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Archives
08-28-2002
Schedules
LA Wildcats succumb to Cumberland County Jets By ASHLEY HUNTER, OCN staff
Amanda Harris Sports Photography Livingston Academy's Wildcats breakthrough to mark the start of the 2002 football season Friday night, Aug. 24 at Cumberland County High School.
The Livingston Academy Wildcat football team kicked off the new season last Friday with a big loss to Cumberland County High School's Jets. The game was a David vs. Goliath affair, except in this particular story, David loses to several 300-pound lineman and a guy that had never picked up a football until a year ago. LA Head Coach Matt Eldridge said of LA's performance, "We were just a little outmatched. They pretty much ran at us and over the top of us. "We did some things pretty well. We moved the ball well, but we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us." The game started rather slowly with no offensive output from either team. Then, with 3:15 to go in the first quarter, Cumberland County got on the board with the first of many touchdowns ran in by Isaac Ostrander, a boy who had never played football until last year. Their kicker's extra point attempt was successful and the Jets flew ahead, 7-0. When LA got the ball on the next possession, they managed to turn the game around. Whitney Coleman converted on a 3rd down and gave LA the yardage needed to pick up the 1st down. They picked up 3 yards on the next play before the end of the first quarter. The Cats started off the second quarter with a bang. They continued to play good football and managed a beautiful 4th down play. Lance Holland jumped up between two defenders, and LA quarterback Wilson Cates hit him with a good pass. New Wildcat kicker Wesley Puckett's extra point attempt was unsuccessful and the score stood at 7-6. Neither team was able to convert anything offensively until the last few minutes of the half when Cumberland County missed a field goal and LA got possession of the ball, and then turned it over. The Jets used this to their advantage and promptly scored another touchdown. The extra point attempt was once again successful and the Jets went up, 14-6. LA was unable to do anything with their next offensive set, and when the Jets got the football, they gave it to their bread-and-butter man, Ostrander, who promptly sprinted 31 yards for a touchdown. The kick was good and the Jets were far ahead, 21-6. LA then turned the ball over to Jet Alex Reed. The Jets then did it again. Ostrander ran it in for yet another touchdown. Hot-footed Cumberland County kicker Patterson kicked yet another extra point and the lead increased to 22, at 28-6. The third quarter started off with an unsuccessful Jets play. When LA got possession of the ball, but they lost it. This time, Ostrander ran 47 yards for the score. Cumberland County then went up, 35-6. After that, the Wildcats held onto the ball for quite awhile, but were unable to convert a touchdown thanks to the Jets' very heavy defensive line. When the Jets got the ball back, Ostrander ran 91 yards for yet another touchdown, putting more frequent flyer miles on the Jets and giving them a 42-6 advantage. LA finally managed to get another score on the opening possession of the fourth quarter with a short pass from Wilson Cates to new LA standout Joe Nigro for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion was unsuccessful. On Cumberland County's next possession, they, quite predictably, scored again and the extra point was again good. This made for a 49-12 win for the Jets. Statistically, Cumberland County had 365 yards of total offense. 333 of these yards were on the ground, 29 were passing yards. Isaac Ostrander led the team in yards rushing. He ran for 185 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. Jackie Witt had 56 yards on a single carry. He was followed by Josh Davis with 42 yards and Heath Blaylock with 38 yards. Jet QB Scott Winningham was 3 of 7. Livingston Academy rushed for 110 yards. Brian Colson led the team with 47 yards. Marco Lisi ran for 21 yards. Jamey Vaughn and Wilson Cates had 19 and 14 yards, respectively. Whitney Coleman ran for 8 yards and Joe Nigro had a yard. LA picked up 12 1st downs and had 3 turnovers. At quarterback, Cates was 15 of 30, with 2 touchdown passes. Lance Holland had 7 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Joe Nigro had 4 catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Matt Simcox had 2 catches for 25 yards. Eric Huddleston had one catch for 23 yards, and Brian Colson had one catch for 7 yards. This Friday, Aug. 30, LA travels to the Nashville area to play Donelson Christian Academy. Coach Eldridge said of next week's foe, "They have several big kids. They are well-skilled. They have a couple of really good athletes. It's not really power football they play, just more finesse. "In order to do well in this game and our future games, we have to just keep working and try to get better on both sides of the ball. We are just trying to learn more from week to week and become a more experienced team."
