Playoff Push Preview: Week 10
With the regular season heading into it's final week of the 2026 season, area teams are making one last push for their respective TSSAA State Playoff runs. We'll preview their upcoming games and playoff forecasts.
Sevier County:
The Smoky Bears head into their week 10 matchup following a loss to the Blountstown Tigers who visited Lon C Burchfield Stadium last Friday from Florida knocking off the Smoky Bears 26-21 in a highly anticipated matchup from 2 state finalists from the 2025 season. The Smoky Bears (6-3 overall/ 4-0 region) will host Morristown West (5-4 / 3-1) on Thursday evening in a huge matchup for the 5A-Region 1 regular season championship. Morristown West comes to Hardin-Robertson Field on a 2 game win streak after defeating Daniel Boone & Cocke County in their previous games. The Smoky Bears won last years contest 40-7 in Morristown. Former Smoky Bears QB and assistant coach Angelo Raga will be on the opposing sideline as the offensive coordinator for the Trojans.
Seymour:
The Eagles (8-1 overall / 5-1 region) fly into their week 10 matchup at Grainger on Thursday (2-7 / 1-5), winners of their last 5 games after knocking off the Elizabethton Cyclones 21-16 in a pivotal region contest last Friday. Seymour has been led by SR running back Grayson Davis this year, who averages nearly 105 yards rushing on the year, while amassing 14 total touchdowns. Seymour has already earned the right to host their first 4A-Region 1 playoff game since 2015 with the victory over Elizabethton but can not afford to overlook the Grizzlies who nearly pulled off the upset last year at Householder Field before the Eagles pulled out the 24-20 victory.
Gatlinburg Pittman:
The Highlanders (5-4 overall/ 3-1 region) head into their final regular season contest on Thursday at Chuckey-Doak as the #2 seed in 3A-Region 1 and on a high note, following their 52-8 victory over Johnson County. The Highlanders are led by Marshal Gay who has averaged over 165 yards per game on the ground, and Jackson Savarese who averages close to 80 yards receiving per contest. Gatlinburg Pittman easily defeated the Black Knights in the "Mountain Thicket" last year 52-7.
Pigeon Forge:
The Tigers (4-5 overall / 2-2 region) will travel to Claiborne on Thursday evening, as winners of their last 4 contests after starting the year 0-5. Pigeon Forge has been led by senior QB Andrew Lewis and Kaeo Travis offensively, during their recent winning streak. The Tigers have wrapped up the #3 seed in 3A-Region 1 following their win last Friday over the Chuckey Doak Black Knights. Pigeon Forge defeated the Bulldogs 50-20 in last years contest at Jim Whaley Field.
Northview Academy:
The Cougars (5-4 overall / 3-3 region) travel to Cherokee (5-4 overall / 3-3 region) on Friday evening for a pivotal region game with the winner earning the final playoff spot in 4A-Region 1 and a date with the Alcoa Tornadoes in round 1 of the TSSAA State Playoffs, while the other turns in their equipment. The Cougars enter Friday evening's contest following a 41-20 over the Sullivan East Patriots to set up the huge region contest with the Chiefs. The Cougars won last years contest 31-13 but fell short of the playoffs. Coach Justin Anderson and his young team are hungry to advance into the playoffs.
The King's Academy:
The Lions (7-2) enter their week 10 contest at SouthLake Christian Academy (NC) fresh from a bye the week prior and 45-18 victors in their last contest against Tri-Cities Christian. The Lions have been led by Nikolas Martinez averaging 75 receiving yards per game, and Viktor Kristiansen who has averaged over 71 yards per game on the ground. Coach Stephen Alexander has his young Lions playing well and with only 3 seniors on their roster, the future for TKA looks bright.
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