Five Breakout Teams in DII-AAA Classification

<p>The state of Tennessee is a little over halfway through the regular season for football and there has been enough games in non-region and now region play to begin to get a better feel for how each school in the state genuinely looks this season as we are about a month away from the postseason.</p>   <p>With that being said, there have been teams that have moved up the ladder and those that have moved down, resulting in a shifting of parts around the state this season.</p>   <p>Today, we take a look at the breakout teams so far this season in the top private school classification inside Tennessee: DII-AAA.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">KNOXVILLE CATHOLIC</h2>   <p>2024 Record: 3-8</p>   <p>2025 Record: 4-2</p>   <p>Knoxville Catholic is a prime example of why you build a strong young core and develop that talent over time as they have already surpassed their both their overall win total and number of wins in this classification from last season.</p>   <p>Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='496084' first='Mack' last='Bartholomew'] has become a consistent and reliable option which opens up the offense for dynamic receiver [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King'] and multiple well-built downhill running backs behind a massive offensive line.</p>   <p>Defensively, they have as much talent as anyone and cornerback [player_tooltip player_id='402532' first='Chaston' last='Smith'] has been crucial in giving a veteran presence and locking down a team's top receiver, freeing up the talent around him to win with their athleticism and make big plays.</p>   <p>They had a rough awakening realizing the physicality level they were going to have to play with to win each week in this class when they dropped a game to MBA, but bounced back with a blowout win the week after.</p>   <p>Counting last week, this next month is going to tell everyone A LOT about this team: (lost) at Ensworth, McCallie, CPA, at Baylor.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1959108732282937612 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Briarcrest Christian</h2>   <p>2024 Record: 4-7</p>   <p>2025 Record: 5-2</p>   <p>Briarcrest has also already surpassed their win total from last season, and while they are still searching for their signature win, they have made their presence known with nearly upsetting two top programs in the state with Ensworth and Southwind, losing by a touchdown to both.</p>   <p>This is a team that always finds talent and they have some more this season on both sides of the ball and it will be tested as they face a strong three game stretch to close the season with Brentwood Academy, at Lipscomb Academy, and at MUS left on their schedule.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/octaviusflynn3/status/1974311583900971394 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Montgomery Bell Academy</h2>   <p>2024 Record: 4-8</p>   <p>2025 Record: 4-2</p>   <p>MBA is yet another team that has already surpassed their win total from last season and that comes as a result of them being able to shorten the game and win one-score ball games against talented teams this year, doing so against Knoxville Catholic and Pearl-Cohn.</p>   <p>They have the trench talent to compete with anyone and if they can make the opponent play their brand of football, they have a shot to come out of the game with the win every Friday night.</p>   <p>That was the case last week, but CPA pulled out with a narrow one-point victory as MBA struggled to close the game. However, they do have the chance to make another statement upset win with road games to McCallie and Ensworth to close the regular season slate.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1974290014361301356 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Memphis University School</h2>   <p>2024 Record: 5-7</p>   <p>2025 Record: 5-2</p>   <p>MUS has already matched their win total from last season with five, one of which included a victory over a promising Bartlett team, but they will need to win some games in DII-AAA play to recapture that momentum down the stretch.</p>   <p>They have a strong young quarterback in [player_tooltip player_id='1036255' first='Price' last='Renovich'] and surrounding talent around him, but will have to rebound from a 35-0 shutout against Brentwood Academy with first place in the region on the line.</p>   <p>Their game against Briarcrest to close the season will be one of high importance as both programs fight for playoff seeding rights and momentum heading into the postseason.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/prenovich.jpg?w=700" alt="" class="wp-image-1642171" /></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brentwood Academy</h2>   <p>2024 Record: 9-4</p>   <p>2025 Record: 6-0</p>   <p>Brentwood Academy was a talented team last year that won a lot of games, but they have seemingly cleaned the small things up this season and haven more than taken care of business as they have worked through their schedule with ease.</p>   <p>They have a dynamic offense with quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='834810' first='Crews' last='Jenkins'], running back [player_tooltip player_id='723428' first='Larry' last='Sanders II'], and a plethora of Division One receivers including [player_tooltip player_id='378855' first='Kesean' last='Bowman']. This allows for them to score on any team at any point and that is something they have shown, winning games by an average score of 39-7.</p>   <p>The defense has held its own as well with standout middle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1318538' first='Roman' last='Jennings'] leading the front seven and lengthy, athletic defensive backs patrolling the back end of the defensive unit.</p>   <p>This is a team that could be dangerous to face in the postseason, but it will ultimately come down to how their trenches perform against the Baylor, McCallie, etc of the world, but they did beat Ensworth handily by score of 37-7.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1974282505001058501 </div></figure>

The state of Tennessee is a little over halfway through the regular season for football and there has been enough games in non-region and now region play to begin to get a better feel for how each school in the state genuinely looks this season as we are about a month away from the postseason.