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10-11-2006 Sports LA loses Homecoming heartbreaker to Scott County
LA loses Homecoming heartbreaker to Scott County
Dewain E. Peek/OCN Sports By MAC McLEOD, OCN Sports Finally McCoin summed up the Wildcats' performance in one short sentence: Ò"All I can say is we just lost a game we should have won." Everything else considered, it was about all the coach could say, and he was right on the money. After trailing early then staging a strong comeback in the third period, the Wildcats stumbled in the final quarter and dropped a heartbreaking 20-23 Region 2-3A contest to a struggling Scott County team. The loss dropped the defending state champion Wildcats to 1-6 on the season, while Scott County moved one game above the .500 mark at 4-3. "We just made too many turnovers and mistakes," Coach McCoin later pointed out. "We were behind at the start of the third period, but we made the on-side kick work and scored. Then we scored again and went ahead. "Then we had a pass interception, a fumble, and a holding penalty, and we lost. It's hard to lose those kinds of games, especially when we should have won." Heading into the contest, the Wildcats figured to be at worst an even bet as the Highlanders, like Livingston Academy, were in the midst of a rebuilding season. On paper, it was one of the few region contests either team could figure on winning. And on the field, both teams played fairly evenly, except in the scoring department, and in the end, it was a fine 32-yard field goal by Eric Bowling into a strong wind, that was the difference. It was also another weak performance by the LA offense. Before a strong home crowd, the Wildcats again struggled moving the ball. On the ground, Livingston could manage only 151 yards on the ground and 88 through the air. That appears better than what's happened over the past few games, but on the ground, two runs of 65 and 38 yards accounted for 103 of that number. In the air, quarterback Levi Holt threw 24 times but only connected on seven, and two were picked off. On the other side of the ball, the Highlanders, led by the running of Josh Jeffers, rolled up 170 yards on the ground, and several of the runs were on critical third down situations when it appeared the Wildcats would hold and get the ball in good field position. Livingston started the game by fumbling on the third offensive play of the contest, giving the ball to the Highlanders at the 15. Two plays later, Jeffers ripped off the right side for the final 7 yards and Scott County was on top with just under 10 minutes left in the first period. The two teams then settled in for the remainder of the quarter. On the first play of the second frame, just when it appeared the visitors would score again, Holt tipped a Josh Terry pass in the endzone and Jordan Bailey pulled in the interception. But that only delayed the Highlanders' march. After stopping the next offensive series and forcing a Scott County punt, Holt's pass to Bailey was picked off by Jared Sexton and the defensive back raced 43 yards untouched for the score. Terry then connected with Joey Chambers for the 2-point conversion and put the visitors ahead 14-0. Then, just as it appeared the Wildcats may be in for another one-sided whipping, Steven Morgan took a Holt pitch on the first play of the ensuing series and raced 65 yards for Livingston's first score of the night. Blake Vaughn's point-after try failed, leaving the Wildcats on the short end of a 14-6 score. Livingston then added a strong drive late in the second period, but it came to a halt at the visitor's 25 when Bailey couldn't catch up with a Holt pass on a fourth down situation. Holt threw his second interception late in the first half, and with only 15 seconds remaining before halftime, Bowling nailed his 32-yard field goal, which would prove to be the wining points. Livingston trailed 6-17 at the intermission. The home team didn't fold its tent like in some previous outings, and started the second half with an on-side kick that was recovered for the Wildcats by Colton Hummel. On the very first play of the period, Holt ran an option to his right, found daylight and raced 39 yards for the score. A pass for 2 points failed, but the margin narrowed to 12-17. The Wildcats held on the next Scott County possession, then, aided by three penalties, LA marched 41 yards to the endzone for the go-ahead points. Morgan got his second touchdown of the night from a yard out, and Jamie Cravens grabbed a Holt pass for the 2-point conversion. For one of the few times this season, Livingston Academy was on top, this time 20-17. Then late in the final period, the Highlanders got back on a roll. The visitors picked up 4 first downs and chewed up 55 yards on the ground and 5 more through the air to score the winning touchdown from 6 yards out with only 2:15 left in the game. The point-after try was no good, and the Cats had one more chance to pick up a victory. A fumble and a pass interception in the final 2 minutes wiped out any hope of a win. Drew Cannon, who was one of the highlights in the Livingston effort, said, "They got most of the breaks and we couldn't do anything with the ones we got. "We've been beaten up some this year, but we still want to win, and a win in these next three games would go a long way to heal some of this season. Our next three games (Anderson County, Smith County, and Knoxville Fulton) will be as tough as any three we've played so far. So a win in that group would make us feel good. "It's not that we aren't trying, we just can't put it all together at the right time." This week the Wildcats travel to Anderson County, another tough Region 2-3A foe. It will take a season best performance to turn things around for the Wildcats. Coach McCoin said, "We keep getting after it, and it doesn't get any easier. We fight and fight, and then we sink, and that's hard to overcome." The Yardstick Score By Quarter Scoring
Lady Wildcats defeat Smith County
courtesy of Laurie Marshall By BETH UNDERWOOD, OCN Sports Both teams were scoreless in the first half, but Devin Thompson spurred LA's second-half scoring, heading in a cross from Mallie Stephens. "It was a pretty goal," said LA Soccer Coach Ethan King. "It was a great cross and header, and a nice effort by both girls." Heather Marshall tallied two goals of her own, followed by another combination from Stephens to Thompson. The combo paid off, posting the last goal of the game. "It was a back-and-forth game," Coach King added, "and one of the more exciting halves of soccer this season." Jackson County forfeited the Monday, Oct. 9 game to LA. Senior night pitted No. 1 Livingston Academy against No. 2 York Institute on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The Lady Wildcats will be in action again on Thursday, Oct. 12, when they travel to play Warren County High School in Spencer.
Cats move to district volleyball semifinals By DEWAIN E. PEEK, OCN Sports Having eclipsed 700 during this season, LA Volleyball Coach Merl Smith's win total reached 705 with the Cannon County victory. A semifinal win would guarantee the Cats a berth in the regional tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Coach Smith said before the district tournament began, "The semifinal match is the big match. If we can get to that, we've got to take that one." The Cats had finished the season with strong workouts against non-district opponents White County and Stone Memorial. White County visited Livingston Academy on Monday, Oct. 2 and defeated the home team 25-22, 28-26, and 25-19. "We had some good close matches," Coach Smith said. "We played decent, but White County is good. They have middle blockers who are really good." The following night, LA hosted Stone Memorial. "We had some real good matches with them," Coach Smith said Stone Memorial won 25-22 and 25-23, then LA won 25-17, but the Crossville team came back to win the deciding game 25-21. "We played well in those matches" Coach Smith said. "We just couldn't finish a couple of them out." The coach was pleased with winning a game against Stone Memorial. "We took a game off of them. We hadn't been able to do that all year," he said. "Jada Ledbetter played extremely well on the net, blocking and hitting. "And Alison West had a great game," he added. "She played the court very well and had some good blocks."
Jr. Cats win 16-0 over Fentress County
Kassie Hunley/OCN Sports Thanks to an outstanding defensive performance, Overton County Jr. Wildcats ended their regular season with a 16-0 win over Fentress County at home on Thursday, Oct. 5 With the Jr. Wildcats' offense managing only 79 yards, the defense stepped up by pitching their fifth shutout of the season. The Jr. Wildcats finished the regular season at 6-3. Individual Statistics Passing (Comp.-Atts.-Yds.-Int.) Lead Rushers (Carries-Yds.-TDs) Lead Tacklers
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