When the final horn blew in the Tellico Plains-Hampton game on Friday night, what was perhaps the best turnaround in Tennessee high school football this season came to an end.
No, it didn't end with a state title.

It didn't come up one or even two games short of appearing in the title game.
But when Tellico walked off the field following its 26-12 loss to Hampton, it walked off with seven more wins under its belt than it gathered the previous two years combined.
In fact, the Bears' senior class had won only three games coming into this season.
And in 2009, that class nearly tripled its win total over the last three years.

Right now, the wound of losing is still fresh and the eight wins the Bears accumulated this season won't help the players forget the last game anytime soon.
But this team has nothing at all to be down about.

I've been around this program for three seasons and have seen the ups and downs along the way.
There have been bad losses, tough moments, and lots of frustration the last couple of seasons.
But never once did the Bears let that get in the way of accomplishing the goals they set out to achieve this season.

Did dropping down a class help?
Of course it did.

But in the end, it doesn't matter if the Bears dropped down all the way to the Sequoyah Youth Conference if there wasn't a will to win.
Guys like Zeke Massingail, Casey McAlister, and Butch McMinn had taken plenty of hits coming into this season.

The same is true with the junior class and guys like Deion O'Dell, Josh Stinnett, and John Sloan.
This year, despite playing almost a completely different schedule, the Bears looked like they wanted to take out their frustrations from past years on anybody that came across their path.
And for the most part, they did.

But most importantly, this team knows what it feels like to win, knows what it takes to win, and should be completely focused on improving what's been established.
Sure, Tellico loses a bunch of high-quality players, but there was no shortage of players that stepped up when called upon this season.

I don't think this team is a one-hit wonder that will quietly go back to into obscurity. It's hard to now after putting together the season the Bears had this year.

Basketball begins
As one sport ends, another gets fired up.
This week, the high school season unofficially kicks off tonight as all three Monroe County teams will play in Hall of Fame games.

Sweetwater will play Sequatchie County at Walker Valley, Tellico travels to Heritage, and Tellico Plains will make a trip to Copper Basin. Sweetwater will play Chattanooga Christian at Walker Valley and Sequoyah will host Loudon on Thursday.
Tellico will host Marion County on Saturday.

This is a good opportunity to catch some early-season action and see what each team has entering the season.
Also, look for previews of each team in Sunday's edition of The Advocate & Democrat, along with recaps of the Hall of Fame results.