Junior Wildcats set to kick off 2002 season By KEVIN BURMEISTER, OCN staff
Kevin Burmeister/OCN staff Members of the 2002 Overton County Junior Wildcats are, front row from left, John Lucas White, Jordan Bailey, Alan Redd, James Williams, Josh Carwile, Levi Holt, Justin Owens, Brad Jolley, Ryan Harris, Joey Green, Steven Morgan, Jamie Cravens, Johnathan Sullivan, second row from left, Paul Daniels, Michael Breeding, C.J. McCraney, David Bell, Robert Perdue, Curtis Beaty, Lucas Holt, Dustin Looper, Robbie Ledbetter, Gary Massengille, John Cody, Cody Atkins, Brandon Roberts, back row from left, Jordan Everley, Josh Coffee, Jacob Collins, Jacob Reeder, Ryan Bowman, Derrik Browning, Robert Holt, John Willeford, Nick Aytes, Brad Pendergraft, Tyler Watkins, Marc Peek, John Michael Stephens, and Rusty Hammock.
Junior Wildcat Head Football Coach Terry Melton is ready to implement
his strategies for football as well as his strategy for life into
his young players for this year's fast-approaching season. "Football is about the way we have to live," Coach Melton said. "It's just about life. We have our ups and downs, we have wins and losses. You know, there are some days where we are going to get up every morning and everything is just great, and other days, things are going to go wrong. "That's the way football is. I think that's one of the things I want the kids to understand Ð that everything is not going to be just right." Coach Melton believes his players are committed to playing their best throughout the season, and are ready to contribute to the team's success. "They're all really interested in playing, practicing, and hopefully, winning too," he said. Coach Melton holds especially high expectations for two of his most capable players. "We don't have a really, really outstanding player," he said, "but we've got some kids that will have to stand up and be accounted for. They're gonna have to step it up. One being Levi Holt, our quarterback. We'll put a lot of pressure and depend on him a lot." Melton later emphasized the importance of the play of Holt, and fellow second-year player, Jacob Reeder. "Those two are gonna have to step up and make a commitment, and they have. If we go anywhere, it's going to be because of those players." The Junior Wildcat season is slated to begin Thursday, Sept. 5, with a home contest against Monroe County, KY. Outlaws defeat Clay County Cardinals Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff
Junior Outlaws quarterback Kyle Lee yells out the play call during Saturday's win over Clay County's Cardinals.
Overton County's Junior Outlaws racked up their second win of the season with a 19-0 shutout of the Clay County Cardinals on Saturday, Aug. 24. The Outlaws overcame a sloppy offense during the first half by playing rock solid defense. The first quarter was scoreless with each team's defenses dominating the other's offense. Junior Outlaws were able to crack the scoreboard late in the second quarter after a Clay County fumble was recovered by Hunter Garrett. Later on, after two plays, they scored on a 7-yard run on a reverse by flanker Paxton Eldridge. The conversion failed, making the score at halftime 6-0 Outlaws. The Outlaws next touchdown came midway through the third quarter after another fumble by Clay County. The touchdown was made by Kyle Lee from 4 yards out. The conversion was run in by Paul Daniels, making the score 13-0 Outlaws. The Jr. Outlaws final touchdown came in the fourth quarter after yet another fumble by Clay County. The touchdown was a 4-yard run by Lucas Dailey making the final
score 19-0 Jr. Outlaws. Rushing (Atts.-Yds.) Passing (Comp.-Atts.-Yds.-TDs-Int.) Tackles Interceptions Senior Outlaws The Senior Outlaws notched their second win of the season with a convincing 29-2 victory over the Clay County Cardinals Saturday, Aug. 24. The Outlaws were in total control from the outset as they got equally impressive performances from both the offense and defense, and it was the second straight game that the Outlaw defense did not give up a point. The offense, which struggled a week ago, kicked it up a notch in this week's win. The Senior Outlaws scored their first touchdown midway through the first quarter on a 22-yard halfback pass from tailback Justin Poston to flanker Hayden Hill. Poston ran in the conversion giving the Outlaws a 7-0 lead. After an exchange of punts, the Outlaws scored early in the second quarter on a 19-yard run by Cody Brewer. The conversion was good on a pass from Brannon McCoin to Hill making the score 15-0 Outlaws. The Outlaws scored on the last play of the first half when Ethan McDonald made a brilliant reverse run covering 66 yards. At halftime the score stood at 21-0 Outlaws. The Outlaws scored on their first possession of the second half after an excellent kick return by Poston set them up on the Cardinals' 46 yard line. The 46 yards were covered in four plays with the touchdown coming on a 22-yard run by McDonald. The Cardinals recovered a safety late in the fourth quarter for their only points. The Outlaws will travel to Carthage Saturday, Aug. 31. Senior Outlaws Rushing (Atts.-Yds.) Passing (Comp.-Atts.-Yds.-TDs-Int.) Receiving (Atts.-Yds.) Tackles Fumbles Rec. Interceptions
