Alcoa football wins 7th straight state championship, leads Tennessee with 20 titles

CHATTANOOGA – Alcoa's run to a seventh straight state title didn't need any luck.

It was all dominance.

The Tornadoes routed East Nashville 45-14 Friday at Finley Stadium for the TSSAA Class 3A BlueCross Bowl state championship. It is Alcoa's state-leading 20th championship and marks the second time the program has won seven straight titles, accomplishing the feat from 2004-2010.

Alcoa finished the season 13-1.

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Caden Buckles was 12-of-17 passing for 117 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Buckles also had 48 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Amarion Ford led East Nashville (10-5) with 102 rushing yards on 29 carries.

Alcoa's defense led East Nashville to 124 total yards. The Tornadoes led 28-0 thanks in part to two Buckles rushing TDs and a 47-yard TD pass to Isaiah Bryant. Zacchaeus Beard's 3-yard TD with 1:25 left in the first half made it 28-7 at halftime. Frank Gordon then reeled in a 12-yard TD catch over a defender to trim it to 28-14.

But that's as close as the Eagles could get.

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@gannett.com and on Twitter @Kreager.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA football: Alcoa defeats East Nashville for seventh straight state title