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The Citizen Tribune Kickoff Classic is back again as Morristown East and Morristown West hit the gridiron for the 52nd time.

The two teams kick off the season on Friday, August 18th at Burke-Toney Stadium at 7 p.m. Morristown West will be the home team for this year’s contest. West currently holds a 33-18 edge in the City Championship and have won 21 of the last 25 meetings, including eight of the last nine matchups.

Both teams come into the contest after an exciting game in 2022 in front of a packed Burke-Toney Stadium. West got up 17-0 and held on for a 24-7 win over the ‘Canes.

In the game, Tison Johnson finished with 25 carries, 156 yards and a touchdown. Johnson scored the first touchdown of the game before Dylan Lopez drilled a 40-yard field goal to make it 10-0. West added one more score in the first quarter when Zaylan Frias rumbled in from six-yards out to make it 17-0.

East finally got on the board in the second quarter as Eli Seals found Nathan Roberts in the end zone on a crucial fourth down for a 17-yard score.

However, that would be all for East as West’s Isaiah Eddington picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and took in 68 yards for the score.

Both teams will look different in the backfield in 2023 as Johnson graduated for West. Meanwhile, East’s Dallas Kuykendall enters his first season as head coach with a new quarterback and room of running backs.

The Kickoff Classic will be the first of 10 games on the schedule for both teams. It will be the third year that East will be in Class 6A while West is in Class 5A.

Following the Citizen Tribune Kickoff Classic, East will host a non-region game against Hardin Valley on Thursday, August 24. The ‘Canes will then hit the road to take on William Blount, their first of three straight region games. East will host Jefferson County before heading up the road

to take on Dobyns-Bennett. Following a non-region game on the road against Lenoir City, East will host a region game against Science Hill and two non-region games against Gibbs and Campbell County. The regular season ends with a region game on the road against West Ridge.

For West, they will host a non-region game against Elizabethton on Friday, August 25. The Trojans open up region play on the road against Tennessee High before returning home to play Daniel Boone. Following the Boone game, West plays three straight road games. Those games are against Greeneville, Jefferson County and Sevier County. Following a home region game against David Crockett, West ends the season at Bearden and at home against Cocke County. The game against Cocke County will be on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Both teams will have two scrimmages before their opening game. East will travel to Sevier County on July 28, while West hosts Science Hill. On August 4, East will go to Tennessee High while West will go to William Blount.

Both teams will also participate in jamboree’s. East will be at Carson-Newman on Thursday, Aug. 10 while West will be at Cocke County on Friday, Aug. 11.

For more information on how both teams are progressing so far this summer and what to expect for the 2022 Citizen Tribune Kickoff Classic, visit www.citizentribune.com.