Stories from Wednesday, August 22, 2018

The wait was finally over for the Cornersville Bulldogs, who took the field in Unionville for the season opener versus the Community Vikings Friday night and they didn’t miss a beat in a 41-20 win. “Honestly, I've been very anxious to get back to Friday night lights, because I've been interested in seeing how this team would come out in the first game of the season,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “I was pleased for the most part of how we played for most of the first half, and it was great to get some young guys in for the entire second half.”

Mens Championship Flight Brian Borton (71-76-147) Jerry Ferguson (72-83-155) Ivan McCullough (79-85-155) Kerry Willis (78-85-163) Mens 1st Flight Chris Spray (82-74-156) Bill Buckles (82-74-156) Jason Lopes (80-78-158) Luis Gonzalez (92-88-180) Mens Senior Division...

The Battle Ground Academy Wildcats trounced Forrest 42-7 in Friday night’s season opener at Guffe-Brown Stadium in Franklin. “BGA is a very good football team, but that loss is on me,” Forrest coach Eli Stephenson said. “We didn’t come out and play our physical game of football, so we have to have to follow the process of getting better every week.” Divison II-AA BGA dominated the game from the opening whistle as they scored on a Tiy Reed 4-yard run on the game’s opening drive and after stopping Forrest on a three-and-out, the Wildcats made it 14-0 when Zion Morris scooped and scored on a blocked punt with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter.

A week before the first regular game of the season, WUXP (Channel 30) announced the Marshall County versus Cane Ridge contest would be the Nashville Friday Night Lights Game of the Week. That decision pretty much assured that the Tigers would be playing in front of the other major Midstate press corps--all who had chosen the Ravens to cruise to an early victory over Marshall County. It became clear very early when Tigers running back Elijah Taylor scored a touchdown run in the first quarter to answer the first Cane Ridge score that this game would be a fight to the end.

After a 36-0 season opening win at Liberty, the Forrest Middle School Rockets ran in to a freight train Thursday night at Chapel Hill in a 34-16 loss to the Community Vikings. Community running back Jay Dabbs dominated the contest with four touchdowns runs with three end zone scampers coming from 45 yards or more. Dabbs had a 53-yard touchdown run on Community’s first offensive play of the game’s opening drive and after an interception by Maki Fleming stopped FMS’ initial drive, Dabbs scored from 48 yards out to make it a 14-0 contest with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter.

Coming into the second game of the season for Lewisburg Middle School, the Tigers had yet to give up a single offensive touchdown. In a thorough drubbing of E.A. Cox the previous week, the only score allowed was a special team’s kickoff return.

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through August 20, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: