Football Recap: Pigeon Forge Takes a Loss

Pigeon Forge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat dating back to last season. They lost 42-21 to the Unicoi County Blue Devils. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Tigers of the 35-14 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in September of 2024.

Despite the defeat, Pigeon Forge saw an underclassman step up: sophomore McCoy Smith threw for 185 yards and three TDs.

Blaze Rice continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Unicoi County, rushing for 176 yards and three scores while picking up 11.0 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Rice is now averaging an impressive 102.8 rushing yards per game. Avery Hatcher did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 84 receiving yards.

Pigeon Forge's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Unicoi County, their victory bumped their record up to 4-2.

Pigeon Forge has already played their next contest, a 21-18 defeat against Polk County on the 3rd. As for Unicoi County, they will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Grainger at 7:00 p.m. on the 10th. The Blue Devils will be up against the Grizzlies' rather soft defense (which has allowed 28.8 points per game), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.