Will Brooks delivered a standout week for the Clinton High School baseball team, producing at the plate and earning a win on the mound as the Dragons went 1-3.
Clinton opened the week by splitting a District 4-AAA series against Union County.
In the series opener on Monday, April 13, the Patriots prevailed 13-9 in a slugfest in Maynardville.
Brooks collected four hits in the loss. He also had an RBI and scored a run. Jackson Webb doubled, scored and drove in two runs. Camden Britton singled and scored twice.
JP Robbins doubled, scored and drove in a run, while Jake Rittenberry went 2-for-3. He doubled, had two RBIs and scored twice.
Clinton High School’s boys soccer team hasn’t surrendered a goal in its last two matches.
In its lone game last week, the Dragons (6-2) blanked McMinn Central 4-0 Friday night.
In that match, Clinton’s Andrew Vargas found the back of the net twice.
Angel Venegas and Christian Honeycutt also scored for the Dragons. Ben Tackett, Isaac Rodriguez and Isaiah Francisco were each credited with an assist, and Tackett recorded the clean sheet in goal.
The win over McMinn Central came in Clinton’s first match in seven days.
Before its brief break, the Dragons shut out Harriman 5-0 as Tackett and Mico Cleveland combined on the clean sheet.
Tackett also scored a goal against the Blue Devils. Venegas sparked the offense with two goals and an assist. Honeycutt and Vargas also scored, while Isaac Purcell and Britton Wilcox added assists.
“I was really proud of our effort,” CHS Coach Filip Leander said. “Everybody was involved in our attack, no matter what position they play.
“Our players are playing really good soccer. We’re really playing well.”
On April 7, the Dragons played Gibbs to a 1-1 draw in regulation in a District 4-AA match. The Eagles, however, were awarded the win by virtue of a 4-3 victory in the penalty-kicks shootout.
Dark breaks mark at Karns; Hall wins long jump at Vol Classic
by Ken Lay
Anderson County senior Luke Dark, a Milligan signee, competes in the discus at the Vol Classic on Saturday, April 18, at Tom Black Track in Knoxville. Dark finished 12th in the event with a throw of 146 feet, 2 inches, and later took second in the shot put with a mark of 63-8. - Tony Cox
Despite being a bit short-handed, the Anderson County High School track and field teams turned in several impressive performances at one of the area’s biggest meets Saturday.
The Mavericks and Lady Mavericks competed in the Vol Classic at the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track.
“The prom was on Friday and then we’ve had some sickness and some injuries,” Anderson County Coach Harrison Calhoun said. “Looking at the way our kids ran, threw and jumped, I was really impressed.
“I was proud of our kids.”
The Mavericks and Lady Mavericks will next compete in the Last Chance Meet at Maryville on Friday.
For the Lady Mavericks, Ava Moody posted a fifth-place finish in the girls 1,600-meter run, crossing the finish line in 5 minutes, 6.94 seconds.
Anderson County’s boys distance runners also had a big day as Cameron Hardy finished sixth in the boys 1,600 with a time of 4:28.57. John Cutler just missed the top 10, finishing 11th in 4:31.93.
“Cam broke 4:28 and I think he now has the second-fastest time in school history in the 1600,” Calhoun said.
Anderson County senior Clay Fletcher delivers a pitch during the Mavericks’ game against Seymour on Thursday night. The contest was cut short due to storms after Anderson County held its senior night recognition prior to first pitch. - Tony Cox
In its lone official game last week, the Anderson County High School baseball team posted an 11-7 victory over South-Doyle in South Knoxville on Wednesday, April 15.
The Mavericks (21-13) got offensive production throughout the lineup.
Leadoff hitter Nolan Benson had a hit and drove in two runs. Daniel Unthank went 1-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI.
Blake Lowe doubled, stole a base and drove in two runs, while Levi Skeen went 2-for-5 with a home run against the Cherokees. He had an RBI and scored twice.
Wil Ridenour doubled and scored a run. Jackson Harris had two hits and scored two runs, while Clay Fletcher singled and scored twice.
Anderson County had its senior night Thursday and honored nine players. The Mavericks played Seymour, but that game was rained out before it became official.
Clinton’s Saviah Stewart sprints a leg of the 4x100-meter relay at the South-Doyle Invitational on April 11. - Tony Cox
The Clinton High School track and field teams had their stay in North Knox County cut short late last week.
But a Lady Dragons junior still etched her name into the school record book Thursday before a meet at Knoxville Halls was halted by rain.
Junior sprinter Saviah Stewart broke a school record that had stood for more than a decade. Stewart posted a time of 12.98 seconds in the 100-meter dash, breaking the previous mark of 13.10.
“When we saw her running (in warm-ups), we knew that something special could happen,” Clinton Coach Tim Kumes said. “We asked her how she felt, and she said that she felt good.”
The rain-shortened meet cost some Clinton athletes an opportunity to lower their marks and times in their events.
“Any time you get the chance to compete, you have to make the most of it, especially this time of the year,” Kumes said. “We’re getting closer to the sectionals, and we’ll have some more opportunities.
“Unfortunately, we were about halfway through the meet when they called it. They were trying to move things up and go quicker, but we only got in about an hour and a half of the meet.”
