Football Preview: Sevier County Smoky Bears vs. Tennessee Vikings
Sevier County has gone 3-0 against Tennessee recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Sevier County Smoky Bears will head out to take on the Tennessee Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Sevier County knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 point or more in their past four matches -- so hopefully Tennessee likes a good challenge.
Sevier County's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Cocke County, posting a 63-0 win at home. Given the Smoky Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Fighting Cocks are ranked 260th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Tegan Avera, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries, and also caught a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Zach Banks, who rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Sevier County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 434 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since was before the start of last season.
Sevier County wouldn't let Cocke County keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Sevier County can thank Gabe Taylor and Grady Clark for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Tennessee was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap last Friday as they fell 20-14 to Morristown-Hamblen West. The loss continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Trojans: they've now lost three in a row.
Sevier County's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Tennessee, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
Everything went Sevier County's way against Tennessee in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 as Sevier County made off with a 28-7 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sevier County since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
