Lane Ball named Tiger football MVP

The DeKalb County High School Football team announced their award for Most Valuable Player for 2014 during their annual football banquet in January 2015. Senior wide receiver and linebacker Lane Ball was honored with the award at the event, which was held at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center building. The awards were sponsored by Liberty State Bank.

Head Coach Steve Trapp presented the DeKalb County High School Football 2014 MVP trophy to senior wide receiver and linebacker Lane Ball annual football banquet in January.

"He has been an outstanding team captain," Trapp said. "He’s been an outstanding student. He has just been a great young man and I am happy to say that I have been able to be a part of his life as his football coach, and I know he is going to have a bright and successful future at whatever he plans to do."

Ball was also named to the First Team All-District for the 2014 season, and was an All Upper Cumberland Football Honorable Mention on defense for his 120 plus tackles at middle linebacker. The Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 5-6, with a fourth consecutive appearance in the state play-offs.

Also honored that evening was Brooke Martin, who was named Most Valuable Cheerleader.

Other football awards presented that night were Best Offensive Player- Steven Jennings, Best Offensive Lineman- John Bradford, Best Offensive Back- Luke Boss, Best Receiver- Aaron Patterson, Best Defensive Player- Lance Ball, Best Defensive Lineman- Joseph Pack, Best Linebacker- A.J. Mooneyham, Best Defensive Back- Jonathon Munoz, Best Special Teams Player - Matthew Poss, Most Improved- Austin Brown, and the Coach Clay Edwards Memorial Tiger Pride Award - Hunter Stone.

Additional cheer awards were Best Stunts - Lexie Bates, Most Spirited - Emilee Stephens, Best Jumps - Kaitlyn Roller, Best Dance-Carlee White, Most Improved- Abby Evans, Best Motions - Makayla Redmon, and the DEAR award (Dedication, Enthusiasm, Attitude, and Responsibility) - Rachel Fuson.

The 2014 District 8AA Award Winners from DeKalb County were Most Outstanding Defensive End - Hunter Stone, Most Outstanding Wide Receiver - Aaron Patterson, Most Outstanding Quarterback - Steven Jennings, and Most Outstanding Kicker - Matthew Poss.

The First Team All-District were Lance Ball, Lane Ball, Jacob Hale, Jonathon Munoz, and A.J. Mooneyham.

Second Team All-District were John Bradford, Joseph Pack, and Luke Boss.

The 2014 All Upper Cumberland Football Team were: First Team-Offense - QB - Steven Jennings (2,052 passing yards, 16 TDs/783 rushing yards, 11 TDs). Second Team-Offense – OL - Jacob Hale, and WR - Aaron Patterson (40 catches, 719 yards, 4 TDs).

Honorable Mention Offense were John Bradford - Lineman Right Guard, Eli Cross - Lineman Left Tackle, and Luke Green - Lineman Center.

Honorable Mention Defense were Lance Ball - Linebacker (90 plus tackles LOB), Lane Ball -Linebacker (120 plus tackles MLB), and Joseph Pack-Defense Lineman (30 plus tackles NG).

Special Teams were Matthew Poss - Kicker and Punter (3/5 on Field Goals & average on punts of 40 yards).

Lady Tigers

Six seconds. After playing four quarters of basketball on their home court on Jan. 20, the game came down to the final six seconds of play to end 30 years of heartbreak for the Lady Tigers.

It had been 30 years since the DeKalb County High School Lady Tigers had come away with a victory over rival Livingston Academy. The game stayed close through all four periods, with neither team able to move to a comfortable lead.

DeKalb led a 15-14 first period and a 12-11 second to maintain a 27-25 lead at the half. The score was tied at 35 all at the end of the third period. The fourth period had hearts pumping on both sides of the court. Livingston stayed right with DeKalb, and the score stood at 48-47 with DeKalb in the lead in the final seconds of the contest.

The Lady Wildcats were able to sink a two-point shot and take the lead with only six seconds left in the game. It seemed as if the air had been taken out of the DeKalb County stands, and it looked as if the Lady Tigers would yet again fall to the Lady Wildcats.

Then Lady Tiger Ashli Chew forced a foul on a Livingston player with only three seconds left on the clock.

Chew stepped up to the free throw line with the game on her shoulders. Her first toss was good to tie the game, and her second shot hit its mark as well, giving DeKalb the lead. Livingston would make a last ditch effort, but there just wasn’t enough time to set up a play. DeKalb took the 50-49 victory, ending a

"It was a great win for the program," Lady Tigers Head Coach Joe Pat Cope told the Review. "They are number one in our district and ranked number five in the state. It had been close to 100 games, counting post season and tournaments. What an effort by the girls. They never quit and fought hard all night."

