Gordonsville wins 20-0 in battle against Clay County
In a game that saw strong defensive performances from both teams, Gordonsville was able to take advantage of some good field position opportunities and beat the Clay County Bulldogs 20-0.
On the opening drive, Gordonsville was able to stop Clay County on three downs, but Gordonsville’s offense couldn’t get anything going. The Tigers were able to push the Bulldogs back, and a Will Dudney interception gave the Tigers the ball back in good field position. Gordonsville looked on the brink of scoring getting a first and goal opportunity, but penalties pushed them back and they were eventually forced to punt on fourth and goal from the 34 yard line.
The Tigers punt pinned Clay County at around the 5, Gordonsville was able to force a second 3 and out, and the Tigers were able to block the punt to get their second attempt at scoring from inside the 10 of the night, and the Tigers took advantage of it, finding the end zone off of a Darrell Holt touchdown, but a missed kick made the score 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
On the next drive, Clay drove down to inside the 10, but the Gordonsville defense stepped up and the Bulldogs were forced to turn the ball back over to Gordonsville. The Tigers offense was able to make a few plays, but had to punt back to Clay County, but Gordonsville’s defense kept their intensity and got the ball back.
On the next drive late in the second quarter, Gordonsville’s offense was able to drive down and Tyler Gregory was able to extend the Tigers lead by running it in from the five for a touchdown and also running in the ensuing two point conversion to make the score 14-0.
The defensive battle continued in the second half, with neither team getting anything going. The Tigers looked to strike first in the second half with a 40 yard field goal attempt midway through the third quarter, but they were unable to hit the field goal. Gordonsville was able to bounce bac on their next possession, driving downfield and scoring on the first play of the 4th quarter of of a Holt rushing touchdown, but a failed PAT kept the score at 20-0. Neither team was able to get anything else going offensively but Gordonsville was able to get in field goal position late in the game, but a missed field goal with under 2 minutes left led Gordonsville to keep their 20-0 lead to advance to 3-2 on the season.
What’s next for the Tigers?
The Tigers will travel to Coalfield next week on 9/25.
Smith County wins Homecoming after late game pick six
Smith County got their first win of the season on Friday night, beating the York Dragons 7-0 on homecoming night in a game where both defenses stepped up.
With both teams rushing, both teams took a lot of time off the clock, but neither team was able to get into scoring position until Smith County made it into the red zone at the start of the second quarter. The Owls were unable to keep the ball moving however, getting stopped at the 20 and being forced to take a field goal, which they missed with 8:37 left in the 2nd quarter. After the missed field goal, neither team was able to get anything going offensively, with the closest either team came to scoring was when York got the ball back with 24 seconds left in the first half. York was able to break off two runs for a combined gain of nearly 40 yards down to the 15, but time expired as they were running the second play and both teams went to halftime scoreless.
The Owls got the ball to start the second half, but Smith County started off the second half on the wrong foot throwing an interception just 2 minutes into the half to give York the ball around midfield. York broke off a 30 yard screen on the first play to get inside the 25 but weren’t able to do anything after, turning the ball over on downs.
The Owls were forced to punt on their next drive, with the Dragons breaking another screen pass for 20 yards to the 30, and York built off of this and looked to be driving towards the first score of the night, but Jay Phillips was able to intercept the football at the 5 with about 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to stop the Dragons scoring threat.
The Owls offense couldn’t get anything going on their next two drives, with the Owls being forced to punt, forcing a fumble to get the ball back, and then being forced to punt again. The Owls second punt pinned the York Dragons deep, and a few plays later the Owls defense was able to get the first score of the night as Peyton Hix was able to intercept the ball and run it in for a touchdown to give the Owls a 7-0 lead with 7:10 left in the game.
York broke off a 35 yard run first play to the 45, gaining another couple first downs to get to the 23 and looked as if they were going to bounce back with a score of their own, but the Owls were able to stop the Dragons on fourth down and get the ball back with two minutes left in the game. On third down, the Owls looked as if they may have to punt the ball back to York with under one minute left in the game, but a facemask penalty resulted in a first down and the Owls were able to run down the clock and secure their first win of the season, 7-0.
What’s next for the Owls?
The Owls will travel to Livingston Academy on 9/25 for their first road game of the season.
Gordonsville loses hard fought battle with Trousdale, 28-20
The Gordonsville Tigers lost to the Trousdale County Yellow Jackets on Friday night 28-20 in an exciting matchup, which was a defensive battle for a majority of the game.
Trousdale struck first in the game, running it in with 7 minutes left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
Gordonsville wasnt able to answer on their next drive, but the defense was able to make a couple big stops and push Trousdale County back and got into good position to score. Tyler Gregory took it in for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
Both defenses made a couple stops, but Gordonsville gave Trousdale the ball back in good position and the Yellow Jackets took advantage of the field position and scored with a couple minutes left to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
The defensive battle continued into the second half, but Gordonsville was able to tie it up with 44 seconds left in the third quarter off of a rush by Tyler Gregory to tie it up at 14-14.
Trousdale bounced back with a score of their own, running it in a couple minutes later with 11:03 left in the game.
