With its third football title in five years, South Pittsburg’s grip on Tennessee’s Class 1A tightened as the Pirates rolled to a dominant 2025 season. After a Week 1 loss to Silverdale Academy, the Pirates ripped off 14 straight wins en route to the eighth state championship in program history.
State of the Program: South Pittsburg Pirates
South Pittsburg is a small-town football juggernaut that doesn’t rebuild so much as it reloads. And 2026 won’t deviate from that pattern, as the Pirates return a veteran roster that knows how to win.
Why They Matter
The road to a Class 1A championship in Tennessee runs through South Pittsburg. SPHS is more than a “good team”; it is an elite program. This sustained success elevates the program to one of the best in the state, regardless of classification.
Sixth-year head coach and SPHS alum Wes Stone said, “It’s a long line of history. When you combine great players with a community that is completely invested in Friday night football, you get results.”
What They Lost
Senior Core
South Pittsburg loses significant contributors and veteran leadership on both sides of the ball, as seven all-state selections depart from the Class of 2025. Those departures leave a major void on the field and in the locker room that won’t be easy to replace.
Offensive Skill Production
Leading rusher Ja’mychal Buckner departs along with starting quarterback Caden Jones. Buckner, a three-year starter at running back and MVP of the Class 1A championship game, rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of those three seasons, while Jones passed for 1,700 yards and 20 TDs in 2025.
“You don’t replace those guys with one person,” Stone said. “It’s replacement by committee.”
Offensive and Defensive Lines
The core of this program lies in its physicality. For all the attention given to the skill players, the offensive line is where this program separates itself from the competition. Multi-year starters on both sides of the interior line in CJ Francis and Logan Sisk must be replaced. Along the defensive line Clemson signee JR Hardrick and Carson-Newman signee Xavier Reviere depart as leaders of a unit that allowed just 72 points the entire season..
Key Returnees
All-purpose threat Dayon Cooper, the state’s reigning Mr. Football winner in class 1A returns for his final season. Cooper’s star continues to rise, as he has received significant attention from a number of Power 4 programs, including Florida State, Louisville, Tennessee and Vanderbilt…