Former DCHS Basketball stars honored

DeKalb County High School honored a few of its basketball legends in February, presenting some former players and a coach with banners that will hang in the school gymnasium. The ceremony was held between the Tigers and Lady Tigers game against Cannon County on Feb. 5.

Former DeKalb Basketball Tigerette Betty Carol Fite, and Lady Tigers’ Mary Ann Puckett and Cynthia Woodward were recognized along with former Tigers Danny Foutch, Kevin James, and Coach Harold Luna.

Each player was met with applause from the night’s crowd, but Coach Luna received the most enthusiastic reception. The standing ovation brought the former coach to tears. Luna coached both boys and girls from 1964-69, then began coaching the boys program only until 1984. His total record was 516-179

Danny Foutch (1974-78) was All-District and All-Conference for three years, and as a senior in 1978, he was first team All-State, mid-state Most Valuable Player, and led the state in scoring with a 31.4 points per game average, with a season high of 50 points. After high school, he went on to play four years at Belmont in Nashville.

Kevin James (1976-80) averaged 23 points per game as a junior and 20 points per game as a senior. James received many honors before his graduation in 1980. He was All-Conference, All-District, and All-Region as a junior, and as a senior, he was a second team All-State selection and was first team Class AA All-Midstate. After high school, he continued his basketball career at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville.

Betty Carol Fite (1961-1965) averaged 40.65 points per game and scored 3,481 career points as a high school player. She set a school record for 67 points in one game and held another record for most points in one quarter at 29. One season she scored 72 points more than the combined total of the Tigerette opponents. She made the All-Midstate Teams two years and was named Most Valuable Player in the mid-state as a senior in 1965. She also set two free throw records in the Tennessee State Playoffs.

Mary Ann Puckett (1989-93) won the team’s MVP Award for three years in a row from her sophomore to senior years. Puckett rewrote the DCHS record book for five on five style girl’s basketball with 2,375 career points and 1,408 rebounds. Also named Best Defensive Player and Best Athlete, Puckett’s senior season statistics included 696 points (24 points per game), 393 rebounds (13.6 rebounds per game), 155 blocked shots and 77 steals. Puckett went to Duke University on a basketball scholarship and played for one season before transferring to Belmont University where she continued her basketball career which was cut short due to a medical condition.

Cynthia Woodward (2006-10) scored over 1100 points. Cynthia was named to the All District team in 2010; led her Lady Tigers to the program’s first post season win in 17 seasons, and her team advanced to the regional semi-finals in Cynthia’s senior season. After graduation, she began her collegiate basketball career at Freed Hardeman where during her senior season at one point she led the nation in 3-point percentage and helped guide Freed to an NAIA National Championship game.

DeKalb Middle School MVPs,

DeKalb Middle School honored its 2014-15 basketball teams and cheerleaders during a banquet in February. The event recognized each player and cheerleader, and honored the teams’ standouts.

The Most Valuable Player award went to two standouts on the Saints team. Colter Norris and Tanner Poss each were honored with the award. The Best Ball Handler award went to Norris, while Poss was named the Best Offensive Player. Brayden Hart was honored with the Best Rebounder award, while Andrew Fuson was named Best Defensive Player. Michael Elswick was named Best 6th Man.

The 2014-15 Lady Saints Most Valuable Player award also went to two players this year. Madison Parsley and Macy Hedge were each honored as co-MVPs. Parsley was honored for Best Defense, while Abbi Taylor won the 6th Man award. Megan Walker and Emme Colwell received co-awards for Most Improved, while Sophie Cripps was named as Best Rebounder.

Mya Ruch won the Best Ball Handler award, while Hedge was honored as Best Passer. Best Offense went to both Julia Curtis and Joni Robinson, while Curtis also took home the award for Best Free Throw Shooter. Sarah with an "H," Anne with an "E," Colwell was honored with the Leadership Award.

This year’s award for Most Valuable Cheerleader award went to Chloe Sykes. Lydia Phillips was awarded the Most Improved award, while Malia Stanley won the award for Best Jumps. Emma Jennings was recognized for Most Spirit, while Madison Mick won the TEAM award.

Bone, Chew named Tiger basketball MVPs

Justin Bone, a senior, took the Tiger’s Most Valuable Player award home from the 2015 DCHS basketball banquet in March, while the Lady Tiger’s Most Valuable Player was junior Ashli Chew. The Most Valuable Cheerleader was senior Kara Kanipe.

Bone scored more than 1,000 points in his career at DCHS, was named to the All-District Second Team and received the Best Rebounder and Best Free-Throw Shooter Awards as well. Chew led the Lady Tigers in free throws and steals, and she was named to the All-District Third Team.

The MVP and MVC awards were presented by Chad Kirby of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, the sponsor of the event, and are named in memory of Kirby's grandfather Allen D. Hooper.

The Tigers finished the season 3-12 in district play and 19-15 overall. The Lady Tigers were 4-11 in their district and 21-13 overall.

