The six finalists for Scrappy award each won state titles

Winning a state championship was not a prerequisite to being named a finalist for Scrappy Moore Coach of the Year, but it certainly helped.

Each of the six finalists for this year’s award, given to the Chattanooga area’s top overall coach, guided their respective team to a state title.

The winner will be announced at the annual Best of Preps banquet Tuesday evening at the Chattanooga Convention Center, where former University of Tennessee AllAmerican receiver Jalin Hyatt will be the featured speaker.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at bestofprepschatt. com.

The six finalists are Cleveland’s Josh Bosken, Tyner’s Scott Chandler, Dalton’s Matt Cheaves, Silverdale Baptist Academy’s Jackie Freelend, Baylor’s Erik Kimrey and Bradley Central’s Jason Reuter.

Bosken led a second-year girls’ wrestling program to a storybook season, with Cleveland narrowly beating reigning champ Rossview for both the TSSAA duals and traditional state championships. Three weeks after a seven-point decision for the duals title, the

Lady Blue Raiders completed the championship sweep with a six-point win in the traditional tournament. Sophomore Piper Fowler won her second straight individual state championship, while Makya Parker, Diamond Young and Madelin Zunin all had runner-up finishes for Bosken’s team.

Chandler, in his second season as Tyner’s football coach, led the Rams to the Class 2A state championship — the program’s first title in 25 years — and a 14-1 record. He also oversaw the defense, which ranked among the stingiest in Tennessee by allowing just 8.3 points per game, including seven shutouts. The Rams’ only loss was to eventual 3A champion Alcoa, and they outscored their five Region 3-2A opponents by a total of 202-7.

Cheaves, who just finished his 29th season as Dalton’s boys’ soccer coach, guided the Catamounts to their seventh GHSA state championship and, for the third time, a postseason national ranking. After graduating eight starters from Dalton’s 2022 state runner-up team, Cheaves led this year’s Cats through a slow start to a 20-2 record while facing one of the most challenging

schedules in program history to win the Class AAAAA title.

Freelend, a former GPS and University of Alabama softball star, was able to lead the Lady Seahawks to the Division II-A softball state title. Silverdale Baptist outscored its competition 356-46 and hit a programrecord 57 home runs, while its pitching staff had a 1.04 ERA with 323 strikeouts in winning 35 games. The Lady Seahawks have won 93 games in three seasons under Freelend, who played in the College World Series for Alabama and was a Freshman All-American for the Crimson Tide.

Kimrey, in his first season with Baylor’s football program, guided the Red Raiders to their first state championship in 49 years. With him calling the offensive plays, Baylor averaged 39.7 points per game, never scoring fewer than 31. Along the way to their Division IIAAA title, the Red Raiders snapped a six-game losing skid to rival McCallie, earned their first playoff win ever over Brentwood Academy and ended a five-game losing streak against Montgomery Bell Academy — all in dramatic fashion.

Reuter took one of the Chattanooga area’s most storied programs — regardless of sport — to the second state title of his career. He guided Bradley Central’s girls’ basketball team to a 35-1 overall record and the Class 4A title, the program’s seventh state championship. The three teams the Bearettes defeated in the state tournament this year had a combined record of 100-11, including their twopoint win over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Bearden in the quarterfinals.