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Anderson helps lead Lady Trotters to 4 Wins in 'Battle of the Boro'
Photo Donated for Use by ModelCitySports.com ModelCitySports.com 7/16/2011 Alex Anderson a rising sophomore for the Lady Indians helped lead her A.A.U team to 4 key victories in the "BATTLE IN THE BORO" National Exposure Basketball Tourney in Murfreesboro, TN. Alex was far from alone, as Science Hill was well represented with the talented trio, Tianna Tarter, Gabby Lyon, and Lakeisha Gregory. Greeneville and other IMAC schools also marked the squad with talented players. THE TENNESSEE LADY TROTTERS DEFEATED: TENNEESSEE SPARKS (NASHVILLE) HOUSTON HOOPS (TX) NEW JERSEYSPARKS (NJ) ARKANSAS LADY HAWKS (AR) THIS IS ANDERSON'S FIRST SEASON WITH THE TENNESSEE LADY TROTTERS AND SHE HAS BEEN ON THE ROAD ALL SUMMER PLAYING IN A.A.U. TOURNAMENTS. SHE WILL HIT THE ROAD AGAIN TO TRAVEL TO ATLANTA, GA. FOR ANOTHER NATIONAL EXPOSURE TOURNAMENT. COLLEGE COACHING STAFFS AT THE "BATTLE IN THE BORO" INCLUDED VANDERBILT, RUTGERS, WEST VA., VA. TECH, GEORGETOWN, GEORGIA, DUKE, GEORGIA TECH, SOUTH CAROLINA, NAVY, AIR FORCE, KANAS, RICHMOND, FLORIDA STATE, N.C. STATE, NEBRASKA, WASHINGTON STATE, SYRACUSE, LOUISVILLE, TULSA, MIAMI (FL), UTC, MTSU, ETSU, WINGATE, NEWBERRY, MARS HILL AND CARSON NEWMAN. LADY TROTTERS ROSTER: TIANNA TARTER (SCIENCE HILL) GABBY LYON (SCIENCE HILL) LAKEISHA GREGORY (SCIENCE HILL) JORDAN HAYES (MO. EAST) JENNA POTTS (MO. WEST) AUTUMN DOTSON (JEFFERSON COUNTY) MENDY MCNEESE (NORTH GREENE) TAYLOR MEADOWS (LIVINGSTON ACADEMY) MARLEE SELLS (LIVINGSTON ACADEMY) MADISON SHIPLEY (GREENEVILLE) COACHED BY: COACH MIKE POTTS
FCA-Tennessee Roster 2011
Picture Taken and Edited by Josh Harwood A look back at the Holiday Tournaments: New Peoples Bank Classic/Arby’s and more By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 1/1/2011 The Holidays have come to a close and I want to take a time out for one second to say where I have been the past 3 days. I lost a great friend and partner in crime in Allun Cormier and as much as he hated to be talked about he was a guy you wanted to be around. From brightening up my days playing volleyball, hanging at his many #s of places of rest, or just sitting and talking in a parked car – Allun was one of a kind and will be missed by many. Instead of taking time out and recapping what everyone already knows, we are going to take a look at what the tournaments set up for the upcoming conference slate. Arby’s Classic: What a tournament came from what many thought would be a tournament that was down in star power (NO MELROSE) yet full of teams with grit and determination. A local team by team look… and New Peoples Bank Classic post view Tennessee High: A team I have been very hard on most of the year proved a lot of people wrong with their shocking run for 6th place in the tournament. IN the Arby’s the 6th Place is almost like a 1st Place for the 2nd bracket. Tennessee High first got through a game Tabernacle Baptist team that outplayed the Vikings in key places like rebounding but could not get an answer for the zone the Vikings employ. The Bahamas team would shoot a miserable 11-54 (20%) and turn the ball over 13 times. The next matchup came quickly as Science Hill came to Viking Hall the next day. A terribly sloppy game, in which, both teams had over 17 turnovers and combined for 39. When the teams weren’t handing the ball back and forth, neither team shot better than 33%. As the Hilltoppers let the Vikings hang around, trouble brewed as the Vikings got the lead during the 4th quarter and wouldn’t let go. The final 6th place match-up was set, a Dobyns-Bennett team that was coming off a game that had them looking invincible, by their beating of Sumter. This one would be a quick victory for DB and we would all go home, but the only problem was the ebbs and flows of tournament play. The Vikings jumped out quick and beside Tyler Alishie (25 points) – the rest of the Indians could not spread the zone open to get driving lanes. The Indians won the turnover battle, but that would be it. The Vikings would hold DB to another terrible shooting performance from inside and out – 31% from the field overall and 5-23 from the arc. The trophy is their and now the Vikings know that they can play with the big boys which is a dangerous thing. The more confident this team gets the more trouble the top trio will have disposing of them and for now they can’t. Dobyns-Bennett: This team would win the Jekyll and Hyde award if we were giving it out, yet it’s too early. Charlie Morgan coached teams seem to slowly come together with huge ups and downs as they try to build a champion. The team looked as if they could not be beat on defense as they strangled Sullivan East, then they almost played perfect against a tough opponent in Sumter – the follow up to that is the embarrassing performance against Tennessee High which hopefully can be a huge learning block. The team is learning their roles and you slowly see Morgan getting a pattern with substitutions. The longer the season goes the let downs get fewer and farther between until hopefully the team is built, it’s the Morgan way and who are we to doubt. Other Notes: Science Hill played some of their worst basketball of their overplayed 18 game schedule so far; hope they aren’t tiring out this soon. But while other teams have played just 11-13 games it can be tough to have so much extra mileage on the tires. I doubt it will cost them in the end. Hampton, well, looked like a team that tries to hold on until the end and hope their shooting can overcome the lack of size and overall talent. The Science Hill game should have been a lot worse; Science Hill shot 6 free throws to Hampton’s 32 – which kept them around until the ‘Toppers proved to be way too much in the 4th quarter. However, the Wasilla game is something to be proud of they just simply outshot the Alaskan team by 17 more shots…if you get that many more shots you most likely will win. Sullivan North: A team that relies on a star player is constantly in search of who is going to be that number 2 man and number three man when the star is triple teamed and forced to the perimeter. Chase Arnold can put up 30 and 10 on any given night and probably will through out the season; William White is coming along as a nice 3 point shooter who opens the floor for Arnold. The problem is Daniel Minnick and Kiree Thompson are both struggling with the role of beginning a facilitator and sometimes throw up errant shoots, in Daniel’s case he may pass too much. Kiree gives them more of a penetrating guard and against Crockett showed that at times he could get to the basket, he just was late on pulling the trigger to pass. Daniel is growing in confidence and hit some nice shots, but he has yet to show signs of being able to beat people in the lane with the ball on the floor. This still is a team that will have great moments and some night be shut down….but I still can’t wait to see what coach Mitch Cox has come March. Other notes from tourney: Sullivan South came in and played a great first round game only to crash and burn to Cherokee, they are playing better but coach Pendleton can only do so much to maximize the talent…Crockett is a conundrum, they have so much talent on the wings with Joe Granger and Anthony Campbell, but the coach is still trying to play from the Inside out when it is clear if this team moved in transition more…things would be different. P.S: The Local Teams had some surprising moments during the past two weeks, North almost held home court…and in a way Tennessee High did. Dobyns-Bennett is on a steep growth curve and Science Hill just confused everyone more. David Crockett looked terrible for a half and looked great when they were running. Overall it was a tournament much like the years before…DB in the 6th place game and Science Hill underachieving. Cherokee is a team people need to take notice of, or they will bite some people come tournament time. The 1st Trimester Report on Local Prep Basketball
Pictue by Josh Harwood By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 12/13/2010 With the season off and running you would probably be surprise d to know that there is already a team with 12 wins, and that’s before the Arby’s Classic. That team is of course the perennial powerhouse Science Hill. The top two teams, D-B and Science Hill, seem to separate themselves more and more with each passing week from the rest of the pack. Daniel Boone turned out to be a pretender as well as the disappointing Tennessee High Vikings. So we at ModelCitySports want to take a look at the first 1/3 oof the year in High School Basketball. Best Team: Science Hill: This award could be called the Science Hill award in some aspects; however this team is one of the closer squads the Toppers have had in a while since a certain coach left that may compare to some of those teams. You never want to be the one that follows the legend but Ken Cutlip is building his own little powerhouse in Johnson City that doesn’t dominate the way the 90’s Toppers did, nor do they wow on a nightly basis. Take for example the early season trip up against Morristown East, which would have never happened during the organized chaos days, Science Hill had about as many days off as the post office back then. Now you can catch them sleeping every now and then. The funny thing about all of this is they have had more talent under Cutlip. Josh Odem, Omar Watted, and Shannon Hale are more talented that Nathaniel Williams, Shawne Williams and the rest of the past greats from J.C. Hindsight is 20/20, but look at where theses kids play basketball versus the old guard – Alabama, UTC, Georgetown v. UT and maybe ETSU. But going back to the point, Science Hill is the best team within 90 miles, but and it’s a large but, this team has its moments of being asleep at the wheel. Best Game: There have been a lot of games that you could choose from for