| David Crockett High School | |
| Established: | c. 1971 |
| Principal: | Dr. Ashley Davis |
| Street: | 684 Old State Route 34 |
| Zipcode: | 37659 |
| Coordinates: | 36.2598°N -82.5028°W |
| District: | Washington County Schools |
| Enrollment: | 1,181 (2022–23)[1] |
| Grades: | 9–12 |
| Nickname: | Pioneers |
| Colors: | Brown and gold [2] |
| Website: | David Crockett High School |
David Crockett High School is a high school located in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It is ranked as the 75th high school in the state of Tennessee.[3] It serves as one of two high schools in the Washington County School System, with it specifically serving the southern part of the county. The other county high school is Daniel Boone High School, which serves the northern part of the county.[4]
The school has an enrollment of 1,181 (2022-2023). In the Advanced Placement (AP) department, nineteen percent of the student body has taken an AP exam at least once, with forty-two percent an exam once passing exam. The school was named after the celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician, David (Davy) Crockett.[5] The name is in contrast to the Daniel Boone High School (Tennessee), which is named after Daniel Boone. This plays into their football rivalry. The school colors are brown (or "buckskin") and old gold. The school's mascot is a Pioneer.[6]
David Crockett has a mixture between Vocational education CTE), Advanced Placement (AP), and Dual enrollment classes. The school has several CTE classes: Agriculture, Teaching, Welding, Electrical, Machine Shop, Business, Digital Design, Nursing, and Culinary (there may be more). There are several greenhouses on the campus. For CTE classes, there may be the option to get a Professional certification. The school has several AP classes: Human Geography, Government, US History, Language and Composition, Literature, Statistics, Pr-Calculus (Trigonometry), and Calculus. In AP, nineteen percent of the student body has taken an AP exam, with forty-two percent passing exam. For Dual Enrollment, the students take classes for East Tennessee State University and Northeast State Community College. Students can take some classes online, at the high school, or on the university for the class. However, the school may phase out the Dual Enrollment program, by the 2025-2026 year, for a focus on AP.
Each year, David Crockett plays Daniel Boone in football. The game referred to as the "Musket Bowl" was first played in 1971 when the two new consolidated high schools opened their doors, and David Crockett High defeated Daniel Boone High by a score of 72–0.[7] The next week, David Crockett was ranked No. 1 in the state by Litratings, a difference-by-scores system. Since then, the Daniel Boone Trailblazers have dominated the series and hold a 37–12 edge over the David Crockett Pioneers (as of 2019), winning the latest game played 28-20 at home.[8] The game gained popularity by being played annually in the Mini-Dome at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Today, the Musket Bowl is held at Daniel Boone and David Crockett High Schools where each school rotates the event each year. The winning team is presented with a “musket.”[9] If that team wins three years consecutively, they keep the musket, and a new one is purchased for the next season’s game. Daniel Boone High has accomplished this more than Crockett.[10] It's the “Battle of Washington County…the Pioneers vs. the Trailblazers.” Recently a series called "The Kings of The Nolichucky", has pitted the football team from David Crockett against nearby Chuckey Doak and Unicoi County High Schools whose service areas also border the Nolichucky River. David Crockett is undefeated in the series and holds the title "Kings of the Nolichucky" as of 2014–15.[11]
In 2014, a fight broke out at the end of the Musket Bowl. The score was a lose for Crockett with a 23-16 score. The fight was quickly broken up by the sheriff deputies. It resulted in a three-year post season ban and fines that amounted to around $5,000.[12]
On October 21, 2022, a fatal skydiving accident occurred at the school before a football match against Daniel Boone High School. 55-year-old Richard Sheffield was part of Jump TN, a skydiving team hired to perform a demonstration jump during the pre-game. Sheffield suffered a hard landing outside the intended landing area on the football field and was flown to a nearby hospital where he later died. As a result of the accident the football match was delayed.[13] [14]
Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton concluded that there were no suspicious circumstances in the incident and that Sheffield's death was "a very unfortunate accident".