CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Junior running back Dylan Sampson delivered another sensational performance, and 12th-ranked Tennessee’s stellar defense shut down the 23rd-ranked NC State Wolfpack, 51-10, at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night.
Sampson amassed 132 yards on 20 carries, scoring twice on the ground. It marked his second consecutive game with over 100 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns. Additionally, he added three catches for 37 yards, finishing with a game-high 169 all-purpose yards. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native has now rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games, dating to the 2024 Citrus Bowl win against Iowa.
Tennessee (2-0) notched its ninth win over a ranked opponent under head coach Josh Heupel and improved to 4-1 against ACC opponents during his tenure. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava was impressive, completing 16-of-23 pass attempts for 211 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 65 yards and adding another score on the ground.
Tight end Miles Kitselman pulled down three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown—his first at the FBS level. Fellow tight end Holden Staes also contributed with his first touchdown reception as a Vol, an 18-yard catch from Iamaleava in the fourth quarter.
The Vols started strong, with Sampson finishing a nine-play, 62-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. NC State briefly closed the gap with a 24-yard field goal by Kanoah Vinesett, but Tennessee responded with a 32-yard field goal from freshman kicker Max Gilbert, followed by defensive back Will Brooks’ 85-yard interception return for a touchdown—the first of his career.
As the first half wound down, Gilbert added a 45-yard field goal to give Tennessee a 20-7 lead at halftime. The second half began with Iamaleava connecting with Kitselman for a 15-yard touchdown pass, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Gilbert added another field goal after a Wolfpack fumble, and Iamaleava scored on a 31-yard run to extend the Vols’ lead to 37-3.
NC State (1-1) managed a lone touchdown in the third quarter with an 87-yard interception return, but Sampson and Staes added fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal Tennessee’s 51-10 victory.
Tennessee’s defense was dominant, limiting NC State to just 143 total yards— the fewest allowed under Heupel—and forcing three turnovers. Linebacker Keenan Pili and defensive linemen Bryson Eason and Omari Thomas each recorded four tackles, while the defense accumulated 13 tackles for loss and three sacks.
CARTER COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Division, Adult Protective Services, and the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging into reports of the abuse and sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult has resulted in an arrest.
In August, after receiving a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI special agents began investigating allegations of sexual exploitation involving a physically and intellectually disabled adult male in Carter County. During the investigation, agents learned that Selena Catherine Silver (DOB: 5/12/68), who was employed as a caregiver at the time, began a sexual relationship with the victim and provided him with controlled substances and other illicit drugs.
Today, agents obtained an arrest warrant for Silver, charging her with Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult, Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, Sexual Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, and Stalking. She was arrested and booked into the Carter County Jail on a $10,00 bond.
The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.
NOTE: The TBI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $8,983,614.75 for federal Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,994,538.25 for Fiscal Year 2023-2024, is funded by the State of Tennessee.
KNOXVILLE —The John Sevier Hunter Education Center in Knoxville is hosting the 3rd annual Kickoff to Hunting Season event on Saturday, October 5 from 9 am to 1 pm. The event is geared towards getting hunters ready for the fall hunting season. Everyone is welcome, whether experienced hunters or those new to the sport and wanting to learn. The event also welcomes and encourages families to attend. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from TWRA staff and experienced hunters with tips on how to prepare for hunting this fall. Those attending are also welcome to bring one firearm and one bow for sighting in and practice.
The class includes:
A session on hunting Tennessee’s public lands and how to access them utilizing new technology such as some of the newest hunting apps.
A Q&A session with local TWRA officers who will discuss any new changes to Tennessee’s hunting laws and answer any questions the public may have.
A session on how to use some of the newest hunting equipment like tree saddle hunting and expert advice on hunting techniques.
Official Boone and Crockett scorers will be onsite to discuss how to score white-tailed deer. Attendees are allowed to bring ONE deer head per person to have it officially scored.
The 100 yd benchrest rifle range will be open and hunters may bring ONE hunting rifle, either a centerfire or a muzzleloader, to sight-in.
Archery pro-staff will be onsite to provide technical assistance to bowhunters who need bow tuning or help with their archery gear. No broad heads allowed; field tips only.
