When Clinton Middle School opens its 2026 football season, it will do so in a new conference.
Clinton previously competed in a league with Norris, Robertsville, Jefferson, Spring City, Lenoir City, Fort Loudoun and Christian Academy of Knoxville.
Now, the Hawks will play in a Class AAA conference and take on the likes of Cherokee, LaFollette, Jacksboro, Oneida and Scott County middle schools.
The conference is split into two divisions, with divisional games counting in the conference standings. The Hawks are in the East Division.
The West Division is composed of Rutledge, Maury, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Pigeon Forge and Horace Maynard.
As Jefferson Middle School prepares to begin the 2026 football season, expectations are high.
Second-year Head Coach Sean Jessie makes no secret that he and his team are looking for more this fall.
“We won six games and we went to the playoffs last year,” Jessie said. “This year, we want to go a step further.
“We want to win a playoff game and make it to the championship game.”
The Eagles will begin their quest for a second-consecutive playoff berth Thursday, Aug. 6, when they host Lenoir City at Blankenship Field. Kickoff for this season opener for both teams is slated for 6 p.m.
Jefferson has several players back from last year’s squad whot qualified for the postseason.
The 2026 football season is just around the corner for Robertsville Middle School, and the Rams are eager to erase the memories of a disappointing campaign last year.
But for new Head Coach Sean Miller, last season is already in the rearview mirror.
“We don’t talk about last year,” said Miller, who inherits a team that struggled in 2025 after winning the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference championship in 2024.
The Rams will open the season Thursday, Aug. 6, when they travel to Anderson County High School to face Norris in a game featuring the past two TVAC champions.
For Miller and his new team at Robertsville, expectations are simple in 2026.
“Compete from start to finish,” he said. “Our expectation is to compete to the best of our ability.
“It’s very simple.”
Miller may be new to Robertsville, but he’s relying on his coaching staff, including veteran Rams Coach Tyler Carr.
Lady Dragons look to regain footing with Orr at the helm
by Ken Lay
Topanga Easterday battles a Fulton defender for possession during a 2025 soccer match. Easterday enters her senior season as one of the Lady Dragons’ leaders, bringing experience and skill to Clinton’s lineup as the team looks for success in 2026. - Tony Cox
As Clinton High School’s girls soccer team prepares for the coming 2026 season, it does so with a new coach.
Anna Orr is the Lady Dragons’ third head coach in three years.
She was hired recently and is still getting acquainted with her new team, but she said she is eagerly anticipating her first season on the sideline at CHS.
“Honestly, in our most-recent summer sessions, we’re looking pretty good and I’m excited,” Orr said. “I think we have more to work with than I expected.”
Clinton went 3-6-1 last season and didn’t win a regular-season district match, but Orr isn’t discouraged as preseason workouts continue.
Around 50 young soccer players completed the 2026 Lady Mavericks Soccer Camp at Anderson County High School June 22-24. The three-day evening camp included boys and girls entering kindergarten through eighth-grade. Anderson County coaches and players worked with campers on fundamentals including ball mastery, passing and receiving, and shooting and finishing.
As the 2026 middle school football season looms, Robertsville Middle School will have a new head coach as Sean Miller takes the reins for the Rams.
Miller takes over for Tyler Carr, who served as interim coach at Robertsville in 2025 while Ron Gray battled health issues. Gray died on June 8.
Carr will remain on the staff as an assistant under Miller, who has spent nearly a decade coaching at the Boys and Girls Club, where he remains active.
“Ron was my guy, and what happened to him was terrible,” Miller said.
Carr’s decision to remain on the coaching staff was instrumental in Miller accepting the head coaching job.
Miller has coached all levels, from flag football to tackle football, at the Boys and Girls Club, working with players ages 5-13.
As Trenna Underwood prepares to begin her third season as Oak Ridge High School’s girls soccer coach, some may think she’ll be facing a rebuilding campaign.
After all, the Lady Wildcats lost 14 seniors, including eight starters, from a team that went 10-6-3 last year.
But to Underwood, there’s no such thing as a rebuild.
“Rebuilding, I don’t like that term, and I think it’s just an excuse,” she said. “No matter what our roster looks like, my expectation is always to win a district championship.
“That’s the expectation at Oak Ridge High School, and that’s always my expectation.”
The Lady Wildcats came close to capturing the District 3-AAA tournament championship in 2025, but they lost to Powell on penalty kicks after playing the Lady Panthers to a 2-2 draw through regulation and overtime.
Both Oak Ridge High School girls soccer teams will take the pitch Saturday night at the Heritage Jamboree in Maryville.
The Lady Wildcats’ junior varsity team will play a pair of 30-minute matches, opening against Jefferson County’s JV squad at 6 p.m. Oak Ridge will then face Maryville’s JV team at 7:30 p.m.
Oak Ridge’s varsity squad will take on Jefferson County at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the evening against Farragut at 8:30 p.m.