Tigerettes

The DCHS Tigerettes softball team clinched the district championship with a win over Macon County in May.

The squad took York Institute down 10-0 in the first round of the District 8AA softball tournament at Upperman High on May 1. The ladies then kept the fires burning in a close shave with Cannon County on May 4.

The Lionettes fell to DeKalb in an eight-inning, 3-2 game in the second round of the tourney.

The Tigerettes opened with a run in the first inning of play, and the game remained scoreless until Cannon put one across in the fifth to tie the score. Both teams managed a run in the seventh, leaving the score at 2-2 going into the final inning. DeKalb squeezed another run out in the top of the eighth to go ahead, and the effort went unmatched by the Lionettes, who were sat down without scoring.

In the third round of the tournament, on May 5, DCHS faced Macon County, and again slipped by with a 3-2 win.

Macon County fought their way out of the loser’s bracket, however, and DeKalb found themselves competing against them again for the District 8AA championship crown on May 6.

The Tigerettes showed no mercy in the second match, belting five runs across in a second-inning burst of hits, then following up with a run in the third, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth. Macon was held to a goose egg until they managed to score twice in the top of the seventh.

Players selected for the All-District 8-AA Regular Season and All-District Tournament were announced following the championship game, with many Tigerettes receiving awards. Dani Meadows was named the co-district Most Valuable Player, along with Paige Clark of Macon County.

Meadows was also honored as the Defensive MVP for the season, and Kayley Caplinger was named Pitcher of the Year for the district. Kayley Caplinger and Katie Hall were chosen for the First Team All-District, while Tyra Graham and Loren Cripps were named to the Second Team-All District.

Tyra Graham was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament, and Graham was named to the All-District Tournament Team along with Kayley Caplinger, Dani Meadows, and Allison Maynard.

Meanwhile, former Tigerette Cynthia Woodward was one of four people inducted into the District 8-AA Softball Hall of Fame.

Tigerettes win region

The DeKalb County High School softball team continued their magical season on May 11 with a 6-1 region tournament win over the visiting Grundy County Lady Jackets.

At Danny Bond Field in Smithville, the Tigerettes played some small ball to come out with a big victory. After two scoreless innings, the Tigerettes sparked by two bunts lit up the score board to take a 6-0 lead. The fifth inning saw Grundy County get on the score board with an RBI double by Madison Burrows to make the score 6-1. However, that was as close as the Lady Jackets would get as the Tigerettes defense stiffened allowing only one runner to reach a base the rest of the game.

With the win, the Tigerettes advanced to the region championship facing a familiar foe in Macon County. DeKalb cruised to a 3-0 win in a game that was never in doubt.

The win won DeKalb the right to host the Sub-State game that was played on May 15 versus Polk County.

In what could be regarded as one of the most memorable games in Tigerette history, DeKalb’s Miranda Bailiff, with her team down 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning to Polk County, blasted a grand-slam homerun over the center field fence that propelled the Tigerettes to their second straight state tournament birth and seventh over-all while sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy.

In the bottom of the sixth, and after one and one-half scoreless innings in which both teams appeared to be recovering from shell-shock, DeKalb’s Kaley Caplinger’s hit was the first of three consecutive singles rattled off by the Tigerettes that set-up Bailiff’s historic blast to give the home team the lead for the first time in the game with a score of 6-4.

With the win the 2015 Tigerette squad matched the 1992 and 1994 teams as the programs only championship winners of the regular season district, district tournament, region tournament and the sub-state game while advancing to the state tournament.

Puckett signs with MTSU

Middle Tennessee Head Baseball Coach Jim McGuire announced in June that former DeKalb County High School pitching standout Cody Puckett had signed a letter of intent to continue his career with the Blue Raiders.

Puckett (6-0, 190) had played two seasons for Columbia State Community College since his graduation from DCHS.

Puckett starred as a pitcher/outfielder at DCHS, and posted a 9-4 record and registered more than 125 strikeouts in his two seasons at Columbia State. Puckett was a member of the weekend rotation during both of his seasons at Columbia State, and helped lead the team to the JUCO World Series in 2014, when he posted a 5-0 record.

Puckett was the District 8-AA Pitcher of the Year as a junior at DeKalb County, where he led the Tigers to two Class AA state tournament appearances.

Tigerettes named to

Two members of the Tigerette softball team and their coach were honored by the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association in June.

Dani Meadows and Kayley Caplinger were named as members of the TSCA's Class AA All-State team, and Coach Danny Bond was chosen as an All-Star Coach for the TSCA Middle Tennessee All Stars team. The Tigerettes had just concluded the 2015 season at 27-8 overall, and won the regular season district, district, regional, and sub-state tournaments, earning a spot in the state tournament for the second year in a row.