Stories from Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Forrest senior Boone Sweeney became the first Rocket football player and the third Marshall County gridiron star to named Mr. Football when he was presented with the Class 2A Lineman of the Year Award at Nissan Stadium in Nashville Monday. "I'm still in a state of shock right now, there is no other way to put it," Sweeney said. "This is an elite group, not including myself, I'm just talking about everyone else." Sweeney beat out Jake Harden from Boyd Buchanan.

Knoxville Catholic overcomes MCHS rallies in 4A semifinals The Marshall County Tigers, looking to become the first MCHS football team to reach the state final in 31 years. traveled east to Knoxville on Friday night to take on a suddenly resurgent Knoxville Catholic squad in a Class 4A semifinal. The game was a match of surges and momentum with the Irish outlasting two furious Marshall County rallies to advance to the Blue Cross Bowl with a 54-35 win over one of the finest Marshall County squads on record.

he Marshall County Tigerettes traveled to Chapel Hill on Wednesday night to take on Forrest to wrap up the first day of the annual Forrest Thanksgiving tournament. The game displayed a rare match up of the two middle Tennessee basketball powers separated by less than 15 miles in distance and featured two of the best players statewide in Marshall County's Kiya Morris and Forrest's Caitlyn Yost.

The Rockets came Monday night's game at Cornersville looking for its first win of the year after losing a heart breaker against Summertown in the Hall of Champions on Saturday and faced a winless Cornersville squad coming off a big loss at Loretto to start the year...

The Forrest Lady Rockets opened the Thanksgiving Classic against 2A power Giles County, looking to extend its win streak to three after beating 2A Creek Wood and intra-county rival Cornersville the previous week.

Cornersville opened up at the Forrest Thanksgiving Classic against a tough, athletic Watertown squad that would eventually finish the tournament undefeated after beating the Lady Bulldogs 74-34 and finishing off Cascade and Mount Pleasant later in the week. "Turnovers were our main problem tonight," Cornersville point guard Madison Hopkins pointed out. "We didn't close out on our three's, we weren't fast enough out there, we were leaving our players open and that kind of slowed us down. We have to let this one go and play a new game next time out."

The Forrest wrestling team opened the 2015-2016 season with a sweep over Goodpasture and Martin Luther King Magnet School Thursday night at Chapel Hill. Forrest opened up the grappling season versus Goodpasture and it was a forfeit fest as Forrest hammered Goodpasture 64-6.

The Lady Rockets finished out the annual Thanksgiving tournament against 3A powerhouse Dickson County (4-1), featuring Vanderbilt commit Lea Lea Carter along with several other Division I college prospects. Forrest proved that while the team might not yet be on the level of 3A's finest, the Lady Rockets (4-3) are well on their way to a great season in 1A.

The Forrest Lady Rockets looked to bounce back from a 50-28 drubbing by Houston County earlier Saturday morning by playing a Creek Wood team just two years removed from a state tournament semifinal appearance. The Lady Rockets came out firing, led by Tamia Northcutt and Caitlyn Yost's seven points each for the 18-11 lead heading into the second quarter.

Cornersville's finale at the Forrest Thanksgiving Classic might not have produced the desired outcome for the young basketball team, but the Lady Bulldogs saved their best performance for last, losing a buzzer-beater to class 2A Harpeth 33-32. The Lady Bulldogs blew a four point lead with two minutes left in the game and missed four late free throws to allow the Lady Indians' (4-1) Maddie Pyrdum to nail a wide open three-pointer for the 33-30 lead as Harpeth snuck out of the tournament with a 3-0 record.

The Forrest Rockets (1-3) opening the Thanksgiving classic against an old rival, the undefeated Champions from Cascade and the home team could not seem to warm up en route to a 81-38 blowout loss behind 36 combined points from Austin Gentry (19) and Hayden Edmonson (17) for the Champs. The Champions employed a suffocating full court press to start the contest, forcing the Rockets into an immediate 29-6 first quarter hole of which the boys from Chapel Hill could not seem to find a way out.

Gerald Allen Gray, age 79, of Lewisburg passed away on Nov. 27, 2015 after a long battle with cancer. Mr. Gray was a native of Chicago, Illinois born on July 2, 1936 to the late Matthew and Rose Bee Williams Gray, Jr. Gerald retired from the State of Illinois Department of Central Management Services. He proudly served his country in the United States Army, and was stationed in Taiwan during the Korean War. He was a former member of the American Legion...

Mrs. Cynthia Jeannette Ragsdale Floyd, age 55, passed away Thursday, November 26, 2015 at her residence in the Mooresville Community. she was born on February 13, 1960 in Maury County in the Santa Fe community, Mrs. Floyd was the daughter of the late Jessie and Bessie Kelley Ragsdale ...

Jane Douglas McLean Murrill died peacefully on November 2, 2015 with family by her side. She was married to the late Dabney Pate Murrill for 63 years. Survived by four children, son John and wife Susan, daughter Sally and husband Gary, daughter Betsy and husband Joe, and daughter Jane and husband Donald. ...

Nancy "Nana" Roberta Collins, age 80 of Lewisburg died Friday, November 27, 2015 at St. Thomas Hospital. She was a native of Marshall County, and the daughter of the late Robert Hugh and Nannie Bell Barton Allen. She was a retired office worker from Winning Moves Corporation and was a member of the Church Street Church of Christ...

Death Notice Dennis Ray Gotham passed away in his sleep Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. The funeral will be held at a later date.

Rosely Ahrenholtz Plotz, age 80, of Norway, Iowa, died Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 at the home of her sister in Lewisburg. Funeral Services were set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, at the Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo with Elder Jon Childers officiating. Burial is to be at the Linwood Cemetery, rural Norway. Visitation was from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. A memorial fund has been established...

James "Jim" Dale Hastings, age 55, of Petersburg, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015. Mr. Hastings was a farmer and a construction worker most of his life. He was born on April 13, l960 to the late Fred A. and Jeanette Noles Hastings. Survivors include his two sons, Brian (Pamela) Hastings of Cornersville, and Jason (Beth) Hastings of Shelbyville; a brother Jack (Serina) Hastings of Petersburg, and one sister Fredda (Chris Zills) Williams. ...

Gary Lee Smith, age 53 of Lewisburg, died Sunday, November 29, 2015 in Maury Regional Medical Center. Mr. Smith was a native of Marshall County, Tennessee and son of the late Herman Smith and Helen Fuller Jett. He was a member of the graduating class of 1980 at Cornersville High School...

We regret to inform you that James Kevin Allen, age 50, passed on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 in Lewisburg after an extended illness. He was the son of Grady and Sara Jane Allen of Lewisburg. He accepted Christ at an early age, and was educated in the Marshall County School System. He will be missed with loving affection...

Mr. Henry Clay Pendergrass, age 76, of Lewisburg, died Tuesday November 24, 2015 at Maury Regional Hospital. Mr. Pendergrass was a native of Bledsoe County, the son of the late Ruth Pendergrass Fann. He served his country in Navy as a submariner. He was a lifelong minister and missionary for the Church of Christ and was the current minister of the Catalpa Church of Christ...