Josie Moody hauls in a pass and turns upfield for extra yards as a Bearden defenders close in during Friday’s game. The play helped fuel Clinton’s 13-6 victory, which moved the Lady Dragons into first place in the league. - Tony Cox
The Clinton High School flag football team continued its dominance last week, and thanks to a big victory in a low-scoring game Friday night, the Lady Dragons enter this week perched atop the league standings.
Clinton took sole possession of first place with a 13-6 win over Bearden on Friday night as Addi Gamble scored a pair of touchdowns against the previously undefeated Lady Bulldogs.
Gamble had a 69-yard punt return for a score and was on the receiving end of a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lanee Carmichael.
“They’ve been undefeated all year and, of course, we have that one non-region loss,” Clinton Coach Brittany Siler said. “Bearden is a very good team, but our girls did what they had to do.
Anaya Witkowski looks to turn the corner after a takeaway during a recent game against South-Doyle. Witkowski returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown against Carter on Friday night, a play that likely set a state record, according to coach Jonathan Cotton. - Tony Cox
Anderson County High School’s flag football team will play for first place when it hosts Fulton tonight, April 22.
The Lady Mavericks’ game against the Lady Falcons begins at 7 p.m. at ACHS.
The game has been rescheduled twice, but it will be played tonight with the top spot in the standings hanging in the balance.
Anderson County earned the right to play for first place when it notched a 19-6 victory over Carter, which reached the state tournament last season.
“This was a big win for us,” Lady Mavericks Coach Jonathan Cotton said. “Carter was really stingy with its defense, and we identified them as one of the teams to beat.
Jeremy Gill is in the midst of building the softball program at Oak Ridge High School.
Now in his third year at the helm, Coach Gill has guided the Lady Wildcats to their most successful season in more than a decade.
Oak Ridge also had its best week in 11 years as it posted three wins, including a District 4-4A victory over McMinn County that clinched a season sweep of the Lady Cherokees.
After an 11-0 district loss to Lenoir City to open the week on Monday, April 13, the Lady Wildcats rebounded to win three consecutive games.
“The Lenoir City game got away from us early. Their leadoff hitter hit a home run,” Gill said. “But then, we won three in a row and we had a good week.
“I went back and looked, and this was the first time that Oak Ridge had won three in a row in 11 years. We’ve won eight games this year, and that’s the most Oak Ridge has won in 11 years. That’s what they had on MaxPreps.”
After losing to the Lady Panthers, the Lady Wildcats routed Midway, 13-1, on Tuesday, April 14.
A busy week ended with a split for the Oak Ridge High School baseball team, which played six games and won three.
The week started on a high note for the Wildcats as they swept a District 4-4A series from Rhea County.
In the series opener at home against the Golden Eagles, Oak Ridge posted a 5-0 victory as Mikee Teasley and Jaiden Cheaverton combined on a three-hit shutout.
Teasley started and pitched six innings. He allowed two hits and three walks while striking out 17. Cheaverton finished the game by pitching the seventh inning. He struck out two and gave up one hit.
Clinton Football Club suffered its second loss of the season last week, falling to Oak Ridge, 4-3, in a heartbreaking match.
Clinton defeated Oak Ridge, 7-3, in a friendly earlier this season.
“It was a heartbreaker,” CFC Coach Jake McMurray said. “You had two evenly matched teams out there, and we were going at it. It could’ve gone either way.
“It was a hard-fought match, and we played well. They had a really good goalkeeper, and he flipped the field on us.”
Juan Zorro scored twice for Clinton, and Samuel McMurray also found the back of the net for CFC, a team made up of student-athletes from Clinton Middle School.
“Oak Ridge and Gibbs are the two best teams in our league, and we lost to both of them,” coach McMurray said. “But we beat Oak Ridge in a friendly, and I’m really happy with our development.”
CFC played Karns on Monday, but results were unavailable at press time.
Behind a dominant outing from pitcher McKenna Gavin, the Clinton High School softball team secured at least a share of the District 4-AAA regular-season championship Tuesday night.
Clinton earned the milestone with a 6-0 victory over Union County at home on Tuesday, April 14.
Gavin tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out 10 in a commanding performance in the circle.
“McKenna is throwing well right now,” Clinton Coach Leonard Sams said.
Clinton finished with seven hits against the Lady Patriots. Mandy Chambers went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.
Norah Elliott doubled and drove in two runs, while Elizabeth Graham singled and scored a run. McKenley Osborne singled and drove in a run.
“That was a good game for us,” Sams said. “We’re playing really well right now.
“We’ll either be regular-season champs or we’ll be tied with Gibbs.”
On Thursday, the Lady Dragons fell to Unicoi County, 6-3, in a neutral-site game at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City.
The game was called after five innings because of rain.
“We were down, 6-3, when the rain got us and they called the game,” Sams said. “We’re hitting the ball really well right now.”
Sara Bishop went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run scored Thursday. Elliott tripled, scored and drove in a run. Chambers had two hits, including a double.
After a slow start, the Anderson County High School softball team left the diamond with a win on Tuesday, April 14.
The Lady Mavericks routed Kingston 18-6 on the road in five innings, overcoming an early 6-3 deficit. Anderson County scored three runs in the top of the first inning before the Lady Yellow Jackets answered in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 3.
Kingston later took a 6-3 lead in the second inning before the Lady Mavericks pulled away with 15 unanswered runs, including eight in the top of the third.
“We didn’t start well against Kingston,” Anderson County Coach Lindsey Verner said. “We had some errors that we shouldn’t have had.
