Sports and Outdoors

The Forrest Lady Rockets are off to a flying start to begin the season with six wins and just one loss with the latest victory coming against longtime rival Cascade, who came into Tuesday night’s game at Chapel Hill unbeaten. After a 65-47 wire-to-wire win by Forrest, the girls from Wartrace left with the same 6-1 record. “We did a good job, they (Cascade) were undefeated, they are a lot better than they have been the last couple of years, he (Rece Chumley) has done a good job with them,” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “I’m very pleased the way we played, especially with some of the distractions we have had the past couple of days.” “We came together and played well, just like all year, we played team ball and made the extra pass.”

After a tough, one-point loss at Martin Luther King Magnet School Friday night, the Forrest Rockets just missed again at Chapel Hill on Tuesday when they wasted a fourth quarter comeback in a 70-69 setback versus Cascade. “I have the most undisciplined team I have ever had here,” Forrest coach Randy Toombs said. Asked what’s wrong, Toombs said, “We didn’t have good backside help, not playing good man-to-man defense, not helping when we needed to help, not being up the line allowing people to do what they want to do, people on the boards staring and watching.”

For the second season in a row, just like on the field, the back-to-back Class A state runner-ups and Region 5A champion Cornersville Bulldogs dominated the All-Region Team selections announced this week. Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph and his staff posted Coach of the Year and Staff of the Year honors in back-to-back campaigns.

The Cornersville Bulldogs captured the hearts of their fans with a purposeful grit and determination the entire season and on Saturday at Tennessee Tech University's Tucker Stadium, the Frog Bottom boys did not disappoint anyone after a gut-wrenching 7-6 loss to Whitwell in the Class A BlueCross Bowl title game. “I can’t say enough about our fan support,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “I knew they would come, I hate the outcome was the way it was, but I’m so appreciative of our fans and Marshall County as a whole, they did a great job supporting theses kids.”

The Marshall County (1-6) boys continued its stacked 2018-19 non-conference schedule with a home matchup against 1A royalty Summertown (6-1) in the Tigers’ second straight Saturday game. Last Saturday, the Tigers played national powerhouse Corinth (MS) to the final buzzer, but ultimately lost 68-62 in the final game of a tournament that featured a who's-who of both nationally ranked players and teams before coming home to take a another close loss to 3A Columbia Central 80-74. But unfortunately for Marshall County coach Lavon King, the Tigers once again had plenty of firepower on the offensive end, but were unable to find equal balance of the defensive side of the ball in the 75-71 setback.

To get your team to where it’s making a deep postseason run a consistent basis, the best way to emulate late season pressure and talent is to schedule those attributes in the non-conference slate. Marshall County coach David Steely has always and continues to do exactly that as evidenced by Saturday night’s home contest against 2017-18 1A runner-up and 2016-17 1A state semifinalist Summertown (6-1).

The LMS boys travelled to Cornersville Thursday night, hoping to salvage a split in the intra-county season series and things were not going as planned as they trailed by nine points going into the fourth before mounting an epic comeback to secure a 23-22 win...

The CMS Lady Bulldogs completed the intra-county season series sweep over the LMS Tigerettes with a 23-14 win at Cornersville Thursday night. Cornersville’s Gracie Turner dominated the game in the low post, scoring a game-high 14 points, while making it difficult for the Tigerettes to get many points in the paint. Turner scored two points in the first and fourth quarters, four in the second, and all six of the Lady Bulldogs’ points in the pivotal third period when Cornersville pulled away.

Over the last two seasons, the Cornersville Bulldogs are 27-2 heading into Saturday’s Class A BlueCross Bowl title game versus Whitwell at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. The 2017 Class A runner-up Bulldogs have had the bullseye on their backs the entire season and have stood tall to every challenge in front of them, including back-to-back long haul victories at Huntingdon in the quarterfinals and at Lake County last week in the semifinals.

The Cornersville boys will be a little shorthanded for a while until the football season is over on Saturday. In the meantime, there is still ball to be played on the hardwood and on Tuesday night at Cornersville, the Bulldogs hosted longtime rival Richland. Coming into the game, the Raiders had won 23 consecutive games in the rivalry versus the Bulldogs and they made it 24 in a row with a 54-41 win. “I actually have some good kids out there, we are just missing some depth,” Cornersville coach Matt Hagan said. “We just didn’t play very well, they made things tough for us and we didn’t make things tough on them.”

If you could flip the game around, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs would have had a great chance at beating Richland Tuesday night at home. The Lady Bulldogs (4-3) got off to a slow start that lasted for three quarters before they finally showed what they had, but it was way too late as the Lady Raiders (4-1) took advantage of their good fortune in a 51-31 win. “We have got to get comfortable at the beginning of the game and not wait until we are down 10 or 20 to start playing well,” Cornersville coach Peyton Newton. “We are playing some young ones and inexperienced ones and I think when the moments are big and they get kind of timid they are not sure of themselves.”

