Anderson County’s Roxana Aguilar works past Elizabethton defender Camryn Blevins during the Lady Mavericks’ sectional victory. Aguilar later scored a goal in Anderson County’s 3-2 comeback win over Sycamore in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. - Tony Cox
Anderson County’s girls soccer team overcame a rough start in its TSSAA Division I Class 2A state quarterfinal match against Sycamore on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Despite falling behind 2-0 in the opening five minutes, the fifth-seeded Lady Mavericks stormed back with three unanswered goals — the last coming in the 61st minute — to claim a thrilling 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded Sycamore.
Anderson County’s defense held firm after the early setback, helping the Lady Mavericks advance to the state semifinals and ultimately finish tied for third in the tournament with a 16-6-1 record. Sycamore finished 18-3.
“They scored two goals on us in less than five minutes, and I thought for sure, I was like, ‘Well, this is gonna be a long day,’” Anderson County Coach Chris Curtin said. “And then Roxana (Aguilar) scored one (14th minute), and I was thinking, ‘Well, we’re not done yet.’
“Then Delila Colby scored (39th minute), and we tied it up by halftime. And then about 20 minutes into the second half, Kate Swisher scored the third one.”
Clinton High School will send two runners to the state cross country championships after both earned top-20 finishes at the TSSAA Division I-AA sectional meet Tuesday morning, Oct. 27, at Songbird Park near Norris Dam.
Cooper Bostrom led the Dragons with an 11th-place finish in the boys race, crossing the finish line in 17 minutes, 29.96 seconds.
Sophomore Lillian West paced the Lady Dragons, placing 17th with a time of 21:50.79.
Both runners will head to Shelby Farms Park in Memphis for the TSSAA Division I-AA state championships Friday afternoon, Nov. 6.
“We had two kids qualify for state, so overall it was a good day,” Clinton head coach Tim Kumes said. “The team raced hard, but unfortunately we didn’t make it as a team even though we put a lot of great work in over the course of the year. We’re just not quite there as a team yet.”
Although neither Clinton squad advanced as a team, Bostrom and West will have an opportunity to represent the Dragons on the state’s biggest cross country stage.
Freshman Caroline Jones finished 36th for the Lady Dragons with a time of 25:12.01, while fellow freshman Adah Freels placed 48th in 27:41.70.
On the boys side, freshman Tylen Cook finished 50th in 20:24.01. Freshman Joe Patton placed 78th in 31:04.46, followed by freshman William Campbell, who finished 79th in 31:32.99.
Mavs shifts focus from Tornadoes; postseason battle awaits at Seymour
by Alan Sloan
Anderson County wide receiver Riley Miller (15) turns upfield after hauling in a pass on the Mavericks’ opening drive against Alcoa on Friday night. Miller picks up a first down and additional yardage as he races past a Tornadoes defender. - Tony Cox
Anderson County’s football team got off to a flying start against powerhouse Alcoa on Friday night, Oct. 30, jumping ahead 7-0 behind several big passing plays.
But the early momentum didn’t last as the state’s top-ranked and unbeaten Class 4A Tornadoes rolled to a 49-14 win.
Anderson County (7-3), the No. 3 seed from Region 2-4A, will travel to face Region 1-4A runner-up Seymour (9-1) in the opening round of the TSSAA Class 4A playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6.
Both Anderson County touchdowns came from junior running back Cayson Kurriger out of the Wildcat formation. Kurriger scored on runs of 2 yards and 1 yard, both around the left side. Kicker Eli Ledford converted both extra points.
“(Quarterback) Brayden Sharpe put the ball in position, and (receiver) Jaxon Price had an amazing game,” Anderson County head Coach Davey Gillum said.
Price finished with four receptions for 68 yards, while Riley Miller added three catches for 75 yards.
Clinton wide receiver Joel Crawford looks for running room as he squares off against a Halls defender after hauling in a pass during Friday night’s regular-season finale. The Dragons fell to the Red Devils 45-7, ending their season with a 3-7 record. - Tony Cox
The Halls Red Devils knocked Clinton out of a playoff spot with a 45-7 win over the host Dragons in the regular-season finale Friday.