shear intensity, but one game trumps all. While Sullivan North and Volunteer had a great battle and even Dobyns-Bennett and Stone Memorial had a good game, the Tennessee High v. Daniel Boone game trumps them both at the moment. The slow pace of the game and lack of scoring punch from both sides are the only marks against a game that had intrigue and intensity through the Viking Hall roof. The refs may have controlled the game a tad too much, but the Boone talent overcame a feisty Tennessee High team that looked tired and baffled without having someone to go to in minutes where you need a bucket. They will have trouble with close games ALL year until they find a slasher who can score off the dribble or through ball screens. Biggest Surprise: Sullivan North: This may be the biggest runaway of the choices for each award. Sullivan North was a lost team that scraped by last year and won a mediocre 5 games in 2009. Though some were hearing rumors of a great sophomore class and the last name Arnold coming through hope was up for this year. No one thought that Chase Arnold would be throwing down 30 a night while Kiree Thompson is blossoming as a point guard. Though they had a set back with Unicoi, this team will grow through out the year and once they get some more depth, this team could be a Region Champion, and I’m being serious. There is always Next Year: Tennessee High: A team that propped themselves up to be a top 4 team coming into the year in the district, they will be in most games with their style of play but that is all they have to hang their hat on at the moment. The problem is the style of play that Coach Roby plays, doesn’t fit the team he is coaching. With tall lanky and some athletes on the court, a zone defense only promises slow games with lots of reaching and fouling. If they would try a smothering pressure based zone, this team could challenge for something more than a close victory. Roby said that they were just a player or two away from beating people. He may be right, but I just don’t see it. The team has some key parts and when you use a 6’5 player to be a jump shooter, 80% of the time, turnovers happen like they have in the past few games. I may be wrong, but I don’t think so….and I see a 8-20ish season waiting ahead. The MCS Top 10…Teams from Knoxville Up…Will unveil tonight , hope people like it and if you don’t get on Facebook and say we are wrong and voice your opinion, or Twitter either one works. MCS High School ‘Pick 5- Pick Em'’ : Game Outlooks & Predictions(36-9 overall this year)
(Helmets of Predicted Winners) By: Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 10/20/2010 Science Hill 5-3 at Dobyns Bennett 8-0
Stacey Carter has never gone into a game facing Dobyns-Bennett with a loss on the docket. Last year his 5-0 Rebel team was upset, just as the previous 1-0 teams before that. In the minds of a lot of Tri-Cities fans, the thought of an undefeated Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett was not that farfetched – especially when Science Hill stood at 4-0. Yet, Science Hill came crashing back down to earth with losses in 3 of 4 games by an average loss of 7.2 points a contest. Science Hill will also be the 5th straight match-up for Dobyns-Bennett with a team that has loss 2 of 4 or worse. Offense: Each team runs a version of an option-based offense. It could be from the flex-bone/double-wing formation of the Indians or the Spread QB-Read formation of the ‘Toppers. Each offense is predicated on deception and having speed at a multitude of positions. The Indians have turned into an offense that comes from many different angles on its way to an average of 315 yards on the ground per game. The problem for Science Hill will be staying in the lanes and not falling for the motion that get so many teams going one way while the Indians are 20 yards downfield the opposite direction. Science Hill has turned from a run first offense into a pass first offense as the panic has ratcheted up with the playoffs closing in. Throwing 32 times a game is never a good thing in 6A, black and blue play. If Science Hill has to play the way they did against South, the game could be around a 3 score difference. Defense: This may be the first time and last time I will ever type this up, South may have laid down the golden brick road for D-B and to shutting down the sometimes high powered offense for the ‘Toppers. The Rebels seemed to know the playbook - almost perfectly - on their way to shutting down the Science Hill running game to a paltry 16 yards. South could also be the key to success for Science Hill. The Rebels showed that the D-B rushing attack could be slowed. Even if it was helped by an referee committee, where the head official was from Johnson City, the Rebels stayed in the gaps and played defense close to the chest for 3 quarters until the adjustments made by D-B worked and overpowered the Rebels. Can the ‘Toppers stay in their gaps? Can they maintain discipline? You always go with the team with the less questions and D-B has a lot less questions this year. Prediction: Dobyns Bennett 42 Science Hill 16 Tennessee High 6-2 vs. Daniel Boone 6-2 This game gets a whole lot more interesting when you take a look at the TSSAA Playoff Standings. Tennessee high stands currently at a comfortable 6-2 and therefore a ranking of number 3 in quadrant 1 in 5A. Daniel Boone is right behind the Vikings at no. 4 with a 6-2 record as well. The winner will hold down the number 3 seed, while the loser will fall to 6th and maybe all the way to 8th or out completely, if they lose the following week. Tennessee High: If this game was taking place at the Stone Castle, I would have to say Vikings by 3 – problem is, Boone has this prime contest. When Tennessee High has played against Sub-State material they have been destroyed. Dobyns-Bennett and Greeneville put together 97 points on the Vikings showing the defense may be the level of competition it faces. When the Vikings have faced Central, Volunteer, Virginia High, Crockett, or East the defense has been stout giving up just 5.6 points during those games. During the 3 against Science Hill, D-B, and Greeneville that same defense has given up 42. This whole game comes down to if the Vikings can slow up the Boone offense which is more Science Hill than Greeneville – even though all 3 run similar offenses. Tennessee High has been consistent on offense scoring under 27 just twice, so this game comes down to their defense. Daniel Boone: There is not a team that takes on the Dr. Jekyll and Hyde form more than the ‘Blazers. During their two defeats the defense gave up a baffling 83 combined points (53 in only 3 quarters) – however, during their 6 wins they only gave up a combined 54 points, or 9 points a game. The offense is just as dramatic – in their 6 wins they have put up 32.5 points, while 15.5 during their two losses. Kevin Connell has taken begun to provide a bigger presence in the offense. Austin Reppart maintains the gun-slinger rep while Connell provides the beef in the red zone. With Halloween closing in everyone will wonder which Daniel Boone team will show up and take the 3rd spot from Tennessee high or will the Vikings secure the spot. With all of that in mind I look for Daniel Boone to hold home court, jumping to no.3 in the playoff structure. Tennessee High will then fall between the two Morristown’s with a chance to fall to eighth if they lose to South the following week. Prediction Daniel Boone 32 Tennessee High 26 David Crockett - 4-4 at Sullivan South – 4-4 With a loss to rival Dobyns-Bennett, Sullivan South found itself. Standing at 2-4 a team of lesser character would have folded up and decided to fight next year. However, South got on a roll, beat rival Science Hill and got into the playoff fold. David Crockett is in pretty much of the same position. The winner of this game most likely lock up the 7th and the other will fall behind and have to pull of an upset next week to get in the playoffs. This is basically the battle of two teams with no room for error. South is the one with all of the momentum and the home field advantage. Prediction: Sullivan South 44 David Crockett 24 Happy Valley 5-2 vs. Hampton 8-0
This is easily the upset of the week for MCS. Everyone is slowly jumping on the NO. 4 ranked bandwagon for Hampton and with this article I will most likely lose some fans in the Hampton district. However, Hampton is easily the most over-hyped undefeated team in the state. Their running game is one of the better ones in the area, yet they have had trouble with teams that should have been put away easily. If you look at their schedule the fact that they only beat Johnson County, Unicoi County, and Cosby by a combined 7 points should be a giant red flag. Happy Valley beat Unicoi County alone by 22 points. They also beat Unaka easily, where as Unaka should have beaten Hampton last week. Look for Happy Valley to jump up with Sullivan North for the 2nd Spot in the 3A rankings and with Hampton looked into home field, this will be an easy game for them to over look. Prediction: Happy Valley 27 Hampton 20 Elizabethton vs. CAK
Elizabethton find themselves in a predicament. They could be one of the first casualties of a tough schedule. Standing at 5-3 with a game against no.2 CAK on Friday, the Cyclones could fall out of the playoff picture unless they beat Sullivan East the following week. If Sullivan East, which will be hungry to not go win-less, could upset the Cyclones – the playoffs would be an after thought with the likes of South Greene and Pigeon Forge passing them up. The likely hood of that happening is very low; Elizabethton would still be a very dangerous no.7 or 8 seed in Quadrant 1. CAK is almost a guaranteed no. 2 see behind Alcoa in Quadrant 2. They move on to face Alcoa in the final game of the year in what will most like be a preview of the quarterfinal match of the two undefeated squads. Elizabethton has played a tough schedule but nothing close to what the Christian Academy has faced. Prediction: CAK 45 Elizabethton 13 MCS High School ‘Pick 5- Pick Em'’ : Game Outlooks & Predictions(31-9 overall this year):Science Hill host South for Game of the Week as Stacy Carter faces old team/new Nemesis
