interceptions.
Sean Cunningham is Page’s leading tackler with 70 stops, including three sacks, while Cohen Grissom has 51 tackles with 13 for loss and seven sacks coming off the edge.
Grissom helped spark the Page offense in a 43-21 win over Centennial in the semifinals by scoring on a 44-yard touchdown run late in the third and setting up another score with a big run as the Patriots scored three straight TDs to pull away.
Ravenwood (14-0) vs. Oakland (14-0), Saturday 7 p.m.
After falling in the state semifinals last season at Houston, the Raptors are making their return to the state championship game looking for their first state title since winning in 2015. They’ll face a fellow unbeaten team in Oakland, which is looking for a repeat title and sixth championship in the past eight seasons.
“Oakland has been here before,” Ravenwood coach Ricky Rodriguez said. “We know they are going to make plays and it’s how we handle those moments and how we respond.”
Rodriguez said his team is tested, having won on the road out of state, picking up a couple overtime victories and slowing Southwind’s prolific Mr. Football finalist Kelvin Perkins just last week in a 28-25 win.
“This is a totally different monster we will be dealing with on Saturday,” the first-year head coach added about facing Oakland.
The Patriots defeated Houston 42-20 last year in the finals with many expected to see the Raptors after Ravenwood handed Oakland its only loss in the last two years in a 32-31 thriller in Murfreesboro late in the regular season in 2024.
“We all thought it was going to be us and Ravenwood last year,” Oakland coach Kevin Creasy said. “For us to meet up is kind of a testament of how good these football programs are.”
Mr. Football finalist Craig Tutt leads a potent ground game for the Patriots with 922 yards and 15 touchdowns. Donte Cameron has gained another 764 yards with nine scores, Kemani Bass has rushed for 549 yards and Justis Haggard has 438 more with 15 TDs.
Similar to Ravenwood, Oakland works a two-quarterback system with Cam Morton and Cameron taking the snaps. They have combined for about 1,500 yards passing with 16 touchdowns.
Kullen Williams and Traivon Jackson are the leading tacklers for Oakland with Jackson racking up a team-best 14 sacks.
Ravenwood has leaned on its defense in back-to-back postseason wins with Jaylen Pollard’s scoop-and-score on Matthew Anderson’s forced fumble last week, helping put the game out of reach against Southwind. Anderson leads the team in tackles with 114, while Sam Rohan adds in 10 sacks. The Raptors are giving up just 12 points per outing.
Femi Babalola and Maverick Chance lead the offense sharing QB1 duties. Babalola has thrown for 1,544 yards and 14 touchdowns with 518 yards rushing and 11 more TDs. Chance has thrown for 708 yards with 12 TDs and leads the team in rushing with 857 yards and 11 more scores.
Cy Longley, Crews Kelley and Taylen Vaughn all have more than 20 catches with Longley’s 28 receptions for 507 and 11 TDs leading the Raptor trio.
2025 BlueCross Bowl High School Football Championships at Finley Stadium Dec. 5-7 in Chattanooga
Thursday
11 a.m. – Battle Ground Academy (12-1) vs. Franklin Road Academy (11-1), DII-AA
3 p.m. – University School of Jackson (11-1) vs. Nashville Christian School (12-0), DII-A
7 p.m. – Brentwood Academy (11-0) vs. Baylor (11-0), DII-AAA
Friday
11 a.m. – Gatlinburg-Pittman (14-0) vs. Westview (13-0), Class 3A
3 p.m. – South Pittsburg (13-1) vs. McKenzie (13-1), Class A
7 p.m. – Page (13-0) vs. Sevier County (13-1), Class 5A
Saturday
11 a.m. – Alcoa (13-1) vs. Pearl Cohn (10-4), Class 4A
3 p.m. – Marion County (13-1) vs. Huntingdon (13-1), Class 2A
7 p.m. – Ravenwood (14-0) vs. Oakland (14-0), Class 6A