The Tigers offense couldn’t bounce back to score, turning the ball over on downs, and Trousdale drove down and attempted a 38 yard field goal, which went off the crossbar and bounced out giving the Tigers the ball back, midway through the fourth quarter.
The Tigers turned the ball over on the first play of their drive, giving up a touchdown on a strip and score to give Trousdale a 28-14 lead with a little over 5 minutes left.
The Tigers were struck by another turnover bug on their next drive, throwing an interception while trying to make a play downfield.
Gordonsville was able to score late in the game off of a Treyson Davis receiving touchdown, but a bobbled snap caused them not to get any points after making the score 28-20. The Tigers were not able to get the ball back and the Yellow Jackets were able to win the game 28-20.
What’s next for the Tigers?
The Gordonsville Tigers will host Clay County next week on 9/18
Lady Owls Soccer travels to Jackson County
Submitted by Vivian Schaffers
Thursday September 3rd, the Lady Owls traveled to Jackson County for their first road game and first district match of the season. It had rained hard earlier in the day so the pitch was soft but the sun was bright and the air comfortable for game time. The Lady Owls started staring into the Sun but not much holds this team down. Just a minute from the opening whistle the ball moved down into the Lady Owl zone where Senior Ashley Bush would pass from the side to Sophomore Brianna Solomon who had placed herself center net and shot while wearing a Lady Devil to put it past the goalkeeper and start the game 1-0. Both teams took a turn at goals to be denied. After six minutes Senior Jaynada Wallace passed the ball from the half onto the foot of Eighth grader Kiley Jenkins who would then move up and send a hard shot into the back of the net. Smith County is now up 2-0.
The battle was on; and Jackson County tried to find how to get past the SC back line but to no avail. With 23 minutes left on the clock the ball was sent back to the blue zone and found Sophomore Brianna Solomon who took it to the left side and sailed the ball past the keep for her second of the night putting Smith County up 3-0. The next 10 minutes would see Smith County make many substitutions. Jackson County would try to to take advantage of the transition but Smith County has depth and the Lady Blue Devils just could not crack the code. The Lady Owls gave the JC goalkeeper a workout but didn’t quite get the result until the Eighth graders connected. Kiley Jenkins would shoot the ball up to find Aubrey Felice who was waiting front and center to finish the play by putting the ball past the keep for her first high school goal! Now we have a score of 4-0 It was a physical match and fun to watch with a minute left in the half Junior McKayla Pace would cross the ball to find Senior Ashley Bush in front of the net and ready to finish it with her first goal! The half ended 5-0 in favor of Smith County.
The second half was more of the same domination by the Lady Owls. Jackson County did manage to get into the Owl zone a few times but still wasn’t making it past the Owl defense. As frustration grew for the Lady Blue Devils the more physical the play. With 20 minutes on the clock Junior Biz Davis took a corner kick and Sophomore Gracie Green took full advantage taking a beautiful strong shot from a good distance out putting the ball over the heads of those in blue and comfortably into the net. 6-0At this point in the game the Lady Owls side is comprised of the JV team and looking strong. Jackson County’s only goal would come from a miscommunication of a young bunch. So with 12 minutes left it was a 6-1 game. As the second half continued on it was fun to watchthe younger players improve before your eyes just from the confidence that comes with experience. They were holding their own and showing discipline.With two minutes on the clock Biz Davis took a corner kick which turned into a battle in front of the goal. Ultimately, Freshman Sarah Wright would clean it up by scoring the -final goal of the game. The action did not stop until the final whistle. Every Lady Owl saw action and brought home a district win of 7-1 as one team. Next up Tuesday September 8 Home District Match against Cannon County. Kickoff is at 6 PM.
Lady Owls Soccer vs. Upperman ends in a shut out
Submitted by Vivian Schaffers
September 1st, Smith County Lady Owls hosted Upperman. Kickoff was set for 6PM but the weather delayed the game until 7:30. The Lady Owls came ready to play. Only a minute and a half from the opening whistle, Eighth grader Kiley Jenkins had a straight shot from outside the box for the first score of the night. Building off of the momentum seven minutes later Junior Biz Davis would skillfully make her way through the entire Bee defense to confidently find the back of the net. Just six minutes later Sophomore Brianna Solomon worked her way into the box only to be taken to the ground by a Lady Bee. She then took the PK which beautifully zoomed right past the keeper to put the Lady Owls up 3-0.The Lady Owls were dominating the pitch spending most of the time threatening the Upperman goal.
Next up we saw Sophomore Gracie Green pass to Junior Biz Davis in front of the visitors bench where she would take the ball up the side, shooting through a crowd and send the ball into the net for her second off the night, making the score 4-0. The ball was no more than seconds in play when Eighth grader Kiley Jenkins would take it straight back to the net for her second of the night making it a 5-0 score. With 17 minutes left in the half we saw the fog rolling onto the field along with most of the JV. We saw a lot of strong play and many shots but just couldn’t quite get it there for the rest of the first half.As the second half began the Lady Owls would return to their comfort zone in front of the Upperman net. After a couple of attempts the Lady Owls would be awarded a PK which was taken by Eighth grader Kiley Jenkins. So three minutes into the half Kiley would score her third! In her third high school game Miss Jenkins scored a hat trick! Three seemed to be a good number for her this night.