(Helmets of Predicted Winners) By: Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 10/14/2010 Thursday Night games have been interesting this year with the Thursday Volunteer TV game of the week; Bearden, Maryville, Morristown West, and Sevier County havee all taken part in the Thursday edition. The game the week moves north this week as South heads to Johnson City in the showdown against a old friend. That nemesis is the usual, Science Hill, with a new twist to the competition, new Coach Stacey Carter. The ‘Toppers have lost 2 of 3 while South has won 2 of 3 heading into this week. Though Science Hill has tumbled back to earth, this game still will have the same energy as if both schools were 0-7. The energy within the game still surrounds the coaching change that happened last June when Carter chose to leave South behind and move over to Science Hill. Some will miss the fact that Sam Haynie has kept the Sullivan South train moving forward when most thought the Rebels would take a step back if not more. South has the current front-runner for Big 8 player of the year behind center. The most famous time a coach changed teams and the new coach was from the formers’ staff and he kept the same offense in operation was when Jon Gruden left the Oakland Raiders and went to Tampa Bay. Everyone knows how that story ended in the 2002 Super Bowl., with Gruden using his knowledge to beat the Raiders sufficiently. Carter was with the Rebels in his first six seasons as a head coach, leading them to 12 playoff victories and a run to the Class 5A state semifinals last year. He took over Science Hill’s program earlier this year, and has the Hilltoppers off to a 5-2 start. It is perhaps even more important for the Rebels, who are 3-1 in league play but just 3-4 overall and could possibly miss out on the playoffs if they lose another game. The losing record doesn’t do justice to South’s powerful offense, which is producing 375 yards per game. Haden has put together and unbelievable season that has seen him produce 1995 yards on the ground and through the air. Hayden has accounted for over 70% of the offense. With Hayden having such a big year, J.C Garvin has been on the receiving end of most of the throws to lead the Big 8 in receiving(tied with Gannon Galaspie). However, Jeremy Steffy is leading the Big 8 in receiving with 460 yards, including his 190 yard outburst last week over Volunteer.. But it’s not just about the passing game. Carter pointed out the Rebels ran the ball for 280 yards against Daniel Boone, a team that whipped Science Hill at the line of scrimmage Friday. The showdown for Hayden will be countered by Justin Snyder and the receiving corps in Johnson City. Glasapie, Ryan Mitchell, and Aaron Greene have combined for 53 catches and 892 yards. Mitchell has nine touchdowns overall. With both teams being proficient on the offensive side of the ball, the defense will be the deciding factor in this contest. South has allowed a little more in terms of points per game with a 18.4 avg, with Science Hill at 15.6. The ‘Toppers have given up more in yardage, yet when it comes to red zone defense and turnovers the ‘Toppers lead by a wide margin. South will come out fired up and should have to play with the ball close to their chest to keep the ‘Toppers at bay. Though the teams are so closely alike in offensive schemes this is not 2 bulls hitting head on. Science Hill has a little more speed, while South has the advantage in size. Look for size to win out as they keep their playoff hopes alive. Prediction: South 26 Science Hill 21 Haysi comes out of Virginia and into a hornets nest at Sullivan North High on Friday night. The Raiders go in as a team angered by losing to Happy Valley to drop to 2-2 in conference and losing 3 of 4 overall after starting 4-0. Chris Gilliam has taken the reigns back over a the main quarterback after the failed attempt to have the stronger armed Brett Anderson behind center. Gilliam is 5-1 as starter and fit’s the double-wing offense better than Anderson. Look for North to return to a more ball controlled style that has gotten lost in the games with Boone, Happy Valley, and even the win over Johnson County. The defense had been holding teams to an astounding 5.6 points per game in the first 5 games. However, since then the team has been giving up just under 28 points in the last 3 games. North has been averaging 16.2 ppg during the last 4 games North has to know they have to win the year out, and a struggling Haysi could be the perfect medicine for a turn around. Prediction: North 26 Haysi 6 Jeff County @ Morristown West Jeff County has already knocked the most talented team off in conference(Sevier County), now can they knock off #2? Jefferson County has been the most surprising team of the year in East Tennessee as a team that not much was expected of before the year and currently stand at a 4-0in conference play. Morristown comes in being the most inconsistent team in NET play. Everyone win has been followed by a loss and vice-versa. The Trojans after the Austin-East upset looked like a team that was looking at 8-9 wins. However, Knox Central and Science Hill brought them back to earth, even if they fumbled both games away. The problem with turnovers is the defense in a 6-1 and 4-3 year. They are a team that holds home court going 3-0 at home this year and that could be a major problem for the patriots. Morristown has had a consistent defense holding teams to right around 22 points, yet their offense averages 13.3 in losses and 32 in wins. The Patriots have leaned on their defense in the last 5 games that has been giving up just 9 points a contest during that streak. The 4-1 record during the past 5 was preceded by losses to two of the best teams in the state in Bearden and Greeneville, look for the Trojans to struggle with the Patriots defense yet in the end their talent should win out. Morristown West 23 Jeff County 20 Dobyns Bennett at David Crockett This is not the year to hope for an upset of the Kingsport program. The thought that is hovering over the Tri-Cities that this could be the first time since 1971 that a local team gets to the state finals. Crockett is just hoping to get to .500, standing at 4-3 with the tough road ahead with Boone, South and D-B the odds are against them. Look for D-B to come out fast score qiuick and often. Seabolt and Sensabaugh have been doing much of the heavy lifting while Cannon and Swafford ad the flash. Prediction: D-B 48 Crockett 12 Johnson County at Elizabethton The Cyclones host the Longhorns to try and get to 5-3 before they head to Knoxville for the beat down against one of the top 5 teams in the state, CAK. Though Elizabethton may be looking ahead to the huge contest against Christian Academy, they should be able to over power the Longhorns with pure talent. Johnson County got their two wins over the worst teams in the area in East and Unicoi County so don’t expect any upsets here Elizabethton 38 Johnson County 17
- Big Stone Gap -Its been 27 years that Rhil Robbins has held the rigns as Head Coach of Powell Valley. Robbins still remembers the first play he called as the head football coach at Powell Valley High School. It was the fall of 1983 and the Vikings were locked in a season-opening battle with Jonesville at Big Stone Gap’s Bullitt Park. For Full Story Cincinnati, L.A., Corpus Christi among best high school sports cities MaxPreps takes a look at the cities that have the best athletic traditions in high school sports. This was the scene on Jan. 4, 2009 in Corpus Christi, Texas. With No. 1 ranked Moody squaring off to face Calallen in the Region IV 4A championship game later that night, people began lining up to get tickets for the game - at 7 a.m.Story Cont..
With the arrival of Murphy Fair on news-stands, the biggest shock was how high Murphy has Greeneville. The two past years have been surprises as an underdog. However, after last year's run to the BlueCross Bowl the Devils' will head into the season with a Target oin their back as the no. 1 team. Daniel Boone, D-B, and Elizabethton also got ranked in the top ten of their divisions.
As new Topper coach Stacy Carter feels out his staff he made a tough decision in leaving out Randy Ferrell. Ferrell who was considered for the head coaching job, along with Paul Overbay, left town after 32 years of involvement with the Hilltopper program. Ferrell will still get a chance to coach varsity football this season. The retired Science Hill teacher will be an assistant at Happy Valley. A stunned Ferrell thought he would retire at Science Hill and was still stunned with Carter's decision as he moved to Elizabethton. For Full Story...
New head coach Stacy Carter has brought a no-nonsense approach to the Hilltoppers after successful coaching stints with the Sullivan East baseball program and most recently the Sullivan South football program. Carter, a former Army captain, went 63-15 over the past six seasons as head coach of the Rebels. With references to his military background and the intensity with which he conducts practices, some have referred to Science Hill’s preseason as “Camp Carter.” Full Story from J.C Press
New Concussion Policy Effective This Year TSSAA HERMITAGE- - -The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association is implementing a new concussion policy that all member schools must follow beginning with the 2010-11 school year. The TSSAA Board of Control passed the policy unanimously during a conference call on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. -- Colt Cloninger pointed to the nasty scar adorning his lower leg. Nothing could be a more apt symbol of the 2010 Cougars. Full Story...
