P195

They did something new at Richlands a week and a half ago—practice football after a loss.
The Blue Tornadoes’ 18-13 defeat against Graham Sept. 21 was stunning, because the G-Men didn’t appear to match up that well with them on paper, yet inevitable because Richlands had played without much passion at times in the season’s first half.
So coach Greg Mance, after watching films and racking his brain to discern the problem, put his team through a test while they eyeballed the tape.
“I told them if they saw a play when they saw a teammate helping each other up or playing with emotion to raise their hand,” he said Tuesday night. “Out of [123] plays, they raised their hand four times.
“That told me they were going through the motions, playing without emotion. We challenged them to pick it up, have fun again.”
Mance also made some position changes, moving receiver Romulo Fajardo to running back and sending the season’s leading rusher, Kheven Schweingruber, to wide receiver.
In Friday night’s all-too-predictable 49-14 rout of winless Tazewell, Fajardo rushed for 93 yards, which doesn’t sound like a big deal until one realizes it’s the second-highest total for a Blues RB this season.
“Romulo’s 180 pounds and he’s been through the battles for three years now,” Mance said. “Kheven’s 140 pounds and he was getting beat up. We just wanted to find a way to get all our good athletes on the field at once.”
Fajardo perhaps becomes the team’s key player in the second half and the playoffs. If he can keep averaging 93 yards per game, it will force defenses to respect the run enough and permit improving QB Joel Elswick more opportunities to use athletes like Austin Fuller, Ben Addison, Matt Davis and Schweingruber in one-on-one matchups.
That’s how the offense was so powerful last year. Caleb Jennings’ presence at running back made defenses play seven men in the box, gIving the likes of Fuller and C.J. Arms one-on-ones which QB Justin McCracken exploited adroitly.
With a trip to Marion on the horizon for Friday night, Mance feels his team is back on the beam. What’s more, one gets a sense the loss may have lifted a huge burden off this team’s back.
“Sometimes, you can get complacent in what you’re doing,” Mance said. “Kids can take things for granted. Since the loss, they’ve practiced hard and they played extremely well at Tazewell.”

Posted by The Continuous News Desk
High School Sports Football

NASCAR announced a deal with Nationwide Insurance to sponsor its No.2, formerly known as Busch, series beginning in 2008. 

Chairman Brian France didn’t talk specifics, and said the deal came after “a very thorough process of trying to find the right partner, adding up what we think is important for the series and all the things that you would expect us to be thinking about.”
Exactly what would we expect NASCAR to be thinking about? Ponder things like sinking TV ratings and attendance, rising ticket prices, maybe an increasing sense of disconnect between the fans and their heroes behind the wheel, and it’s pretty easy to venture a guess as to what France and Co. were and are thinking about. Money, money and money.
Word is the sponsorship deal is worth $10-12 million a year, which reportedly is similar to what Anehuser-Busch had been paying. Not bad for a racing league that was once just a step or two from the short-track stock racers you can find at Volunteer Speedway, Wythe or Lonesome Pine Raceway. Not that anyone is pretending that the awkwardly-named Nationwide Series is any kind of minor-league system anymore. Anyone except the NASCAR big wigs, that is.
Nationwide’s representative at Wednesday’s announcement said the fact that Nextel Cup drivers who moonlight in Busch Cars - maybe NASCAR should have a contest to come up with a catchy new nickname to replace “Buschwhackers” - wasn’t a big deal to the sponsor. That’s no news flash, either. The suits aren’t likely to change much in the series, since more racing fans are likely to turn on their televisions to watch Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch drive on Saturday afternoons than Jason Keller, Danny O’Quinn and Scott Wimmer. Then again, wouldn’t 100,000 people be just as likely to pack Bristol Motor Speedway to watch less experienced drivers spin and wreck for 300 laps? Note the fact that while the drivers raved about BMS’ new surface after an alarmingly clean Sharpie 500, more than a few fans called the race “boring.”
If the death knell for the old Southern Tradition that was NASCAR hadn’t already sounded, the demise of the Busch sponsorhip ought to take care of it. Granted, the loss of alcohol and tobacco sponsors for the main series isn’t going to hurt anyone’s feelings, and we do still have the Hooters Pro Cup - unless they get a new sponsor and change that to the Bath & Body Works Pro Series.
As far as the Winston/Nextel Cup goes, that’s getting a new handle, too. From now on, call it the Sprint Cup, just don’t use an AT&T cell phone to do it. By the way, doesn’t “Sprint Cup” sound like something local drivers should be competing on dirt tracks for?

Posted by From the Archives
NASCAR

Outstanding volleyball match between Tennessee High and Sullivan Central on Tuesday evening at Viking Hall.