Range Safety Officers will be present to assist with the sighting-in process if help is needed.
TWRA flurry machine to enjoy shooting clays thrown in multiple directions. The cost of admission is $8.00, which is the type 222 range daily permit. The admission fee will be waived for sportsmen license holders and those holding appropriate big game hunting licenses. All ranges will be staffed by certified Range Safety Officers to ensure safety. For any further assistance or questions, contact John Sevier Range Manager Chad Gann at 865-594-6279. Seating is limited to 50 participants.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 14/12 Tennessee will look to build off a successful week one performance as it takes a step up in competition this Saturday night, facing off against one of the ACC’s best in No. 24/23 NC State at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Saturday’s contest will mark the second time that the Vols have played inside Bank of America Stadium. UT played West Virginia in the 2018 Belk College Kickoff in its only prior visit.
BROADCAST INFO
The ABC primetime crew of Rece Davis (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) will have the call for Saturday’s game. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. with kickoff slated for 7:44 p.m.
UT fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) over 65 stations across the state of Tennessee and the southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 374) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 374), as well as the Varsity App. A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App. Fans attending the game are encouraged to listen to the radio broadcast via the Vol Network Stadiumcast on 89.5 FM.
Bob Kesling (PxP), VFL Pat Ryan (analyst) and Brent Hubbs (analyst) will call the action, with VFL Jayson Swain handling sideline duties for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show begins two hours prior to kickoff at 5:30 p.m. The pregame show is hosted by John Wilkerson, Brent Hubbs, VFL Jayson Swain and a rotating VFL special guest each week. The Vol Network celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.
The Spanish broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and VFL Fuad Reveiz on the call. That version is also available on UTsports.com and the Tennessee Athletics app.
GAMEDAY INFO
Fan information for this year’s Duke’s Mayo Classic can be found HERE. Bank of America Stadium ticket office opens at 1 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
TICKETS AND PARKING
Tickets for Saturday’s can be purchased through Ticketmaster by clicking HERE.
All entry to Bank of America Stadium events require mobile tickets, as PDF tickets will no longer be valid for entry. All users, both multiple-game and single-game ticket buyers, will be required to access and manage their tickets through the free Charlotte Sports Foundation Mobile App. For more information, click HERE.
Parking and travel information for Saturday can be found HERE.
GAMEDAY EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
FanFest: Fans of both teams are encouraged to take part in the Duke’s Mayo Classic FanFest event prior to the game, which will include food and drinks, live music, a kids zone and more. For more information on FanFest, click HERE.
NEED TO KNOW
The Nico Era Off and Running Tennessee is one of two SEC teams (South Carolina) starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback in 2024 as Nico Iamaleava has taken the reins. Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit from Long Beach, California, made his second career start and first in Neyland Stadium last weekend.
He was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week as he set a UT record for most passing yards in a half with 314, topping the previous record of 313 by Tyler Bray in the first half versus Troy on Nov. 3, 2012. It marked the fourth 300-yard passing total in a half in program history.
Iamaleava connected on his first 10 passes and finished 22-of-28 with three touchdowns and no picks in only one half of work. He was the first freshman quarterback (true or redshirt) to start an opener for the Vols since true freshman Brent Schaeffer did so against UNLV on Sept. 5, 2004.
Offensive Fireworks in Season Opener The Vols opened their 128th season with 718 yards of total offense in an emphatic 69-3 victory over Chattanooga last Saturday in Neyland Stadium. The 69 points were the second-most points scored in the modern era (1937-present) and were the most in the Josh Heupel era.
The 66-point margin of victory was the third-highest of the modern era. The margin of victory was the highest for Tennessee in a season opener since defeating Carson-Newman, 101-0, on Sept. 25, 1915 while the 718 yards of total offense tied for the second-most in a single game in school history and the second-most in the Heupel era. The Vols churned out 724 against Missouri in 2022.
The 718 yards were also the second-most by an FBS team in week one behind only Ole Miss’ 772. UT scored on its first seven possessions against the Mocs, including touchdowns on the first three drives. The Vols capped the first half with 45 points, seven shy of their program record for a half, and 503 total yards (314 passing, 189 rushing).
