Area high school football teams are back on the field after a two-week break for the TSSAA’s mandated dead period, ramping up preparations for their 2025 campaigns.
Anderson County was the first team to return to 7-on-7 action, hosting a session Tuesday morning. The Mavericks will hit the road Thursday, traveling to William Blount High School in Maryville for more summer work.
Clinton and Oak Ridge will compete in the Knoxville Classic at Powell High School, one of East Tennessee’s premier passing league tournaments. Pool play is set for Thursday, with bracket play on Friday.
On Thursday, Clinton will face Corbin (Kentucky) at 4 p.m., then take on Stone Memorial at 6 p.m., before closing pool play against Concord Christian at 7:30 p.m.
Oak Ridge will open its slate at 3:30 p.m. against Corbin before meeting Oliver Springs at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats will wrap up pool competition against host Powell at 7:30 p.m.
Sierra Brown carries the Stars and Stripes to open Saturday’s Volunteer Riding Association event at Jaycee Park. - Tony Cox
The Clinton Barrel Races have been a spring, summer and fall staple in the community since 1964, when the Volunteer Riding Association first began hosting the timed rodeo event.
“They’ve been doing this since before I was around,” said VRA spokesperson Leigh Ann Whiteaker. “We’re here every first Saturday of the month from April through October.”
Barrel racing is a fast-paced, co-ed sport where riders compete against the clock, weaving around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern.
“You can turn right once and left twice or left once and right twice,” Whiteaker said. “If you have a horse, you can race. It doesn’t matter if it’s a gaited horse or not.”
The races feature divisions for all ages, including pee-wee (10-and-under), youth (11-18), adult (19-39), masters (40-and-over), and an open division for all ages.
The club is run by volunteers and supported by local sponsors, including John Johnson of Tazewell’s Water Wheel Sales, which makes belt buckles.
“Jim does our belt buckles for our kids,” Whiteaker said.
“We’re all volunteers, and we really emphasize our youth program,” he said.
“We have a president, a vice president, a secretary and a treasurer,” Whiteaker said. “We also have a cakewalk and that’s $2 and somebody gets a big cake. Our vice president, Raina Sharpe, makes the cakes and they’re delicious and she does a great job and we put the money back into our youth program. We really emphasize our youth program.”
Things will look a bit different for the Clinton High School golf teams in 2025.
Thanks to TSSAA re-alignment and reclassification, the Dragons and Lady Dragons will face a new slate of district and regional opponents as they move to Class A.
Clinton’s district will now include Knoxville Career Magnet Academy, Alcoa, Anderson County, Heritage, South-Doyle, L&N STEM Academy, Fulton and Oneida.
These teams replace Powell, Karns, Knoxville Halls, Campbell County and Knoxville Central as district foes.
One matchup may not have district implications, but it will still carry weight for Clinton Coach Matt Cain.
“I’m kind of excited about the re-alignment,” said Cain, who has led the program for more than a decade. “We’ll see some new opponents, but it’s a bit sad that we won’t play some of the teams we’ve built relationships with. My brother Michael coaches at Campbell County, and we’ll still play them, but it won’t be quite the same.”
As Scott Hinton prepares for his fourth season as Oak Ridge High School’s golf coach, he knows the Wildcats will need to build depth if they hope to compete in 2025.
But that’s a challenge facing every program across the Volunteer State.
“We’ll need depth, but so will everybody else,” Hinton said. “We’ll find out what our strengths are and where we stand in a hurry.
“We’re going to be strong at the top, but the biggest thing is finding that consistent No. 4 and No. 5 player,” he said.
“That’s the same challenge for everyone this time of year. I need to see what these guys can do, and in order to get better with a golf club, you have to work beyond what we do here.”
Oak Ridge will open its 2025 campaign July 29-30 at the 5 Star Preps Masters at Three Ridges Golf Course in North Knoxville. The two-day tournament will feature many of the state’s top teams.
6u American League All Stars, sponsored by Clinton Family Dentistry. Coaches: (from left) Jason Herrell, Ricky Owens and Daniel Valentyne. Team roster by number: Levi Owens (1), Oliver Jay (2), Neyland Herrell (5), Hudson White (6), Peyton Hobbs (7), Kaeson Bowser (8), Kamden Carringer (10), Nash Wood (17), Grayson Cardwell (25), Levi Breeden (36), Noah Westmoreland (40), Wyatt Carpenter (49) and Jackson Carroll (99).
