Local Chattanooga Teams Prepare to Travel in New Region 3, 4A

   East Hamilton will not see as many local teams in the new Region 3, 4A, but that’s fine with head coach Ted Gatewood.

"Love Chattanooga. Like playing teams in Chattanooga. But part of the experience with these young men in high school is an opportunity to travel."

   The Hurricanes are coming off a 2-8 record.

Said Gatewood,"Anytime you experience adversity, I think most everyone wants an opportunity to redeem themselves."

   Hixson coach Dan Duff says the Wildcats will plug some holes with young talent, and that can be scary.

"Everywhere I go, I get asked about Josh and Daniel Bullocks, who played for us back in the day at Hixson. Daniel Bullocks, who wound up playing for the Detroit Lions, when he was a freshman, he was so scared, he ran all the way against Ooltewah. He ran down first time ever on the field in high school, and he ran down on the kickoff team out-of-bounds."

   Livingston Academy will join this region, and they’ll bring a star player in tailback Dylan Linder.

Said head coach Bruce Lamb,"Dylan finished with 24-hundred yards and 30 touchdowns last season. We hope he gets to repeat that."

   Central has a new coach in Gary Bloodsaw, who is trying to bring a new attitude to the Purple Pounders.

"We’ve got a motivational video we look at a lot with Emmitt Smith on there. One of the comments he makes is all athletes are created equal, I just work harder in the off-season."

    Bloodsaw has been with the middle schools at Central for years.  Now he hopes to continue that longevity on the sidelines.

"I love the Central community. My kids graduated from there. I have no plans to move. I made that promise to these kids. I made it to the freshmen that I will be the only high school coach they know."