Cosby crowns homecoming Queen: By Russell Laws Newport Plain Talk
Congratulations to sophomore Karrie Bowman, who was crowned Cosby Homecoming Queen on Friday night during halftime festivities. Karrie is the daughter of Barry and Kristy Nease, and was escorted by her father, Barry Nease. Nikki Crowe was named Senior Princess, while Cara Asbell was named Junior Princess, Whitney Black was named Sophomore Princess and Ashley Diluigi was named Freshman Princess.
Coach Tyler Shelton’s milestone: By Paul Meador Newport Plain Talk
COSBY-It was October 2005. I was newly hired by The Newport Plain Talk, and my first assignment was covering the Cosby football team’s final regular season game.
Earlier in the week, I ventured to Raymond Large Field to introduce myself to Eagles head coach Tyler Shelton. We shook hands, but most of the conversation was with my sidekick Seth Butler.
Friday night came, and I was ready to go. With camera and notebook in hand, and press pass properly displayed, I made it to the sideline to take my place with the Cosby football team. On the opening kickoff, the Eagles Cody Lowe snatched the ball from the air, and headed straight toward the Cosby sideline. Cody was headed straight toward me, and I had him in my camera sights, clicking off the pictures. But, I forgot to get out of the way. Cody took me out, my body, my camera and my notebook sprawled on the sideline. The next thing I remember is someone grabbing my arm and lifting me up. It was coach Shelton.
“You all right?” coach Shelton asked while making sure I was steady on my feet. “Yes sir,” I responded. And, with a slap on my back, coach Shelton said, “Good. Let’s get back to work.”
And back to work the Eagles did. After starting 0-3, the Eagles came back to make it a 6-4 season, Tyler Shelton’s first season as head coach of the Eagles. And, the Eagles advanced to the playoffs, only to lose to Harriman by a single point in the first round at Harriman.
Fast forward to the present, and coach Shelton vacuuming his office. His 2008 squad stands at 5-0 and is ranked 7th in the state in Class 1A. But, two games prior to his showdown with Chuckey-Doak on homecoming night for the Eagles this past Friday, coach Shelton reached a milestone. He became the winningest coach in Cosby football history with the Eagles victory over Cloudland on September 6. The victory put coach Shelton’s overall record at 20-15, surpassing Dr. Duran Williams 19 victories as the programs first head coach when it began in 1990. Dr. Williams was head coach from 1990-1994, and finished with an overall record of 19-29. Dr. Williams was followed by Wayne Stiles (1995-1999, 17-35), Randy Sturgill (2001-2002, 3-16) and Darrell Miller (2003-2004, 2-19). And, when this season is complete, and next season begins, Shelton will become the longest tenured coach in Cosby football history. And, let’s not forget, Shelton is a Cosby graduate.
“Well, I arrived late,” said coach Shelton. “I had been attending a private Christian school, but I really wanted to play basketball. My dad finally agreed to let me come to Cosby.”
But, things didn’t work out on the court.
“I got cut,” said coach Shelton. “I made it to the final cut, but didn’t make the team. But, my good friend Kevin (Hall) talked me into coming out for football. Kevin was a great football player, so I agreed, and that was that.”
Hall was named All-Region in both 1992 and 1993. With graduation in site, the two good friends were looking to their future.
“I had originally though about going to a small Christian college in Nashville to play basketball,” said coach Shelton. “But, Kevin and I went to a career day at Cocke County High School, and saw the Tusculum College booth. We asked the woman there if Tusculum had a football team. She told us that they did, and that the football program was about three or four years old. Kevin and I looked at each other, and both of us agreed that this would be a chance for us to play since the program was so young. So, off we went to Tusculum to play football.”
But, unknowing to Shelton, things were about to change, rather quickly.
“Our freshman year,” said coach Shelton, “Kevin had some shoulder problems, or so we thought. At first, trainers thought it was stingers, but they decided to do some more tests. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in the dorm room when Kevin came back from getting the results of those tests. He didn’t say anything, he just shook his head no. It turned out he had some spinal problems, and that was it for playing football. It broke my heart. I was in tears because my best friend couldn’t play any more and it was just me without him.”
There would be some more changes.
“As it turned out, Tusculum went D-II, “said coach Shelton, “and suddenly all of these studs started arriving on campus. For the next three years, I was basically a tackling dummy. But, I was a student of the game, and I spent my time on the sideline listening to the coaches call offensive plays and defensive schemes. I was really trying to learn the game.”
And, there would be some changes to his education plans.
“I was majoring in Sports Management and Athletic Training,” said coach Shelton. “But, one of my professors asked me one day if I would be interested in teaching. I really wasn’t interested, but she persuaded me to take an education class to see what I thought, and I was hooked. That’s when I decided to become a teacher, and to be a coach.”
After graduation, it was back to Cocke County.
“I had only submitted two resumes,” said coach Shelton, “to both Cosby and Cocke County. I started out as an aid at Edgemont Elementary School, then Special Education at Cocke County High School. Eventually, I got a countywide Physical Education position, and was roaming between Del Rio, Grassy Fork, and around. As for coaching, I got on as an assistant at Cocke County, helping with the middle school, freshmen and varsity. That was 1999. In 2001, Dr. Duran Williams called and asked if I would like to come to Cosby. So, I went over and became an assistant to Randy Sturgill, who had just taken over the program. We had a good staff, along with Joe Bell, Gary Carver and Trey Youngblood.”
After two seasons, coach Shelton received an offer.
“Coach Sturgill was leaving,” said coach Shelton, “and Dr. Williams wanted to know if I wanted the job. I’ll tell you the truth, it was enticing, but I was not ready to be a head coach. So, I turned it down, and that’s when Darrell Miller took over.”
Two years after that, Miller decided he wanted out of coaching to spend more time on his real estate business. And, the offer came again.
“It was offered again,” said coach Shelton. “This time, I took it. I felt I was ready and was up to the challenge.”
So, prior to the start of his first season at the helm in 2005, coach Shelton had to form his coaching staff.
“Kevin was first,” said coach Shelton.” “Kevin knew offenses, and we were close friends, so that was an easy one. We both talked about hiring a defensive coordinator, and Kevin’s brother-in-law, Johnny Yoakum immediately came to mind. But, Johnny was embedded at Pigeon Forge and really didn’t want to leave. So, basically that first year, it was Kevin and I running the show, Kevin with the offense and me with the defense. The next year, though, things weren’t working out for Johnny at Pigeon Forge like he had planned, so he agreed to come on board. And, that’s where we’re at now.
It’s obvious by watching practices, plying the sidelines on Friday nights, and being around them, that these guys are close.
“We are close,” said coach Shelton. “We’re like family, but I’ve got to constantly keep track of them. Kevin and Johnny get together with family on Sundays, watch football games, and come up with these schemes for our football team. They’ll come in on Monday and start firing off all of these things they devised on Sundays. And, I’ll tell them to hold on, let’s see what it looks like on the football field. We’re all motivated (if you don’t believe that, watch them play on the golf course together), and we love the game, we love what we’re doing.”
In Shelton’s second season, the Eagles nearly ran the table, going 9-1 during the regular season, but falling to Midway in the opening round of the playoffs.
The third season was a trying one for coach Shelton. The Eagles couldn’t catch a break or a call, finishing 2-8 and out of the playoffs.
But, for coach Shelton’s fourth season, the current season, the Eagles are back with a vengeance. Currently 6-0 as of this writing, and ranked 7th in the state in Class 1A.
“Every team is different,” said coach Shelton. “They each have their own personality. It’s our job as coaches to evaluate each player, and devise schemes that play to their strengths, to give them an opportunity to succeed. I believe my coaching staff does that week in and week out. We first make sure we are conditioned properly, so that no team beats us in the fourth quarter. And then we develop good game plans each and every week so that our guys are the best-prepared team on the field. The team we have on the field this season is special in that they have bought into our coaches, they have a strong work ethic, and they play as a team, not as individuals. You can’t ask for much more from a coach than that.”
So, it’s no wonder that the coach is smiling these days. But, coach Shelton doesn’t take that success lightly.