The Southeast is as fertile as it gets for the ranks of High School Football, supplying the colleges nearby and claiming many of the past National Champs. To take a look we go to Scout.com and look at the new recruits coming into their own at High Schools across SEC country. Cont.... The Big 8(1-AAA) outlook for 2010 After a year of the new classification and plenty of surprises, the Big 8 is starting to become re-familiar with one another. Old rivalrys are back! South vs. D-B, Science Hill vs. Tennessee High, and D-B v. Tennessee High all have histories with one another and its great they are facing one another again. Daniel Boone and Tennessee High jumped out the first year and schocked the rest of the league. South did well and D-B stumbled along the way, but this year look for the two D-Bs to fight it out for the conference championship with South not far behind.....So Here is the MCS prediction for how the Big 8 will un-fold. 1. D-B see D-B preview 2. Daniel Boone The Biggest Surprise of '09 is back and a year older. The TrailBlazers Coach Jeremy Jenkins will have to rely heavily on Kevin Connell, after starting for 3 years, is finally a senior and ready to realize all of the potential that Gray is hoping he has. After shocking D-B last year it will be hard for Boone to sneak up on anyone. Though they lost about half of the starters from a year ago most are back at key positions and some of the offensive line. Sey mour will be a benchmark game to see if they are ready to play with the big boys and make a run in the playoffs or if they will be relegated to dissapointment. 3. Sullivan South - South is a team that gets their second line plenty of playing time because of their offensive firepower and the ability to blow teams out. As turmoil hit Colonial Heights at the end of last year as they underpreformed in the playoffs, with being shutout by Columbia who they were favored against, that was followed by their Head Coach Stacey Carter jumping south on I-26 to land at Science Hill. Though South is better right now because of the work of Carter and new coach Sam Haynie's work, Science Hill is a higher profile job. However, for now South is in a period of unprecedented success that has brought them to the Semis 3 times in the past 6 years. Heathe Haden returns to run the Spread QB-read Option offense that has become a Rebel staple. Some have talked that the system has begun to run itself because of the coaching at South. No matter who they have plugged in it has dominated locally and competitive state-wide. From Phillips to St. Clair to Haden the Offense has been potent. Though there is uncertantity with Haynie at the helm. He states, " If it ain't broke don't fix it." So look for South to remain near the top nut this year may be a little drop just because of their lack of depth on the defensive side. 4. Tennessee High - After dominating the '09 and going undefeated until tripping up against Boone to close out the season in the playoffs. Gone is leading rusher, who some(himself mainly) thought he was on the level of Sensabaugh at D-B. Back those is UT signees, Mack Crowder and Brendan Downs. Both with great size the lack of expierence at skill positions will hurt the Vikings in the meantime. ONly 6 starters return out of the 22 slots and the QB position is still up in the air as Austin Snyder( Sr. 6-0, 170) and Johnny Deel(Soph, 5'11. 160) battle it out. Some think one may do the passing, Snyder, and Deel will run more of an option when needed. So look for Tennessee High to stumble some up first but gain some footing by the end of the year hopefully they will gain it in time to make the playoffs and go from there. 5. Science Hill - Welcome Stacey Carter, you could not have arrived soon enough for the Topper faithful. To say that former Coach Scott Smith had worn out his welcome would probably be an under statement. Though he was a very-knowledgeable his personality did not fit the Toppers' fanbase that well. Though it will take some time to get the Johnson City based school to get a grasp of Carter who is known for his work ethic. It is doubtful if Daniel Norris will play as he focuses on his future in the Majors so the team will probably be up in the air until the morning before the first game. But Carter's name along will get atleast a couple wins. Though the Topperrw' will most likely have a losing record the first year. If you want to get your shots at the Toppers' get them now. 6. David Crockett - Gone is Chorpee Sumo and with him one of the state's leading rushers. But not to worry for Coach Kent Green who specializes in finding a handful of ball carriers in his single-wing system. Though he knows that's never been the huge issue with the Pioneers. With a defense that allowed more 20 points 5 times, and 51 against Tennessee High, the juniors are stepping up to seniors and hopefully the year of expierence will let them be the surprise team of the 2010 campaign. The defense will be built around All-Conferece stud Dallas Townsend who is a terror at defensive end. Blake Johnson returns at linebacker and will hopefully turn around his side of the ball to build a defense that will be a little more stout this season. 7. Volunteer - Lack of full information(read this document later for fuull coverage) 8 Sullivan Central- Lack of full Information |
3rd Time a Charm??: #2 Hilltoppers Look for Revenge Against #1 Murfreesboro Riverdale for AAA Championship
By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 3/8/13 It’s been a long and strange trip for the Science Hill Lady Hilltoppers. The girl’s have finally made it back to where they took a bitter loss to the same team just one year ago. They have actually faced each other in multiple rematches over the summer with Riverdale holding a 3-1 advantage - including the loss in the title game. However on Saturday Morning at 12 a.m. the Hilltoppers hope to return the favor and gain the first state title for a Big Eight school in modern times. In 2011, the Science Lady Hilltoppers were sort of a surprise for the rest of the state as they took to the state and made it to the semi-finals. They were a different team that year that was furious and depended on the 3 more than they currently do. Christy Goodman was the Region MVP and with Hensley they formed a great duo from the arch that was hard to match in the state. That team two years ago had 4 seniors, including Goodman and Haley Hensley, who both went on to play at the next level. The Hilltoppers came up on to a team in, Memphis Central, that was motivated and used a 24-8 3rd quarter to win 66-59 and moved on to be crowned state champs. In 2012, the Toppers looked to have found perfection as the rolled into Murfreesboro. They were the team that was 36-0 and looked unstoppable as no one gave them a true challenge in the regular season and it looked to be a perfect season. One thing I have learned covering sports, perfection is something that is always chased but never has lost when challenged. One of the team leaders and definitely most talented, Shy Copney, tore her ACL just before the championship game against Murfreesboro Riverdale. the Warriors from Riverdale dominated the game and were crowned state champions. The best news that Science Hill had for 2013 was that EVERYONE was coming back, a rare thing for someone fighting for a championship in back to back years. The thought began to rise that this Hilltoppers squad was the best female team to take the court in NET and maybe Tennessee in modern times. While the may be a notch above the level’s that the 1990’s Sullivan East squads that featured Angie Fickes may have reached, they are shoulder to shoulder with the Lady Indians of Dobyns Bennett in the mid-90’s that went toe to toe with a Shelbyville squad that was ranked in the top 10 in all scouting ranks in America and had a 100 plus winning streak going on when Elle Bonnett and Holly Harwood about took down the giant that was Shelbyville during the golden age of Girl’s basketball in Tennessee. There is much to go on about the discussion of how far up the ranks the Lady Toppers actually go, but that is for Monday. Riverdale and Science Hill have met in shadows during practices over the summer since the loss in the lights of the state tourney. Some say that the Toppers spilt during the summer, but when the lights came back on and Shy Copney was still trying to get back to 100% the Warriors dominated the Toppers once again. The Warriors may be on the level with those Shelbyville teams especially when you see where most of their graduates are going. Rick Insell, MTSU Lady Raiders Head Coach, coached those Shelbyville teams until 2000 when he left for the college ranks. Insell sent his team to the championship a record 15 times, while racking up 775 wins that ranks him in the top 20 all-time in high school through out the United States. He has signed 2, 90+ ranked played from Riverdale, with 1 already on roster, to the 2014 recruiting class that includes Shy Copney. The time is now for a Toppers team that will be losing much of the roster that has built the Toppers into a perennial state contender. Enjelica Reid, Copney, Shae Smith, Morgan Knack, and Emanda Reid all will move on leaving Tianna Tarter and Gabby Lyons to try and improve on their legacy. Memphis Overton and Bradley Central were dispatched easily and now it is on to where it all began. Why would it end anyway else?
Sudden Interruption: Science Hill falls to Maryville in a Thriller 60-59
By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 3/5/13 “Special Teams Don’t Win Championships,” stated Sullivan North coach Jay Gregory, after the fall of his Raiders in the 2nd round of the AA-Regional’s. I couldn’t think of a better line to close the Science Hilltoppers season in 2013 than with something already stated. The little team that could played well above their 5’11 average stature all year. The Toppers were 2 minutes away from sewing up the win, but the Maryville Rebels got their revenge after forcing overtime and holding off a last second shot from Reed Hayes to move to the State Tournament. The game started with an unfamiliar site as the size and shooting of Maryville caused the Toppers trouble. Falling behind as much as 10 halfway through the 2nd quarter the Rebels’ looked to be the dominant team early. CJ Good found his range and little brother Patrick helped to close the gap to 5 before the close of the half. “We should have had a bigger lead than 5 points at halftime,” said Rebels’ coach Mark Eldridge stated. “We played a much better first half than 2nd and I thought if we could get a big lead and keep them from getting a 10-0 or 12-0 run to get the crowd going we could win easier than we did.” While the 2nd half was played with high intensity by both teams that looked a little pressed before they found their shot, the 2nd half went down as a climax that had everyone on their feet. The 3rd quarter was far more amp’d as Science Hill came out with a flurry to get the game back knotted at 44 as the crowd got to their feet and the student section was definitely the 6th man as they started to get Maryville to crack on some free throws.
“It all comes down to a shot here or a foul there that we usually make,” said Toppers coach Ken Cutlip. “We just had a hard time finding a fluid run and we gave it our best shot, but we just weren’t hitting shots that we always hit.” Science Hill maintained control for most of the 4th quarter, but foul trouble started to rear its ugly head. The size of Maryville caused the Toppers trouble and they used their presence inside for fouls on Reed Hayes, Marc Aples, and Will Adams that would prove costly. Each team took up to a minute per play and with just over 1 minute on the clock Calvin Songster hit a runner to make it 54-49 and the Toppers looked to be Murfreesboro bound.
The Topper Palace started to get tense as Maryville’s John Garrett came off the left side and found an open spot to get a ‘lil luck on a leaner near the top of the key to make the game a one possession stand off. The Toppers would only make 1 free throw after Maryville was forced to foul and the game was on with just over 30 seconds remaining when Garrett struck again from the left side of the court that banked in and after a brief silence a whistle went over the Palace that had everyone in an uproar. Rather the call was late or not, Garrett knocked down the free throw and with 35 seconds left the game was going to be put on Will Adams shoulders. “I don’t care how the game ended I liked our chances in both situations,” said Cutlip. “After the NBA and 1, I had Will Adams working off the dribble and I like those chances and rather he as fouled or not he still about won us the game.” After running the clock down to around 7 seconds, Will Adams drove to his left cutting back right and got to the rim and after contact from Bryan Landers and Clark McCall the lay-up rimmed out and the whistle signaled the end of the game as the Toppers looked stunned. However, even with all of that not going their way there was 4 more minutes of overtime, but the Toppers continued to be snake-bit.
