BY JESSE SMITHEY The last few days have gone pretty well for Eli Owens, the Class of 2025 multi-sport standout at Alcoa High School. … [Read more...]
Zack Rayl resigns as Greenback Football coach
BY JESSE SMITHEY The search for a new head football coach at Greenback is back on. Zack Rayl has resigned after less than two weeks on the job. Here's why... … [Read more...]
CLASS 2A STATE: Jahvin Carter scores game-winner with 2.5 seconds left; Alcoa wins first boys basketball title since 1967
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Jahvin Carter earned every one of his 24 points the hard way Saturday night, including his game-winning bucket with 2.5 seconds remaining in the Class 2A state championship. Lightning-quick guards from Douglass … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE: Fulton Falcons trounce Haywood Tomcats to win Class 3A championship, 82-52
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — There are dream starts to state title games. And then there is what Fulton did to Haywood. The Falcons, seeking their first state title since 2016, blistered the nets inside the Murphy Center at MTSU en route to … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE, Day 4: Alcoa Tornadoes hold off Brainerd late; 71-68 win sends Alcoa to final for first time since 1992
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Getting to its first state championship game in more than three decades turned out to be a hand-wringing experience Friday for the Alcoa boys' basketball team. A turnover here. A missed free-throw … [Read more...]
2023 5Star Preps Baseball Season Preview
BY JESSE SMITHEY As basketball winds down this week and baseball heats up, now is the proper time to release our 2023 5Star Preps Baseball Preview. We have 60 players to know and we have a look at some potential postseason contenders. THIS … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE, Day 3: Fulton Falcons trounce MLK Royals by 40 in 2023 Class 3A State Semifinals
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Fulton senior guard Marcellus Jackson walked to midcourt with 2 minutes, 44 seconds, left in the third quarter Thursday night against MLK and told his teammates not to let up. As someone who doesn't comprehend … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE, Day 3: Alcoa Tornadoes win first state tournament game since 2004; hold off Pearl-Cohn for 65-62 win
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The final 1 minute, 10 seconds, of Thursday's Class 2A state quarterfinal wasn't unnerving at all for Alcoa boys' basketball coach Ryan Collins, even though star player Jahvin Carter got whistled for his fifth foul … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE, Day One: McMinn County Cherokees fall to Memphis Overton in 4A quarterfinal
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The standard has changed with McMinn County High School boys' basketball. No longer is it just trying to get the better of Cleveland. No more is it just beating Bradley Central. Nope. Expectations have … [Read more...]
DIVISION I BOYS STATE, Day One: Youth-laden Sevier County can’t match strengths of Hillsboro in 4A state quarterfinals
MURFREESBORO — Ken Wright, the longtime head boys basketball coach at Sevier County High, had been playing with house money for weeks. His Smoky Bears squad, the one with a 6-8 record heading into January and the one with freshmen littered across … [Read more...]