Carter County teams come together for 7-on-7 scrimmage
Published 4:45 pm Monday, July 21, 2025
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Ron Marvel
Starr Correspondent
Three Carter County teams met at Unaka Thursday night to change things up and to give their skill players an opportunity to shine. Hampton, Unaka and Happy Valley all may be better known for wanting to establish a physical run game, but the passing game requires a great deal of timing, so all three squads jumped on the opportunity to see how their games looked against live competition. The flip side of that coin was allowing defenders to work on techniques and to refine their cover skills. TSSAA has strict rules that, in order to allow their players to acclimate to the heat, full contact cannot take place until July 30.
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The lack of pads did not mean a lack of competition, as all three teams got after it hard and a bit of spirited chatter was present as well. Head Bulldogs coach Michael Lunsford was appreciative of the opportunity. “We were able to see what some of the guys were able to do. Got to work on some new stuff we’re putting in. Some install stuff and stuff like that. Really good opportunity for some of these guys to learn formations and what we’re trying to do.”
He also spoke about how good it was to be on the field with three other in-county schools. “It’s always great to get together with the Carter County teams, all of the kids know each other, all the coaches know each other. It’s good to come together and shoot the bull with them and joke around — just great guys in the county.”
All three teams will open the season on Aug. 22, as Unaka and Happy Valley will square off against each other while Hampton will travel to Johnson County.
