Lane LaRue slips the grasp of a Carter defender during Anderson County’s 41-14 victory over the Hornets on Friday night. The junior running back piled up 255 yards from scrimmage, rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries while adding five catches for 96 yards and another score. - David Woods
Anderson County High School’s football team is still making some uncharacteristic mistakes, but the Mavericks continue to win big.
ACHS overcame three interceptions and other miscues to defeat Carter 41-14 Friday night, Sept. 18, at home.
Mavericks Coach Davey Gillum put the victory in perspective.
“But overall, you know, there’s no such thing as a bad win,” Gillum said. “And I think sometimes our coaches and players and fans, we’ve been so good for so long that even when you’re winning big and it doesn’t look like it did in ’22, ’23, ’24, you’re harder on yourself than what’s realistic.”
The Mavericks improved to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in region play. The Hornets fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the region.
“So, you know, these boys are doing some really good things,” Gillum said. “Our kids are working hard and we had a better week, and I expect a better one next week.
Anderson County goalkeeper Bria Willis dives to make a stop in front of the net. Willis posted a clean sheet for the week, keeping opponents off the scoreboard as the Lady Mavericks’ last line of defense. - David Woods
Anderson County girls soccer Coach Chris Curtin saw his team make strides throughout a week in which the Lady Mavericks posted a pair of varsity shutouts and improved their record to 8-3-1.
The Lady Mavericks opened the week Tuesday, Sept. 15, with a 2-0 home victory over William Blount before turning in what Curtin considered a stronger performance in a 3-0 road win over Lenoir City two days later.
Goals against William Blount were scored by Delilah Colby and Daniele Pack and assists from Lily Trent and Morgan Haire.
“I felt like William Blount played really well; their goalkeeper had a phenomenal night,” Curtin said. “She did great. We didn’t dominate as well as I had hoped.
“I mean, it’s hard to complain about a win, but at the same time, I want to get ready for postseason,” Curtin added.
Clinton’s Dragons burst onto the field with American flags flying before Friday night’s home game against Central. The patriotic entrance continued the team’s Patriot Day recognition, with Clinton honoring first responders and veterans in attendance. - Tony Cox
After host Clinton scored to gain some second-quarter momentum, the Central Bobcats struck for two touchdowns in 30 seconds to close the first half en route to a 48-7 win over the Dragons on Friday.
The Bobcats improved to 5-0 overall, and at 3-0 are in a tie atop the Region 2-5A standings.
Clinton (2-3, 2-1) sustained its first region defeat.
Dragon quarterback Mason Eckerson connected on a 19-yard TD pass to Austyn Phillips to pull the home team to within two touchdowns at 21-7 with 3:53 on the clock in the second period.
But Central drove downfield and scored on a 2-yard run by Lanier Badgett with 30 seconds left, and two plays after the kickoff, Sullivan Biddle intercepted Eckerson and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown as time expired to put the Bobcats up 34-7 at the half.
Phillips finished with a game-high nine catches for 63 yards.
Eckerson’s screen passes to playmakers Phillips and Will Young, which have resulted in big gains this season, were defended well by Central.
Clinton’s Jolie Rodd dives to the floor and gets a hand under the ball to keep the rally alive against Anderson County on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Rodd’s sprawling save extended the point and ultimately helped the Lady Dragons turn the defensive effort into a score. - Tony Cox
Match wins over Anderson County, the Knox Trailblazers and Campbell County have helped an improving Clinton volleyball team build its overall record to 18-10 entering this week.
“The team as a whole is getting better; we’re getting stronger,” Coach Lorri Johnson said. “Our serve-receive was much better.”
The Lady Dragons opened the week with a 3-0 home victory over crosstown rival Anderson County on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Clinton won the tightly contested sets 25-21, 25-23 and 25-22.
Clinton followed with a 25-10, 25-11 victory over the Trailblazers on Wednesday, and then defeated Campbell County on the road 25-17, 25-16, 25-13 Thursday, Sept. 17.
“My sophomore outside, Anslee Carmichael, had a great week for passing and digging as well as hitting,” Johnson said.