After stunning Huntingdon on its home field in the quarterfinals, the Cornersville Bulldogs made the long trek to Tiptonville on Friday where they gutted out a 21-8 semifinal win over Lake County in adverse weather conditions to advance to the Class A Blue Cross Bowl state championship game for the second season in a row. “I’m so proud of them, coming out and facing adversity and the guys bowed their backs and kept fighting and that’s what happens to good teams,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “When you keep fighting and keep plugging, good things will happen for you.”

Cornersville’s all-purpose senior standout Cameron Whitaker relished the big stage at Nissan Stadium for Sunday’s Tennessee Titans Mr. Football presentation and even though Greenback’s Bryce Hanley won the Class A award, Whitaker was thankful and humbled by the experience. “I could not have got here without my football team, my coaches, my community, and all the people that have helped me through my four years in high school,” Whitaker said. “Just knowing all the people on the banners here have been in this room is unbelievable.”

The Marshall County Tigers (1-5) suffered their fourth defeat in a row and five of six to start the season as the Columbia Central Lions outlasted MCHS 80-74 Monday night at Lewisburg. “We had a lot of opportunities, but we just couldn’t finish and make shots when we needed to,” Marshall County coach Lavon King said. “That was one of the things they did a good job at was making shots, especially at key moments and we didn’t do that, we didn’t take care of business like we normally do.” The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the Tigers in the longtime rivalry.

The Cornersville Bulldogs did not receive a kindly welcome at Huntingdon as they walked into the visitors’ locker room to find some not so friendly messages taped to the wall, but the Frog Bottom boys were unfazed as they handed the Mustangs their first home loss in two years and first in the new Paul Ward Stadium. The win was the first-ever road playoff triumph in Cornersville school history. Heroes abounded for the Bulldogs in the hard-fought contest with the final heroic feat performed by a pair of Cornersville seniors as quarterback Henlee Mitchell tossed the game winning, two-yard touchdown pass to Peyton Finch with 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, lifting Cornersville to a 13-7 win over the Mustangs in the Class A state quarterfinal game.

The Cornersville Bulldogs stood up to the challenge in last week’s second round playoff game as they overcame an early deficit to defeat Wayne County 47-26 with a huge second half effort at Frog Bottom. “First and foremost, we were extremely pleased to get the win against a good Wayne County team,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “We were able to do some good things overall, but we also got to experience some things that we need to work on.”

Cornersville knew it was going to be an all-out war in Friday night’s TSSAA Class A second round playoff game at Frog Bottom versus longtime rival Wayne County and it was, as the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead before the Bulldogs bit back to prevail 47-26. “We were excited about coming away with a hard fought victory Friday night,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “Wayne County as expected came in with a good game plan, and really made our football team work for this one.” “It's always good when you have to face some adversity, and have to be able to overcome it, and I think our guys did a good job of that.”

The Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Awards will be presented to the top football players in nine classifications of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association on Sunday, November 25, 2018, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. For the seventeenth consecutive year, the top kicker in the state will be recognized with a Mr. Football Award, regardless of classification. Five semifinalists in each classification were announced on November 2. There are six classifications in Division I and three in Division II. The three finalists for each award that were announced will be the ones invited to attend the awards dinner at Nissan Stadium, where the winner of each award will be announced.

The Tigers first round upset over Stone Memorial last Friday set up a rematch against Tullahoma, a squad Marshall County (4-8) lost to by a single point, 14-13, in the third game of the season which started a three game losing streak. Fast forward to Friday night as Marshall County had a boatload of confidence after the Stone Memorial win and also held the advantage in the experience column, having played in three straight quarterfinal games (3-0), while the Wildcats had made the quarterfinals just three times in their entire history (1979, 1987, 2010).

Nashville, Tennessee, November 9, 2018 – The Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Awards will be presented to the top football players in nine classifications of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association on Sunday, November 25, 2018, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. For the 17th consecutive year, the top kicker in the state will be recognized with a Mr. Football Award, regardless of classification. Three finalists for each category will be announced by Mike Keith on the Titans website at https://www.titansonline.com/community/mr-football-awards on Monday, November 12 at 2:00 p.m. CST / 3:00 p.m. EST. The three finalists for each award will be the ones invited to attend the awards luncheon at Nissan Stadium, where the winner of each award will be announced.

Round two of the TSSAA playoffs continues tonight as the undefeated Cornersville Bulldogs host Wayne County at Frog Bottom and the Marshall County Tigers make the short trip to Tullahoma. The Bulldogs whipped McEwen 48-0 last week in round one to extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games and Cornersville has now posted shutouts in 10 straight contests.

