From soccer to softball, basketball to football, the year in sports in DeKalb County has seen its highlights. The Middle School Saints went undefeated and won a conference title while the high school soccer team found themselves ranked number-one in the state. Meanwhile a pair of golfers got a shot at the state championship while the boys’ basketball team got a new coach. As the year drew to a close, the middle school boys’ basketball team and the high school girls’ team were on massive rolls going into the New Year.

The following is the editor’s picks for the top sports stories of 2018:

1

Middle School Saints claim conference title

The DeKalb Middle School Saints football team accomplished perfection during 2018, finishing the campaign undefeated and winning their conference title.

Capping the dream season with a 14-8 win over Fentress County in Jamestown to notch the conference crown.

The Saints capped the regular season by outscoring their combined six opponents 224-58, shutting out Jackson County 42-0 and blowing out Upperman 62-6. They were also able to manhandle Smith County 34-8, challenged on the scoreboard in only two road games, beating Trousdale 20-16 and Avery Trace 16-14 in squeakers. They made it to the title game by beating Avery Trace again, 40-22.

The one-two runningback combination of Colby Barnes and Josh May combined for over 2,000 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns.

2

Soccer team ranked first in the state

The DeKalb County men’s soccer squad found themselves ranked first in the state after an impressive regular season where they dominated their competition, posting a perfect 8-0 district record. Their only loss during the regular season came during a Spring Break tournament at the Smoky Mountain Cup. Led by Cristobal Flores who was named all-district and region, the team outscored their competition during the regular season 51-14.

Despite their top-ranking, the Tigers got ambushed during post-season, upset in the district finals on their home pitch by Upperman in a game that was decided by penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie during regulation. They were then bounced from the tournament in regional action at Loudon.

3

Tigerettes win district and region

Stopped just short of a berth in the state finals, the DeKalb County Tigerette softball team made a splash during 2018, winning both the district and regional tournament.

Their season ending loss against Sweetwater, capped a 23-12 campaign which included an 11-3 conference record. The squad took many honors. Allison Maynard, Megan Walker, Kristena Bain, Joni Robinson and Kenzie France all made all-district while Maynard, Walker, Bain, France and Maddison Parsley made all-district tournament. France was also district tourney MVP and was named all-defensive player.

4

Sanders named new Tiger hoops coach

The DeKalb County High School Tiger basketball team hired a new coach in April, introducing John Sanders of Smithville County as the team’s new leader.

He has served as assistant coach at Gordonsville Junior High and High School, Smith County and Trousdale High Schools and most recently as Murfreesboro Oakland. He has been head coach at Jim Satterfield Middle in Hartsville, Smith County Middle and most recently at Smith County High from 2014-17. He has also spent significant time working at individual basketball camps at Duke University under Coach Mike Kryzewski.

He replaced the second winningest coach in school history in Lynus Martin. The long-time coach stepped down after this past season.

5

Golfers make state finals

Isaac Walker concluded his senior year at DCHS with an appearance at the state championships, finishing in 26th place, marking the third year out of four he qualified for the state. He placed in the top three of the district tournament at Cookeville and regional tournament in Cleveland. He has signed to play golf for Cumberland University.

Joining Walker in success on the links was Anna Chew who made her first appearance in the state tournament, finishing 18th. She is a rising senior and will return to lead the girls’ squad at DCHS this coming year.

6

Junior Tigers go to Super Bowl

The DeKalb County Junior Tigers fell a touchdown short of winning the Super Bowl, falling in the youth league finals 12-6 to Fentress County in Monterey.

The Tigers lone loss during the regular season came to Fentress County on opening day. The Junior Tigers didn’t drop another game until again facing their nemesis in the Super Bowl, finishing the season at 7-1. Ryan Lyons scored the lone touchdown in the Super Bowl when quarterback Jaxen Sherrill hit him with a short pass which the running back took 50 yards to the house.

During their dominant campaign that got them to the verge of a title, they outscored their opponents 211-18 during the regular season scoring victories of 12-0 over White County, 24-0 over Smith County, 41-0 over Cumberland County, 47-0 over Upperman, and 29-6 over Overton. Their made their way to the title game by beating Upperman 51-0 in the first round of the playoffs before squeezing by Sparta 30-27 in the semi-finals.

7

Red Foster passes away

Local sports legend and former professional basketball player Jerry (Red) Foster passed away in August at the age of 59.

Foster was a five-star athlete in high school, college and then at the professional level, excelling at basketball to the extent he was drafted by the New York Knicks. He would later coach including local stints as head coach of the DCHS freshman boys and the Lady Tigers. After leaving the coaching profession, he continued to teach physical education at Northside Elementary School and instructed basketball in an after-school capacity.

8

Middle School Saints hoopsters start hot

Aside from a buzzer beater thrown up by White County, the DeKalb County Middle School Saints had a spotless record ending 2018, going into the coming year 16-1.

The squad has two regular season games remaining in 2019 before they head to the state tournament with hopes of winning a title. They were able to avenge their only loss with an impressive win at Sparta two weeks ago with Coach Cody Randolph admitting the last-second loss to White County earlier in the year lit a fire under his team that has helped them achieve their success. The Saints have been led in scoring thus far by Connor Close, Robert Wheeler, Elishah Ramos and Stetson Agee.

9

Lady Tigers basketball squad tops district

Starting the season 12-4, the Lady Tiger basketball squad found themselves with a share of the district lead going into 2019 with losses only to two state ranked teams, White County and Pickett County and two drops in a holiday tournament in Gatlinburg. The girls will get a chance to avenge one of those losses when they play host to White County Jan. 4.

10

Lady Saints Soccer boasts best season

The Lady Saints soccer team were bounced in the first round of the district tournament in a monsoon that flooded the middle school field in their game against Prescott. However, despite rain on their parade, they completed their best ever season, finishing 5-2-2, good enough for fourth place in the district.