“We started overtime with two of our leaders fouling out (Marc Aples and Will Adams),” Cutlip said, “but we had players step up in ways that don’t fit their game and they have done it all year.” The overtime period came down to 9 possessions, 4 for the Toppers and 5 for Maryville, and the one more offensive possession would be the difference. However it still came down to a one-point deficit and the Toppers had the ball with 2.7 seconds left. Hayes ran off a play that called for him to get the ball at the top of the left elbow and he looked to have an open look but the Rebels’ closed up quick and it looked as if Landers may have got a piece, but either way it came up short and the Toppers season was over that quick. “We should be 3 and 37 not 37 and 3,” said Cutlip. “We have played against teams 4..5..6 inches taller than us on average all year and we did great. It’s just a hard pill to swallow going out like this after working so hard to get the last game before state at home and losing in front of your fans.”
NET Basketball Is Officially Maroon and Yellow – as the Science Hill Girl’s and Boy’s Advance to Sub-State for the 3rd Straight Year….Each
By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 2/28/13
The past 4 years have seen so similar if you’re a high school basketball fan in NET. Science Hill has been in the Region Championship every year for 3 years and has won all 6 of the contests on both the Girl’s and Guy’s sides. This year was a repeat of last year’s repeat as the Hilltoppers eased through the Regional’s (except for the Jeff County scare) and now face Knoxville’s finest in the Sub-State. The Guys took down Sevier County with a dominant first half that led to an easy 22 point win, 70-48. The Sevier County squad came into the game down their best single player, Devin Schmidt, and after a heart-tugging win over Dobyns Bennett the Sevier County fans packed Daniel Boone once again, putting our own fans to shame. However, the Toppers continued their pressure on defense and about 4 minutes into the game, the backcourt for the Smokey Bears began to cough up the ball. By the time CJ Good and Will Adams turned 2 turnovers into treys, the Toppers had the lead for good. Yet, the Smokey Bear faithful made the game feel like it was a 2-point game all night long and cheers to one of the best traveling fan bases in high school sports in East Tennessee. Cody and Weston Underwood got it back to 6 at 24-18, but the game was never closer as Science Hill used their pressure (25 turnovers) to build an insurmountable lead. “We came out and played with a lot of heart and maybe a little too much pressure on ourselves,” said Sevier County coach Ken Wright. “We got a little too excited and made some great passes…just to the wrong team.” The rest of the first half would be dominated by the Toppers on a 17 to 3 run that made it 41-21 at the half. The backcourt of CJ Good, Will Adams(Region MVP), and Calving Songster continued their pressure and found open 3’s all over the 2nd quarter. The rest of the 2nd half was mostly just two teams going back and forth after the Toppers pushed their lead to as much as 28. The Toppers coach Ken Cutlip was ecstatic about how his Toppers left no doubt about how much they wanted to control their destiny; “We wanted to come out and put pressure on them and play with intensity. We didn’t want to play away for a trip to the Sub-State, we wanted to play in front of our fans.”
The Lady Toppers were going against a familiar nemesis in Tennessee High that they have dominated to 9 straight wins over the past 3 seasons, including 4 this year. The Toppers came out and hushed the Viking faithful with a 15-3 first quarter and even though the Toppers were in foul trouble most of the night the lead continued to grow. Tianna Tarter and Enjelica Ried concentrated on keeping Ashlee Mitchell from going off and kept the Vikings shot off all night. The only problem was that with each foul the Viking got plenty of oppurtunities from the foul line but went cold at a bad time hitting on just 14 of 37 from the stripe. The cold shooting wasn’t just at the stripe as the Vikings shot 13 for 55 (24%) from the field.
“We were just wanting to make sure we would play one more time in front of our fans,” said Toppers coach Dwayne Barnwell. “These seniors have set a line that will be hard to keep up year in and out and hopefully we can continue and go one more step than last year.” Barnwell was clearly not himself after losing his father the day before and his point, Tianna Tarter, was dealing with the same thing. Even though they looked out of sink they got the job done. Tarter put up her usual big number 21 points, 10 assist, and 9 rebounds. Tarter would have more assist than the whole team of Tennessee High. Science Hill continued to show why they are the 11th ranked team in the country (Max Preps) and will face a tough Farragut Admiral squad that will be looking for revenge on Saturday.
Region MVP in Black Yellow Lady Toppers Stats:
Blue Falcon Down: Volunteer Tumbles Under Pressure From Boone, Fall 64-46
BY Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 1/26/2013
Volunteer and Daniel Boone came into Saturday night on the oppisite poles of momentum and left in the same directions. Boone had won 10 of 12 after starting the year 5-5 and began to look as a contender for the 2nd spot in the Big Eight. Volunteer came in on their second 6 game losing streak of the year and were still looking for their first win in the Big Eight in 13 games, including 2011/12. Daniel Boone made it 11 out of 13 as they pushed the pace and used the schemes of Volunteer against themselves for a 64-46 win. Volunteer continued on their side, but had moments of brightness as they fell to Daniel Boone. The Falcons tried to slow the game down, but Boone’s head coach, Ryan Arnold, got his team to swing the ball using the extra pass to overcome the ‘Diamond and 1’ and ‘Triangle and 2’ defenses the Falcons’ coach Chris Martin employed. “We tried some things to slow (Ryan) Gaitor down,” said Martin, “but we thought that would was the key to slowing them down, and it may be, but they had a lot of options that hurt us in the end.” Daniel Boone came out of the gate having to fight for control of the pace of the game. Volunteer was taking over 40 seconds a play when they had control, while Boone was nullifying the play of Volunteer by scoring quickly into their sets. The game started off going back and forth until Austin Reppart caught fire for Daniel Boone. By the time Reppart had knocked down his 3rd straight trey the game was 20-11 and the Falcons never sniffed the lead for the rest of the night. Reppart’s 4th pushed the lead to 33-18 as Brad Holderman and Kurt Cradic gave the Falcons some offensive out put. However, the two weren’t enough as Boone got the pace into their own way as Volunteer had trouble keeping up.
“They tried a lot of different things on defense,” said Arnold, “but Ryan (Gaitor) dealt with it well and moved the ball to the open side of the court to open things up and get open shots.” The biggest run of the game came from the start of the 2nd half that saw Boone go on a 25-12 run that pushed the lead out to 24 at 54-30. Crawford was 6 for 6 in the paint for Volunteer and kept the lead from getting worse. Volunteer closed the game on a 9-1 run that made the game a more respectable 18 point difference.
Austin Reppart led all scorers with 19 points and 8 rebounds, while Ryan Gaitor played well with 10 points, 5 assist, and 4 rebounds. Crawford led the Falcons with 14 points and 6 rebounds, Cradic added 13 points. Up Next: Boone faces South on Monday, and host Science Hill on Tuesday. Volunteer heads to Dobyns Bennett on Tuesday
New Classification for 2013 - A Change is Gonna' Come
From TSSAA Outlooks By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 10/17/2012 All year long the talk has been about what is going to happen in classfication next year. Was the DB-South rivalry over? What about Central and is Boone going to be a 6A school as the continue to grow? Betsy and North are no longer class rivals, Sullivan Central and Sullivan South both thought they had the numbers to drop down to 4A and as the Morristown schools split up times are a changin for sure. With the numbers for the next 4 years coming out today it looked like Central was in trouble being over 1000 and the number hurt them once again as they stick at 5A...but to see where South stands and a new, tougher 4A is built click the link below to see the new classification. There was talk that TSSAA would go back to 5 classifications, while there was also talk that the semi-private schools (i.e Boyd Buchanon) may be shipped off in a complete split between private and public. Though the numbers come out today, October 17 - Send letter to all schools giving them opportunity to move to higher classification. There is a October 24 deadline for schools to move up, and on October 25 TSSAA will prepare districts and regions in all sports and send to the TSSAA Board of Control Members. This will be followed by sending the same staff recommentations to all member schools and posted on TSSAA.org. So for the numbers for the next round of classifications – Click Here…
6A outlook: When you look at 6A it’s not so much whom is new to the top tier class, it’s who is gone and what rivalries may be gone with it. Morristown West and Morristown East are split up for the first time in their history and Oak Ridge is now losing numbers to the other Knoxville schools, such as Powell which makes the jump to 6A. Morristown West and East had usually been within a few numbers from each other and West was actually a larger school just a few years ago. They will most likely be kept in the same conference, yet it just seems a little weird that the more dominant school, West, is staying put as a struggling Morristown East makes the jump to face the big dogs of NET in football. Other than that it really doesn’t affect the NET 6A much, just look for Powell to fight with Bearden and Farragut to be the dominant Knoxville school
5A Outlooks: Sullivan Central is a school that is snake bit. If the classification was done any year, but this one, they would be a 4A school now which fits them much better. Oak Ridge will have a lot to say as the drop down, but look no weaker in football than their hey-dey in early 1990’s. Two schools making the jump that is surprising is Gibbs and Stone Memorial, which both had success in 4A, now will face some of the tougher NET schools in Daniel Boone, Knox West, and Lenoir City. Volunteer, Tennessee High, and David Crockett all will be 5A for the next 5 years and if they continue to grow like they have over the last decade (esp. Crockett and Volunteer) I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in 6A sometime in the next decade.
