The TSSAA dead period runs from Monday, June 23 through Sunday, July 6th

TOP PHOTO: Cougars conclude Thursday’s indoor practice with a moment of prayer

By Clayton Carroll

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – On the rainy, stormy Thursday morning, the Campbell High football team held its last practice before the two-week TSSAA Dead Period. First year head coach Taylor Ownbey’s Cougars practiced indoors, at John Brown Gymnasium, due to the wet weather conditions.

The scene from Brown Gym as Campbell was forced to practice inside because of Thursday’s rain and storms.

To begin practice, the Cougars were split up into groups, with one-half of the team working with their individual position coaches, and the other grinding in the makeshift weight room on the second deck of Brown Gym.  Campbell’s soon-to-be renovated weight room is still under construction, but should be ready to go before the 2025 football season.

Cougars lifting in the weight room area atop the second deck at Brown Gymnasium

Even with the limitations of using a basketball gym to practice football, Ownbey, his staff, and the Cougars made the most of their 7-9:30 am practice time.

Campbell practiced sideline to sideline, working on lineman’s blocking assignments, various motions, and actual set plays.

Coach O oversees his offensive line at work

As for how the team has improved since Taylor Ownbey began his tenure at CC in April, Coach was very pleased. “We’ve seen a lot of improvement over the summer,” said Coach O.

“We’ve gotten better in the weight room…We’ve gotten better on the field,” Ownbey mentioned.

“We have seen a lot of players develop, and that’s a big thing that I’ve enjoyed watching over the course of practice. That’s the big key for the success we have seen,” Ownbey continued to say.

Braydon Graham (#24) darts through the offensive line’s gap after receiving the handoff from Eli Lawson (#1)

It is no secret that Campbell has a tough schedule in an especially challenging region. The Cougars are in 5A Region 3, the largest and likely most difficult region in the state. The region consists of Karns, Clinton, Halls, William Blount, and state powers Knox Central, Powell and West. Central’s Bobcats claimed state titles in 2018 and 2019 while the Panthers of Powell won the state title in 2021, and the West Rebels raised the trophy in 2023 , 2022 and 2014.

Elsewhere on the Cougars schedule, Sweetwater has won three state titles over the years while Clinton played for a state title in 1992, and Halls claimed its title in 1986.

Coach said that “We just gotta compete at a high level, especially with the region we are in.”

Coach O also mentioned that the TSSAA two week dead period came at a great time. “These kids need a little break, and I do too so we can come back ready to go.” Following dead period, the Cougars will practice three days a week, then shift to four-day-a-week practice, and finally an “acclimation week” before the season starts.

Coach Ownbey signals to his team, his first year as head coach

Three straight road games await the Campbell County Cougars to start the 2025 campaign. The Orange-and-Blue venture to Lenoir City, Cherokee at Rogersville, and Karns, with the first game at home on Reynolds Field coming on September 12 against the Bobcats from Knox Central High School in Fountain City.

Les Martin and Brent Allen send you all the action over the WLAF-Doyle’s Tire Sports Network, which has brought you every Cougar football game since the school’s founding in 1975.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 6-20-25 6AM)

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