Cornersville’s Eli Woodard and Marshall County High School’s Jayshon Wilcox are two of the 88 top senior football players in Tennessee who have been selected to play in this year’s Toyota East-West All-Star Classic, scheduled to be played at Austin Peay State University on Friday, December 7. Woodard and Wilcox will both be on the West team and Marshall County coach Thomas Osteen will be on the coaching staff.

The LMS Tigers travelled to Chapel Hill Tuesday night for some round ball and the game turned out to be one for the ages as both squads battled back and forth in a three overtime classic won by the Rockets 65-60. LMS’ Kintarius Morris led all scorers in the ballgame with 26 points and Montai Vaughn added 15 for the Tigers, while the Rockets had four players in doubles figures, led by Brennan Mealer’s 13 points. Tayton Swift, Keaton Curtis, and Ryan Meglis all were in double figures for Forrest with 11 points apiece.

The FMS Lady Rockets hosted the LMS Tigerettes for an intra-county battle at Chapel Hill Tuesday night and in a low scoring affair, Forrest won 24-19. LMS’ Caraline Hollingsworth, who nailed three 3-pointers in the game, was the only player in double figures in the contest with 11 points. Mallory Woodward had six points and Kayla Keiler added a deuce for LMS. Bethany Yates tallied nine points to lead FMS, while Jayden Coleman added six, Meagan Mealer netted four, Abby Davenport had one 3-pointer, and Abby Ferguson rounded out the Forrest scoring with two points.

The Cornersville Bulldogs’ march towards a return to the Class A state championship game continued on Friday at Frog Bottom as they blanked McEwen 48-0 in the first round of the TSSAA playoffs. “We got off to a little slow start because they showed us some different things we hadn’t seen on film and they were scrappy and came to play,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “They were hitting us and I challenged the guys at halftime.”

One of the most popular sports adages is the phrase 'it's never over until it’s over.' And despite its massive overuse in every different sport and everyday life, on Friday night the Marshall County Tigers proved why that rally cry will always remain relevant. Down 29-22 to region 3-4A number-one seed Stone Memorial (9-2) in overtime, the fourth-seeded Tigers (5-6) faced a second-and-goal from around the 40-yard line. With the Panther crowd reaching a fever pitch looking at what seemed to be a miraculous Stone Memorial comeback, the stunned Tiger crowd watched Marshall County line up to attempt what seemed like an futile mission.

Although Forrest’s season ended with a 32-19 loss at Waverly in Friday night’s first-round Class 2A playoff game, a lot can be said about the Rockets’ effort and determination versus the top-seeded Tigers, who rode a six-game winning streak in to the contest. “We came out focused and ready to play and we played from the first whistle to the last,” Forrest coach Eli Stephenson said. “The players left it all out on the field and that shows the leadership of the senior class.”

On Thursday, October 18 at Henry Horton State Park all three county teams participated in the Best of Marshall County Meet. The Marshall County High School Boys and Girls Team won the meet as MCHS runners also won first place in the both the boys and girls individual portion of the meet. Zack Sheppard won the boys meet with a time of 18:22 and Makynlee Amis won the girls meet with a time of 22:27.

It seems like it wasn’t long ago that football was just getting started, but time flies fast and now it’s playoff football Friday with all three Marshall County squads participating in postseason play. Leading the postseason charge is the 2017 Class A runner-up and undefeated Cornersville Bulldogs, who entertain McEwen (6-4) tonight at Frog Bottom with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

The Cornersville Middle School basketball squads made a short trip to Lewisburg Middle School for an intra-county battle Tuesday night and came away with a sweep as the Lady Bulldogs won 32-23 before the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 33-25 in the nightcap. The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter behind four points apiece by Anna Wood and Gracie Turner. LMS finally got on the board on one free throw by Mallory Woodard at the 5:14 mark of the second quarter.

ornersville senior all-purpose player Cameron Whitaker was named one of the five semifinalists for the Class A Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association today. “I am very proud of this young man,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “I think he is truly deserving of this, and I am happy for Cameron, his family, the football team, and the community of Cornersville.”

It was old-fashioned football played on a cold, misty Friday at the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill as Forrest jumped out to a big senior night lead and finished the job in a 48-22 win over Community that clinched a playoff spot for the Rockets. “The kids came out tonight and fought hard all night long,” Stephenson said. “On offense we got the ball moving because the line controlled up front and the backs hit the holes.”

When Marshall County (4-6, 2-3) scores over 20 points in the game this season, the odds are in the Tigers’ favor. The blue and white are 3-1 this season when scoring over 20 in 2018 with the only loss being the season opening 35-28 overtime thriller versus undefeated 6A participant Cane Ridge (10-0) the only blemish under those circumstances.