4A Outlook: How things have changed this go around. Over the last 4 years the 4A class in NET has been by FAR the weakest of the top 5 classes, yes that includes 2A, where Knox Grace and Boyd Buchanon were there to go through. The newcomers are shocking at least; Unicoi County and Elizabethton join Sullivan East as Three Rivers’ schools to take up 4A, while Sullivan South drops down. No longer will Greeneville have a clear path to the state semi-finals as South, Betsy, and Knox Catholic. Even with 1200 kids, the Fighting Irish are being pushed back for jumping up too fast in the last reclassification as described below. The 4A may be as interesting a class as the 3A has been over the past years, but the loss of the heated rivalry with North and Betsy hurts both schools, especially North. Red Bank is another big name moving down, it seems like just yesterday they were beating DB in the State Semi-finals. **June 2008 Board of Control Action created the current three class plan which places schools in the same districts for football, baseball, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball. June 2012 Board of Control action clarified that schools cannot move up more than one class in all sports. There are four examples where the multiplier moves schools up 2 classes in football and 1 class in baseball, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball. This school may only be moved up 1 class in football (Class 3A to Class 4A). This also causes this school to be moved back to Class AA in baseball, basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball so that they can remain in the same district for all sports per TSSAA Board of Control Action.
3A outlook: Not many new things on the NET side of things in 3A, except it looks like a few schools still stand out in CAK, Alcoa, Sullivan North, and Red Bank. South Greene fall down to 2A as they continue to shrink and shrink, while the rest looks to be much of the same. Elizabethton and Unicoi County are both gone weakening an already weak Quad 1 for NET, which most likely means North could be matched up with CAK and Alcoa even sooner than the State Semis. Some of the schools in the Chattanooga area, like Notre Dame seem to be spreading out and thus losing attendance to other schools. Notre Dame and Red Bank will both be tough schools for the smaller NET, 3A schools to deal with. Overall, I think the 3A lost as much as it got making for a good competitive class. -The Bottom 2 Classes -
Simply Dominant: Volunteer Controls Every Facet of the Game as Sullivan East Falls 35-0
By Josh Harwood Stats By Bill Harwood ModelCitySports.com 8/24/2012 Volunteer has turned the corner that Sullivan East turned one year ago, only problem is East may be falling back. Volunteer stormed out of the gate on the back of Sam Barton with a 60 yard punt return on their first touch. The route was on from there as Volunteer’s defense stacked the box controlling any effort from the one-dimensional offense from Sullivan East. Volunteer had the running clock on early in the 3rd quarter as the Falcons got their first home opening win in 8 years, 35-0.
Sullivan East got the ball first and after three rushes the ball was ready to be kicked over to Volunteer. Sam Barton took it at the 40 missed two gunners and left the rest in the dust going down the home sideline as the crowd exploded. 6’7, 340 pound kicker Hunter Lawson would miss his first P.A.T, but would make up for it later. The Patriots would get on the Volunteer side of the field on just one occasion in the first half, while carding just two first downs - one on a penalty. The Falcons, Lawson and White, lived in the Patriots backfield forcing 12 rushes of zero or less during the first half.
“We saw a lot of different things than we expected from them,” said a relieved Falcon head coach Scott Rider. “but, we are have seen plenty people do what they did and we got the better of them.” Volunteer would get the ball on their 2nd possession and use up 5 minutes of the clock on a 9 play drive, ending with a 33 yard dash by Casey Price. Sam Barton would finish the half with two scampers of at least 45 yards to lead to a 28 to 0 lead at the half. “Sam (Barton) is the true embodiment of a team player,” stated Rider. “He isn’t selfish at all he just does what we ask.” After getting the ball to start the half, Volunteer went on a 10 play, 65 yard drive that showed how much dominant the Volunteer line truly is. The Falcons didn’t use one pass and only had one run less than 5 yards on the drive as Casey Price got his 2nd touchdown of the night on an 18 yard counter to the left side. Barton talked about how easy it was to run behind the line: “It’s great I can almost hide behind them and look through the cracks to see where the holes are, its definitely fun to be on this team. We have been on so many teams where the running clock was put on us….it was fun to have it work for us once.” Volunteer would get the ball two more times during the half and Sullivan East would have two mediocre drives that would garner them only 1 more first down, 3 total for the hole game. UpNext: Volunteer will play Boone next week as Sullivan North will face Sullivan East
Key Stats: Volunteer Rushing Sam Barton 7 for 113 yards Casey Price 10 for 109 yards 4 combined TDs
Flag Football: Daniel Boone Survives Muddled Game to Top Cyclones for 2nd Time in History, 14-7
Pitcures and Article/VideoBy Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com Stats By Bill Harwood 8/18/2012 Daniel Boone has always been one of the stronger schools in football around. Known for their technical and hard hitting style, the Trailblazers are always a tough out. However, if you would have known that Betsy has beaten the Blazers on 25 of 26 occasions your probably a reporter. Betsy came into Saturday night already down a quarterback and without the threat of the pass Boone packed the box making for a defensive game that played into the Trailblazers hands. Daniel Boone would get win number 2 over the Cyclones, 14-7. The 1st Quarter would set the tone for the day that was
filled with yellow flags across the field. Maybe it was that it was the first
game of the year for the two teams, maybe the refs were a little trigger happy,
but either way 14 flags would be thrown in the first half and would keep any
momentum from either side. With 7 first downs recorded in the first quarter on both sides, not much movement into the others end was happening. The defense, that included DL, Adam Mullins, was getting through the middle of the line and holding Cliff Sanders to under 40 yards in 8 rushes in the 1st quarter. Betsy was having the same trouble as their quarterback, D.J Arnett was not the fluid passer that Thomas Miller is. Boone would use an 18 play drive and just over 9 minutes to get down inside the 5 of the Cyclones defense. Littleton would hand off to Sanders who would cough up the ball at the 1/2 yard line giving it up to Elizabethton early in the 2nd quarter. Betsy could only get a yard of room for the punt team and after a 14 yard punt the Trailblazers were back in action. Jacob Littleton would hit Michael Osterman just 5 plays later to put the Blazers on the board for the first time at 6-0, after a controversial missed P.A.T. Jacob Littleton would close any hope of an answer by Elizabethton in the first half with an interception with 2:13 left in the half to end the scoring for the half at 6-0.
"We had a lot of things that are natural to a first game," said Boone Head Coach Jeremy Jenkins. "We had to get the game a little murky and that's just how we usually win games, especially over the past few years." The first 9 minutes of the 3rd quarter which much of the same as the first half, 4 more penalties and an Interception ending an Elizabethton drive. However, the Blazers would use 6 minutes and 12 plays to give the ball off to Cliff Sanders for an easy 8 yard scamper, plus an 2 point conversion leading to a 14-0 lead.
Right before the 4th quarter the Hurricanes would get a 60 yard return by Zach Moore that would get them within striking distance. 3 plays later the Cyclones would catch the Blazer on a wide zone left when everything was goig right to get the ball into Etan Thomas' hands for the score and a game was on for a short while with 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter. With the sore stuck at 14-7, Betsy would have two chances within Boone territory to strike but their final would fall short giving Boone the win and their 2nd of 27.
"We have been hearing about that 1-25 all summer," said Jenkins. "It didn't get to me til recently but I could tell our players were ready with the call or not."\
William the Conqueror: Adams Stands Out as the Top PG in the Area as Science Hill moves on to Sub-State with 70-56 win over Cherokee
By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 3/1/2012 It was supposed to be a battle to see who if Will Adams could keep up with the future King Tornado, James Scales, who just tore through Dobyns Bennett for 32 points. The Hurricanes came out fast on a 10-0 run to start the game, but had no answer for the best point guard in the East Tennessee area, Will Adams, whose 26 would lead the Toppers to a 2nd straight Region Championship, 70-56.
Full Stats:
Blazers top Cougars in Blountville, 63-53: Sloppy Weather breads Sloppy play as Boone tops Cougars in a ‘Free Throw Competition’
By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 1/14/2012 The only game in town on Saturday Night was Boone heading north to take on Sullivan Central. With the Big 8 more open than usual games like Daniel Boone versus Sullivan Central have gained importance. Not just for Boone, but Central has as good a shot at getting into one of the top 4 spots as anyone. It would come down to a free throw shooting with Boone gaining an advantage and would pull away late, 53-43.
Science Hill had been knocked off by Greeneville just a day before and with Dobyns-Bennett knocking off South after losing to Tennessee High a power struggle seems to have opened up in the Tri-Cities. The only thing keep the Cougars and Trailblazers from getting an easy win on Saturday would be themselves as they would combine for 16 turnovers and 43 fouls.
