Why TSSAA football state title 'four-peat' is possible for BGA with young WR stars
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CHATTANOOGA — One Battle Ground Academy player tripped over another, then another fell to the turf like a giant domino as they charged toward the trophy.
Forgive this team for not nailing its TSSAA football playoffs state championship celebration. It’s been 22 long years since the Wildcats have touched a gold ball.
BGA senior quarterback Kaedyn Marable tied a TSSAA state championship record with seven touchdowns and the Wildcats raced to a 61-27 victory over Franklin Road Academy on Dec. 4 at Finley Stadium in the Division II-AA BlueCross Bowl.
Marable, who was named MVP, got his part of the celebration right, dousing coach Bobby Bentley with a stream of water from a Powerade bottle.
“We were told we couldn’t dump the Gatorade on him. I don’t know who said that,” said Marable, who was on the losing end with BGA last year in a state final loss to CPA. “So, we had to grab the water bottles and just follow him around the field. It was really exciting.”
Marable finished 24-of-31 passing for 384 yards and four touchdowns, to go with 61 yards rushing and three TDs. He tied the total TD record set by former Beech and NFL standout Jalen Hurd in 2012.
Marable heaped praise onto BGA receivers Maddox Porter, a freshman, and Maximus Curry, a sophomore, as they made up 85% of his passing yards.
"They just make my job easy," Marable said. "I know I can get them the ball anywhere on the field and they can do the rest."
Curry caught nine passes for 176 yards and three TDs. Porter caught nine passes for 152 yards and a score.
“I’m really confident that if Kaedyn throws it to me or (Porter), I’m already thinking it’s a touchdown,” Curry said.
Curry has offers including Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Ole Miss. He and Porter have known each other since they were toddlers. Curry nearly left football until Porter’s dad, Ryan, pulled him back into the game.
“I’m so confident in Max," Porter said. "He was huge in the game today. I’m really proud of him. He just opened up opportunities all over the field for us.”
Porter has exploded onto the scene in his first varsity season, picking up offers from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Nebraska.
Bentley, a former South Carolina high school football coaching star, won the seventh state title of his career and first in Tennessee in just his second season with the Wildcats. He said he’s never had two star receivers at such a young age on the same roster.
They’re a big reason why BGA only punted seven times this season.
“When you put the ball in their hands, they want to go score,” Bentley said of Porter and Curry. “They don’t want to just catch it. They’re going to the house with it. That’s their mentality.”
Despite graduating star seniors like Marable and linebacker Elijah Fernandez, BGA is set to return a stockpile of talent in 2026.
“The job doesn’t end here,” Porter said. “We’re going to try and four-peat.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Maddox Porter, Max Curry help lead BGA to TSSAA football championship
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