Non-Conference Win Streak Tennessee has won 11 non-conference games in a row and is 14-2 overall versus non-SEC foes under Heupel. UT has outscored non-conference opponents 772-236 in the Heupel era and has secured perfect non-conference regular season records in back-to-back years (2022-23) under Heupel.
Special Teams Continue to Flourish The Big Orange have thrived on special teams under coordinator Mike Ekeler, who is in his fourth season with the program. Tennessee did it again in its week one win over Chattanooga, as true freshman defensive end Jordan Ross, making his collegiate debut, blocked a punt and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter. Ross was the first Vol to return a blocked punt for a touchdown since Daniel Bituli returned one 29 yards against South Carolina on Oct. 26, 2019.
SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee leads series, 2-1 The Vols and Wolfpack will square off for the fourth time on Saturday. In the only other meeting between the two programs this century, UT defeated NC State, 35-12, in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
Tennessee will look to make it four straight victories over ACC foes after notching wins over No. 7 Clemson and No. 17 Pitt in 2022 and opening the 2023 season with a 49-13 triumph over Virginia in Nashville.
ABOUT NC STATE
The Wolfpack are led by head coach Dave Doeren, who has posted an 82-58 record during his 12-year stint as head coach in Raleigh.
Transfer quarterback Grayson McCall is in his first year leading the offense after a highly-productive four-year career at Coastal Carolina. During his time with the Chanticleers, McCall threw for 10,005 yards and accounted for 106 total touchdowns (88 passing, 18 rushing) in 42 games and earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year recognition in each of the last three seasons. The North Carolina native completed 26-of-40 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the Wolfpack’s season-opening win over Western Carolina last Thursday.
McCall has a handful of talented targets to throw to, none more dangerous than sophomore wide receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion, who was tabbed the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2023 after racking up 1,179 all-purpose yards and 10 receiving touchdowns as a true freshman. Concepcion picked up right where he left off in NC State’s season opener last week, leading the team with nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns against the Catamounts. On the ground, Duke transfer running back Jordan Waters was the team’s top rusher in week one, churning out 124 yards on 20 carries while finding pay dirt twice.
Defensively, the Wolfpack have had to replace a handful of starters, including 2023 Butkus Award winner Payton Wilson at linebacker. Three different players finished with a team-high seven tackles in the season opener. Veteran corner Aydan White was one of those players with seven stops and also had a pair of pass breakups in the win. He was a third-team All-ACC selection in 2023 and boasts eight career interceptions.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Detectives, Major Crimes Detectives, and Patrol Officers responded to various threats Friday at Halls Middle and High Schools in North Knox County.
The following arrests have been made as a result –
A 14-year-old Halls High School Student was arrested around noon this afternoon for threats of mass violence; he was taken to Richard L. Bean juvenile detention facility. Due to the suspect being a juvenile, no other information or details will be released.
An 18-year-old Halls High Student was arrested for threats of mass violence. Charles McCarter was arrested and taken to the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility later in the afternoon.
Additional threats are being investigated. In response to those threats, several additional resources assisted with the initial investigation, including the Knox County Sheriff’s Hazardous Device Unit, Multiple K-9 Teams, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Homeland Security, the Knoxville Police Department, and the Knox County Schools Security Division, and Dr. Jon Rysewyk KCS Superintendent.
“I can’t stress enough, as I have said many times before, WE WILL TAKE EVERY THREAT AGAINST OUR SCHOOLS SERIOUSLY. There WILL be consequences for this behavior, and as long as I am the Sheriff, it will not be tolerated in Knox County.
I want to thank everyone who responded so quickly. We are grateful for our partnership with the Knox County School Security Division, The Knoxville Police Department, and The Tennessee Highway Patrol. I commend our Patrol Officers assigned to our schools and our Juvenile and Major Crimes Units for their tireless efforts in keeping our schools safe. We appreciate the cooperation of the Halls faculty and the parents. Please talk to your kids and let them know who their friends are and what they are doing online. If you need help, reach out!”
-Tom Spangler, Sheriff
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Juvenile detectives with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Friday afternoon arrested a 14-year-old Halls High School Student.
KCSO officials say the student was arrested around noon for making threats of mass violence.
It comes the same day as the teen charged in a Georgia high school shooting appeared in court for the first time.