The Cougars would start off trying to run their offense from the inside-out, going through Tyler Miller the whole time. Neither team could get any focus or fluid momentum with how the refs would call the game. With the score at 9-8, the points were mostly coming from the free throw line as 8 of those 17 were from the charity stripe. It actually would take 4 free throws from Chris Jones and Aaron Shelton to tie the score up at 13 going into the 2nd half. “It was not the prettiest game and we didn’t make it easy on our self either,” said Blazers coach Ryan Arnold. “When you have that many opportunities from the free throw line you need to make better than….50%.” Central looked to start to gain some momentum as Tyler Miller would grab 1 of his 5 rebounds and take it down the court to push the lead to 6 at 19-13. Jacob Littleton would score the next 4 for Boone to keep the Blazers within striking distance.
Miller would stay hot, scoring on two straight opportunities with the last being a 3 from the corner to push the lead back to 7, 24-17. Boone would struggle to get anything going with their star, Ryan Gaitor going the 2nd scoreless. Central would push the lead to 8 at 27-19, their biggest of the night, before Boone would close the half from the stripe closing it to 27-20. “We were just sleep-walking through the first half,” said Arnold. “We really have to have Ryan (Gaitor) to be able to run our offense like we like and his foul trouble did cause us trouble early.” With 2 early fouls, Gaitor would spend much of the first half on the bench with just 3 points. However, the junior PG would come out fast in the 2nd half scoring the first 3 points to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals, leading the Trailblazers on an 11-2 run that would grab their first lead of the evening at 31-29. The 3rd quarter would be the beginning of Central’s undoing as the Cougars would only score 4 points to Boone’s 14, ending the period at 34-31 with Boone holding the momentum and the lead.
Stanley Valentine would do a lot of the scoring early on for Boone, but his biggest contribution would be his lock down of Tyler Miller in the 2nd half, holding the forward to just 2 buckets in the 2nd half, not to mention the 14 rebounds Valentine would grab as well. Valentine would continue to dominate in the post as Gaitor would continue to lead the Blazers lead from the free throw line and on transition. Miller’s last bucket would knock the lead down to 1, but that would be as close as Central would get during the 4th as Littleton and Gaitor pushed the lead to 9 on a 11 to 3 run, which would end the Cougars’ hopes.
Garvin and Hayworth Head the 6A and 5A TSWA ALL-Staters
Garvin pushes Devon from VA out of Bounds to save a TD BY Josh Harwood Pictures By Josh Harwood/Sam Spurgeon ModelCirtySports.com 12/24/2011 The top classes brought about by the TSWA are surprisingly dominated bya young Maryville, just joshin, squad that took the trophy of the 6A class back-to-back. The 20 senior class from Mt. Juliet of course brought about taking just as many spots on the 6A squad. With all of that in mind and even the DB guard Ty Hayworth there is a close knit family member being forgotten? While there are many that stand before them in the skill department, it is J.C Garvin and Ty Hayworth who will be making noise at VMI and Wake Forrest for the locals next year. Landon Foster a kicker that has drawn the eye of Kentucky and many other 1-A schools just happens to be the grandson of a family friend and Kingsport pioneer Norman Sobel. Sobel’s of course goes in the chamber with Nettie Lee’s and Woolworths as one of the shops that made Kingsport, well….Kingsport! TSWA ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS CLASS 6A OFFENSE QB — Patton Robinette (Maryville); Cullen Lavoi (Sevier County);Dillon Woodruff(Riverdale)
RB — I’Tavius Mathers (Blackman); Mark Dodson (Whitehaven); Shawn Prevo(Maryville) FB — Adam Davenport (Riverdale); Contrez McCathern (Mt. Juliet) WR — Logan McCarter (SevierCounty); James Stovall (Bradley Central); DanielHurd (Wooddale); Kaceem Harris (Mt. Juliet) OL — Terrell Lee (Whitehaven); Austin Sanders (Bradley Central); Brandon Guy(Maryville); Jay Guillermo (Maryville); Brett Dillard (Mt. Juliet); Ty Hayworth (Dobyns-Bennett) ATH — Rian Hall (Oak Ridge); Caleb Chowbay (Mt. Juliet) K — Landon Foster (Independence) DEFENSE DL — Scottie McCullough (Riverdale); Joe Watson (Maryville); Caleb Azubike(McGavock); Keenan Harris (Mt. Juliet); Joe Ramirez (Franklin) LB — Kamron Perry (Whitehaven); Jazz Mason (Arlington); Jay Rudwall (Ooltewah);Adam Collins (Whitehaven); Jacob West (Maryville); Nathan Miranda (Maryville); Deante Glover (Riverdale) DB — Darius Sims (Whitehaven); Edwin Locklayer (Oakland); Brian Coulter (Maryville); Brandon Johns (Maryville); Brandon Hathaway (Smryna); Josh Shelton (Mt. Juliet); Tae Martin (Siegel) P — Jonathan King (Farragut) COACH — George Quarles (Maryville) CLASS 5A OFFENSE QB — Matthew Markham (Columbia); Dylan Dye (Dyer County); Dustin McPhetridge(Powell)
RB — Jaylen Walton (Ridgeway); Brian Kimbrow (Memphis East); Dy’shawn Mobley(Powell); Shaquille Allen (Henry County) FB — Caleb Counce (Henry County) OL — Cordale Boyd (Ridgeway); Ryan ‘T.T.’ Garrettson (Morristown East); AndrewJelks (Henry County); Tre Haynes (Gallatin); Andy Bacon (Morristown West); Spencer Garvin (Hendersonville)
WR — Brandon Farmer (Springfield); Dre Hall (Columbia); Camion Patrick (LenoirCity) ATH — Najee Ray (Henry County); Devin Rodgriguez (Clarskville) K — George Bullock (Knoxville West) DEFENSE DL — Terrence Sommers (Springfield); Brandon Lewis (Ridgeway); Randall Dunlap(Henry County); Martrell Kendall (Henry County); Zach Stuart (Knoxville West); Lucas Fishman (Morristown West) LB — Jalen Reeves-Maybin (Clarksville Northeast); Jesse Jones (Cleveland);Jimmy Garner (Knoxville West); Austin Greene (Morristown West); J.C. Garvin (Sullivan South)
DB — Eric Belew (Columbia); Cody Blanc (Knoxville Central); Isaiah McKinney(Morristown West); Jonathan Strozyk (Powell); Will Redmond (Memphis East); Krys Cates (Cocke County) P — Andrew Lee (Morristown West COACH — James Counce (Henry County) 2011 TSWA Class 3A & 4A All-State Football Teams
Picture Above by Sam Spurgeon Pictures By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 12/23/2011 The Tennessee Sports Writer's Association released their annual input on who they think has played the best at their respective position for the 3A and 4A classifications. While Greeneville filled up the 4A roster with Taylor Shuffler, Ben Ogle, and Jamal Hall to just name a few the 3A spots were a little more sporadic than the years past when Alcoa and CAK took up almost every position. TSWA TSWA ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS CLASS 3A OFFENSE QB - Charlie High (Christian Academy of Knoxville) QB - Keenan Reynolds(Goodpasture) WR - Josh Smith (Christian Academy of Knoxville) WR - Davis Howell (ChristianAcademy of Knoxville) WR - Deondre Moore (Fairview)
RB - Dalton Boles (West Greene) RB - Julius Montgomery (Chuckey-Doak)RB - Curtis King (Austin-East) ATH - Brandon Smith (Bledsoe County) ATH - D.J. Oggs (Alcoa) ATH - Vic Wharton (Christ Presbyterian Academy) ATH - Jyshon Forbes (Austin-East) OL - Jesse Sandell (Bledsoe County) OL - Damani Taylor (Westview) OL - AustinLamb (Sequatchie County) OL - Derek St. John (Polk County) OL - John Tucker Rankin (Alcoa) OL - William Gass (Christian Academy of Knoxville) K - Caleb Appleton (Milan) DEFENSE DL - Hunter Thurley (Christ Presbyterian Academy) DL - Michael Cain (WhitesCreek) DL - DeMarcus Nolan (Austin-East) DL - Matt Smith (Elizabethton) LB - Arkel Coleman (Milan) LB - Chandler Patrick (Tyner) LB - Jarod Henderson(Austin-East) LB - Logan Cavender (Fairview) LB - Cole Baxley (South Greene)LB - Camden Winzenburg (Christian Academy of Knoxville) LB - Jarod Crenshaw (Alcoa) DB - Jerry Fain (Sequatchie County) DB - Alex Akins (Polk County) DB - DavidRucker (Austin-East) DB - Vanderbilt Hambrick (Alcoa) DB - Cody Lewis (Alcoa) DB - Sam Cranford (Christ Presbyterian Academy) P/ATH - Chase Travis (Pigeon Forge) COACH: Rusty Bradley (Christian Academy of Knoxville) CLASS 4A OFFENSE QB - Al Cobb (Giles County) QB - Trey Phipps (Obion) QB - Reese Phillips(Signal Mountain) RB - Johnston White (Covington) RB - Cameron Phelps (Chester County) RB -Trevor Irrizarry (Marshall County) RB - Ladarius Vanlier (Maplewood) WR - Matt Reilly (Notre Dame) WR - Nathan Cole II (Mitchell) WR - Trent McEwen(White House) WR - Kenton Baker (Giles County) ATH - LaDevin Fair (Obion) ATH - Tanner Stewart (Greeneville) ATH - Stevie Bush(Liberty) OL - Walt Downing (Covington) OL - Akeem Cooperwood (Fulton) OL - JesseSmithson (Spring Hill) OL - Ronnie Linder (Livingston Academy) OL - Justin Tomlinson (Greeneville)
K - Ben Ogle (Greeneville)
LB - Zack Bowman (Signal Mountain) LB - Derrik Thornton (Greeneville) LB - Kevin Jackson (White House) LB - Jordan Phillips (Carter) LB - Fred Elder (Fulton) DB - Koryei Jefferson (Greeneville) DB - Deres Benn (Red Bank) DB - DevinPreyer (Mitchell) DB - Taylor Shuffler (Greeneville) DB - Anthony Lewis (Carter) DB - Ben Bates (Giles County) DB - Jon Patton (Signal Mountain) P - Trey Clark (Greeneville) COACH: Caine Ballard (Greeneville) FCA TN/VA Border Battle - Tennessee Roster Released
