BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — When it comes to Jahvin Carter, you can just sense that he has a job-is-not-finished mentality this week at the Class 2A state tournament. Case in point: Alcoa had just won a 69-64 overtime thriller Friday night … [Read more...]
CLASS 3A QUARTERFINALS: Defending champion Fulton grinds out 56-49 win over upset-minded Fayette-Ware
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — By no means did Jody Wright, the longtime Fulton head boys' basketball coach, expect an encore performance this week of what his players reeled off in the 2023 state tournament. Yes, essentially the entire roster … [Read more...]
CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALS: Alcoa begins 2A title defense with cake-walk win, 74-40
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The last time the Alcoa boys basketball team graced MTSU’s Murphy Center, they had the place rocking. On Thursday, they rocked the arena to sleep. The defending state champion Tornadoes opened their Class 2A … [Read more...]
CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALS: Austin-East throws scare into unbeaten Douglass but falls 72-49
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — The final statistics were almost too scary on paper to contemplate. And the much-anticipated Austin-East vs. Douglass matchup in the Class 2A quarterfinals never materialized into the heavyweight showdown most … [Read more...]
2024 BOYS 1A QUARTERFINAL: Jellico goes cold in second half of Class 1A quarterfinal; Frank Hughes rallies for 77-62 win
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Carson Bolton, the standout senior guard at Jellico High School, squatted over in a corner of the court late Wednesday night at MTSU's Murphy Center, just trying to compartmentalize all that had just happened. He … [Read more...]
2024 BOYS 4A QUARTERFINAL: Rossview (25-9) pushes past Morristown East in second half for 64-43 win
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Checking out of his final high school game with 3 minutes, 32 seconds to go, most certainly wasn't how Kyle Cloninger expected to go out. The Morristown East senior guard — the program's all-time leading … [Read more...]
2024 BOYS 4A QUARTERFINALS: Cookeville (31-3) ousts Maryville, 70-60, with second-half surge
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — Perhaps Maryville High School senior center Alex Akard, with that booming voice of his that emits from a 6-foot-9 frame, said it best Wednesday, following the Rebels' first-round loss in the Class 4A state … [Read more...]
TSSAA announces 2024 Mr. and Miss Basketball Winners
BY JESSE SMITHEY MURFREESBORO — To say East Tennessee was well represented Tuesday at the 2024 Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards at MTSU would be a tremendous understatement. Not only was the list of finalists littered with area talents, but the … [Read more...]
Former Alcoa head football coach Gary Rankin to be inducted into National High School (NFHS) Hall of Fame
BY JOHN BRICE TSSAA Correspondent Perhaps the earliest footnote in a career full of milestones and shattered records, Gary Rankin heeded the advice of his father as he first launched his prep coaching career decades ago at his high school alma … [Read more...]
Dustin Peels steps down as head football coach at Wartburg Central
BY JESSE SMITHEY The job posting hit the TSSAA website on Sunday. … [Read more...]