After the FMS girls suffered a tough 34-31 come from behind loss versus Eagleville, the Forrest boys got trampled 41-13 by the Eagles Monday night at Chapel Hill. The Lady Rockets led for almost the entire game as FMS beat Eagleville in every quarter except one, the pivotal fourth period when the Lady Eagles outscored Forrest 16-7 to steal the win.

The Forrest Lady Rockets took home third place in the Region 6A-AA Tournament at Percy Warner Park on October 25 to qualify for the 2018 TSSAA State Cross Country Meet on Saturday.

On Saturday, November 3 at 9 a.m. the Elk’s will be having their annual Elk’s Hoop Shoot for girls and boys ages 8-13 years old, as of April 1, 2019. The event will be at Lewisburg Recreation Center. The Elk’s Hoop Shoot is a free throw program that is America’s largest non-commercial coeducational sports program. ...

Forrest Middle School hosted MTCS on Monday in Chapel Hill and came away with a split as the girls beat the Lady Cougars 45-37 in a close contest before the boys lost 63-25. Macyn Kirby led the Lady Rockets in the scoring column with a game-high 19 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Cornersville Middle School hosted Culleoka Tuesday night and came away with a sweep with the Lady Bulldogs winning a close 34-27 contest before the Bulldogs blew out the Warriors 46-7. Grayson Riner opened up the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with a short jumper and Vallie Stanfill matched the bucket for the Lady Warriors. Cornersville scored six straight as Alicia Polk, who led all scorers in the game with 13 points, got off to a hot start for the Lady Bulldogs as she scored four points, bookending a pair of buckets around a Jesse Woodard basket to make it an 8-2 ballgame.

The final week of the prep football season is here and there are only two games on tap for the county teams as the Forrest Rockets host Community for senior night and the Marshall County Tigers travel to Nolensville. The 2018 Region 5A champions and 2017 Class A state runnerup Cornersville Bulldogs have a bye week as they await the winner of the Region 6A McEwen/Hollow Rock Bruceton fourth-place battle tonight at McEwen.

The Cornersville Bulldogs (9-0) had to shake off a little senior night nerves at Frog Bottom Friday before blowing out Huntland 41-0 to cap off the program’s first perfect regular season. “They (Huntland) told us they were going to come in and hit us and they did, we just responded back to them,” senior lineman Devin Baus said. “We had something going on there early, but we got in there and fixed it and we got them.” “It’s overwhelming, but I’m glad we made history, there is nothing else you can really ask for.”

The Forrest Rockets came off a bye week and kicked it right back in gear with a big 42-14 win over archrival Cascade Friday night at the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill. “It’s always great to get a win over your rivals,” Forrest coach Eli Stephenson said. A Nick McClendon two-yard run opened the scoring for Forrest late in the first quarter before the Rockets exploded with 21 second quarter points to take a 28-0 halftime lead.

Marshall County (4-5) entered Friday night’s final non-region contest versus Brentwood (7-2) on a virtual stretcher with almost every key player nursing some sort of injury or out of action all together, leaving most spectators expecting a huge win by the perennial 6A juggernaut out of Williamson County. And for all intents and purposes the expected outcome was not a shocker as Brentwood came into the contest with just two losses, one by just three points to undefeated Cane Ridge 27-24 and the other by nine points to 2105 5A State Champion and 2016 runnerup Independence.

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through October 22, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: Class 1A School Record Pts Prv 1. Greenback (13) 10-0 146 1 2. Cornersville (2) 9-0 124 2 3. Huntingdon 10-0 113 3 4. Whitwell 9-0 95 4 5. South Pittsburg 8-1 85 5 6. Lake County 8-1 70 7 7. West Carroll 7-2 45 9 8. Cloudland 7-2 39 6 9. Midway 7-2 26 8 10. Gordonsville 7-2 14 NR Others receiving votes: Coalfield 10, Westwood 7, Oliver Springs 6.

If anyone on the planet understands what Forrest softball represents it’s the Lady Rockets’ new head coach, Shelby Stinnett. “I’m excited and I’m humbled,” said Stinnett. “This is something I have looked forward to since I was eight when I used to be handed over top of the dugout.” “A lot of people don’t know it, but in elementary school I used to beg my parents to go to the ballgames, I would cry if I didn’t get to go to the Forrest softball games.”

The next to the last week of regular season football has all three county teams playing at home Friday night with the 2017 Class A state runner-up Cornersville Bulldogs leading the docket at Frog Bottom as they attempt to complete a perfect regular season with a win over the Huntland Hornets. “I am very proud of the success that this team has had so far this year,” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. “It is fun watching these young men go and play our brand of football. I want nothing more than to have them finish the regular season on a high note.”