Coach J’me Harris returns to lead Tazewell Football back to prominence

TAZEWELL, VA (WVNS) - After a year away coaching a high school team in Pittsburgh, the man who helped snap Tazewell’s decades-long playoff victory drought is back and ready to get down to business.

J’me Harris is returning to the sidelines just in time for the program to celebrate a full century of Tazewell Football.

The Bulldogs fell to 2-8 in their lone season without Coach Harris.

Tazewell will have to lean on a lot of their up-and-coming younger talent this season. Sophomore wideout and safety Ellis Day is excited to embrace a bigger role.

“Learned how to go through adversity. We’ve had a lot of adversity last year – losing a lot of players [to graduation] and just hope that we can turn around,” said Day.

“We know we got to be better defensively. In the past, we’ve struggled defensively and so we want to become fundamentally sound, being an aggressive football team and then just keep working on ourselves to get better and, if we can do all that, the scoreboard takes care of itself,” added Harris.

There are several returners that fans can be excited about, including stars Jakeim Beavers, Dajuan Viney, and Chase McDonald.

Tazewell is facing a fairly difficult schedule this season. They will be travelling to Pulaski County for their first game on September 4, 2026.

• August 12th: Bluefield Beavers
• August 12th: Mount View Golden Knights
• August 13th: Graham G-Men
• August 13th: River View Raiders
• August 14th: Greenbrier East Spartans
• August 14th: Summers County Bobcats
• August 17th: Midland Trail Patriots
• August 17th: Meadow Bridge Wildcats
• August 18th: Greenbrier West Cavaliers
• August 18th: Pocahontas County Warriors
• August 19th: Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles
• August 19th: Liberty Raiders
• August 20th: Oak Hill Red Devils
• August 20th: Richlands Blue Tornado
• August 21st: Shady Spring Tigers
• August 21st: Greater Beckley Crusaders
• August 24th: Pikview Panthers
• August 24th: Montcalm Generals
• August 25th: James Monroe Mavericks
• August 25th: Tazewell Bulldogs