This Tennessee high school football team may have just found an unstoppable defender to add to its unit.
A black bear was shown galloping across the field of Gatlinburg-Pittman (Tenn.) High School in a video taken by head coach Brad Waggoner on Monday. In the tweet showing the bear running across the field, Waggoner posted the caption, “Just another day in The Smoky Mountains.”
Gatlinburg, where the school is located, is a mountainous town that serves as the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to USA TODAY. Waggoner told WBIR that the bear started in the home stands, ran across the field, and exited the visitor stands after struggling to find its way out for about 10 minutes.
Just another day in The Smoky Mountains…#WeAreGP 🏈 pic.twitter.com/q5mEkZfQky
— Brad Waggoner (@CoachWaggonerGT) August 14, 2023
This took place before practice started, according to WBIR, and there are no reports of injuries. It does not appear the bear did any damage to the field — which is also good because the Highlanders are kicking off their season this week.
Last year, the varsity Gatlinburg-Pittman team went 11-2 but fell in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion Alcoa (Tenn.) High School. The Highlanders will look to improve upon that season, returning several key players like senior quarterback Brady Hammonds, who threw for 35 touchdowns to just four interceptions last year; junior running back Tegan Avera, who broke 2,000 rushing yards as a sophomore; receiver Carlos Orr, who had 1,035 receiving yards and nine touchdowns; two-way star Whitman Whaley, who posted 1,387 receiving yards, 19 touchdowns, 77 tackles and 11 tackles for loss; and linebacker Luke Burkett, who led the team with 97 tackles (all stats according to MaxPreps).
With players like that, maybe the team doesn’t need any more bear-like ferociousness after all.
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