Regardless of the level of competition, memories are the most treasured gift of all for sports fans.
With that in mind, although it may be just a tad premature — hey, everyone enjoys getting to open presents early — the Times Free Press would like to offer our top 10 prep sports memories from this past calendar year.
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Times Free Press lists year’s top 10 most memorable Chattanooga-area prep sports moments
1. "Unprecedented"
Although McCallie and Baylor had controlled Division II-AAA for the previous four years — the Blue Tornado claiming three consecutive state championships from 2019-2021 and the Red Raiders taking the 2022 title — the Scenic City dominance was on full display throughout the 2023 season.
After being ranked 1-2 for most of the season (the two teams were a combined 12-2 against other D-II AAA competition), and putting on a highlight-reel regular season matchup (McCallie outlasted Baylor for a three-point win), the Blue Tornado and Red Raiders each survived semifinal scares to set up a historic BlueCross Bowl showdown.
Even before kickoff, TSSAA officials called the game "unprecedented" because it was the first time in state history two rival schools from the same city would face off in a championship game. Add in the location — both schools' campus is fewer than five miles from Finley Stadium — and it all added up to an incredible atmosphere.
Besides the game's stakes and rivalry factor, the level of talent showcased on the field — combined, the teams had more than 10 players who had scholarship offers from Power Five college programs — added to the buzz, helping fill the 20,412-seat stadium with a crowd estimated at more than 18,000.
Although the rematch did not have five lead changes like the first meeting, the game did not disappoint. The two teams combined for 881 yards of total offense, with touchdown plays of 64, 63 and 41 yards, plus a fumble return of 97 yards for another score.
But in the end it was just a single yard that helped decide the outcome as the McCallie defense held on a fourth-and-12 play near midfield — Baylor quarterback Whit Muschamp hit Amari Jefferson across the middle for an 11-yard gain — to seal a dramatic 34-28 win.
"It was crazy," said McCallie defensive back Marcellus Barnes, whose night was highlighted by a first-half interception and a TD-saving play when he broke on a pass in the end zone and arrived just in time to separate the ball from the receiver. "I've never played in an environment like that in my career. I know it's something that we'll all talk about a lot more as we get older and look back on it all."
McCallie quarterback Jay St-Hilaire completed 22 of 28 passes for 309 yards and four TDs to earn MVP honors and Enrique Jaimes-Leclair turned in an incredible performance with eight catches for 173 yards and a TD. Not to be outdone, Baylor's Jefferson had eight catches for 210 yards and two scores.
"I haven't really experienced anything like that," McCallie coach Ralph Potter said afterward. "This is just the mountaintop right here. This is it."
2. Scary good
Even in a year in which the Chattanooga area produced more highly-touted prep football prospects than any other, one player dominated statewide storylines.
Boo Carter had made local headlines to end 2022 by becoming the area's first high school player to cash in on the TSSAA's new rule allowing student-athletes to be paid for their name, image and likeness.
The four-star prospect caught statewide attention in early June when he transferred from Brainerd to Bradley Central, then stepped into the national limelight later that month when he announced his verbal commitment to Tennessee — over a list of finalists that included Colorado and Michigan — live on Instagram from rap mogul Jay-Z's 40/40 Club, an upscale New York City sports bar.
During the fall, he sent Vols fans into a worried social media tizzy by accepting an invitation from Colorado's Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders for an official visit to a nationally-televised home game.
On the field, Carter lived up to the hype as he led Bradley Central to its first region championship in more than 40 years, a regular-season and playoff win over perennial power Maryville and to the state semifinals for the first time since 1976.
He went on to compile 1,795 yards of offense, 89 tackles and two interceptions on defense in becoming only the second Bradley player to claim the state's Mr. Football award before enrolling early at Tennessee to begin practicing with the team for the New Year's Day Citrus Bowl.
3. Recruiting record
It wasn't just Boo Carter who had dozens of big-name college football coaches visiting the 423 area code.