“First, and foremost, I attribute all of our blessings to God,” said coach Shelton. He is the reason I’m here, he is the reason for my successes. Second, I couldn’t do this without my wife (Stephanie). She’s always there for me, through good or bad times. She is so special to me. Third, my coaches. I have the best staff, second to none. And fourth, for my school, for putting their faith in me, and for allowing me to do the best job I can do.”
As our interview winds down, it’s obvious how close coach Shelton gets with his players. He remembers them all, and they remember him. Actually, many of his former players call on a regular basis, rather it be for a little pep talk, or for advice.
“It’s all about the players,” said coach Shelton. “That’s why we do this. There’s nothing more special to see them succeed both on and off the football field. And, it’s always a pleasure when my phone rings and it’s a former player. It’s part of what makes my job special.”
And, he’s right at home.
“It’s where I want to be right now,” said coach Shelton. “Coming back to coach at the high school you played at and graduated from is special. I love this school, and I love this job. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Patriots rip Fighting Cocks: By Seth Butler Newport Plain Talk
DANDRIDGE-What was one of East Tennessee’s fiercest rivalries, turned into a lopsided thrashing on Friday night.
The second installment after the renewal of the rivalry between Jefferson County and Cocke County was the most lopsided game in the 32-game history of the series.
Another patented slow start by the Fighting Cocks led to a 27-point first quarter explosion which propelled the Jefferson County Patriots (3-3) to an easy 54-0 win over Cocke County (0-5) on Friday night at Leroy Shannon Field.
That 27-point first quarter was interrupted by a 30-minute delay due to a lighting malfunction, which seemed to be an omen for the rest of the night for the Fighting Cocks.
“It was a very dreary night and kind of dark over in Dumplin Valley for a little while,” Cocke County first-year coach Casey Kelley said on WLIK’s Player of the Week show. “And there was not a lot of light from our side of it.
“We showed up, played a football game and we came back home,” Kelley said.
The Patriots dominated every phase of the game, throttling an already weary and worn Fighting Cocks team besieged by injuries, defections and a battered mentality halfway through the season. Cocke County had a light week of practice the past week due to those factors and appeared ill prepared to offer any type of defense to Jefferson County’s attack as they jumped on Cocke County 20-0 six minutes into the game.
“One of the keys to victory for us was to look up at the scoreboard halfway thru the first quarter and be able to say that nothing bad has happened to us yet tonight,” Kelley said. “We’ve not beat ourselves with a turnover, a special teams blunder, their offense is moving and our defense is not stopping them.
“When I looked at the scoreboard with six minutes left in the quarter, Jefferson County had 20, we had nothing, and all those factors had happened,” Kelley said.
Will Brooks and Brad Mason continued the successful string opponents have had against the Fighting Cocks this season, scoring five of their team’s six touchdowns before the intermission.
Brooks, who was the only regular member of the Patriots’ offensive backfield active in Friday’s game, ran for three of his four scores in the first half and eventually tallied 176 yards on only 10 carries. The Jefferson County back had gaping holes to run through all night long, and ran untouched to the end zone on all four touchdowns.
The linebackers and secondary provided little to no resistance to any Patriots player who made it into the second and third levels of the Cocke County defense.
Brooks posted his first touchdown on the game’s first play, marking the second consecutive game an opponent has posted seven points just seconds into the game.
“They come out in a double-tight formation and we jumped to our five-man front defense,” Kelley said, noting when Cocke County goes to a five-man front they roll a defensive back or linebacker down to the line of scrimmage. “Their tight end got a good block to seal our defensive end and allowed the running back to scrape off the tight ends block.
“With a 5-3 defense we don’t have an extra defensive back to come in and fill that outside running alley,” Kelley said.
Mason had three punt returns for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the half, before the Fighting Cocks kicked every other punt out of bounds. Mason had clear running room
with very little white Cocke County jerseys in the vicinity on each of his three returns.
“During our game plan this week, we didn’t want to kick it to them because we saw on film with a couple of blocks he could spring it and bounce and go all the way back with it,” Kelley said. “The whole intent with our punt team was to get an angled kick and pin them to the sideline.