Anderson County libero Emerie Bullock gets under a serve during the Lady Mavericks’ rivalry match against Clinton on Tuesday, Sept. 15. - Tony Cox
After a rough couple of District 3-AAA matches last week, Anderson County looked to recover at the Back to the Burrow Classic at Siegel High School over the weekend.
The Lady Mavericks went 3-3 in the tournament, and entered this week with a 19-10 overall record and a 7-3 mark in district play.
Anderson County picked up victories over Mt. Juliet, Jackson County and Ooltewah.
“Our senior libero, Emerie Bullock, had an outstanding weekend,” ACHS Coach Jayme Smith said. “Our middle hitter, Lily McCormick, played well. She’s officially back from shoulder surgery.”
Smith said the Lady Mavericks showed flashes of their potential against a strong tournament field.
“When they’ve got energy and they get talking, they can look like they’re the best team, and some days they don’t,” Smith said.
Branson Newberry turns on the speed and races away from a Cleveland defender on his way to the end zone Friday night. The Oak Ridge senior scored one of the Wildcats’ two touchdowns in a 35-14 loss to the Blue Raiders in Cleveland. - Izzy Smith | ORHS Sports Media
Despite a potent passing attack, Oak Ridge couldn’t overcome Cleveland’s barrage of big plays as the Wildcats suffered their first football loss of the season, 35-14, Friday night, Sept. 18, at Cleveland.
“It’s 28-14 at halftime, and we had given up basically four explosive plays over 50 yards, and two of those were just on missed assignments, and we give them two one-play drives,” ORHS Coach Derek Rang said.
Two of those explosive plays were long Blue Raiders touchdown passes of 89 and 84 yards, both coming on blown coverages.
“So, defensively, there’s just a lot to clean up,” Rang said. “And, obviously with the Dobyns-Bennett game and then Cleveland, we’re just giving up way too many big plays on defense.
“When you play a team that’s much improved like Cleveland, you just can’t afford to make those mistakes in that game,” Rang said. “We just have to do a better job of playing our assignment and being in the right spot.”
Anderson County’s Cameron Hardy runs with the front pack during The Mounds Invitational on Saturday in Oak Ridge. Hardy finished second in 16 minutes flat, leading the Mavericks with a strong showing on the challenging course. - Tony Cox
Anderson County cross country runners left their coach “blown away” after the Mounds Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Especially, a freshman who is supposedly still getting used to running the longer high school distance of roughly 5 kilometers.
Freshman Ella Tyler not only set a personal best on the challenging Mounds course — she won the race.
“And won it by setting a course record (18:47.80),” Anderson County Coach Harrison Calhoun said.
“I really was blown away,” he added. “I really didn’t know what to think when it originally happened. You know, I had a lot of emotions. But at the end of the day, you know, it’s just like, ‘Wow, you know, I had a freshman who had run only her second high school 5K ever.’
“It came against some of the best schools in Knoxville and East Tennessee,” he said. “We had Farragut there. We had (Knoxville) Catholic there. Oak Ridge was the one hosting it. And, not only did she win the race, she got the course record.”
Clinton’s Cooper Bostrom pushes through the course during The Mounds Invitational on Saturday in Oak Ridge. Bostrom was among the Dragons competing on the challenging cross-country course. - Tony Cox
Clinton cross country fielded six runners Saturday morning at the Mounds Invitational in Oak Ridge.
Cooper Bostrom and Tylin Cook represented the Dragons in the boys race, while Lillan West, Piper Bostrom, Caroline Jones and Adah Freels competed for the Lady Dragons.
Bostrom paced the Clinton boys, finishing 29th in 18 minutes, 23.50 seconds. Cook placed 83rd with a time of 21:52.30.
West led the Lady Dragons, crossing the finish line in 23:35.30 to place 33rd.
Piper Bostrom finished 53rd in 27:23.10, followed by Jones in 90th at 28:02.00 and Freels in 95th at 28:42.10.
Oak Ridge junior Amaijah Bishop keeps pace with the front pack during The Mounds Invitational on Saturday. Bishop finished 20th in 22:02.3, scoring 18 points to help the Lady Wildcats earn a second-place team finish. - Tony Cox