Halls improved to 5-5 overall and 5-2 in Region 2-5A, finishing in third place. Clinton ended the season 3-7, 3-4, coming in fifth in the region, one spot out of qualifying for the playoffs.
The Dragons were held to a season-low 75 yards of total offense by Halls. Clinton’s lone touchdown came on the final play of the first half when Ziyer Oliver returned a kickoff 86 yards to the end zone.
Charlie Turbyville made 15 tackles to lead the Dragon defense. Oliver added eight stops, Austyn Phillips seven, Davontae Fortson and Reed White six each, and Camdyn Wilcox five.
Red Devil freshman running back Maverick Sharp carried the ball 17 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and teammate Knox Burton ran eight times for 140 yards and three TDs to help Halls total 359 yards of offense. The visitors scored on their first seven possessions of the game.
Anderson County freshman Ella Tyler captured the TSSAA Class AA sectional championship at Songbird Park near Norris Dam on Tuesday, Oct. 27, with a time of 18:38.58. - Tony Cox
Anderson County’s cross-country teams earned their way to state by making the most of their home-course advantage Tuesday morning, Oct. 27.
They swept the individual championships and earned a pair of second-place team finishes at the TSSAA Division I-AA Sectional 2 meet at Songbird Park near Norris Dam.
With both teams earning runner-up finishes, Anderson County now turns its attention to the Division I-AA state cross-country meet on Friday afternoon, Nov. 6, at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.
The Lady Mavericks finished second with 60 points, trailing champion Signal Mountain, which scored 27. The Mavericks also claimed runner-up honors with 79 points, finishing behind Signal Mountain’s 32.
Leading the charge for Anderson County was standout freshman Ella Tyler, who raced to the girls individual championship with a winning time of 18 minutes, 38.58 seconds. Junior teammate Jordan Walker added a fourth-place finish in 19:40.97.
Oak Ridge’s Damillyan Porter powers through the Maryville defense on his way to the end zone during the Wildcats’ 48-17 loss to the Rebels on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Blankenship Field. - Kyla Carter | ORHS Sports Media
Oak Ridge had its share of bright moments against powerhouse Maryville, but the Wildcats couldn’t keep pace with the state’s third-ranked Class 6A team, falling to the Rebels 48-17 Thursday night, Oct. 29, at Blankenship Field.
Now, the Wildcats turn their attention to the postseason, where a familiar opponent awaits.
Oak Ridge (7-3), the No. 4 seed from Region 2-6A, will travel to face Region 1-6A champion Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett (7-3) in the opening round of the Class 6A state playoffs Friday, Nov. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Wildcats will be looking for their second victory this season over the Indians after winning a 42-38 thriller in Kingsport on Sept. 11.
But first, Oak Ridge Coach Derek Rang reflected on the challenges his team faced against Maryville.
“You know, when you play Maryville, you can’t turn the ball over; we had four turnovers,” Rang said. “Defensively, we kind of bowed up a little bit at times, but we also gave up multiple explosive plays.
Oak Ridge’s Jullian Kearns is locked in and focused as he prepares for his race Wednesday, Oct. 28, during the Sectional 1-AAA cross country meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. - Izzy Smith | ORHS Sports Media
Oak Ridge’s boys and girls cross country teams are headed to Memphis, and their head coach couldn’t be more pleased with how they earned their trips.
Both teams qualified for the TSSAA Division I Class AAA State Cross Country Championships after finishing among the top four teams at the Sectional 1-AAA meet Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville.
The Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will compete for state honors Thursday, Nov. 5, at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.
Oak Ridge’s girls turned in one of their strongest performances of the season, finishing third with 75 points after losing a tiebreaker to Farragut for second place.
Senior Kendra Hurd led the Lady Wildcats, finishing 10th with a time of 20 minutes, 29.33 seconds.
Junior Brooke Roessner placed 13th in 20:48.37, followed closely by junior Amaija Bishop, who finished 14th in 20:56.38.
