Cosby sweeps in District openers
CLINCH-Both teams were coming off losses and needed a boost. Both the Cosby Eagles and Lady Eagles found it tough going Tuesday night in their home opener against Gatlinburg-Pittman. The Lady Eagles, especially, have had some tough times in their first three games of the season, and really needed a victory for some confidence.
Cosby reaps rewards following stellar season
COSBY-It was certainly a football season to remember. The Eagles rebounded from a 2-8 season in 2007 to finish 8-2 during the regular season for a share of the Region 1-1A championship, a first for Cosby, and another trip to the playoffs. Despite an opening round loss to Midway, Eagle head coach Tyler Shelton couldn’t be prouder of his bunch.
“We practiced hard and we played hard,” said coach Shelton, “and you can’t ask for much more than that. The coaching staff put in a lot of long hours getting game plans together, and the players paid attention and listened. We would have liked to win that District championship outright, and getting past the first round of the playoffs. But, we’re working on those. We’re trying to build a successful history here, and it takes time. But, we’re making progress.”
Fellow coaches in Region 1-1A have seen Cosby’s growth and improvement since coach Shelton took over the program four years ago, and heaped praise on the program by voting five Eagles to the All-Region team and five more as honorable mention.
Named to the Region 1-1A All-Region team were seniors Mitch Miller, Spencer Grooms, Trenten Dunn and Matthew Hester, and sophomore Robert Herzog.
Named as honorable mention were Jordan Cates, Matthew Lane, Danny Raines, Cody Butler and Robbie Whitted.
“I think we should have more,” said coach Shelton. “This was a real team effort on our part this past season. We had different guys stepping up each and every week. They played together as a team, and we certainly had more guys that deserved the recognition. But I’m proud of those who were named.”
Grace Christian had the most players named to the All-Region team (six) including Frank Atticus, Phillip Hester, Patrick Green, Jordan Bel, Tyler Richardson and Blake Hester. From Cloudland were Matt Tipton, Nick Sluder and Jon Shell. From Unaka were Dustin Taylor and Drew Chambers. And from Jellico were Ryan Morress and Josh Kennedy. The players from Hampton were unavailable.
The Region 1-1A Most Valuable Player award went to Grace Christian tailback David Amos.
“I thought that should have gone to Mitch (Miller),” said coach Shelton. “What he did this year was incredible, and we played a much tougher schedule that Grace.”
Miller had nearly 1,300 yards rushing for the Eagles this past season, and they were tough yards against not only the Region 1-1A teams, but four schools higher in classification.
The Region 1-1A Offensive Player of the Year went to Randell Johnson of Cloudland while the Defensive Player of the Year went to Josh Peters of Unaka. The Special Teams Player of the Year went to Jacob Teetezman of Jellico.
That only leaves the Region 1-1A Coach of the Year, and here’s where the other Region coaches sat up and took notice. The Coach of the Year went to coach Shelton.
“I certainly didn’t expect that,” said coach Shelton. “I mean Grace and Hampton had the coaches I though it would go to. But, I was told that going from 2-8 to 8-2 and a share of the Region championship was the reason. You need a lot of help when you get this kind of award. It’s not just me. It’s my assistants and my players, not to mention the support from the school and our fans.”
Coach Shelton is far too humble. Since taking over the program four years ago, there has been much he has done. Coach Shelton is now 25-18, becoming Cosby’s winningest ever football coach with the Eagles’ victory over Cloudland early in the season. More importantly, he has three seasons with winning records and three trips to post-season play. And that’s with just four seasons under his belt.
BANQUET SET
To celebrate another successful season, the Eagle Football Banquet and awards presentations have been set.
The Football Banquet will be held on Saturday, December 13, at the Cosby School cafeteria starting at 6 p.m.
There will be great food, and, as always, some great stories and celebration over an outstanding season. Awards will be presented after the food has been served.
2009 SCHEDULE RELEASED
No sooner than the season finishes and the post-season banquet is set, Coach Shelton has already released his 2009 Cosby Eagle Football Schedule.
“It’s a little different,” said coach Shelton. “With us moving up to Class 2A and the new classification handed down by the TSSAA, we changed things up a bit. We still have our traditional rivals from our old Region (Hampton, Cloudland and Unaka), but we’ve added some new teams that should make it interesting.”
Those new teams on the schedule include Claiborne County, Gatlinburg-Pittman, North Greene, Hancock County and Cumberland Gap. Gone are Kings Academy, Jellico and Knox Gibbs. Back on the schedule for 2009 are Pigeon Forge and Chuckey-Doak.
“The reclassification was supposed to cut down on travel,” said coach Shelton. “But it really doesn’t do that. I’m really not thrilled with the new classification, but you have to take it and deal with it. I think we’ve set up a pretty good schedule. It’s a tough one, but that’s the way we like it.”
Tough in deed considering the Eagles will have to face Gatlinburg-Pittman at the Highlanders home. They’ll also be on the road at Class 3A Pigeon Forge, and at Hampton, Chuckey-Doak and North Greene. Of particular interest is the set of games following their season-opener on August 21, 2009, at home against Claiborne. The next three games on the schedule are on the road at Gatlinburg-Pittman, Hampton and Pigeon Forge. That’s just plain brutal.