Lady Wildcat soccer
off to blazing start By LYNDON JOHNSON, OCN staff The Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats soccer season kicked off with a bang this past week with the team winning two games. On Monday, Aug. 19, the Cats took on the Owlettes of Smith County and won by a rather large margin of 11-0. Livingston Academy Soccer Coach Ethan King said, "This is their (Smith County's) first year in the conference and as a team, so they're going through the difficulties that every team has: growing pains, learning the rules, what it takes to win." Leading the team in goals was Kasey Baltimore with the hat trick, followed by Daniel Thrasher with two goals, and Christen Cates, Tabatha Crabtree, Sarah Jowers, and Allison Medley with one apiece. Of junior player Sarah Jowers, Coach King said, "This was her first goal. She usually plays goalie, but during the second half, I let her get out on the field and put my freshman goalkeeper (Jessica McDonald) in to let her experience playing some goal." The team then moved on the next day to play White County's Warriors. "They've always been very big rivals," King said. "We played them twice in our (pre-season) jamboree and beat them both times 1-0, but they were very close matches." The Cats went into the game thinking it would be no easy task to pull out a win. Fortunately for the girls, the Warriorettes seemed to have trouble with their defense. "They had a lapse or two in their defense,Ó Coach King said. And boy, did the Lady Cats capitalize. They took the game 7-1 in the end, but not without first suffering an injury. Junior player Jessica Smith fell and suffered a mild concussion. The game's first goal came from sophomore player MaryFaye Maynord, and was her first goal as well. Katrina Marshall and Ferran Stephens led in scoring with two apiece, and Daniel Thrasher and Kasey Baltimore scored one apiece. The game was not to be a shutout, though, with the Warriorettes scoring a goal during gameplay. Coach King said, "The girls got very aggressive and made a lot of goals, which is always nice to see." After hosting Boyd Christian Academy on Tuesday, Aug. 27, the Lady Cats will travel to Cumberland County to play the Lady Jets on Thursday, Aug. 29. Livingston Academy students get in free at all home soccer games, and they will have a great opportunity to use it for the Lady Cats' game Tuesday, Sept. 3 against Scott County.
Wildcat golfers win, remain untarnished By KEVIN BURMEISTER, OCN staff Livingston Academy Wildcat golfers hosted Clarkrange High School, York Institute, and Pickett County at Hidden Valley on Monday, Aug. 19. The Cats came out with momentum on their side, thanks to their spotless team record. They topped all three of their opponents, winning with 155 strokes. Clarkrange came in second with 159 shots, followed by Pickett County's 163, and 175 by York. Tuesday's match featured the same cast in a different scene, as LA took on Clarkrange, York, and Pickett County at the Mountain View course in Jamestown. The game's ending proved to turn out the same as well, with the Cats mowing down their adversaries, riding on an impressive 152 stroke count. York finished at 7 shots back, while Pickett County and Clarkrange both posted a mark of 163 shots. Wildcats Golf Coach Elizabeth Woodard was very pleased with the results of Tuesday after-noon's contest. "We still had some real good scores,Ó she said, "and if you've ever been to Mountain View, Mountain View's a hard course to play. And they did good, so I'm very proud of them for that. They did real good at Mountain View." After a day's rest, the Cats came back to the links on Thursday for a game against Jackson County, Celina, and Monterey at Cumberland Bend. Livingston once again proved to be the best team on the green, as they staved off Monterey by a single stroke, winning the match with a score of 163. The Blue Devils and Bulldogs both failed to put up the necessary numbers to bring down either of the Wildcats, as they took 172 and180 strokes respectively. Coach Woodard has been very satisfied with the outstanding play of senior Charles Hammer and junior Eddie Sells. "They're both playing great for us right now, they're good kids and they're consistency is getting better. "If you've got a senior that will step up and lead by example, that's half the battle,Ó she later said of Hammer, the team's only senior. The week's three wins added to LA's already dominating record, bringing the Cats to a 14-0 overall mark. After two home matches against Pickett County and Upperman High School on Monday, Aug. 26, LA will take on Smith County, Clarkrange, and Pickett County on Thursday, Aug. 29, then travel to Ironwood to play against Upperman, Smith County, and Clarkrange.
LA district play begins with Jackson Co. By Becky Meredith, OCN staff
Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff Making up the 2002 volleyball team at Livingston Academy are, front row from left, Mallory Sells, #33, Natashia Melton, #15, Althea Allred, #4, back row, Kristin Hoover, #34, April Handy, #23, Krista Clinard, #40, Katrina Beechboard, #3, Megan Thompson, #11, Rachel Ramsey, #24, Kelly Thurman, #54, and Aspen Allen, #12.
