Stories from Wednesday, January 15, 2014

After the unexpected departure of head football coach Brian Coleman to Summit last week, the Forrest Rockets found their new man in a hurry, promoting defensive coordinator Matt Kriesky from the assistant ranks on Monday. "When you get in the coaching profession, your goal is to be a head coach one day, " said Kriesky. "I never dreamed it would be this soon and when this opportunity came up I was a little skeptical at first of being ready, but after seeing all the support from the community, the administration, and the faculty, it was hard for me to turn it down."

After dropping five straight games, the Forrest Rockets picked up a much-needed win Friday night, blasting Eagleville 49-30 in Chapel Hill. "They let the game get a little physical inside and I like it," said Forrest head coach Wes Hobbs. "We started with our three post men and they came out in a zone they hadn't shown much and we had a couple turnovers early before we settled in."

After navigating a tough non-conference schedule, the Marshall County Tigers appeared to be ready for the rigors of District play on Friday night, as they went on the road and whipped the Page Patriots 72-57 in their league opener. The Tigers moved in for the kill early and raced out to a 45-21 lead in the first half. Marshall County then let their foot off the gas in the second half, but Page never seriously threatened MCHS and pulled no closer than 15 points the rest of the way en route to suffering their 11th straight loss against the Tigers.

The Forrest Rocket grapplers, coming off an unwanted break because of last week's school closing, combined with the long Christmas holiday looked a little rusty Thursday night as they lost 47-34 to White House before posting an 84-0 shutout over the Tennessee School for the blind. "I did not think we were ready mentally to wrestle White House," said Forrest coach Kyle Stacey. "I felt like the break over Christmas plus the snow days really hurt because it's hard to stay competitive if you don't stay on a routine."

Some things never change. Having won all 19 meetings against Columbia Academy since 2004, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs continued their decade of dominance against the Maury County private school on Friday night when they went on the road and defeated CA 56-38. The Lady Bulldogs (8-6, 4-1 District) blitzed Columbia Academy in the first half and led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter before taking a 35-18 advantage into the break.

On Saturday night, the Cornersville Bulldogs (3-11, 1-4 District) suffered their fourth straight loss when they dropped a 74-48 decision on the road to a strong Columbia Academy squad. CA built a 41-30 lead in the first half before outscoring Cornersville 32-18 over the final two quarters to record their 10th consecutive win over CHS.

The Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes (7-7) recorded their second straight win on Thursday night when they whipped E.A. Cox 29-10 to complete the season sweep of the Lady Cougars. In the boys' game, E.A. Cox had a chance to even the season series with the Tigers (8-6), but LMS pulled out a hard fought 44-41 victory thanks to a frantic fourth quarter comeback.

The Marshall County Tigerettes began District play with a thud, as they lost 38-29 on the road to two-time defending champ Page on Friday night. Although Page (3-9, 1-1 District) came into Friday's contest mired in a six game losing streak, they dominated the game early on and led by as many as 17 points midway through the second quarter before taking a 19-9 lead into the break.

Cold shooting proved to be the undoing of the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night, as they lost 51-40 to the Huntland Lady Hornets at home. After taking a 23-14 lead into halftime, the Lady Hornets saw their lead swell to 44-26 midway through the fourth quarter. Huntland then held off a late charge by the Lady Bulldogs that saw CHS cut the deficit to seven points on two different occasions to claim their third straight win over Cornersville.

After winning eight out of their last 10 ballgames, the Forrest Lady Rockets stumbled and bumbled versus Eagleville Friday night, losing ugly 39-31. "We didn't want to let this slip away, but it did," said Forrest head coach Jeremy Jean. "We played good defense, holding them to 39 points, but we didn't block out good at all, they got too many second chance baskets and that is what got us."

The Huntland Hornets evened the season series with Cornersville on Thursday night when they defeated the Bulldogs 66-43 at CHS. Cornersville (3-10) had beaten the Hornets 72-65 in their previous meeting on Dec. 27, but Huntland (5-10) turned the tables on the Bulldogs in Thursday's contest and built a 29-18 lead in the first half before outscoring CHS 37-25 over the final two quarters to pull away for the 23-point victory.

Robert "Bobby" Wesley Uselton Jr., 68, of Muscle Shoals, Ala., formerly of Marshall County, died Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, in Shoals Hospital. Mr. Uselton was a native of Pulaski, and son of the late Robert Wesley Uselton Sr. and Shirley C. Henson Uselton. He was retired after being employed for 28 years with ICP and eight years with Roberts Toyota. He was a member of Cornersville First Baptist Church...

Kathy Jean Morgan, 59, of Chapel Hill, died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014. Kathy was born in Marshall County, and was a daughter of Mildred Nadene Cromer Morgan and the late Leonard Asahel Morgan. She was a member of the Chapel Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Kathy was a lobby person and processor at Goodwill Industries in Lewisburg and was also employed with the Marshall County Impact Center. She was an active participant in the Tennessee Special Olympics...

Arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated domestic assault Richard G. Marcrum II, 38, Saint Anne Street. Bond: $24,000; court date: Feb. 3. Arrested and charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct, assault, and resisting arrest...

By Karen Hall Editor It's been several years, but at last Lewisburg can call itself a "Tree City USA" and participate in the program set up by the Arbor Day Foundation. "I'd like to thank all those who persevered and brought us to the point where we're almost ready to plant our first tree," said Mayor Jim Bingham during the tree city board's first meeting last week...

By Karen Hall Editor School board members got their first look at the plans for the new intermediate school in Chapel Hill and the additions to the Lewisburg elementary schools when they held their first meeting of the year on Monday night. The joy in seeing their building program a step closer to reality was tempered by a sobering report on the roofs of the schools, presented by Kevin Turner of Stephen Ward & Associates Inc...

By Karen Hall Editor A Lewisburg man remains jailed after General Sessions Court Judge Lee Bowles set his bond at $150,000. Tobias G. Rodrigues, 24, of Collier Road, was arrested on Jan. 3 by Lewisburg Police Sgt. Chris Sawyers and charged with aggravated rape and aggravated arson, both Class A felonies, as well as especially aggravated burglary and aggravated domestic assault...