Best of Preps football jamboree set for August

With only about a month remaining before the 2017 high school football season kicks off, the schedule has been set for the event that signals the start to the season. For the second year in a row the Times Free Press will be the proud sponsor of the Kickoff Classic Best of Preps jamboree at Finley Stadium.

The jamboree will be played on back-to-back nights — Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12 — with 19 area teams competing.

“It’s going to be the best competition we’ve ever had,” said event organizer Stump Martin. “It’ll bring a lot of excitement and more people because of the number of quarters each team will get to play.”

Under the new format, each team will play two 20-minute quarters, against different opponents, with a running clock. There will be seven quarters of action on Friday, beginning at 6 p.m., and 12 quarters on Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m.

After a one-year absence, Signal Mountain returns to the jamboree under new head coach Josh Roberts, who was the team’s offensive coordinator last season. The Eagles will play Notre Dame and McCallie in the final two quarters Friday night.

The only other first-year head coach among this year’s teams is Hixson’s Gary Murray, who was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator last year. Hixson will play on Saturday, taking on Sale Creek and Howard.

“Where else can you go and see as many different kids and teams and play as many minutes in one place?” Martin added. “If you love high school football you’ll get your own preseason preview at Finley.

“Folks will get to see the new uniforms, the star players that are back and the new ones people are talking about. You can see which teams are going to be as good as advertised, and it’s really just a great atmosphere, and always an exciting way to get the season going.”

The event is also sponsored by Sonic Restaurants, Jack Benson Law Firm and Coca-Cola. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the individual teams as well as at the gate the days of the event. All proceeds from ticket sales go to the schools competing in the jamboree.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@ timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.