The Livingston Academy volleyball team showed who was boss last week at their season opener in Crossville. The Lady Cats were set to play Cumberland County's Lady Jets and the Lady Lions of Woodbury on Tuesday, only the latter forfeited with a no-show. Coach Merl Smith reported, "We played Cumberland County and defeated them 15-1, 15-7. We played real well." LA's home schedule opened last Thursday against Jackson County's Lady Blue Devils and Cookeville. "Jackson County has a really good team," Coach Smith said matter-of-factly. "They've got all their players back from last year." The Gainesboro team defeated the Lady Cats with a 15-10, 15-10 match. "We didn't play extremely well, and they did a good job,Ó he stressed. The Livingston girls did show more umph in the match against Cookeville's Lady Cavaliers. "We came back and played with a lot more enthusiasm against Cookeville. We defeated them 15-8, 15-9." The next stop for the Lady Cats was the White County Tournament over the weekend, where they were pooled with Gallatin, Goodpasture, and Van Buren on Friday. Gallatin was first in line for the Lady Cats. They proved to be tough for LA, claiming a 15-8, 15-11 win. Goodpasture's Lady Cougars, out of Madison, played against LA next. The Lady Cougars overcame Livingston 15-8 in the first game. Livingston bounced back with a 16-14 win in the second segment of the match. "We started playing well right there. We came back from 14-4 and beat them 16-14. That's our biggest comeback we've had in a while,Ó Coach Smith said. The Lady Cats, however, couldn't maintain in the third round, trailing by 7 points when Goodpasture claimed the game. Van Buren's team was a different story. LA was up and at Ôem when they faced the Lady Eagles. Livingston took the victory with a 15-5 and 15-13 match, thus putting LA into a different pool for Saturday's games. "On Saturday, we played Portland first and they're in our region,Ó Coach Smith said. "We played probably about as well as we possibly can play." Although the Lady Panthers have a good setup where the team's concerned, they succumbed to LA's 15-5, 15-13 win. LA then faced Glencliff High School of Nashville, a team Coach Smith considers a powerhouse. "They always have a really good team," he praised. Coach Smith did credit his team, even though they got pounded. "They beat us 15-8, 15-11, but I was really happy with our play." Whitwell's team battled LA next, but the Lady Tigers relinquished to the Lady Cats in a 15-10, 15-8 go-around. Although the Lady Cats dominated the court, the coach wasn't content with their performance. "We didn't play very well; we missed too many serves. We just didn't play with any enthusiasm. But we were getting a little tired, I guess." The win over Whitwell seeded Livingston 6th out of 13 teams in the tournament, lining LA up again with Goodpasture, the number 3 team at that point. "They hadn't lost a match when we played them again, and they beat us 15-5, 15-1. I was quite disappointed in that game, that we didn't play with enthusiasm, and didn't live up to the challenge. We should have, I thought, played a little harder and we didn't do that. "We've got to learn to accept the challenge in tough situations, and it was a tough situation because we had already played six matches, and we were tired and it was hot. But the other team had the same conditions we did, and they accepted the challenge." LA used the tournament, though, to analyze their own faults, as well as their opponents'. "We knew from that tournament up there what we need to do,Ó Coach Smith said. "Our passing was a little bit better than I thought it was, but we still can improve on that. I thought we were a good serving team, then we went into a slump serving a little bit. But I'm not too worried about the serving;ÊI think it will come and be more consistent. We've got to be a lot more consistent with everything we do. "I mean, we might make a super play by having a good pass and a good set, then hit the ball out of bounds, and we just can't do that. We've got to consistently be a lot better. So that's what we're looking for." The best remedy for LA's weak points is time and practice, but after all, the girls are only in their second week of play, and they've already competed in 11 matches. "We've got a long way to go, and I don't really want them to peak right now, I want them to peak in about four or five more weeks,Ó Coach Smith explained. As far as LA's improvement in the past week, "We look some better,Ó Coach Smith informed OCN. "Katrina Beechboard, when she was hitting, we were getting the ball to her and she was killing. They can't stop her when she's on. Kelly Thurman played well in the middle. Thea Allred did a good job. Megan (Thompson) played steady the entire day. She's our setter and hardly ever misses a serve. We just played steady, nothing fabulous, but played steady. "We're just, you know, getting a few girls more consistent, and then that will help the team, too. "The main thing is, it seemed like when we started doing something wrong, it was very contagious Ð that if one girl was doing something wrong, the other girls fell right in there. So we need to get that girl not doing the wrong thing, then everybody doing the right thing, then it will be contagious that way, too. "It seems like when we got down, everybody was down." Although Tuesday night's results were not available in action against Upperman's Lady Bees and Smith County's Lady Owls, Coach Smith expected on Monday that the teams would hold their own. Van Buren's Lady Eagles will host LA and Friendship Christian School on Thursday night. The coach expects Van Buren to show their teeth in the away play. "We played them (at the tournament), and they're real scrappy. They pass the ball well. They don't hit extremely well, but they are hard to get the ball down on." Coach Smith has also witnessed the power of Friendship this year, and he believes the team will put up a fight Thursday. "I think maybe they lost a couple girls from last year," he said. "But I know in the Gallatin camp, they played some tough competition there. "So we're expecting all we can handle this week," he added.
Overton County News
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