Dragons, Mavs, Wildcats return to gridiron
All three local high school football teams — Clinton, Anderson County and Oak Ridge — were idle last week, but all return to the gridiron Friday night as the 2025 regular season enters its home stretch.
Clinton will travel to South Knoxville to face South-Doyle in a non-region matchup.
The Dragons (1-5) will see one of the area’s most improved squads. The Cherokees (4-3), coached by L.A. Headrick, boast wins over Union County (76-0), Gibbs (27-24), Austin-East (52-30) and Karns (31-21).
The two teams share one common opponent this season — Karns. Clinton dropped a 24-21 decision to the Beavers earlier this year, while South-Doyle notched a 10-point victory over them.
Clinton’s season opener at Heritage was canceled due to weather, and the Cherokees also fell to the Mountaineers. Both Clinton and South-Doyle finished 3-8 last year.
Anderson County also returns to action Friday and will aim to start a new region winning streak after its first league loss since 2016.
The Mavericks (4-2 overall, 3-1 in Region 2-4A) fell 35-28 to Gibbs on Oct. 3 at home.
They’ll host Union County (1-6, 0-4) at Maverick Stadium.
Anderson County has battled injuries at quarterback all season.
Meanwhile, Oak Ridge will look to remain unbeaten when it hosts Hardin Valley Academy at Blankenship Field.
The Wildcats (7-0, 3-0 in Region 2-6A) beat Bearden 34-7 on Oct. 3.
The Hawks (3-4, 1-3) were also off last week and are coming off a 45-28 loss to Farragut. Hardin Valley has tripled its win total from last year and captured its first region victory since 2020 with a 24-7 win over Bearden on Sept. 19.