PHOTO BY TOM MCNUTT
Logan Punch celebrates with Catholic assistant coach Steve Wright in the Class 4A state semifinals. The Fighting Irish eliminated Marshall County and a week later rolled to the state championship in the BlueCross Bowl at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. There are more high school football photos inside, as The Knoxville Focus takes one more look at the 2015 season.
By Steve Williams
The 2015 high school football season on the local scene, as usual, had great team performances, big plays by individuals and a rare oddity or two.
The Knoxville Focus today will give you a look at some of the season’s highlights via photography.
The season started with an unusual twist on Aug. 21 when The King’s Academy Lions literally walked from its campus to Seymour High for the first football game ever between the two schools.
The season ended 3½ months later with plenty of excitement too, as Knoxville Catholic capped a strong finish with a touch of gold, blasting Nashville Pearl-Cohn 48-8 in the TSSAA Class 4A championship game.
In between The Walk and The Comeback, there were plenty of other storylines and plenty to see.
Focus photographer Dan Andrews snapped a photo in Week 2 that’s still hard to believe – a helmet knocked off a Sevier County player that reached a height of 12 feet at least. For a cameraman, what’s the odds of seeing something like that and then hitting the button at just the right time?
In high school football, there are neat things happening off the field as well as on it. Enjoy Courtney Rader’s shot of the Fulton band major saluting in the rain during our National Anthem.
One look at Tim Gangloff’s photo of the gang-tackling Halls defense and you’ll see why Halls also sometimes goes by “Red Nation.”
John Valentine didn’t miss Central High’s first home playoff game in 10 years nor did he miss Riley Gaul being lifted in the air in a touchdown celebration as the Bobcats blasted Sullivan East.
Wynne Empson zoomed in on some interesting blocking and tackling in games at West High.
Last but certainly not least, Catholic’s Fighting Irish gave photographer Tom McNutt plenty to shoot, including an acrobatic Amari Rodgers, sideline celebrations and the feel of gold.
See more on following page.