All Pictures from Border Battle 2010 by Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 12/8/2011 It's that time of the year again and the FCA All-Star Bowl is on for this Saturday on the 17th of December at Kermit-Tipton Stadium in Johnson City. This will follow the week of playoffs this weekend for Virginia once again. Tickets will be 6 dollars and the For Christian Athletes All-Star game will kick-off at 1pm on Saturday afternoon. Last year William Carmichael dazzled his way to an Outstanding Performer Award and showed why he led Greeneville to their first state title. Justin Long, Austin Straley, and J.C Garvin are just a few of the players that will take up the fight for the Tennessee side. For the TN full roster look here…
Tigers outrun Raiders- as Honaker moves on to play Galax as Burton’s Year comes to an End
All Pictures and Article Courtesy of Allan Blevins By Allan Blevins ModelCitySports.com 11/20/2011 Saturday afternoon was a mirror day in many ways for the 2 teams on Fuller Field at EMATS Stadium in Honaker, Virginia. The #4 Tigers (9-2) hosted the #5 Raiders (9-2) in the second round of the Western Section, Division 1, Group A VHSL playoffs. Both teams were coming off impressive first round wins. Both teams use the colors of orange, black, and white. Both teams wanted to win. Both teams played football like you would expect two post-seasons teams to do. But in the end, Honaker were just a little too much for J.I. Burton. Honaker won the toss and elected to kick. The Raiders marched down the field and struck first putting 6 on the scoreboard in less then a minute. The extra point would be blocked by Burton’s special teams. Honaker’s first possession mirrored that of the Raiders as they marched down the field to find their end zone and put 6 of their own the board. Burton’s defense copied that of Honaker and made sure that would be all the Tigers would get as their PAT was also blocked.
The score was now 6-6 with Honaker kicking off to Burton. The Tigers defense stops the Raider drive and takes over. The offense moves the ball but not without resistance from the Raider defense. Several minutes and several plays later, Honaker manages to find the end zone for 6 more points. They set up the PAT but it is a fake. They go for 2 but the Raiders defense is suspecting and at first, the goal line appears to have been crossed, but the official rules the runner down short of the goal line at the 1-foot mark. With the 2-point conversion denied, the Tigers are now up 12-6.
Tigers kick and the Raiders take control and move the ball down field with unusual ease. At the end of the 1st quarter and the Tigers are up 12-6. Raiders continue their march to find the end zone again for the 2nd time, and tie the score. On the P.A.T the result would remain the same as the Raiders would go for 2 and would be denied by the home-standing Tiger D, leaving the score knotted up at 12. One of the Tigers assistants said it plainly before they went back onto the field, “ We have got to start playing like we want to go to the next round. They are matching us play for play and score for score. This kissing our sister stuff has got to stop!”
Honaker’s next possession had them running, diving and catching passes in ways that they had not yet done to get the ball down the field. The Tigers would score again and add the PAT this time with 19.7 seconds on the clock and end the first half with a 19-12 lead. The second half saw the Raiders kick off to the Tigers and the offense putting 7 more on the board in the first 24 seconds. At the 11:35 mark in the 3rd quarter the Tigers were up by 14, 26-12. The Raiders offense didn’t stand still. At the 8:16 mark in the 3rd quarter, the official raises his hands to signal a touchdown for the Raiders. An added 2-point conversion and the score is now 26-20 still in favor of the Tigers. We see the clock end the 3rd quarter, but not without the Raiders scoring again to take a 26-28 lead into the final quarter.As the 4th began the momentum slowly switched to the Burton’s end of things. The Raiders, who were once down by 14, were now in command, or so it seemed.
The relentless Tiger offense mixes up the plays to move the ball down for a score at the 11:31 mark in the 4th quarter. The lead is now the Tigers at 33-28. The Raiders would now be fighting a more determined Tiger defense. Still they managed to find the goal line, but add only 6 more to their score to go up 33-34. The Tigers offense would not roll over and on the next series of plays found the stripe and crossed it for the 6th time to move ahead 39-34 at the 5:32 mark. The Raiders get the ball back, but they would be forced one more time to meet the home standing Tiger defense that had been dominating the line of scrimmage for most of the game, and this time, the clock. The Raiders went to a hurry up offense and marched down the field and looked to have the game in hand, but a series of 3 consecutive penalties and a tired but relentless determined Tiger defense set them back from a 1st and 10 at the Tiger 23 to what would become a 4th and 17 from the Tiger 30, and even less time on the clock.
Down by 5 with 1:06 on the clock, a field goal was not an option. Raiders use their final time out, then a play action pass that was caught by a Raider who turned up field and heading for the first down marker, but 11 Tiger players determined to advance their team to the next round, had stopped the Raider drive 7 yards short of the first down marker, and ended the Raider season with the turn over on downs. With just 58.7 seconds left on the game clock, the Tigers would take a knee to get it going again. With the Raiders out of time-outs, The Tigers would take one more knee to end the game. The Tigers would end the day up 5 and advancing on.
The Playoffs at First Glance – Class 5A –From Morristown and their Super Talented duo to the Undefeated duo of Powell and Henry County
PIctures by Zane Smith By Josh Harwood ModelCitySports.com 10/31/11 Tennessee High seemed to do the minimum amount required to get into the playoffs. The past two years it seemed that 5-5 had become the watermark for teams moving into the TSSAA final 32. Lenoir City, Anderson County, Station Camp, AND Cocke County had to pull off some miracles to get into the playoffs and leave Cleveland and Tennessee High 2 of the teams left out of the playoffs.5A had 15 teams with 5 wins vying for 10 playoff spots that would go all the way to 3rd to 10th tie-breakers in the TSSAA formats to find out which teams would be in and which ones would be staying home. Unfair, of course, but this is the world the TSSAA has created and we are just living in it. Tennessee High, the first team on the outs, is probably foaming at the mouth that the team - Daniel Boone, who they beat, slid in as a 7th seed winning their last 3 games to qualify. If Tennessee High could have maybe played a tougher schedule then we wouldn’t be having the conversation about the Vikings, they did beat 1, 1-win team and 2 no-win teams. No one ever would think that the 1 point loss to Virginia High would be the death nail that would close the casket on the playoff chances of the Vikings.
With 5 teams representing mediocrity at 5-5 in quadrant 1 of the 2nd class, Morristown West and Knox West both with 9 and 8 wins, respectively should be heavy favorites to come out of the top quad. The other 3 quadrant are more top heavy and have just 5, 5-5 teams in all, combined. Henry County and Powell are clearly the two favorites to represent half of the final four, but when teams like Hendersonville, Tullahoma, and Memphis East are lurking below in the lower seeds an upset should be expected. Toughest 5A Quadrant: Quadrant 2
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Robbins in Last Year as Powell-Valley H.C
FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Cougars look to get tough
Taking a look at H.S Seniors playing their Final Year
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and Tullahoma is where the
most state championship talent lives. Quad 1 may have th most parity with 5
teams 5-5 and no true stand out team, the only problem with that is 5 of the
teams in Quad 1 were 5 of the last 10 teams to qualify for the playoffs. So if
your looking for the best, Quad number 1 has the most talent top to bottom.
When your 7 seed beat a 6A team that is a contender for the state championship
in Farragut you can see that the talent is spread throughout. The rematch
between Powell, the favorite going in, and Anderson County is funny being that
the Longhorns were the same team that disposed of the Panthers last year in the
2nd round. The teams are not similar to last, Anderson County is a
young team growing up, but they may be a year away from returning to the
talent-laden team they were last year. Dy’Shawn Mobley is the one difference
for the undefeated Poll team that was led by him since last year and with him
in the line-up the Panthers haven’t lost a game in 2 years. With his benching
for a suspension from the playoffs last year by coach Matt Lowe. The talented
back has caught the eyes of mainly Kentucky who has had scouts at a couple of
the Powell games this year. But right now, his foc