The 2025 TSSAA Dead Period came to an end Sunday; print your schedule here from WLAF

TOP PHOTO: Due to stormy weather, Campbell Head Football Coach Taylor Ownbey and his Cougars held their last practice before the two week break inside Brown Gym on June 19.

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- The countdown to the start of the 2025 football season begins today for the Campbell County Cougars. The TSSAA Dead Period, two-week break, ended Sunday, and the Cougars, like most other high school teams, get back to business starting today. Campbell opens its season on Friday, August 22, at Lenoir City.

Coach Taylor Ownbey mentioned that the TSSAA two week dead period came at a great time. “These kids needed a little break, and I did too so we are coming back ready to go.” Following the 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.

As for how his team has improved since Ownbey began his tenure as head coach at Campbell High in April, Coach is 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.

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.” Campbell is in Region 3-AAAAA, the largest region, with eight teams, and likely the toughest region in the state.

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 return for their 15th season of broadcasting Cougar Football over WLAF. Martin has called more Cougar games than any other announcer as well as announcing the most wins through 50 seasons of Campbell High. He is the longest tenured announcer in Cougar Football history.

Follow the Campbell Cougars over WLAF’s ten media platforms on the WLAF-Doyle’s Tire Shop Sports Network. You can get in on all of the action by watching over WLAF TV-1089 on Comcast-Xfinity, www.1450wlaf.com, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch or listen on WLAF Radio AM 1450 & FM 100.9 and Amazon Alexa. 

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHSED-07/07/2025-6AM)

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