After lagging behind the rest of the state in producing high-level college prospects for the better part of the past decade, the Chattanooga area became the state's epicenter for recruiting in 2024. The area boasted its largest collection of talent ever, including 13 who had offers from Power-Five conference teams before the season even began.
During a visit to Chattanooga last summer, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel complimented the area's overall level of talent, saying, "Chattanooga has had a long history of great players. You go all the way back to Reggie White, who's the best defensive lineman that ever played this game.
"It's been an area that's extremely important to Tennessee and our football team for a very long time. It's certainly important to myself and our staff. We've tried to recruit the entire state, but we've been very intentional in how we've recruited Chattanooga."
Although the Vols landed one of the area's top overall prospects in Boo Carter, they missed out on Baylor receiver Amari Jefferson, who was just as highly sought-after but chose to become the first player from Hamilton County to commit to Alabama under Nick Saban. The 6-foot, 200-pound Jefferson also lived up to his recruiting hype, finishing the season with 74 receptions for 1,401 yards and 20 TDs to help the Red Raiders return to the state title game and earn Tennessee Titans Mr. Football honors.
By the time the early signing day rolled around (Dec. 20), Carter and Jefferson were joined by nine other area players who signed with FBS programs. That list included McCallie defensive lineman Carson Gentle and Bradley Central defensive back Marcus Goree Jr. going to Tennessee, Red Bank defensive lineman Kobe Smith to Duke, Bradley Central defensive back Tito Williams to Northwestern and Bears quarterback Kaleb Martin to Miami (Ohio), Baylor tight end Max LeBlanc to Ohio State, Red Raiders quarterback Whit Muschamp and McCallie quarterback Jay St-Hilaire both signing with Vanderbilt and South Pittsburg tight end Martavious Collins to Texas-El Paso.
Eight other area players also signed college scholarships during the early signing period.
4. Softball's state standard
Few things have become more expected or impressive as the Baylor softball program's state championship run. The Lady Red Raiders continued a remarkable reign in late May by extending their streak of consecutive Division II-AA state titles to eight.
On its way to another tournament championship, Baylor beat Chattanooga Christian, GPS and Tipton-Rosemark by a combined 34-5, including a 9-5 decision over CCS in the finals. The Lady Red Raiders have not lost a state tournament game since 2017, a run of 16 straight wins by a combined runs total of 131-20.
Riley Olesik stood out at the plate, going 7-for-11 with 11 RBIs — including 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the title game — and Kaylee Snyder ended a CCS rally by coming on in the fifth inning, with a pair of runners in scoring position, to strike out two batters to help seal the final win.
"We had to keep fighting because they weren't going to give up," said Katie Raper, one of only three Baylor seniors on the roster. "This is like one of the best feelings in the world. It never gets old because we work our butts off just to get here."
5. International talent
After two dominant seasons on the state high school level, Cleveland rising junior Piper Fowler became a nationally celebrated wrestler over the summer.
Fowler, who turned 16 in March, followed her second straight state championship season by becoming one of just two girls to win individual titles for the United States in freestyle competition at the Under-17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey in early August. She was the most dominant American at the event, outscoring her four opponents 34-4 to earn the gold medal.
After defeating Germany's Lotta Englich in the 161-pound final, Fowler, who is the nation's top-ranked high school wrestler in her weight class, excitedly ran around the mat with an American flag draped on her back to celebrate.
"To be representing my country was an amazing feeling," Piper said afterward. "This world championship is definitely the cherry on top of an amazing season.
"My goal is to make the Olympics one day, so this is the start of an exciting and amazing journey."
She became the first female in Tennessee history to qualify for the World Championships, claiming one of the 10 spots for Team USA at the US Marine Corps Women's Nationals in Spokane, Washington.
