Knoxville Catholic's final football game of the 2026 season against Chattanooga's Baylor School will be played at Covenant Health Park on Oct. 30, Boyd Sports CEO Chris Allen told Knox News on Sept. 16.
It was originally scheduled to be played at Catholic but will instead become the first football game held at the home of the Double-A Smokies since it opened in 2025. The stadium also hosts One Knox SC soccer matches. It has a seating capacity of 6,355.
The game will start at 7 p.m. and air on WKNX, according to Mark Packer, who secured the broadcast rights with Rivalry Thursday three weeks ago. It will also stream on WBIR+ and the Rivalry Thursday YouTube channel.
Tickets will go on sale next week with an official announcement scheduled for Sept.
22.
Baylor (4-0), currently No. 1 in the Tennessee High School Football Super 25 rankings, is led by five-star 2027 running back and Tennessee football commit David Gabriel Georges, the two-time reigning Division II-AAA Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award winner. Through four games, Gabriel Georges has 760 yards and seven touchdowns on 77 carries.
Marshall Manning, the son of legendary Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, is Baylor's backup quarterback behind senior starter Keegan Croucher, who is committed to Ole Miss.
MaxPreps most recently ranked Baylor as the No. 11 team in the country.
Catholic (4-0) is perennially among the strongest teams in the Knoxville area but self-imposed a playoff ban for this season after a recruiting violation, so the matchup with Baylor will be its last game of the season. It is currently No. 7 in the the Super 25 rankings with a strong secondary headlined by class of 2028 Alabama commit Braylen Gibbs.
Baylor beat Catholic twice last year, winning 49-28 in the regular season and 35-7 in the state quarterfinals.
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Catholic football vs Baylor, David Gabriel Georges, Marshall Manning at Smokies stadium
