Nine champions to be crowned at Tucker Stadium
Eighteen teams have negotiated the 11-week regular season, four weeks of playoffs, and the coronavirus, to ultimately represent their schools and communities in the 2020 BlueCross Bowl high school football championships this week in Cookeville, Tenn.
Although the capacity of Tucker Stadium on the campus of Tennessee Tech University is limited to 6,000 spectators, tickets are still available for purchase through GoFan at https://gofan.co/tssaa. Tickets are $12 per game and must be purchased in advance online. The stadium will be cleared following each game.
Temperature checks will be required for entry and no one whose temperature measures above 100.4°F will be permitted to enter. All spectators must wear facial coverings if within 6 feet of others and if using a projected voice within 15 feet of others at all times while on-site (except children under age 2) and maintain social distancing from anyone other than those living in the same household.
Telecasts of the BlueCross Bowl state championship games will be produced by the NFHS Network and distributed over a state-wide network of broadcast TV stations. Live streaming video is also available at NFHSnetwork.com to those outside the coverage areas.
Championship Schedule
Thu. 11 AM, Division II-AA – Lipscomb Academy vs. CPA
Thu. 3 PM, Division II-A – USJ vs. Davidson Academy
Thu. 7 PM, Division II-AAA – McCallie vs. MUS
Fri. 11 AM, Class 3A – Alcoa vs. Milan
Fri. 3 PM, Class 1A – South Pittsburg vs. Fayetteville
Fri. 7 PM, Class 5A – Oak Ridge vs. Summit
Sat. 11 AM, Class 4A – Elizabethton vs. Haywood
Sat. 3 PM, Class 2A – Meigs Co. vs. Peabody
Sat. 7 PM, Class 6A – Oakland vs. Brentwood
Championship Notes
- Half of the 2020 BlueCross Bowl participants made an appearance in the championship games a year ago. There are three championship rematches from the 2019 BlueCross Bowl.
- Alcoa, Davidson Academy, Elizabethton, McCallie and Peabody return to the BlueCross Bowl in 2020 as defending state champions.
- Meigs Co. and Peabody met a year ago for the Class 2A state title. Peabody won the championship, 27-16.
- USJ and Davidson Academy met a year ago for the Division II-A state championship. Davidson Academy claimed the title with a 31-21 victory.
- Lipscomb Academy and CPA met a year ago for the Division II-AA state title. CPA won the championship, 24-7.
- South Pittsburg and Fayetteville have met three previous times in the postseason. South Pittsburg has triumphed in every meeting, outscoring Fayetteville by a 146-23 margin.
- Alcoa and Milan met in the Class 3A championship games in 2008 and 2009. Alcoa was victorious in both meetings.
- After winning the first two playoff meetings (2009, 2013), USJ has lost two straight in the postseason to Davidson Academy (2014, 2019).
- For the third time in the TSSAA playoffs, CPA will battle Lipscomb Academy. CPA eliminated Lipscomb Academy in both the 2014 quarterfinals and the 2019 semifinals.
- MUS and McCallie will face off in the Division II-AAA Championship for the first time, after four previous postseason meetings since 2003. McCallie won the first meeting, but MUS eliminated McCallie from the playoffs in 2011, 2013 and 2018.
- Oak Ridge seeks its first state title since winning the Class AAA championship in 1991.
- Milan has finished runner-up four times since it won its last state championship in 1999 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012).
- Peabody has played for a state championship four times prior to 2020. The only time it lost a state final contest was the school’s first appearance in 1991. Peabody has won four state championships since 2014.
- Among this year’s finalists, USJ has the most championship appearances without a title. The school has finished runner-up six times in the last 27 years (1993, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2019).