With the new classification, only Cosby and Hancock County are in the same District.
“It’s kind of difficult to figure out at first,” said coach Shelton. “What you really have to do is put it up on a board, and then branch off the teams according to class and you get a better picture. We’re still in a tough Region, so no changes as far as tough is concerned.”
Cosby’s new Region has old foes Hampton and Unaka, and new foe North Greene. Only the top two teams will advance to the playoffs under the new system.
Here’s Cosby’s 2009 Football Schedule:
Week 0
Friday, Aug. 21: Claiborne County (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 1
Friday, Aug. 28: Gatlinburg-Pittman (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 2
Friday, Sept. 4: Hampton* (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 3
Friday, Sept. 11: Pigeon Forge (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 4
Friday, Sept. 18: Hancock County* (Home)(Homecoming), 7:30 p.m.
Week 5
Friday, Sept. 25: Chuckey-Doak (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 6
Friday, Oct. 2: Cloudland* (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 7
OPEN
Week 8
Friday, Oct. 16: North Greene* (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 9
Friday, Oct. 23: Cumberland Gap (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 10
Thursday, Oct. 29: Unaka* (Home) (Senior Night), 7:30 p.m.
*Denotes Region Game
(New Region includes Cosby, Hampton, North Greene, Unaka. The top two teams at the end of the regular season will go to the Class 2A playoffs)
By PAUL MEADOR
NPT Sports Editor
Cocke County wins pair in Roundball Classic
JOHNSON CITY-Faced with an opportunity to avenge their only loss to date in the young season, the Lady Red of Cocke County High took full advantage.
They also showed how a little payback can feel.
The Lady Red won a physical battle with the Lady Hilltoppers of Science Hill by a 65-49 score in the DoubleTree Roundball at the Palace Classic. The Fighting Cocks defeated Louisville Collegiate 44-30 in the second game of the night. Science Hill defeated Walton, Georgia 84-82 in double overtime.
CCHS Releases 2008-09 Basketball Schedule
By SETH BUTLER
Newport Plain Talk Sports Writer
NEWPORT-Tournaments and new non-conference faces on the schedule comprise the 2008-09 basketball schedule released by Cocke County High School last week.
Regular season non-conference games with Science Hill and Heritage, along with appearances in the LandAir Classic for the Fighting Cocks and the Chop House Classic and GreenBank Ladies Classic for the Lady Red headline the 2008-09 schedule.
CCHS retains non-conference games with Grainger County (formerly Rutledge), Gatlinburg-Pittman, and Pigeon Forge for the regular season slate. The school also retained their relationship with Sullivan Central for a Hall of Champions contest, the fifth consecutive year the schools have met in that contest. Cocke County also added a Hall of Champions contest against Sevier County, which opens the season on November 18 in Newport.
In addition to the non-conference games on the slate, 10 games in the Inter Mountain Athletic Conference are again on the schedule. However, the schedule of conference games brings a new twist in 2008-09.
Over previous years, eight of the 10 conference games have been played on Friday, with one conference season series being played on a Tuesday night. This year, four conference games will be played mid-week, giving the team three weeks with two conference games, a dramatic turnaround from the usual pace of one conference game per week.
Cocke County’s regular season wraps up on February 13 at Heritage, and the District 2-AAA tournament begins on Wednesday, February 18 at Jefferson County. Jefferson County was the slated host for the 2007-08 tournament before the event was moved to Greeneville’s Hal Henard Gym prior to the season.
2008-2009 CCHS Schedule
11-18 Sevier County**
11-21 @ Sullivan Central**
11-24 Pigeon Forge
11-25-29 - LandAir Classic @ Greeneville (Boys)
11-25-29 - Chop House Classic @ Knox Central (Girls)
12-2 @ Grainger County
12-5 @ Science Hill
12-9 @ Morristown West*
12-12 Morristown East*
12-16 Cherokee*
12-19 Gatlinburg Pittman
12-22 Heritage
12-27-31 Ladies Classic @ Greeneville (Girls)
1-3 Science Hill (Girls)
1-6 @ Jefferson County*
1-9 Greeneville*
1-16 Morristown West*
1-20 Grainger County
1-23 @ Morristown East*
1-26 @ Pigeon Forge
1-30 @ Cherokee*
2-3 Jefferson County*
2-6 @ Greeneville*
2-10 Gatlinburg Pittman
2-13 @ Heritage
2-18 thru 24: District 2-AAA Tournament @ Jefferson County
*Denotes District 2-AAA Game
**Denotes TSSAA Hall of Champions Game
High School Sports- William Blount vs Bearden photo feature September 4, 2010
- Halls vs Powell photo feature September 4, 2010
- Farragut vs Knox Catholic photo feature September 4, 2010
- Friday Night Lights - Anderson Co. vs. Campbell Co. September 4, 2010
- QB Routine September 2, 2010
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