Stories from Wednesday, January 21, 2015

After leading Cornersville High School's football program the last two seasons, John Denton officially stepped down as the head coach of the Bulldogs last week in order to accept a position on Marshall County High School's coaching staff. Denton joins a veteran staff at Marshall County that was able to quickly resurrect the Tigers' program under head coach Thomas Osteen, who posted an 8-3 record in his first year at MCHS.

The FMS Rockets teetered on the edge of disappointment in the championship game of the 53rd Annual World Tournament in Chapel Hill Saturday night versus Liberty until Ty Hengesbach drained an ice-cold 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left, securing a 41-40 comeback win over the Patriots and capping off an undefeated Duck River Valley Conference season slate at 20-0.

The No. 10 seeded FMS Lady Rockets (11-11) finished the season on a high note Saturday in Chapel Hill, coming back to defeat No. 4 seeded Huntland (14-7) 34-29 in the consolation game of the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament. "These kids bought in immediately after I took over and worked hard and I can't complain one bit about any of the kids or the team as a whole," said FMS head coach David Junkins. "One of the things we talked about was having each other's back, I had theirs, they had mine and they bought into what I was asking them to do and it paid off for us."

The James C. Haile Tournament brought out the best in the Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes (5-9) on Saturday night, as they defeated the Algood Lady Redskins 36-27 at Middle Tennessee Christian School in the first round of the Class AAA bracket. Mired in a five-game losing streak coming into Saturday's contest, LMS led by as many as nine points in the first half, before Algood (10-7) used a big second quarter run to seize an 18-15 advantage at the break.

Having finished second in the James C. Haile Tournament last year, the Lewisburg Middle School Tigers (10-4) appear poised to make another deep run this season after crushing the North Gators 58-23 on Saturday night at Middle Tennessee Christian School in the first round of the Class AAA bracket. The Tigers were never seriously challenged by North (5-10) and built a 39-17 lead in the first half before outscoring the Gators 19-6 over the final two quarters to cruise to the 35-point victory.

Although their final regular season match did not yield another qualifier for the upcoming Region Swim Meet, all three Marshall County teams enjoyed a productive night in the pool at the Lewisburg Recreation Center on Thursday, as nine different swimmers set personal bests in 13 different events. "I was surprised. We did really well considering that we had time off because of Christmas break and missed some practices because they were working on the pool," said Jeff Borne, who coaches all three local teams.

The Forrest Rockets came into Thursday night's World Tournament semifinal versus Eagleville riding an 18-game conference winning streak, and they tacked on another victory to the unblemished record with a 39-27 win over a pesky Eagles squad. Two Dylan Jones baskets and a steal and score by Josh Meglis gave FMS an early 6-0 lead before Eagleville standout Ethan Cobb dropped in a bucket in the low post, making it 6-2.

With the regular season coming to a close this week, the Forrest Rockets' trip to White House on Thursday for a dual match with the Blue Devils and Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet started out with an easy 72-12 win over the Blue Knights, followed by a 54-29 triumph over the home squad.

With senior guard Tate Lowery missing his second straight game after reaggravating a knee injury that he suffered earlier in the season, the Cornersville Bulldogs were unable to keep pace with District rival Richland on Friday night, as they were drubbed 67-34 by the Raiders in Lynnville. Richland (10-11, 5-4 District) built a 31-18 lead in the first half before blowing the game open after intermission and outscoring CHS 36-16 over the final two periods to cruise to their 15th straight win over the Bulldogs.

The FMS Lady Rockets, coming off their biggest win of the year over Cascade in the second round of the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament, had a letdown on Thursday, losing to Community 33-14 in the semifinals. The third-seeded Viqueens pillaged the Lady Rockets from the outset of the game, reeling off a dozen straight points before Emily Yost scored in the low post for Forrest with 1:01 remaining in the first quarter.

After failing to break the 40-point mark in each of their last two games, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs had their offense muzzled once again on Friday night when they dropped a 41-34 decision to District rival Richland in Lynnville. The Lady Raiders (9-10, 8-1 District) led nearly the entire contest and built a 14-9 advantage in the first half before opening up a 30-17 cushion early in the fourth quarter.

Teddy James Shepherd Sr., 59, died Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015, at NHC Lewisburg. Mr. Shepherd was a native of Columbus, Ohio, and he was the son of the late Theodore James Shepherd and Betty Lou Snyder Condon of Lewisburg. He was a general contractor. In addition to his mother, he is survived by two daughters, Lisa Marie Garrett of Ashland City and Jennifer Renee Bryant of Lewisburg; a son, Teddy James Shepherd Jr. ...

Ronald Adrian "Sandy" Wilson passed away Jan. 11, 2015, at his home in Canyon Lake, Calif. He was born July 20, 1942, one of seven children, to Charles William Wilson and Stella Watson Wilson Steadman in Giles County. He graduated from Giles County High School in 1961. He then joined the Navy and served four years...

Juanita Irene Johnson, 100, of Lewisburg, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, at her residence. A native of Warrens, Wis., where she was born in a log cabin, Mrs. Johnson was the daughter of the late Clark B. Hulett and Hazel Smith Hulett. Mrs. Johnson belonged to the German Lutheran faith...

John Thomas Harper, 81, of the Clay Hill Community of Marshall County, died Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, in Nashville. Mr. Harper was born in Marshall County and was a son of the late Thomas Morgan and Mary Jane Thomas Harper. He was a graduate of Forrest School Class of 1951. ...

Mary Kathryn "Kathy" Oliver, 61, passed away Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, of natural causes in Missoula, Mont. She is survived by her brother, Charlie Oliver (Charlotte). Services will be held at Reed-Culver Funeral Home in Tahlequah, Okla. on Saturday, Jan. 24...

Sarah Marie James, 78, of Lewisburg died Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, at NHC Oakwood. Mrs. James was a native of Williamson County, and she was the daughter of the late Lonnie C. and Mary E. Ragsdale Hartley. She was a housewife. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, William "Billy" James, and sister, Frances Clifford...

Clifton Lee Fox, 92, of Lewisburg, died Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, in Signature Health Care of Columbia. Mr. Fox was a native of Russellville, Ky. and son of the late Pearl and Paralea Powell Fox. He served his country in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a contract administrator retired from AVCO and was a member of Lewisburg First Baptist Church...

Arrested and charged with driving under the influence Charlie A. Williams, 27. Bond: $4,000; court date: March 2. Also charged with driving on a revoked license and operating near emergency vehicles, and cited for failure to maintain lane, driving an unregistered vehicle, and violation of the municipal open-container ordinance. This is allegedly Williams' fourth DUI...

By Karen Hall Editor Outdoor events in Lewisburg will start with a bang in May, with Mayfest on the square on the 2nd, and Rotary's Festival on the Rocks in Rock Creek Park from May 19-23. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform at the Dixie on the 23rd...

By Ivory Riner Staff Writer While shopping in an antique store in Pulaski, members of the Family and Community Education Club stumbled upon a piece of history which may be worth big bucks. Every year the women of the FCE club take a tour of historical locations in surrounding towns. Last October they toured downtown Pulaski...

By Karen Hall Editor In what has become an annual tradition, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated in Marshall County with a march and speeches on the square, organized by members of Marshall County's NAACP. Led by NAACP President Gary Davis, the group marched down East Commerce Street from The Acres and three-quarters of the way around the square to assemble on the west side of the courthouse...