Stories from Friday, November 14, 2014

The FMS Rockets stayed the unbeaten conference course Thursday night in Chapel Hill, easily cruising to their ninth consecutive league win via a 54-33 victory over Moore County. The Rockets played the inside/outside game once again as Daniil Yatskov led the big guys with 15 points, while Ryley McClaran led the little guys with 13 points against a Raider squad that fell behind early and could never catch up.

After scratching their way to the five hundred mark on the season, the FMS Lady Rockets stumbled against Moore County in Chapel Hill Thursday night, losing 28-23 in a low scoring affair. Forrest's Sydney Hill went to the free throw line on the first offensive possession of the game and hit one attempt before Moore County's Abbi Harvey scored her only basket of the game.

Forrest senior standout Katie Warrick's girlhood dream came to fruition on National Signing Day in Chapel Hill when she accepted a softball scholarship with UT Martin on Monday. "I'm really excited, I have been waiting for this since I was eight years old," said Warrick. "It's my life, I've been playing since I was three years old so I just love it." When Warrick takes her spot on the Field of Dreams in early March, she will become only one of a handful of Lady Rockets who will have started for five years.

The Forrest Lady Rockets opened the 2014-2015 campaign with a thrilling 44-41 Hall of Fame game overtime win over 3A Ravenwood Tuesday night in Chapel Hill. "It was a good win for us," said Forrest head coach Jeremy Jean. "It was exciting if you were watching, I don't know how exciting over there where we were." Forrest was stoked to start the contest as sophomore Caitlin Yost came out on fire, nailing two field goals and a pair of three throws, giving the Lady Rockets a 6-0 lead to begin the game.

The Lewisburg Middle School Tigers recorded their third straight lopsided victory on Monday night when they thumped the E.A. Cox Cougars 60-36 at home. LMS (3-0) buried the Cougars early and built a 32-14 lead in the first half before outscoring E.A. Cox 28-22 over the final two quarters to coast to the 24-point victory. The Tigers offense was firing on all cylinders for much of the night, they knocked down 5-of-11 three-pointers en route to shooting 47 percent (26-of-55) from the field while committing only 10 turnovers and dishing out 19 assists as a team.

Defense carried the day for the Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes (2-1) on Monday night, as they grinded out a 23-12 victory over the E.A. Cox Lady Cougars (0-1) at home. After building a 14-4 lead in the first half, the Tigerettes never let E.A. Cox pull any closer than eight points over the final two quarters en route to claiming their second win of the year. Lewisburg shot just 17 percent (9-of-52) from the field and made only 1-13 three-point attempts, but committed a season low seven turnovers and outrebounded the Lady Cougars 38-35, which included a 17-4 edge on the offensive glass.

The Forrest Rockets never got off the ground in their season opener Tuesday night versus Ravenwood as the Raptors started quick and flew out of Chapel Hill with 62-36 coast-to-coast-win. "I think it was a typical first game of the season versus a difficult opponent that forced us to make a lot of mistakes," said Forrest head coach Wes Hobbs. "We were very limited in our playbook since our football players only had one practice under their belt and I think that caused our offense to be inefficient for most of the night."

On Monday night, the Cornersville Middle School Bulldogs (4-4) recorded their fourth straight win over Richland by whipping the Raiders 49-25 in Lynnville. The Lady Bulldogs (5-3), meanwhile, had their modest two-game winning streak snapped when they dropped a 30-26 decision to the Lady Raiders in the opening game of the evening. After defeating Richland handily three times last season, the Bulldogs once again had their way with the Raiders on Monday and raced out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter behind 13 points from point guard Eli Woodard.

Loretto once again had the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs' number, as CHS suffered their seventh straight loss at the hands of the Lady Mustangs when they dropped a 53-34 decision at home in their season opener. Having knocked Cornersville out of the playoffs each of the last four years en route to making the Class A State Tournament three times during that span, Loretto built a 26-15 lead in the first half of Tuesday's contest before the Lady Bulldogs rallied to slice the deficit to 28-22 midway through the third quarter.

You can't teach height. Led by a towering group of frontcourt players, the Loretto Mustangs looked impressive in their opening game of the season when they defeated the Cornersville Bulldogs 80-50 on Tuesday night at CHS. Cornersville hung tough for a good portion of the contest and trailed just 42-33 midway through the third quarter. Loretto's superior size began to take its toll on the Bulldogs after that, as the Mustangs outscored CHS 38-17 the rest of the way to cruise to the 30-point victory.

Juanita Smithson, 78, of the Caney Spring Community, died Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. A native of Hazel Green, Ala., Mrs. Smithson was a daughter of the late Robert and Addie Phillips Yell. She was retired from Durango Boot Company. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Mike Smithson, and several brothers and sisters...

Garry Wayne Jett, 30, passed away at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Mr. Jett was the son of Annette Jett Vaughn and Terry Jett. He is survived by three brothers, TJ, Matthew, and Ryan Jett; one sister, Lynnette Jett; two nephews, Dante Kidder and Shawn Jett; one niece, Nevaeh Kidder; and a grandmother, Corrine Collins...

We regret to inform you that Shirley Campbell Benton, 57, of Nashville, passed on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, at her home. She attended school in Marshall County. She was a devoted daughter and will be missed with loving affection. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Benton...

By Ivory Riner Staff Writer The Holy Spirit was present in the Marshall County High School gym on the chilly Wednesday night. Over 100 members of Fellowship of Christian Athletes from Cornersville, MCHS, and Forrest filled the bleachers to worship the almighty God. ...

By Ivory Riner Staff Writer Patriotism was in the air on the beautiful Veterans Tuesday as we remembered those who sacrificed and those who continue to sacrifice for the great country we live in today. Chapel Hill Elementary held a program to honor the day. ...

By Karen Hall Editor Holding a Breakfast Brainstorm meeting at Columbia State Community College this week, members of the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance board were pleased to welcome the operations manager of Ditech Testing, Lewisburg's newest industry...

By Karen Hall Editor A very special party was held in the cafeteria at Lewisburg Middle School the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 5. The program called it "Dinner of Champions," and the guests of honor were the players, cheerleaders and managers of all three of the county's middle school football teams. All three teams had winning seasons, with a combined record of 24-2, and won two championships and one reserve championship...