Blaze Kraze
Both Clinton Blaze basketball teams enjoyed success over the recent Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the Coalfield Middle School Junior Varsity Thanksgiving Tournament.
Both the Blaze squads went 2-1 in the tournament.
The Lady Blaze closed out the tourney with a 27-1 victory over Norwood Middle on Saturday. Lanee Carmichael led Clinton with 15 points and Bralee Hall finished with six. The Lady Blaze split a pair of games Friday. Clinton came up on the short end of a 26-20 decision against the host Coalfield Lady Jackets despite getting 12 points and eight rebounds from Carmichael.
The Lady Blaze opened the tournament with a 17-4 victory over Ft. Loudon as Carmichael and Ashton Chamblee scored four points each.
The Blaze boys, meanwhile, closed the tournament with a 41-25 victory over Norwood Middle Saturday. Two Clinton players posted double figures in the scoring column as Hayden Craig had 15 points and Brian Hall finished 10.
The Blaze’s Braylen Hayden was a force on the glass as he grabbed nine rebounds.
Clinton lost to West Valley 54-27 on Friday.
Andrew McAmis led the Blaze with eight points while Hall and Craig added five points each against the Wolves JV team. West Valley boasts one of the top programs in the Knox County Middle School Basketball Conference. The Blaze opened the tournament with a 24-21 victory over Coalfield Middle’s Orange Team.
Craig had eight points to lead Clinton. Carson Richardson finished with six.
Upcoming Schedule: The 2018 regular season now enters its home stretch for the Blaze and Lady Blaze hoopsters. Clinton hosts Campbell County Thursday. The Lady Blaze game tips off at 6 p.m. The boys contest will follow.
Both teams will also be in action Saturday when they host Cherokee Middle School. Girls will play at 2 p.m. The boys will follow.
The regular season concludes on Thursday, Dec. 6 with Clinton hosting Coalfield.
WYSH to broadcast Blaze home game: The Clinton Blaze home game against Campbell County will be aired on WYSH on Thursday. The girls game begins at 6 p.m. at the Clinton Community Gymnasium. The boys contest will begin at approximately 7 p.m.
Blaze Soccer Clinic: The Blaze Soccer Clinic is underway. The clinic began recently. Both boys and girls can sign up before the next camp session.
Clinic sessions for players in Grades 1-3 are Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Clinton City Football Stadium. Camp sessions for players in Grades 4-6 are held on Fridays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the football stadium. In the event of inclement weather, the clinic will be held at Clinton City Gym.
The clinic is run by professional soccer player Chris Carroll.
Clinton City Schools Athletic Director E.T. Stamey said that the Blaze is hoping to field both boys and girls soccer teams in the spring of 2019.
“We started doing the clinic to gauge interest in soccer in the community,” Stamey said. “We’ve been doing [Clinton Blaze Athletics] for a couple of years and we’re hoping to have soccer in the spring.”
For more information about soccer contact Stamey via e-mail at staymeye@clintonschools.org,
Time set for National Cross Country Meet: The Elementary and Middle Schools National Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday at Knoxville’s Victor Ashe Park. Races begin at noon. Clinton Blaze runner Laci Percival will compete.
Percival is a fourth grader at Clinton Elementary School and will run a one-mile course. Blaze swimmers to take on Clinton Middle: The Blaze swim team, which won its first-ever meet against the Clinton Sharks recently, will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 6 when it takes on Clinton Middle School at the Clinton Community Center School.
The Blaze defeated the Clinton Sharks 101-90 on Nov. 13 to start the program off on a winning note.
Blaze Academic Clubs: The Blaze has a reading club that is open to elementary school students at all three of the city’s elementary schools.
Clinton also has an H20 Science Club, which is open to first graders. It focuses on water sciences and is intended to spark interest in science at an early age.