Stories from Friday, November 8, 2013

Last season, the Forrest Lady Rockets ended up with their first losing record since 2003-2004, but got hot late in the year, including a huge road win at Houston County in the first round of the Region 5A Tournament that propelled the Chapel Hill girls to the region semis where Moore County ended Forrest's season. "Looking back at last year, record wise wasn't good, but I think we went as far as we should have," said FHS head coach Jeremy Jean. "The region semi was a good thing for us, going to Houston County and upsetting them and we did good on that."

After posting a 24-9 record and capturing the regular season District 9A title in 2011, the Forrest Rockets won 19 games and lost 12 in 2012, but slipped to a third place finish in league play last season under head coach Wes Hobbs, who will enter his third season as head coach in Chapel Hill. "We had a really good season and that went back to good senior leadership, who led by example," said Hobbs. "We had some great wins, beat some really good teams, but then again, we were a little inconsistent at times and we would lose one that made me mad too. Overall, you can never be upset with that kind of season and all the guys played really hard last year."

n Monday night, the Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their season opener when they rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat the Spring Hill Lady Generals 31-28 on the road in overtime. Spring Hill held a 24-12 lead late in the third quarter and appeared to be in complete control of the contest, but the Tigerettes came storming back and went on a 16-4 run over the final six and a half minutes of regulation to knot the game at 28-28.

The Lewisburg Middle School Tigers experienced the sting of defeat for the first time in nearly two years on Monday night, as they saw their 27-game win streak come to an end with a 43-34 road loss at the hands of the Spring Hill Generals in their season opener. Having lost the past eight meetings against the Tigers often in blowout fashion, the Generals (3-0) finally stood their ground against LMS in Monday's contest and held a 20-12 lead early in the third quarter.

After defeating Elkton 41-23 the previous evening, the Cornersville Middle School Bulldogs (4-3) had their four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night when they lost 40-21 to the Bridgeforth Bobcats at home. Having beaten CMS 21-11 in their previous encounter on Oct. 22, the Bobcats (4-0) held a 21-12 lead at the end of the first half in Tuesday's contest before outscoring Cornersville 19-9 over the final two quarters to complete the sweep of the season series.

The FMS Rockets knew they were up against a formidable foe Monday night in Chapel Hill when they took on Liberty and even though FMS never led in the contest, the Patriots needed all their talent to spurn a late Forrest comeback before prevailing 58-47. "The playing behind was a rough place to be against a very good basketball team, and they are unbeaten in conference play," said FMS head coach Randy Toombs. "We can't play catch up to such a good team all night. They were very difficult to defend."

Bridgeforth completed the season sweep of the Cornersville Middle School Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday night, as CMS dropped a hard fought 29-24 decision to the undefeated Lady Bobcats at home. The Lady Bulldogs (4-3) held the upper hand early on and led by as many as six points in the second quarter before taking a 14-13 advantage into the break.

After taking one out of two ballgames last weekend at the Stewarts Creek Middle School Tournament, the FMS Lady Rockets returned to Chapel Hill for a clash with Liberty on Monday and after battling back to lead in the fourth quarter, Forrest could not hold and fell 27-25. It was a low scoring contest from the start as each team scored just three apiece in the first quarter.

Geary Lee Peel, 64, of Lewisburg, formerly of Goshen, Ohio, died Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Peel was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and son of the late Thomas B. and Sallie Stevens Peel. He was the manager of technical services with Singer Sewing Machine Company. He was a Mason and a member of the Church of Christ...

James Malcolm Bryant, 89, of Lewisburg, died on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at NHC Healthcare in Lewisburg. Born Friday, Sept. 12, 1924, in Taft, Tenn., he was the son of the late Willis Bryant and the late Annie Mae Tucker Bryant. He was a retired veteran of the US Air Force...

Porter Clark Oliver, 71, of Lewisburg, died Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Oliver was a native of Marshall County, and son of the late John Hermon and Sarah Mae Clark Oliver. He was retired from Genesco and BSI Industries. He attended the Church of Christ...

By Beth Stockwell Special to the Tribune In 2011, 600,000 skilled manufacturing jobs went unfilled, and 80 percent of manufacturers could not find capable workers, according to a survey by the Manufacturing Institute. The Marshall County School System is doing their part to help train future workers with their Work Based Learning (WBL) Program, now in its third year...

By Karen Hall Editor A Chapel Hill man who is still suffering from the effects of his service in Vietnam plans to be on the square in Lewisburg Monday for the Veterans Day ceremony. Willie Haislip, 62, was drafted in March 1970, and spent 36 years in the military, counting his service in the Tennessee National Guard...

By Jessica Moore Staff Writer A 94-year-old Lewisburg woman who served her country during World War II, and her city and its industries for many years after that was named Senior Citizen of the Year by the Lewisburg Rotary Club this week. Elizabeth "Lib" Cochran was recognized for her lifelong dedication to her country and her community...

By Karen Hall Editor The man alleged to be responsible for the fatal stabbing of James Hall, 26, was indicted by the grand jury when they met last month. Jonathan Taylor Young, 22, of Mt. Lebanon Road, was charged with second-degree murder. He will be represented by the Public Defender's Office...