THE BIG PREVIEW | WEEK 6 (2026) presented by Ray Varner Ford

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BY JESSE SMITHEY

A huge showdown of state-ranked teams.

A 1-seed on the line in a key area 5A region.

A rivalry that splits a town.

And news and notes from around the state.

Get it all in the BIG PREVIEW for Week 6…

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SEVIER COUNTY
at GREENEVILLE

Sevier County played 15 games a season ago. And when head coach Todd Loveday looks back on the state runner-up campaign of 2025, the Week 6 game against Greeneville stands out more than the rest.

Not just because the game ended up going to double-overtime. Not just because Sevier County found a way to come out on top.

But more so because Loveday felt that Greeneville just may have been the best team the Smoky Bears played that season. He noted their team speed on the perimeter and strength in the middle of the field. Defensively, they don’t surrender much deep.

Moreover, Loveday said Greeneville’s defensive coverages are more complex than what most show. Greeneville intercepted two Cooper Newman passes last year in the 30-27 loss.

“They do a good job of mixing coverages up. Their defensive coordinator is a longtime college football coach. They give different looks. In high school, you’ll play some teams who’ll give different coverages here or there. And if you get a team that tries to do too much, they’ll bust their coverages. Greeneville doesn’t.

“They mix it up. Very fast on the back end. Their back seven guys are all seniors. They’ve played a lot of ball. Just like here, if you get on the field there, you’ve earned it and there’s a lot of trust.”

Greeneville (5-0), the No. 2 team in Class 4A in this week’s TSWA state rankings, will welcome Class 5A’s top-ranked Sevier County (4-0) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Friday night.

The Greene Devils have Loveday’s full attention once more.

Especially the quarterback-receiver tandem of Kaine Ricker and Taren Claridy. Ricker has completed 82 percent of his 72 attempts for 1,422 yards, 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also rushed for five touchdowns. Claridy, a senior, has 28 catches for 690 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“There’s no weaknesses for them, as usual, which is why we schedule them,” Loveday said. “We need to play big games like this. Our guys are looking forward to it. And it’ll probably be a four-quarter game and then some — just like last year.”

For Sevier County, senior quarterback Cooper Newman needs four more touchdown passes this season to set a new TSSAA record for TD passes thrown in a career. Charlie High (CAK, 2009-2012) has the current record at 131.

 

POWELL
at CENTRAL

Powell and Central have been on a collision course for a few weeks now.

Powell (5-0, 3-0 Region 2-5A) is ranked No. 4 in the TSWA state rankings while Central (5-0, 3-0) is No. 5.

They’ll finally make impact on Friday night, as the Bobcats host an anticipated rematch. Last year, Deuce Rodgers accounted for all six touchdowns in Powell’s hard-earned, 42-35 win, one in which Rodgers picked up a huge first down late to seal the win.

But Rodgers graduated, and Powell is now led by senior Jaylon Benjamin.

Benjamin has thrown for 1,017 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions while averaging 11.7 yards per carry.

He transferred to Powell from Clinton following the 2025 season.

Central coach Kevin Lane sees a difference this fall as opposed to what Central faced in him in 2025.

“He’s getting the ball out of his hands quicker and knows where he wants to go with the ball. Obviously, the guys he has around him — when Matt and his staff spread them out — he’s getting the ball to them as quick as he can. He’s also using his legs. He’s not scrambling as much, but they’re calling some designed run plays for him that is allowing him to be successful there.”

Powell coach Matt Lowe touted his team’s depth in the preseason, and Lane echoed that take after reviewing film of Powell this fall.

“They play a ton of guys and rotate several of their guys in and out and believe in several of their guys,” Lane said. “Obviously, depth at this time of the year is a huge piece, because of injuries and things like that.”

Central’s defense will face a Powell run game that averages 9.3 yards per carry and that has churned out 17 touchdowns in five games. Sophomore back Keshawn Thomas (499 yards, seven TDs) and senior Johonauan Moore (356 yards, six TDs) lead the way. Powell has been without leading receiver Zi Jackson for a few games now, but Lane and the Bobcats have to prepare as if he’ll be back at any moment.

The Bobcats will counter with senior quarterback Kaden Long, a 2025 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Finalist who has passed for 1,146 yards and 12 touchdowns this fall while leading the team in rushing with 495 yards and seven scores.

But Lanier Badgett (249 yards, five TDs) and Rashodd Layne (85 yards, two TDs) have emerged in recent weeks as complementary tailbacks, taking some of the offensive onus off Long.

“After the West game, we re-evaluated some stuff with (Badgett),” Lane said. “He was playing both ways at the time. We were getting some guys healthy who were injured either in preseason or early in the season. We just thought for him to be his best on the offensive side of the ball, we’re going to have to take some things off of him defensively. We’ve done that and he’s started to excel at the running back spot.”

While this midseason matchup of unbeaten teams does carry some weight in the league standings, Lane knows all isn’t lost if Central doesn’t come out on top. Sure, he and the Bobcats want to win. But they understand the bigger picture.

“Just like last year, losing to Dobyns-Bennett in Week One was disappointing but we came back and went on a four-game run. We lost to Powell and went to 4-2, but we still had everything in front of us that we wanted to achieve last year,” he said. “Win or lose this game, you still have to come out next week and the weeks thereafter and play and continue to get better. That’s not coach speak. It’s the facts of the matter. If you’re going to let one game define you, you’re going to struggle in the rest of them.

“We’ve talked about that this year for several games. We’ve talked about it this week for Powell. I’m sure Matt is saying the same thing. We both want to win it. We both know it’s going to be a challenge. But moving forward, if you win it or don’t win it, you have to come back Sunday and Monday and get prepared to play the next week.”