Check Wednesday’s paper for the full write-up. Here’s a quick recap.
____

The Vikings started off Senior Night proudly celebrating the efforts of seniors Erin Hyde, Kendra Snapp and Allie Stollings.

Then Tennessee High decided to add one more lasting memory to the trio’s scrapbook.

Down 2-1 overall, and behind 18-14 in the fourth game, the Vikings battled back to defeat Sullivan Central 25-22, 21-25, 12-25, 25-19, 15-13 in a down-to-the-wire match that left Tennessee High thrilled, and both teams completely exhausted.

How tough was the win (and the loss)?

Tennessee High (24-13, 10-5 Big Nine) coach Mary Johnson had nearly lost her voice following the match, while Sullivan Central (15-15, 8-7) coach Tracy Graybeal was ghost-like minutes after the Vikings’ Erin Hyde spiked home the match’s final point.

“I had to get out of there, that really isn’t a good place for me to be right now,” said Graybeal from the Tennessee High parking lot.

Graybeal wasn’t upset. But she’d just watched her team slowly give away an emotional loss, and … losing’s never easy – especially in a match as roller coaster-like and back-and-forth as Tuesday night’s was.

“We just lost our intensity in the fourth game,” Graybeal said. “We got tight, and when we get tight, we make mistakes.”

But in the second and third game, the Cougars played fearless.

Sullivan Central senior outside hitter Lucie Jones was especially impressive. Jones’ low, slicing serve plagued the Vikings, and Tennessee High had no response.

But Hyde, Snapp, Stollings and the rest of the Vikings weren’t about to have Senior Night ruined.

After spending the second and third game looking lost and defeated, Tennessee High heeded Johnson’s fierce words and turned it around.

The Vikings’ comeback was spurred by sophomore outside hitter Mandy Hyde, who rolled off six straight service points in the fourth game, leading Tennessee High from 13-7 down to a 13-all tie.

Erin Hyde led the Vikings with a game-high 11 kills and 11 blocks, while Stollings (19 assists, nine digs), Brooke Hatcher (12 assists, nine digs) and Mandy Hyde (11 service points, 11 digs) all had big nights for Tennessee High.

Jones led the Cougars with 10 kills and nine service aces, while Holly English contributed 10 kills, Emily Boggs had six kills and Charli Caulkins had 18 assists.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
High School Sports Volleyball

Firing Up the Hardwood

Scroll down to find interviews with East Tennessee State University’s Courtney Pigram and Mike Smith.

And check back over the next two weeks to find fully-transcribed, exclusive interviews with Buccaneers coach Murry Bartow and the rest of the 2007-08 ETSU Bucs.

What follows is the first glance into what should be a big season for the ETSU men’s basketball program.

The Bucs – currently taking part in loose shootarounds and pick-up games at the Memorial Center – finished 2006-07 with an impressive 24-10 (16-2 Atlantic Sun) record, but fell short of their main goal: a berth in the NCAA tournament. After dominating the Atlantic Sun Conference during regular-season play, the Bucs fell hard to Belmont, 94-67, in the tournament championship game. The loss then pushed ETSU into the NIT, where the Bucs were knocked out in the first round by Clemson, 64-57.

Courtney Pigram

Pigram, a 6-foot-1, 197-pound junior guard, was named the 2006-07 Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year. The Memphis, Tenn. native posted big numbers (18.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.6 assists) last season, started all 34 of the Bucs’ games, and said he spent the summer “playing hard, working on defense and getting ready.” Factor in Pigram’s hefty 06-07 numbers, and that he still has two full years of eligibility left while in a Bucs uniform, and 07-08 could – and should – be Pigram’s year.

Here’s a quick Q & A with the young star.

BTS: How’s the offseason been going?

Courtney Pigram: (Enthused) It’s been going real well. I’ve been focusing on the things I can do, real well. Tryin’ to get better on the defensive end. And, you know, just bettering my game on the offensive end.

BTS: What have you been focusing on?

CP: Just, uh, cutting down on a lot of turnovers, and, you know, getting my team … more involved in the game. I’m a team player. I like playing together. And I love winning.

BTS: You guys had a great record last year, but maybe didn’t finish like you wanted. Did you think about that during the break?

CP: I mean, it was a great season, and the record was nice and all that. But we had, you know, a tough loss at the end, like you said. We gave up a lot of points on the defensive end. And that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now. We’re just starting, and we’re trying to get around the corner, right now.

BTS: What about your game? What do you still need to improve?

CP: Just being a better all-around guard, and helping my teammates out.

BTS: How excited are you for the season to begin?

CP: Oh, man, I cannot wait for the season to get started. (Laughing). Just being around all the guys is great, and we’re really goin’ at it.

BTS: Do you feel like you still have unfinished business?