“With the first couple of kicks we got off, we were lucky to first couple of kicks off and we put down the field went straight down the field and that wasn’t how we wanted our punt team to set up,” Kelley said.
The Patriots scored early, often and quickly throughout the game. Jefferson County had only one scoring drive going more than three plays as four of six Patriot touchdowns on offense came on plays of longer than 40 yards. The remaining two touchdowns came via special teams.
Jefferson County’s defense also did their job as they out gained Cocke County 291-81 on the night. The game was the third of five contests in which the Fighting Cocks failed to crack the 100-yard mark this season.
Cocke County’s offensive woes that have stemmed back to the preseason continued to grow as the Fighting Cocks punted on 8 of their 11 possessions in the game. The other three possessions ended with a lost fumble, a turnover on downs and the end of the game.
All of Cocke County’s 81 yards of offense came on 36 carries, as the Fighting Cocks were 0-of-12 passing. Conversely, the Patriots were 0-of-3 passing as both teams struggled with the rainy conditions.
Cocke County’s offense was disrupted by the loss of their starting running backs Jordan Keller and William Carmichael, both of whom are expected to miss next week’s game.
“We came out and our game plan got thrown out the window and we had to piece things together and it made for a long night for us,” Kelley said, citing the injury to Keller on the game’s third play from scrimmage.
Keller and Carmichael were joined on the doubtful list for next week, along with Casey Jones and Jason Collins, stretching an already thin Cocke County team to its limits.
The Patriots gained their 291 yards on only 27 snaps, averaging 10.8 yards per play, equating to an average of a first down on every play from scrimmage.
Those averages allowed the Patriots to hold a 40-0 halftime lead on the strength of Brooks’ and Mason’s touchdowns and a 10-yard Will Darby run at the 1:57 mark of the first quarter.
Darby’s touchdown was the fourth of the game in the first 10 minutes of the game. Even a 30-minute delay due to a light malfunction did little to slow down the Patriots in the midst of their second offensive drive of the night.
The Patriots took advantage of excellent first quarter field position to secure their early first quarter lead. Jefferson County did not run an offensive play in their own territory in the quarter and when the quarter had ended they had 27 points to go along with only 98 yards of total offense.
Jefferson County added a pair of second half scores to continue to pile on the points.
Brooks ran untouched on a 58-yard run on the second series of the half for the Patriots, pushing the lead to 47. Hunter Gentry scored on a 52-yard run with 7:27 remaining in the game for the final margin of victory.
Cocke County must regroup for the second half of the season, which features five consecutive Five Rivers Conference games to conclude the season. The Fighting Cocks begin that stretch by hosting Daniel Boone at Hedrick Field on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Kelley said the team still has a chance to accomplish the goals it set out at the beginning of fall camp in August.
“We have five football games left, five conference games left, Kelley said. “We have a chance to achieve the goals we set for this team at the beginning of the season by putting a productive team on the field and going out and surprising people.
“Five more conference games, that could be five conference victories and we walk in second and third in the conference at the end of the season and representing our school in the playoffs,” Kelley said. “There are still attainable goals here, (but) we’re going to have to work our butts off and have a lot of good luck happen to us.”
In order for those things to happen, the Fighting Cocks must hit the practice field and attempt to climb out of the cellar of the Five Rivers Conference standings.
“Right now we’re the dog of the conference, we’re last and everyone has given up on us,” Kelley said. “I’ve not given up on this team, these players have not given up on themselves yet and they’re not going to.”
C.C.H.S Golf Team Heads To Tourney 9-23-08
Cocke County linksters were all smiles Monday afternoon after qualifying for
the Region 1-AAA Tournament. Front row, from left, are the Lady Red’s
Victoria Barrett, Whitney Ball and Lexi Clevenger. Back row, from left, are
the Big Red’s Jacob Quinton, Zach Briggs, Luke Ottinger, Jake Shelton,
Trevor Marshall and Chase Atkins, who is 1st Alternate.
High School Sports- Video: Gibson gets the edge September 7, 2010
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