Damon Floyd

In his 18th season as head coach at Bradley Central, Floyd guided his alma mater to its first region championship in 43 years and to the state semifinals for the first time since 1976. The Bears opened with 13 consecutive victories, tying for the most wins in a season in program history, and were ranked atop the Associated Press Class 6A statewide poll from the third week until their semifinal loss to eventual state champion Murfreesboro Oakland. That marked the first time the program had received a No. 1 ranking. Against a schedule that included six state-ranked opponents, Bradley Central outscored those teams by an average of 36-12. The impressive wins list included two over perennial power Maryville — by eight points in the regular season, followed by a 23-point blowout in the playoffs — and two over state-ranked Bearden. All but two of the 13 wins were by 10 points or more, including double-digit margins over cross-county rivals Cleveland and Walker Valley. “It was special. We didn’t reach the pinnacle of what we wanted to accomplish, but it was such a good team,” said Floyd, who has directed the Bears to the playoffs in 14 straight seasons and whose 124 career wins are tied for the most in program history. “Obviously you have to have talent to win in 6A, but the thing that stood out to me was how close this team was and how these guys worked together to accomplish so much.” Four Bradley Central players from the 2023 team have already signed college scholarships, giving Floyd more than 50 such players in his career. Boo Carter became the program’s second Mr. Football Award winner, joining offensive lineman Austin Sanders in 2012.