Underrated Teams with State Title Potential: Class 1A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're in the deep part of the high school football offseason, where the portal has somewhat calmed down, and schools are beginning their prep for spring ball. With a lot of pieces coming in and veterans graduating, I thought it would be fun to talk about some sleeper state championship squads for every classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next in this series, let's discuss five teams in the Class 1A state title picture who aren't getting talked about enough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pittsburg and McKenzie are the clear programs to beat at the moment, but that doesn't mean there aren't teams that can stop them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2081077} --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/jfitzgerald.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2081077" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Sale Creek football coach Jason Fitzgerald. Taken by the Chattanooga Times Press.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sale Creek High School – 11-2 in 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sale Creek High School had a breakout season in 2025, going 11-2 and reaching the third round of the playoffs. While they have never been a football powerhouse, I don't think this was a one-off season. They lost a ton of senior production, but there's an abundance of young talent in this program that should have them competing for several years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers return their second-leading rusher in Jayson Booker, who was just a freshman. Not to mention that young core on defense, as they return 11 underclassmen who saw significant time in the 2025 season. While there are several question marks for this team, I trust the coaching staff will figure it out and lead Sale Creek to another successful season in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1593301} --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/coalfield-crop-610x400-1735920818.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1593301" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: The Coalfield football team.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Coalfield High School – 11-3 in 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coalfield has been one of the top programs in this classification for some time now. Since the 2020 season, the Yellow Jackets have won 71 games, including several deep runs in the playoffs. That will be no different next season, as they return a lot of production, including a plethora of guys on the offensive side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 quarterback Jackson Treece is heading into his senior year with some of their top rushers and the second-leading receiver from last year. You definitely have some holes in this roster, but the Coalfield coaching staff has consistently won big. Why should I expect that to change in 2026?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2122164} --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Photo-Feb-06-2026-11-41-02-AM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2122164" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Clay County celebrating a win. Photo from ClayCounty_Barstool on Instagram.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clay County High School – 11-2 in 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clay County is an interesting team heading into the 2026 season. They are one of your usual top-tier 1A programs that win a lot of games, but they also lost a ton of senior production from this past roster. They lose both of their top rushers and some key guys on defense, but I will trust this coaching staff until they prove me wrong.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs have constantly won big, so why should I think that things will change? This pick may be premature, but I like the young talent that they have. Several underclassmen tailbacks will step up, and the defense should always be pretty good. This is more of a projection pick, but I trust this program to make the correct changes and development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2122166} --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/Gavin-Shrader1-crop-2357x1548-1770400018.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2122166" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Richland QB [player_tooltip player_id='1532507' first='Gavin' last='Shrader'] at a Prep Redzone camp.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Richland High School – 10-3 in 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richland High School is an exciting team that accomplished a lot in 2025 despite some inexperience, including a freshman quarterback and several underclassmen offensive weapons. With another offseason to develop, I think this team will be one of the more legitimate ones that compete for a state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1532507' first='Gavin' last='Shrader'] is a talented signal caller who was a solid player but should become even better next year. [player_tooltip player_id='2086941' first='Collin' last='Cagle'] is back for another season after rushing for 551 yards on 9.5 YPC and eight touchdowns. The defense is loaded once again, making this a very intriguing squad heading into the 2026 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2122169} --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/06/dresden-crop-1065x700-1686080008-crop-733x481-1770400093.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2122169" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Dresden taking the field against Westview. Photo taken by Dresden Enterprise.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dresden High School – 9-3 in 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dresden High School is coming off a good year, but returns many good players who could push for a deep postseason run in 2026, potentially a state championship berth. The Lions will have their quarterback, top two receivers, several good running backs and a handful of productive defenders back for next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a lot of optimism around this program, and for good reason. They flashed a lot of good things in 2025, but the 2026 campaign could be where they make a big run. You won't hear too many people talking about them, with a few of the big dogs in 1A leading the charge, but watch out for the Dresden Lions next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->