Preseason Preview: Division II-A East Region

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This region comes with a lot of newness this football season, with one school making their debut season and two others moving up to 11-man football from their recent seven-man experiences. The two programs in Murfreesboro return, but will have to establish some new firepower as well with recent departures.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division II-A East Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Concord Christian School</strong><br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Knoxville, Tennessee<br><br><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Steve Matthews<br><br><strong>2024 Finish:</strong> N/A<br><br><strong>Top Returning Players:</strong> OT Jake Johnson, OT Chris Sherman, '27 TE/DE CJ Simpson, '27 DE Gavin Guinn, '28 LB [player_tooltip player_id='1178600' first='Lyric' last='Jackson'], '28 OL Eric Abaye Jr, '28 LB Oakley Helton, '29 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1031934' first='Dasani' last='Moulden'], '29 QB [player_tooltip player_id='1633788' first='Kohbe' last='Ward']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grace Baptist Academy</strong><br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Chattanooga, Tennessee<br><br><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Bob Ateca<br><br><strong>2024 Finish:</strong> N/A<br><br><strong>Top Returning Players:</strong> RB/LB Kingston Ragan, '27 QB/ATH Trey Groce, '27 OL/DL Brooks Frazier, '28 OL/DL Josh Kress, '28 ATH/LB Shephered Heyworth</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Middle Tennessee Christian School</strong><br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Murfreesboro, Tennessee<br><br><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Christian Peterson<br><br><strong>2024 Finish:</strong> 5-7<br><br><strong>Top Returning Players:</strong> LB [player_tooltip player_id='1657198' first='Eric' last='Bowling'], '27 RB/WR/DB Shy Murphy, '27 OL Jacob Crews, '28 RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='1066002' first='Alie' last='Bangura'], '28 LB [player_tooltip player_id='1672075' first='Cooper' last='Jones']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Providence Academy</strong><br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Johnson City, Tennessee<br><br><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Daniel Kilgore<br><br><strong>2024 Finish:</strong> N/A<br><br><strong>Top Returning Players:</strong> WR/S Cole Blanton, '27 TE/DE Roman Damron, TE Charlie Walker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Providence Christian Academy</strong><br><br><strong>Location:</strong> Murfreesboro, Tennessee<br><br><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Lebron Ferguson<br><br><strong>2024 Finish:</strong> 6-5<br><br><strong>Top Returning Players:</strong> LB Sean Birkofer, LB Braxton Lillis, S Evan Sharpe, '27 LB Davis Warren</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>------------------------</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region Overview:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This region will really be operating with a completely fresh slate as each football program attempts to set an identity for themselves moving forward in to the future. Middle Tennessee Christian School is clearly the most rooted program in the region as they won the state championship a few years ago. The Tigers did lose some important players over the offseason, but still have enough firepower to be the clear favorite in this region. Shy Murphy, [player_tooltip player_id='1066002' first='Alie' last='Bangura'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1672075' first='Cooper' last='Jones'] should be among the best at their position in this DII-A classification giving MTCS a strong starting base for this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Providence Christian Academy took a hit by losing [player_tooltip player_id='1111039' first='Aiden' last='Bolden'] recently, but should look to continue on their improvements from last season where they increased the level of competitiveness they brought to the table. A strength seems to be the linebacker core, led by Sean Birkofer, where they can move some players around among the second level of their defense this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Concord Christian School will be playing their first varsity season after a handful of years away from the sport and have veteran coach Steve Matthews leading the charge. He is looking to build up the program through young players, so his team might be a couple years away from competing at the level he is hoping for, but they should have flashes with the young talent they possess. They should have the edges of the trenches on both sides of the line of scrimmage set, giving some stability to a youthful team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grace Baptist Academy has enough players to re-join a region after rebuilding their program following a tornado that took out the school a couple of years ago. They will join Providence Academy as both will be spending their first seasons in this new-look region. Both programs will have to develop up front but could have some skill players to work with after spending some time playing eight man football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#PRZTN Preseason Predictions</strong><br><strong>Predicted Order of Finish</strong><br><br><strong>1. Middle Tennessee Christian School<br>2. Providence Christian Academy<br>3. Concord Christian School<br>4. Grace Baptist Academy<br>5. Providence Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>– – – – –</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Regional Top Honors</strong><br><br><strong>Regional MVP: RB [player_tooltip player_id='1066002' first='Alie' last='Bangura'] -- Middle Tennessee Christian School<br>Offensive POY: RB/WR Shy Murphy -- Middle Tennessee Christian School<br>Defensive POY: LB Sean Birkofer -- Providence Christian Academy<br>Lineman POY: OL Jacob Crews -- Middle Tennessee Christian School<br>Coach of the Year: Steve Matthews -- Concord Christian School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->