November 4, 2026 — Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee
Red Boiling Springs has forfeited its first-round TSSAA Class 1A playoff game at South Pittsburg, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, citing injuries and low roster numbers.
Bulldogs coach Michael Tirjan confirmed the decision in an email to The Tennessean:
“We are forfeiting Friday’s game against South Pittsburg due to injuries and low roster numbers. The decision was made with the health and safety of our student-athletes as our top priority. We wish South Pittsburg the best moving forward!”
Red Boiling Springs closed the regular season 0-10, including 0-3 in Region 4-1A play, but qualified for the playoffs automatically as one of only four teams competing in the region. The draw matched the Bulldogs, the region’s No. 4 seed, against Region 3-1A champion South Pittsburg, the defending Class 1A state champion.
South Pittsburg closed its regular season 9-1, having outscored its opponents 559-68, per The Tennessean. The Pirates have reached five TSSAA state championship games in the past six seasons, winning titles in 2021, 2023 and 2025. The same first-round matchup a year ago ended 58-0 in South Pittsburg’s favor.
With the forfeit, South Pittsburg moves to 10-1 and advances to the second round on Friday, Nov. 13, against the winner of the Jellico–Rockwood first-round game. South Pittsburg also moved its Senior Night to Nov. 13.
The forfeit carries postseason sanctions under TSSAA rules. The TSSAA handbook states that schools that refuse to play a playoff game for which they have qualified “will be out of the playoffs for the remainder of the two year contract cycle and the next two year contract cycle” and must pay the affected schools, with a minimum payment of $2,000 per year if no contract is written between the region teams. The Tennessean reported that Red Boiling Springs is now ineligible for the TSSAA football playoffs the next two seasons (2027 and 2028) and must pay $2,000 to South Pittsburg.
