Hawks open season with comeback win

The 2024-25 basketball season is underway for the Clinton Middle School Hawks, who opened with a 60-55 victory over cross-county rival Norris in the Education Foundation Tournament last week at Anderson County High School.

“It was a great game,” Hawks Coach Bobby Williams said. “We were down by 13 points at one point and had to come back.”

The Hawks enter the season after one of their best recent campaigns, finishing 18-5 last year and reaching the state sectional tournament. Williams, now in his fourth year coaching at Clinton, expects big things from the team again.

“We expect to compete for the district championship this season,” Williams said. “I think we can make a run in the sectionals. We have a deep team and a deep bench.”

The Hawks’ roster is filled with talented eighth graders, including key returners Tucker Harmening (point guard), Abel Forsythe (center), Kade Webb (guard/forward), Cal Kirkpatrick (guard/forward), and Demetrius Willis.

Top newcomers include Logan Hill, an eighth-grade center who transferred from Norris, and Benji Yarborough, a transfer who was the quarterback for Clinton’s football team last season.