Noah Houck

As the new school year starts, all three area teams are back out on the links, tackling new courses and a new season with first-time and returning golfers.

If Friday night's jamboree is a sign of what is to come this fall, Sweetwater can get excited for what is around the corner.

The final week of the preseason forced the Bears into adversity, but through cancellations and bus trouble, Tellico Plains finished the week with a 32-6 win over Whitwell on Thursday before the junior varsity team got a run out in the jamboree at Sweetwater on Aug. 14.

The 2026 Tellico Plains Bears Tellico Plains's Kobe Bradley (right) delivers a block during the Bears' scrimmage with Pigeon Forge on May 15 in Tellico Plains.

The 2026 Sweetwater Wildcats Sweetwater's Isaiah Stiles prepares to push a Scott defender out of the way during Thursday night's game that propelled the Wildcats into the playoffs.

The 2026 Sequoyah Chiefs Sequoyah's Evan Hunt moves the ball during the 2025 season. Sequoyah's Caden Atkins goes for a block during the 2025 season.

The Wildcats' Ty Fitch crosses the goal line for the second touchdown of the night Friday for Sweetwater as senior teammate Jeremiah Parris (5) looks on.

Sweetwater soccer starts the year with a new coach and a roster that will turn to underclassmen in key moments, but the Lady Wildcats are not lacking in experience or on-field understanding with that in mind.

It took until the second quarter for Sweetwater to settle in, but the Wildcats found their groove against Sequoyah Friday night, winning 44-0 in Madisonville.

Tellico Plains outgained Greenback on the ground Friday night, but the Bears could not find the end zone enough to keep up with the host Cherokees, falling 24-6 in the