Anderson County’s Khloe Wilkerson rises at the net and goes for the kill during the Lady Mavericks’ 3-0 volleyball sweep of Gibbs on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Wilkerson hammered down eight kills in the three-set victory. - Tony Cox
Anderson County volleyball picked up two crucial district victories last week, sweeping both opponents.
Traveling to Gibbs, the Lady Mavericks swept the Lady Eagles 25-20, 25-20, 25-17 on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Next, Anderson County played host to rival Oak Ridge and made it another sweep, defeating the Lady Wildcats 25-11, 25-14, 25-21 on Thursday, Sept. 10.
The Lady Mavericks improved to 16-3 overall and 7-1 in district play with the victories.
“I think our girls are doing well; we’re running through some different rotations,” Coach Jayme Smith said.
“We’ve still got some injuries that we’re dealing with, but everyone is stepping into their roles and we’re making gains,” the coach said.
Seniors contribute
“Bethany Lowe ... does a little bit of everything; right now she’s our setter,” Smith said.
Senior libero Emerie Bullock and defensive specialist Delaney Long also contributed.
Against Oak Ridge, Lowe had five aces, six kills and 16 assists.
Bullock recorded one ace and 12 digs, while Long had three digs and one kill.
Against Gibbs, Lowe finished with six points, four kills and 23 assists.
Bullock had four aces, 17 points and 19 digs.Long had two kills, two assists and eight digs.
Clinton senior midfielder Topanga Easterday controls the ball and looks to create an opening for the Lady Dragons. Coach Anna Orr said Easterday’s athleticism and ability to find gaps in the defense help set the standard for Clinton’s young soccer squad. - Tony Cox
With a 1-4 overall record entering this week and an 0-2 mark in district play, the Clinton Lady Dragons soccer team isn’t a lost cause.
“The girls are coming along, they’re putting in the work; I’m proud of the effort,” CHS Coach Anna Orr said. “It’s just one of those things where as soon as it clicks, they’re going to be great — but we’re having a hard time connecting the dots thus far.”
As for some of Clinton’s top individual players, Orr pointed to senior Topanga Easterday.
“[She] is just a super athletic kid,” Orr said. “She’s a senior, and so she’s kind of setting the standard.
“She’s a center-mid for us typically. She does a good job of finding gaps and getting open and making opportunities.
“Juliana Metchikoff is one of our freshman players,” the coach said. “She’s a center-back for us. And she’s just had an outstanding start to her career. I think she plays really mature soccer, and she’s doing a great job for us.”
In her first year with the team, Orr said part of the challenge has been establishing expectations and bringing together players with varying levels of experience.
“I think part of (the struggle) is just getting everybody settled into, you know, what the program expectations are now,” Orr said. “I think we have a tough schedule, a tough region for sure.
“But we have such a wide mix of girls, you know, girls who have only played for a year or two, girls who have played their whole lives,” she added.
“So trying to get everybody unified is a difficult task.”
The Lady Dragons picked up their first victory of the season with a 3-0 win over Fulton on Aug. 27.
Clinton rallies from eight-point hole for region victory
by Dan McWilliams
Clinton’s Austyn Phillips stiff-arms Karns’ Jax Ewing as he fights for extra yardage after hauling in a quick pass. Phillips caught nine passes for 108 yards, including a long of 17 yards, as the Dragons battled past the Beavers 21-14 on Thursday, Sept. 10. - Tony Cox
Their defense pitched a shutout after the first quarter, and that gave the Clinton Dragons’ offense time to rally for a 21-14 victory Friday at Karns.
The win evened the Dragons’ record at 2-2, but more importantly gave them a mark of 2-0 in Region 2-5A games.
Clinton has won its first two region contests for the first time since 2010.
Quarterback Mason Eckerson increased his rushing touchdown total to nine after scoring three times against the Beavers (1-3, 1-1).
That included the game-winner with 5:38 to play. He also was a crisp 19-for-25 passing for 223 yards, leading an offense that did not put the ball on the ground, throw an interception, or have to punt.
Austyn Phillips caught nine passes for the Dragons for 108 yards, and Will Young added eight receptions for 98 yards.
Eckerson paced Clinton runners with 38 yards on 16 carries. Charlie Turbyville added 36 yards on eight handoffs, often running in heavy traffic when he got the ball.
Evan Jacobs led Clinton’s defense with nine tackles. Turbyville, White, Phillips, and Torpedo Rodriguez made six stops apiece.
Anderson County’s Lane LaRue sheds a Heritage defender and fights for extra yardage during the Mavericks’ 55-28 victory Friday night.
Yes, Anderson County beat Heritage 55-28, but Mavericks Coach Davey Gillum wasn’t particularly pleased with how his team got there.
“We just looked like the Bad News Bears in that first half,” Gillum said. “It’s like it was Anderson County 55 to Anderson County 28. We’re playing ourselves. And we were directly responsible for about everything they did to get points, whether it was our offense or special teams or busts on defense or penalties.
“Mistakes left and right,”he said. “We haven’t played much uglier.
“But once we cleaned it up, it got where it should be. It could have been like that in the first half or first quarter, but we’re still learning how to win,” the coach added.
A 56-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior linebacker Maddox Tackett with 5:33 left in the third quarter proved to be a turning point after the Mountaineers led 14-7 at halftime.
“I thought Maddox Tackett played really well,” Gillum said. “He had a big pick-six in the second half that really gave us some momentum that we never lost.
Oak Ridge quarterback Brody Sparks warms up his arm before Friday night’s game against Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport. Sparks and the Wildcats went on to outlast the Indians 42-38. - Julia Edwards | ORHS Sports Media
Oak Ridge appeared to give the momentum away when Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett returned an interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Wildcats’ lead from 35-24 to 35-30.