 

MO-WEST
vs. MO-EAST

Darell Keith has had multiple coaching stints and has been a part of big rivalries at every stop.

This Friday will be his first go around, though, in the Battle of MoTown.

Morristown West hired Keith as its head coach in January of 2026. It didn’t take long for Keith to hear about the most important game in town.

“The day they hired me, they started talking about the rivalry,” Keith said. “They didn’t care about Greeneville. They didn’t care about none of that. Nobody said nothing to me about trying to make a run for the state championship or being in the playoffs.

“You gotta win the East game. … That was my first introduction to it.”

The series dates back to 1972.

Morristown West won last year’s meeting 13-7, which avenged a 26-14 loss to East in 2024.

And while both teams enter with a win apiece, they’ve been competitive in 2026 against some big-name opponents.

Morristown East gave Dobyns-Bennett a scare for a bit last week, and Keith says that has caught his players’ collective attention.

“That has sparked enthusiasm and hope on their part and some doubt on our kids’ part,” Keith said. “So, my thing is: I’m trying to just focus on the game and not on the emotions and the antics that go with it. And right now, I’m losing.”

Morristown West had an off week last week. But not much will change when they resume play here in Week 6. The Trojans will go as 6-foot-3, 200-pound Riley McClellan goes, Keith added.

McClellan projects as a college safety. But his athleticism serves the Trojans’ offense well at quarterback. He has passed for 470 yards and rushed for 342 yards.

“Man, he’s grown up tremendously. Real good kid, well-raised,” Keith said. “He’s flourishing. I like him overall as a person. If he didn’t even play football, I’d like him. He’s a good guy. Good person. Great athlete.

“He hasn’t even began to scratch the surface of his talent. … If Riley is on, we’re on.”

MEIGS COUNTY
vs. SWEETWATER

Region 2-3A has turned out to be one of the most competitive leagues in East Tennessee this season.

And nearly every Friday night, one or more of its region contests can affect playoff projections.

The six teams — Meigs County, Sweetwater, Kingston, Austin-East, McMinn Central and Scott — have a combined record of 21-5 heading into Week 6.

But only four of those teams will ultimately make the postseason.

Meigs County (5-0, 1-0) will welcome Sweetwater (4-0, 1-0) on Friday with first place on the line.

“I think our region is highly competitive. I think any given night that any team can win,” Meigs County coach Nathan Simbeck said. “For us, as a competitor, every game has to be the same — no matter if we’re playing a non-region game against York Institute or a rivalry game with McMinn Central or Sweetwater. You have to want to go out there and perform to the best of your abilities.

“You can’t get concerned about the opponent and all the extra stuff. It has to be about executing and playing great discipline and great effort.”

Sweetwater edged Kingston 23-20 last week to put itself into a position this week to challenge Meigs for region supremacy.

The Wildcats have protected the football well while turning opponents over, Simbeck said. Sweetwater also runs the football well with senior tailback Ty Fitch (5-8, 180).

“I think anytime you do those two things, it’s a recipe for winning,” Simbeck added.

Kaiden Brewster paces the Meigs County offense again this fall. The junior standout is one of East Tennessee’s leading rushers but can also deliver clutch touchdown strikes when needed.

“He’s worked really hard in the weight room. He worked really hard this offseason in throwing the football. I think that’s been a big difference for us this year in scoring more points. We’ve been able to RPO more people and have more trust in him — not that we didn’t trust him last year. It’s just that he has the capacity to handle more now,” Simbeck said of Brewster. “He’s done a really good job of taking care of the football and making good decisions and not putting us in bad situations.

“Everybody knows he can run the football. But the plays he’s made downfield and in the RPO game have helped our offense expand more than what it’s been in the past.”

Meigs County’s three receivers have completed Brewster’s passing attack, as well as tight end Briar Roberts.

Defensively, Meigs County has thrived, allowing just 21 total points over the last four outings.

Simbeck attributed that to how hard his kids play, as well as how physical they play.

And, Simbeck said the addition of Jeramy Anderson as defensive coordinator has been key. Simbeck worked with Anderson when they coached together on Gary Rankin’s staff at Boyd-Buchanan. Anderson has also coached at Class 6A state power Oakland.

 

AROUND THE STATE

Concord Christian School (3-2) will play its Week 5 showdown with unbeaten Grace Christian (4-0) at Carson-Newman on Friday night.

Knoxville Catholic (4-1) will be out of state this week, taking on Hoover, Ala. The host Bucs gained national notoriety back in the mid-2000s as the focal piece of an MTV reality series about high school football called “Two-A-Days.” Hoover has won 13 all-time state titles in football in Alabama, the last of which came in 2017. The Bucs are 3-2 this season.

The Jellico Blue Devils (5-0) will play their first game this season as a state-ranked team on the road at Cloudland (1-3). Jellico made their debut in the Class 1A state rankings on Monday as the No. 7 team, as ranked by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

Bearden (0-5) will try to snap a 16-game losing streak on Friday night. The Bulldogs face arch-rival Farragut (0-5) in Farragut. Farragut owns the series lead, 43-24.

In the midstate, Division II-AA defending state-champion Battle Ground Academy (3-1) will welcome rival Franklin Road Academy (4-1) on Friday. BGA lost to FRA 21-14 in the regular season last year but BGA returned the favor with a 61-27 win over FRA in the state championship game. The Tennessee Sports Writers Association has BGA ranked as the No. 1 team in this week’s state rankings in Division II-AA with FRA as No. 2.

Big showdown over in Memphis, as Southwind (5-0) — the No. 4 team in Class 6A — will play at Briarcrest (5-0), the third-ranked team in Division II-AAA.