Anderson County’s Kate Swisher sends a shot into the back of the net against Union County during the Lady Mavericks’ 4-0 victory in the District 4-AA soccer tournament semifinals Tuesday, Oct. 13. The win propelled Anderson County into the district championship match. - Tony Cox
Anderson County High School’s girls soccer team took care of business in the District 4-AA tournament, and now the Lady Mavericks have their sights set on an even bigger prize — a trip to the state tournament.
The Lady Mavs captured the district championship with a 2-0 shutout of Gibbs at home Thursday night, Oct. 15, improving to 12-5-1 and fueling Coach Chris Curtin’s expectations for the postseason.
“I’m real proud of my girls,” Curtin said. “They’ve worked hard to get here, and I expect them to continue to do great things.
“I think that overall this has been a good year for development and growth,” he said. “We have probably more strength spread evenly across the field than we’ve ever had before.
“I really think that this is the year that we make it to the state tournament,” he added.
The Lady Mavs opened tournament play with a dominating 4-0 victory over Union County in the semifinals Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Anderson County.
“It was also our Senior Night, so our whole senior class got in multiple times,” Curtin said. “It was good.”
Clinton’s Camdyn Wilcox looks to turn the corner and find running room along the sideline during the Dragons’ homecoming matchup against South-Doyle on Friday, Oct. 16. The Dragons battled the visiting Cherokees but came up short in a 33-28 loss. - Tony Cox
The Clinton Dragons shut out South-Doyle in the second half but were unable to overcome the visiting Cherokees’ lead in a 33-28 loss Friday.
South-Doyle improved to 6-2 with a win on homecoming night in Clinton in the non-region game. The Dragons fell to 3-5.
Joel Crawford scored his first two touchdowns of the season on a pair of Mason Eckerson passes for Clinton.
Eckerson also found Austyn Phillips and Will Young for TDs and finished 10-for-17 passing for 165 yards and four scores.
Manny Ortiz was 4-for-4 on extra points for Clinton and booted his first touchback of the season.
Charlie Turbyville led the Dragon defense with seven solo tackles.
Ayden Faubion, Brenden Hayden, and Phillips made five tackles apiece. Davontae Fortson, Gabe Sanders, Jaxon Alcorn, Turbyville, and Reed White combined for several sacks.
South-Doyle running back Walter Gould carried the ball 27 times for 215 yards and a touchdown. Cherokee quarterback Benson Brang went 17-for-25 through the air for 252 yards and two scores with one interception. Jeremiah Smith caught four of the passes for 112 yards.
With their star quarterback back in the lineup after a knee injury, Anderson County took care of business as expected Friday night, Oct. 16, cruising to a 63-30 football victory at Union County.
Coach David Gillum was pleased with his team’s performance in the dominant Region 2-4A victory, which improved the Mavericks’ record to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in region play.
Union County fell to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the region.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Gillum said. “I can’t remember any penalties, offense or defense. No turnovers. I can’t remember any busts as far as plays.
“We’ve tried to make a commitment in practice to being a little more businesslike and having a little more accountability when we’re having mistakes in practice,” the coach added. “About the things we needed to do going forward to be better, I felt like we did those things.
Clinton Middle School eighth-grader Kooper Baylis breaks into the open field on his way to a first-half touchdown against visiting Cherokee on Thursday, Oct. 15. The Hawks defeated the Yellow Jackets 42-30 in the opening round of the East Tennessee Middle School Football 4A playoffs to advance to the semifinals. - Tony Cox
The Clinton Middle School Hawks began their football season in August with a thrilling 44-38 victory over Cherokee.
Two months later, with considerably more at stake, the Hawks delivered another victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Clinton defeated Cherokee 42-30 Thursday night, Oct. 15, in the opening round of the East Tennessee Middle School Football Class 4A playoffs, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in a decade.
For a program that has endured its share of difficult seasons, it was a reminder of what October football can mean in a small town.
The Hawks opened the season with four consecutive victories, their best start since 2012, when Clinton won the conference championship.
But a narrow 24-22 loss to Jacksboro interrupted the perfect start. Clinton rebounded with a 28-0 shutout of Gatlinburg-Pittman before consecutive losses to Oneida and Scott County ended the regular season.
Oak Ridge’s Branson Newberry races downfield on his way to a touchdown against Hardin Valley Academy on Friday, Oct. 16. The Wildcats fell to the Hawks 32-21 in a key Region 2-6A matchup. - Joseph Moseley | ORHS Sports Media
Two of the most spectacular plays by a high school receiver and punter in Tennessee this season weren’t enough to carry Oak Ridge to victory against Hardin Valley Academy in a key Region 2-6A showdown Friday night, Oct. 16.
Despite those highlight-reel moments, the Wildcats fell 32-21 to the Hawks.
Zayden Williams made a diving, one-handed catch for 35 yards to set up an Oak Ridge touchdown on a short run by backup quarterback Kipton Feagan.
Feagan later turned a bad snap in punt formation into a 36-yard pass completion to Liam Gerber, setting up Chas Jackson’s 2-yard touchdown run.
But costly mistakes and missed opportunities overshadowed those spectacular plays.
A long Oak Ridge drive to open the third quarter featured three fourth-down conversions, but the Wildcats came away empty-handed despite reaching the Hardin Valley 1-yard line. An interception on another fourth-down attempt ended the threat.
The Hawks poured salt into the Wildcats’ wounds with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing possession.
Scrappy to the end, Clinton High School’s volleyball team saw its season come to a close with a hard-fought loss to Maryville in the Region 2-AAA tournament semifinals Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Maryville High School.
The Lady Dragons battled throughout but fell in three close sets, 25-20, 25-20 and 25-21.
“Yeah, we were competitive,” CHS Coach Lorri Johnson said.
Senior middle blocker Parker McGhee led the Lady Dragons at the net with nine kills on 12 attempts.
“Like I said before, if we could get her the ball, she’ll put it down,” Johnson said. “But you know, we just again came up short.
“And (Knox) Central ended up losing to them in three (games) as well in the region finals,” she added. “Maryville only has one senior.”
Despite the loss, Johnson was pleased with her team’s determination, particularly after a rocky start.
Anderson County High School’s cross country teams hit the road for the “Heart of Dixie” and gained valuable experience competing against some of the Southeast’s top runners at the 2026 Randolph Invitational in Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday, Oct. 17.
“It was a big race. And you’re looking at teams from not just Alabama and Tennessee, but Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina,” ACHS Coach Harrison Calhoun said. “We went there just for the experience. So while we didn’t place as high as a team, I guess, we still placed high individually and had some really good times out of it, which is what I wanted.
“We never went into it wanting to basically win the meet or to place (high) as a team,” he added. “We wanted our athletes to get a good race, a good time on a fast course and just have a good experience.”
The Mavericks finished 18th in the Large Boys Division, led by senior Cameron Hardy, who placed sixth with a time of 15 minutes, 56.18 seconds. Fellow senior John Cutler finished 53rd in 17:05.99.
The Lady Mavs finished 15th in the Large Girls Division, paced by freshman standout Ella Tyler, who placed ninth in 19:12.47. Junior Jordan Walker wasn’t far behind, finishing 11th in 19:26.90.