But the Wildcats quickly turned the tide.
With the Indians marching inside the Oak Ridge 27-yard line looking to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats forced a fumble. Zayden Williams scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the Dobyns-Bennett 22.
Oak Ridge scored a touchdown four plays later and went on to seal its fourth-straight victory of the season, 42-38, at Dobyns-Bennett on Friday, Sept. 11.
Oak Ridge golf hosted its final home match of the season Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Oak Ridge Country Club against Halls and Farragut.
The Wildcat boys shot a 158, while Farragut and Halls tied at 149.
“Britten Luttrell shot 37 for us (nine holes),” Oak Ridge Coach Scott Hinton said. “Jonah Wolfe and Kaleb Jackson both shot 40.”
The Lady Wildcats finished second behind Farragut with a 104. Lilli Langenberg shot a 50, while Marissa Patch carded a 54.
Oak Ridge returned to the course Thursday, Sept. 10, traveling to Fox Den Country Club in Farragut for a match against Farragut and Christian Academy of Knoxville.
“We shot 173 as a team, but I want to point out Jonah Wolfe shot 39. He played really well,” Hinton said.
“He had never stepped foot on that course either. So for him to shoot a 39, I watched him birdie the last hole, too, which was really good.
“He birdied No. 9, hit a really good shot in there to about 6 feet, made the putt. So he finished on a strong note.”
The Lady Wildcats shot a 104 at Fox Den, with all three golfers posting identical scores. Langenberg, Brynn Green and Patch each shot a 52.
Oak Ridge’s cross-country teams showed progress at the annual Norris Dam Invitational at Songbird Park, with the Lady Wildcats placing third in the gold race and the Wildcat boys finishing 10th.
“Based on how we had run at Victor Ashe (Park in Knoxville the previous Saturday), I felt really good about how we ran at Norris,” Oak Ridge Coach Ed Wright said.
“We’ve got a huge number of freshmen that have come in, so it was kind of a shock to the system. ‘Oh, hey, I’ve got to run 5K instead of 2 miles,’” he added.
“But then they really stepped up the second time around because they knew what to expect.”
On the girls side, Kendra Hurt led Oak Ridge, finishing 14th in 20 minutes, 17.79 seconds.
Anderson County’s girls soccer team dominated Scott County at both the varsity and junior varsity levels Tuesday, Sept. 8.
“That was our second district match,” ACHS Coach Chris Curtin said.
“We had a varsity game that we won 4-0, and a JV game that we won 6-0,”
The Lady Mavericks varsity squad improved to 2-0 in district play with the shutout victory.
Kate Swisher scored twice to lead Anderson County, while Reagan Bedwell and Roxanna Aguilar each added a goal.
Bedwell also had two assists, while Ella Tyler and Lily Trent contributed one assist apiece.
“I felt like we could have done a better job in the attacking third (of the pitch) on finishing some opportunities that we didn’t finish,” Curtin said. “And so it’s a work in progress.”
Campbell Elkins, Lily Meness and Allie Shellhorn scored two goals apiece as the Lady Mavericks’ junior varsity squad rolled to a 6-0 victory.
Jovanna Valles, Eden Stout and Shellhorn each recorded an assist.
Clinton senior Parker McGee receives a serve during action for the Lady Dragons. The 5-foot-11 middle blocker has been a force for Clinton this season, using her long reach and athleticism to make an impact at the net. - Tony Cox
Clinton volleyball swept rival Oak Ridge on Tuesday night, Sept. 8, before traveling to powerful Knox Central for a big District 3-AAA match in Fountain City on Thursday.
“Central’s leading our district right now, and they were undefeated and had not lost a set (in district play). We did take set one, but lost in four sets,” Lady Dragons Coach Lorri Johnson said.
In the second set, Clinton fell 25-18.
“We were battling pretty tough back and forth and had some controversial calls, we’ll just say that, from the lines,” Johnson said.
“They called a touch on a ball we didn’t come close to touching that had sailed way out of bounds,” she said. “And, you know, instead of being 17-16, now it’s 18-15 (Central ahead). You know, it was a game changer.
“We were battling back and forth,” Johnson said. “We still didn’t [lie] down and die, but we just weren’t able to recover after all of that. But we definitely showed improvement from the first time we played them, and they know we’re coming after them. We’ve got a District 3-AAA tournament where we hope to meet them again, you know, in the finals.”
Anderson County cross-country coach Harrison Calhoun stands poised to send the boys gold race onto the course Saturday at the Norris Dam Invitational at Songbird Park. The annual meet drew 53 teams and more than 900 runners. - Barry Houchin
After hosting the Norris Dam Invitational at Songbird Park for “well over 10 years,” the Anderson County cross country program outdid itself with the size of the 2026 edition Saturday morning, Sept. 12.
“We made the course, we set up the course, we ran all the races — you know, that’s an achievement all in itself because of how big the race was,” ACHS head coach Harrison Calhoun said. “We’ve never had it that big. I think it was 53 teams. We’ve never run almost 900 runners.
“I think that was also a big achievement, just being able to put on an event that big,” he added.
At least three schools came from Kentucky: Corbin, Knox Central and Bell County.
“I had some teams come from the Nashville area, the Middle Tennessee area,” Calhoun said. “I really do think it’s safe to say we hosted one of the biggest meets in the state.
“I hope that we get enough recognition where we start seeing teams from Alabama, Virginia, Georgia. I think this has the potential to reach schools all across the country,” he added.