Through her first two varsity seasons at Cleveland, she has a 45-0 record with 44 pins and a pair of TSSAA individual state titles. She helped the Lady Blue Raiders sweep team state titles in both the duals and traditional tournaments.
6. Ralph rides off into the sunset
In the coaching world, there simply could not be better timing for a retirement than Ralph Potter's. Less than one week after guiding his alma mater to its fourth state championship in five years, and fifth overall, by beating bitter rival Baylor in the title game, Potter announced he was stepping down as head coach.
Potter said he had actually reached that decision months before the season kicked off, but chose to keep it a secret so as not to add to the pressure on the team.
"I think for me, I never really wanted to coach much past 60, so I had that in my mind as an end point," said the 60-year old Potter, whose teams reached at least the semifinals in each of the past seven seasons, going 45-12 against Division II-AAA competition during that time. "I've been a head coach for 30 years, and it's been 50 years since my dad came to McCallie, so there were just a lot of round numbers that seemed to add up to this being the right time."
A 1981 McCallie graduate, Potter compiled a 248-109 overall record as a head coach, with 181 of that total coming with the Blue Tornado to make him the program's all-time wins leader.
Under his direction, McCallie won DII-AAA state titles in 2001, 2019, 2020, 2021 and this past season, with a runner-up finish in 2006. He admitted this year's 34-28 BlueCross Bowl victory over Baylor, inside a packed and electric Finley Stadium, would go down as his favorite win.
Joel Bradford, a 2007 McCallie graduate who was an All-America receiver at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has been the Blue Tornado offensive coordinator the past five seasons, was named as the successor, with Potter set to remain on staff as the team's defensive coordinator.
In the five seasons since Potter took charge of the defense and handed the offense over to Bradford, McCallie compiled a 53-9 overall record with four state titles and the offense averaged 36 points per game.
Potter, who ended his head coaching career with an 18-6 record against Baylor, was the second local legendary football coach to step down in 2023.
Robert Akins announced in January that he was ending his 44-year run as a football coach to become the head of schools at Fayette Academy in Somerville, Tennessee. The 68-year-old Akins was a fixture in the Chattanooga area and coached the last 16 seasons at Ringgold, where his teams won 97 games and made eight playoff appearances, including a run to the semifinals in 2013. He also coached 10 seasons at Boyd Buchanan, winning a state championship in 2003, while finishing runner-up in 2002 and 2004.
7. Pirates still sailing
Making its third appearance in the BlueCross Bowl in the past four seasons, South Pittsburg rallied late to claim its seventh state championship with a dramatic 14-7 decision over McKenzie.
Two things stood out about the Pirates latest state title team: defensive dominance and team grit.
When all-state quarterback Kamden Wellington suffered a high ankle sprain on the opening drive of the semifinal game, it severely limited the offensive capabilities. But the Pirates overcame those limitations by relying on the toughest defense in the program's 100-year history to finish off a 15-0 season.
After McKenzie finally capitalized on one of South Pittsburg's three third-quarter fumbles, covering 22 yards in two plays for a 7-0 lead, the Rebels next 11 plays produced minus-1 yard of total offense.
For the game, McKenzie — which came into the finale averaging 37 points per game — had 11 possessions, with all but two ending in a three-and-out as the Rebels averaged less than 2.5 yards per snap in gaining just 90 total yards (38 in the second half). They failed to convert on all nine third downs and were also stopped on fourth down twice.
Meanwhile, South Pitt scored two TDs in the final 11 minutes to overcome the first deficit it had faced all season.
With Wellington ineffective — he was limited through the first three quarters before re-injuring the ankle on the first play of the fourth quarter — the Pirates turned to senior running back Jamarion Farrior. The 6-foot, 200-pounder — who had lost two third-quarter fumbles, including one that led to McKenzie's TD — responded by carrying the ball on each his team's final 11 offensive snaps, which accounted for 62 of his 160 yards and both TDs in earning game MVP honors.
The Pirates maintained possession for 18:48 of the 24 second-half minutes.
