Stories from Friday, November 15, 2013

After showing improvement on the basketball court last season, the Cornersville Bulldogs hope to continue that upward trend during the 2013-14 campaign under second-year coach Gerard Randolph. Although the Bulldogs posted just a 5-21 record in Randolph's first year as head coach, Cornersville had won just a total of two games over the two previous seasons. CHS also recorded four victories in District 11-A play during the 2012-13 campaign en route to finishing fifth in the league after notching only one win in conference play the last three years.

After watching Micah Landers roam the sidelines for the last 13 seasons, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs will start a new era on the hardwood this Fall under first-year coach Peyton Newton. During Landers' tenure at CHS, the Lady Bulldogs won five regular season District 11-A titles, four District tournament championships, and the Region 6-A tournament crown in 2009 en route to earning the program's lone State tournament berth.

The Forrest Lady Rockets started strong, kept their foot on the gas and put away Columbia Academy by the midpoint of the first quarter, routing the Lady Bulldogs 42-12 in the season opening Hall of Fame game Tuesday night in Columbia. "It was a nice win, it's been three years since we have got a 'W' on opening night," said Forrest head coach Jeremy Jean. "It is a great way to start the season, anytime you can get a 'W' is good." The 30-point thrashing over Columbia Academy marked the first season opening win for Forrest since beating Clarkrange in 2009-2010.

Peyton Newton's first game as the head coach of the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs went off without a hitch, as CHS whipped the Fayetteville Lady Tigers 58-39 at home on Tuesday night in their season opener. Having won all four previous meetings against Fayetteville, Cornersville had to overcome some first game jitters and trailed by three points early in the second quarter before eventually taking a 29-22 lead into the break.

The Forrest Rockets travelled to Columbia Academy Tuesday night for a Hall of Fame kickoff game and got off to a slow start before trying to play catch-up, but could not get over the hump and lost 56-39. "I thought we played hard, we didn't quit, and even though we got down early we didn't lose our focus and we battled," said FHS head coach Wes Hobbs. "They had a couple of players that present huge matchup problems and I thought our guys did a nice job of making some adjustments during the game and executed a good portion of our game plan."

The Cornersville Bulldogs got carved up by a razor sharp Fayetteville team on Tuesday night, as they suffered a 73-42 home loss at the hands of the Tigers in their season opener. Fayetteville got off to a red hot start offensively and built a 44-23 lead in the first half before outscoring CHS 29-19 over the final two quarters to cruise to their fifth straight victory over Cornersville. The Tigers pushed the pace of the game throughout the night and finished with 30 field goals on 47 percent shooting despite hitting only 6-of-27 three-point attempts.

The Marshall County Wrestling Club kicked off its season with a strong showing by its middle school wrestlers last Saturday as the group racked up multiple wins at its first tournament of the season in Tullahoma. "Our team came ready to wrestle," said club founder Chris Posey. "We have been practicing for a couple of weeks now. We have spent a lot of time refining the basics as well as preparing for competition, and it showed as the club faced competition from all over the state."

The LMS Tigerettes were in catfight for a half versus E.A. Cox before pulling away in a big second half to win 25-13. The Tigerettes won the game on the defensive end of the floor with plain evidence coming from an incredible 16 steals in the contest, as the Lady Cougars were never able to run their offense. "I think our team defense was the key to the game," said LMS head coach Chris Coleman. "Our defensive pressure resulted in some easy scoring opportunities and that was important because we didn't make much from the outside." Leah Hollingsworth set the tone early, swiping the rock four times in the first quarter, while scoring all four of the Tigerettes' points in a low-scoring stanza that had LMS in front 4-2.

After losing for the first time in over two years to Spring Hill in the season opener, the LMS Tigers re-ignited their high flying act Monday night Lewisburg, soaring over the E.A. Cox Cougars 46-34. "We are a young team, and I thought we were composed in our play," said LMS head Coach David Lovell. The Tigers pounced early, taking a 12-0 lead before the Cougars finally scored with 1:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Despite having leading scorer Morgan Terry relegated to the bench for much of the game due to foul trouble, the Cornersville Middle School Lady Bulldogs managed to grind out a win against archrival Richland on Monday night when they defeated the Lady Raiders 19-17 at home. After losing to CMS 33-28 in their previous encounter on Oct. 31, Richland held a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter of Monday's contest and appeared to have Cornersville on the ropes once Terry fouled out a short time later.

The Cornersville Bulldogs snapped a two-game losing streak on Monday night by whipping the Richland Raiders 34-16 at home to run their record to 5-4 on the season. Having defeated Richland 43-17 in their previous encounter on Oct. 31, the Bulldogs once again had a relatively easy time disposing of their archrival and built an 18-7 lead in the first half before outscoring the Raiders 16-9 over the final two quarters to claim the 18-point victory.

A 23-year-old Lewisburg man who is home on leave from the Marine Corps reported to police his identity had been stolen. The man applied for a loan at Ascend Federal Credit Union and was turned down because of his credit history. When he obtained a copy of his credit report from Equifax he found that between April and July 2011 seven credit cards, a Verizon Wireless account, and two other accounts had been opened using his Social Security number. ...

By Karen Hall Editor Mayor Jim Bingham's vote was needed when the City Council voted Tuesday for the third and final time on an ordinance to raise the charge for municipal water by $6 and sewer by $4. Councilmen Trigg Cathey and Steve Thomas voted "yes," and Councilmen Robin Minor and Odie Whitehead Jr. voted "no," thus leaving a tie which was broken by Bingham's "yes" vote...

From Staff Reports NASHVILLE -- Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty along with Schwan Cosmetics USA officials announced this week the company will consolidate its U.S. operations by building a new facility in Murfreesboro. ...

By Beth Stockwell Special to the Tribune The loud cheers heard in the Dottie Kelso Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 10, were not the result of an intense basketball game, but rather the excitement of recognizing academic success at Marshall County High School...