August in Tennessee isn't just about the humidity or the cicadas. It’s about that first crisp whistle. Honestly, there is nothing quite like the chaos of the first Friday night of high school football. You’ve got teams coming off months of weight room grinding, and then suddenly, the scoreboard is real.
The 2025 season opener was no different.
The TSSAA week 1 football scores gave us exactly what we wanted: blowouts that made us question the preseason rankings and a few nail-biters that came down to a single play in the dirt. If you were looking for a calm start to the year, you weren't watching Tennessee football.
The Big Matchups: Heavyweights and Heartbreaks
Let’s talk about Alcoa and Maryville. This is basically the "Super Bowl of Blount County." People start talking about this game in May. Alcoa ended up taking it 28–21. It wasn't just a win; it was a statement. Maryville is a powerhouse, but Alcoa showed up with a defensive line that felt like it was made of concrete.
Across the state, the story was similar. Some of the "locks" for the season found themselves in dogfights. Look at Brentwood and Smyrna. Brentwood escaped with a 14–13 win. One point. That is the kind of game that keeps coaches up until 3:00 a.m. watching film.
Then you had the offensive explosions. Chester County put up 75 points against Memphis East. 75. Basically, every time they touched the ball, someone was crossing the goal line. It’s hard to even process that kind of offensive efficiency in week one when most teams are still trying to figure out their snap counts.
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A Quick Look at the Scoreboard
Instead of a boring table, let's just run through some of the wilder results from that Friday night.
In Middle Tennessee, Antioch pulled off a bit of a shocker by holding Mount Juliet to just two points. Final score: 24–2. You don’t see a safety-only score every day. Blackman took care of business against Clarksville 24–6, while Independence managed to outlast Rockvale 37–23.
Out East, Gatlinburg-Pittman handled Seymour 44–7. Jefferson County shut out Cocke County 41–0. It was a rough night for the visitors in those stadiums. Science Hill had a much tougher time but squeezed past Elizabethton 27–20 in a game that felt like a playoff atmosphere in August.
The West Tennessee Shootouts
West Tennessee always brings a different kind of energy. Huntingdon and McKenzie is a rivalry that usually defines the region. Huntingdon came out on top 41–21. Meanwhile, Haywood edged out Henry County 30–28 in a Thursday night special that set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
- Dyer County 35, Dyersburg 34 (Overtime thrillers are the best)
- Peabody 42, Ripley 0
- Westview 34, MASE 0
- Crockett County 56, Memphis Middle College 0
Why TSSAA Week 1 Football Scores Often Lie to Us
Here is the thing about week one. It’s a liar.
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You see a team win by 40 and you think they’re headed to Cookeville for the state championship. Then week two happens, and they lose to a team they should have crushed. Coaches call it "the biggest jump," the one between week one and week two.
A lot of the TSSAA week 1 football scores are skewed by nerves. You have sophomores starting for the first time. The lights feel brighter. The crowd is louder. One bad snap or a missed tackle on a screen pass can spiral into a three-touchdown deficit before the band even finishes the halftime show.
Take a look at Oakland. They beat CPA 28–14. On paper, it looks like a solid win. But if you were there, you saw a game that was much more technical and grinding than the score suggests. Oakland is always the gold standard, but even they had some week one rust to knock off.
Small School, Big Noise
We can’t ignore the 1A and 2A schools. Gordonsville and Coalfield played a classic, with Gordonsville taking it 21–18. These are the games where the whole town is in the stands. South Pittsburg is always a name to watch, and while they aren't always playing the biggest schools in week one, their efficiency is terrifying.
Surprises and "Wait, What?" Moments
The most surprising result for many was Antioch's stifling defense. People expected Mount Juliet to have a high-flying offense, but Antioch just sat on them. It’s rare to see a team like Mount Juliet held to a single score that wasn't even a touchdown.
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Another one was Chester County. We mentioned the 75 points, but the sheer speed they displayed was next level. If you are a defensive coordinator in that region, you are probably looking at that score and reaching for the Tylenol.
Then there was the Dyer County vs Dyersburg game. Overtime in the season opener is brutal. Dyer County won 35–34. That is a game of inches—a missed extra point, a bobbled snap, a lucky bounce. That’s why we love this stuff.
Actionable Insights for the Rest of the Season
If you’re tracking these scores to see who is going to make a deep run, don't overreact to the blowouts. Instead, look at the teams that won close games.
Winning a game like Science Hill's 27–20 victory over Elizabethton tells you more about a team’s character than a 50-point shutout. It shows they can handle pressure when the clock is winding down.
Keep an eye on the injury reports too. Week one is notorious for "cramp city." You’ll see players going down left and right because they aren't used to the game-speed intensity in the Tennessee heat. The teams that stayed healthy are the ones that will dominate September.
What to Look for Next
- Check the "Points Against" column. Offense sells tickets, but the teams allowing fewer than 10 points in week one are usually the ones still playing in November.
- Watch for the "Week 2 Bounce." Look at the teams that lost a close one in week one—they usually come out with a chip on their shoulder the following Friday.
- Follow the regional standings closely. A non-region win in week one is great for morale, but the intensity shifts once those region games start hitting the schedule.
Keep your eyes on the local reporters and the TSSAA's official scoreboard. The rankings will shift, the "experts" will change their minds, but the scores are the only thing that stays in the record books.
Next Step: Head over to the official TSSAA website or your local newspaper's sports section to compare these week 1 results against the week 2 matchups to see which teams are actually showing consistent growth.