"It goes back to determination and our kids refusing to lose," Pirates third-year head coach Wes Stone said. "From about midway through the third quarter on, it became a street fight, a brawl, and our kids just kept fighting."
8. Bearettes back on top
The only thing more impressive than the collection of playmakers making up the Bradley Central girls' basketball team was the fact that so much of it was underclassmen.
The level of talent was more than enough to outweigh any lack of experience as the Bearettes beat three state tournament opponents whose combined record was 98-11 on their way to claiming the Class 4A state title to polish off a 35-1 season.
In the nine-point championship game victory over Memphis Bartlett, freshman Kimora Fields put on a clinic by making 8-of-10 field goals on the way to 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. She put up the impressive stat line despite going up against 6-foot-5 senior post Mallory Collier, a North Carolina State signee.
It was the extension of her tournament success in Murfreesboro, where she finished 20-of-27 from the field for a combined 51 points to earn tournament MVP honors.
In claiming the program's seventh state crown, the Bearettes opened their state tournament run by knocking off nationally-ranked and previously unbeaten Knoxville Bearden.
"When it comes to carrying the flag for an area, I feel like the Bearettes have represented East Tennessee and the Chattanooga area pretty doggone good for a very long time," said coach Jason Reuter, who in 13 seasons has guided Bradley Central to a 388-43 overall record, two state championships, 13 straight district and eight straight region titles.
Under Reuter the Bearettes have also reached the state tournament eight times and are 84-1 in home games against district foes.
9. 'Soccer Town' adds more titles
Whitfield County continued its domination of soccer in Georgia as Dalton, Coahulla Creek and Christian Heritage won championships this past spring.
Dalton (21-2) won its seventh title under coach Matt Cheaves with a 2-0 overtime win over Midtown in Class AAAAA. Luis Favela scored both of Dalton's goals in the first 10-minute overtime period, one on a great individual move and the other on a strong pass from David Saldana in a set piece.
Coahulla Creek (19-1-2) won its second championship for coach Aurelio Jacobo, defeating Oconee County 1-0, also in overtime, in the Class AAA final at Mercer University in Macon. Cruz Barcenas scored off a long ball from Anthony Mendiola, a key member of the 2021 title team, with more than a minute to play in the first overtime session. The Colts (19-1-2) outscored their opponents 23-0 in the postseason.
Christian Herittage (13-1-3) won its first title with a 2-1 win over Georgia Military College Prep in the Class A (Division I) final at McEachern High School in Powder Springs. Marco Arostegui had both goals for the Lions (13-1-3), with his winner off a Peter Pridgen pass with seven minutes to play.
Dubbed "Soccer Town, USA" by a 2022 New York Times article, Dalton-area schools since 2017 have combined to win 11 championships. Each of the area's schools — Dalton, Northwest Whitfield, Southeast Whitfield, Coahulla Creek and Christian Heritage — has at least one championship during that time.
10. Memorable trifecta
Within hours of one another on Oct. 20, area teams Cleveland, Sale Creek and Signal Mountain claimed three of the state's five volleyball state championships in Murfreesboro.
For Sale Creek, which was making its eighth consecutive state tournament appearance, the Class A crown was the first state championship in any sport and finished off a 50-2 season that also included 44 consecutive wins. Senior Ava Higgins earned MVP honors after a season-high 26 kills in the finals.
"This is a success story that so many teams here have attempted to write just to fall short in the end," said Lady Panthers coach Erin Briner.
Signal Mountain senior Emily Redman finished with 19 kills and 19 digs to lead her team to the Class AA title in four sets, the program's first since 2010.
Cleveland then completed the memorable day by sweeping three sets to repeat as Class AAA champions. Lady Blue Raiders 6-foot-3 junior star Lauren Hurst earned MVP honors after recording 27 kills.
It marked the first time three local programs won state volleyball titles in the same season.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com