In a release, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler doubled-down on his department’s pledge to take every threat against KCS schools “seriously,” adding that there will be consequences for this type of behavior.
“I can’t stress enough as I have said many times before, WE WILL TAKE EVERY THREAT AGAINST OUR SCHOOLS SERIOUSLY. There WILL be consequences for this type of behavior and as long as I am the Sheriff it will not be tolerated in Knox County.” – Tom Spangler, Sheriff
Sheriff Tom Spangler is making his thoughts clear about threats to Knox County schools. (Courtesy: Knox County Schools)
Knoxville, TN Millions of dollars in federal funding is headed to Knoxville, aimed at improving a stretch of Chapman Highway.
The money is coming from the Biden administration’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, a pool of more than $1 billion for grants to local governments who are improving roads.
Knoxville’s receiving $17.8 million in funding to improve one of the city’s most-used thoroughfares through its own project: SAFER Knoxville 2.0. Specifically, the three-phase project will focus on the stretch from Blount Avenue to Woodlawn Pike.
“We’re doing significant improvements at Augusta quarry which is a really popular place. We’re doing a lot of improvements to urban wilderness and connectivity, we want people to move around in ways other than cars if that’s something they’re interested in and that invitation rings a lot truer when they can do so safely,” Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said.
According to state data, Chapman Highway saw 33 deadly or serious crashes from January of 2022 to July of 2024. Of those, seven were deadly (with eight total deaths) and 59 people were injured. Also, seven of those crashes, including four of the deadly ones, involved pedestrians.
That’s what the city is hoping to reduce. According to federal documentation on the funding, SAFER Knoxville 2.0 will focus on “high speeds, drivers failing to yield to people walking and biking and inconsistent pedestrian facilities.”
“By 2040 we want to have zero people die on the streets of Knoxville, every single person who dies on our streets or walking on our streets is an avoidable death, in my view, and we cannot rely on individuals to fix that,” Kincannon said.
So what will that look like? The same documents said the city is looking to build a sidewalk on the west side of Chapman Highway, install new pedestrian signals at intersections and throw in a median.
Not all the money for SAFER Knoxville 2.0 is coming from SS4A, however. The City of Knoxville is planning on contributing the rest, bringing the total cost of the project to $22,250,000.
Knoxville wasn’t the only group getting funding in East Tennessee, either. Fentress County, Dandridge and Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation are also on the list.
The money is coming from the Biden administration’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Country music superstar Blake Shelton is coming to Knoxville!
Shelton’s “Friends & Heroes 2025” tour will play Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on February 28, 2025. His performance will include special appearances by Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins and Emily Ann Roberts.
American Express Card members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, September 10 at 10:00 a.m. The general on-sale will begin Friday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m.
“The ‘Friends & Heroes’ Tour is one of my favorite tours because as a fan, I can’t think of a cooler concert to see,” Shelton said. “I get spoiled every night seeing these icons come out and do four or five of the biggest hits of their storied careers. And then get introduced to new talent like Emily Ann. I can’t wait.”
If you can’t make it to the Knoxville show, Shelton’s tour also stops by Lexington and Atlanta.
Shelton’s “Friends & Heroes 2025” tour is slated to stop in Knoxville on Feb. 28, 2025. (Courtesy: Food City Center)
Grainger County, TN (WOKI) A Morristown man suspected of killing and dismembering two people in Bean Station last spring has now been indicted.
The Grainger County District Attorney’s office confirms Aaron White was indicted on August 28 on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.
White was arrested in connection to a double homicide that happened in May. According to investigators, White killed 49-year-old Jon Atkins and 32-year-old Deven McDaniel, whose bodies were discovered along Rocky Springs Road in Bean Station on May 25.
The DA says White’s next court appearance is set for December.
Aaron White was accused of killing two men in Grainger County before dismembering their bodies. (Courtesy: Grainger County Sheriff’s Office)
Sevier County, TN (WOKI) The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help finding a missing man.
SCSO officials say 26-year-old Shawn Odell was reportedly last seen in Kodak Wednesday morning. The office has not released a description of Odell at this time.
Those with information are asked to call Detective Sergeant Graham Brantley at 865-868-1748.
