Westview opens the 2026 season at No. 1 in West Tennessee Football Rankings

It’s finally time for high school football in West Tennessee.

Teams have fought through spring games, 7-on-7 season, heat acclimation week, full-padded practices and scrimmages to get to this point.

Huntingdon, McKenzie, University School of Jackson and Westview all played for state championships last year with Huntingdon and Westview bringing gold balls back to West Tennessee.

Here is the preseason West Tennessee High School Football Rankings with last year’s record in parentheses:

1. Westview (14-0) – The Chargers won the Class 3A state championship – the second in program history – with a win over Gatlinburg-Pittman.

2. Munford (10-2) – The Cougars reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs before losing to Beech.

3. Huntingdon (14-1) – The Mustangs won the Class 2A state championship with a win over Marions County after avenging the lone loss of the season in the state semifinals over Milan.

4. McKenzie (13-2) – The Rebels finished as the Class 1A state runner-up, falling to South Pittsburg in the championship game after winning 13 straight games.

5. USJ (11-2) – The Bruins finished as the Division II-A state runner-up with a loss to Nashville Christian in the championship game.

Read the region breakdowns

Region 6-1A Football: Can McKenzie make another run at the Class 1A state championship game?

Region 7-2A Football: Will Huntingdon make a run at a second straight state championship?

Region 7-3A Football: Can Westview repeat as region champion, state champion?

Region 8-4A Football: Will Haywood win the region championship again?

6. Milan (12-1) – The Bulldogs won the first 12 games of the season before losing to Huntingdon in the Class 2A state semifinals.

7. Dyersburg (8-5) – The Trojans reached the Class 3A quarterfinals before being eliminated by region foe Covington.

8. Lexington (8-4) – The Tigers pulled the upset and beat Haywood in the Class 4A first round before losing to Springfield in the second round.

9. Henry County (8-4) – The Patriots reached the Class 5A quarterfinals before losing to Centennial.

10. Covington (12-2) – For the second straight season, the Chargers reached the Class 3A semifinals before losing to Westview.

11. Crockett County (9-3) – The Cavaliers reached the Class 4A second round before losing to Pearl Cohn, who went to the state championship game.

12. Haywood (8-3) – The Tomcats won the Region 8-4A championship, but they were upset in the first round of the state playoffs.

13. Jackson Christian (9-3) – The Eagles reached the Division II-A state quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Nashville Christian.

14. South Gibson (10-4) — The Hornets made program history by making the Class 4A semifinals last season before losing to Pearl-Cohn.

15. TCA (10-3) – The Lions reached the Division II-A state semifinals before losing to Nashville Christian.

On the bubble: JCM (5-6); Humboldt (5-6); Peabody (9-3).

Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.