CP: Yeah, yeah. All of that. All of us do. This is a new start.

Mike Smith

Smith, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound sophomore forward, was a major role player in 06-07. While he only started seven of the Bucs’ 34 games, you’d never know it from Smith’s numbers. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 25.7 minutes per game. He was also second on the Bucs in made 3-pointers (48), shot 79.6 percent (78 of 98) from the free throw line, and 43.1 (124 of 288) from the field. This year, expect Smith to blossom.

BTS: What are you thinking about coming into this season.

MS: Well, we still have a bad taste in our mouth after last year, you know. We’re hoping to win more games this year, you know, and when it comes tournament time, to win the tournament and go to the NCAA tournament. Every day, we just come to practice and we think about that. It makes us want it a little bit harder each day in practice. And hopefully we just come out, play each game, and do our best.

BTS: What do you think are going to be the team’s strengths this year?

MS: We’re tall, we’re long, we’re quick … we should be pretty good. We should be able to run the floor well. We’ve got a bunch of great kids who just want to work.

BTS: What has coach been stressing in the early workouts?

MS: Our coach is always preaching defense, and that’s a big thing. He wants us to keep our opponents under 69 points and 39 percent field-goal shooting. Those are the numbers he’s always preaching: 39, 69. He always says if we play good defense, that’ll get us going in transition, for offense.

BTS: What about your own game?

MS: I spent the offseason working in the gym, just doing everything I could to make myself better, and to make the team better. And I’ve just been working here, doing the small things to get better.

BTS: Specifically?

MS: Everything. All around. I don’t want to be one dimensional. I want to be able to do everything. I’ve been trying to get quicker. I’ve been working on my foot speed this summer a lot. Just coming off the dribble and being able to shoot – different things like that. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at ball handling, too. So, I’ll be ready to go when it comes time to play.

BTS: You’re feeling pretty confident?

MS: Yeah. I am.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
College Sports

Check Tuesday’s Bristol Herald Courier for a full write-up on Monday’s 1-AAA golf tournament at the Johnson City Country Club.

Here are the overall team and individual scores (top-three teams and top-five golfers move on to regional play):

BOYS
Par-72 at Johnson City Country Club
Team Scores – Science Hill 318, Dobyns-Bennett 320, Sullivan South 329, Tennessee High 330, Volunteer 338, Sullivan East 342, Sullivan Central 363, Daniel Boone 364, David Crockett 415.
Individual winner – Dane Voss (SH) 69.
Science Hill – Jared Songster 83, Michael Hembre 87, Matt Love 80, Bobby Treadway 86.
Dobyns-Bennett – Alex Ratliff 72, Justin Harvey 86, Taylor Pate 85, Drew Daniels 83, Ross Ramsdale 80.
Daniel Boone – Zac Breedlove 81, Dylan Compton 97, Forrest Salts 92, Jake Gray 94, Danny Arnold 97.
Sullivan South – Nick York 80, Nic Willis 83, Matt Washburn 83, Matt Bowers 83, Brandon Worley 90.
David Crockett – Travis Campbell 91, Justin Eldridge 96, Cody Smith 113, Robert Cloyd 148, John Sammons 115.
Sullivan Central – Tyler Barnett 91, Zack Davidson 93, Jamie Balis 87, Cody Hyden 97, Matt Millard 92.
Tennessee High – Jave DeVault 80, Curtis Vann 76, Tyler Place 85, Greg Hanson disqualification, Webster Gilley 89.
Sullivan East – David Tedder 86, Kyle Warden 84, Willie Nichols 78, Collin McCord 96, Ryan Harrington 94.
Volunteer – Carlson Cox 77, Lucas Armstrong 79, Jason Christian 86, Thomas Morrison 96, Justin Wright 100.

GIRLS
Par-72 at Johnson City Country Club
Team Scores – Sullivan South 207, Science Hill 207, Sullivan Central 224, Dobyns-Bennett 229, David Crockett 231, Tennessee High 235, Daniel Boone incomplete, Sullivan East incomplete.
Note: Sullivan South won the team title in a playoff.
Individual winner – Madison Alexander (SH) 91.
Sullivan South – Makensey Campbell 100, Samantha Williams 107.
Science Hill – Maci Whitson 116, Sopia Linville 157,
Sullivan Central – Chelsea Gammon 110, Brittany Rogers 114.
Dobyns-Bennett – Aubrey Baker 102, Lindsey Bridwell 127.
David Crockett – Heather Saults 98, Macey Sams 133.
Tennessee High – Mary Avirett 128, Brittany Salyer 114, Courtney Conley 121.
Daniel Boone – Chelsae Dye withdrew.
Sullivan East – Cassidy Rutlidge 151.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
High School Sports