There were several battles in front of the opposition’s goal then the Lady Bees got a break and was awarded a PK which Lady Owl goalie Anna Vining knocked out and recovered to leave the Bees at zero. With 25 minutes left on the clock the Upperman goalkeeper came out to stop a ball but Sophomore Brianna Solomon won the battle and got the score in the end. Now we have a 7-0 game.A few minutes later we see the team work flow through the Lady Owls. Senior Ashley Bush crosses the ball from the right corner to Sophomore Chelsae Litton who was quite covered by Bees so Senior Brennan Rigsby comes in to finish the play with a goal. Now it is 8-0. One more and the mercy rule will apply to end the match. Smith County brings in goalkeeper Eden Daniel and subs in some fresh legs from the bench.The Lady Owls never let the ball cross half field, they battled several times in front of the net. Then Junior Mckayla Pace crossed the ball to find Freshman Sarah Wright who was waiting to poke in the final goal of the night.The Mercy Rule was imposed with 15 minutes left on the clock. The Lady Owls shut out Upperman 9-0. Next up is the first road game and the first District Match at Jackson County on Thursday September 3rd.
Gordonsville blows out Pickett County on the road, 53-14
The Gordonsville Tigers won big on Friday night, beating the Pickett County Bobcats 53-14 on the road. The win advanced the Tigers to 2-1 on the season.
The Gordonsville Tigers got rolling early on both sides of the ball, blocking a punt for a called safety and then finding the endzone on a touchdown rush by Bryson Greer to get the scoring going early in the first. The Tigers were able to extend their lead to 16 in the first quarter following a 12 yard touchdown catch by Peyton Climer from Matthew Albritton.
The Tigers offense kept it going on the second quarter with Ethan Madewell running it in to make the score 23-0 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Landon Baker was able to find the endzone after a pass from Albritton to make the score 30-0 in the second quarter, and Michael McKinley was able to find the endzone on a 13 yard pass to extend their lead to 37-0 with 2 minutes left in the first half.
As time was expiring in the second half, Pickett County was able to score and cut their deficit to 37-6 at half time.
The Gordonsville offense kept their offense kept their foot on the gas in the second half, with Kyle Adams running it in for a touchdown, and Madewell running it in for the 2 point conversion to make the score 45-6 early in the third quarter. Austin Shaeffer ran it in for the Tigers next drive and Austin Williams ran it in for the 2 point conversion to give the Tigers a 53-6 lead, which wrapped up the scoring for the Tigers.
With 1 minute left in the game, Pickett County found the end zone for their second time of the night and converted a 2 point conversion to make the score 53-14.
What’s next for the Tigers?
The Tigers will be back in Gordonsville next week as they host Trousdale County on Friday 9/11
Smith County loses 42-14 to Upperman Bees
The Smith County Owls lost 42-14 to the Upperman Bees in a game that was close until late in the fourth quarter.
The Upperman Bees went up early, scoring on a 56 yard run just over a minute into the game, and a 49 yard rush on Uppermans next drive to take a 14-0 lead just over 4 minutes into the game.
The Owls offense wasn’t able to get going on their next drive, but a deep punt by the Owls and a stop by the defense forced the Bees to punt and give Smith County the balll back at the 40 yard line. The Owls were able to find the end one a few plays later off of a touchdown pass from Johnny Lyda to Dennis West to narrow the score to 14-7 with a minute left in the first quarter.
The Upperman Bees broke off another long run to make their lead 21-7, but the Owls took a long drive down field that was capped off by a touchdown pass from Lyda to DJ Burk to bring the Owls back within one possession, 21-14.
The Owls were able to cover some ground on their initial drive of the second half, but were stopped at the 20. Both teams were able to make stops defensively, but midway through the fourth quarter the Bees were able to stop any comeback attempt the Owls may have had.
The Bees found the endzone for the first time in the second half with 6 minutes left in game off of a 15 yard touchdown run. The Upperman defense was able to stop the Owls offense and get the ball back, breaking another big run to extend their lead to 35-14 with 5 minutes left in the game. The Bees found the endzone one more time to make the score 42-14, and drop the Owls to 0-3 on the season.
What’s next for the Owls?
The Owls will have a bye week next week before hosting York Institute on 9/18.
Lady Owls Soccer Hosts Greenbrier on Senior Night
Submitted by Vivian Schaffers
Senior Gracey Angel 
Senior Ashley Bush 
Senior Brennan Rigsby
Senior Jaynada Wallace 
Senior Allexis West
Thursday, August 27, 2020 the Lady Owls hosted the Greenbrier Lady Bobcats for a varsity and jv game. It was also Smith County’s Senior Night. The game was only a few minutes into action when the Lady Owls were awarded their first set piece of the night. Eighth grader, Kiley Jenkins, took the kick. The ball flew over the wall, easily past the keep and found it’s home in the net. This was Kiley’s first high school goal.Off to a good start, leading one to nothing, SC went back to work. About half way through the half Eighth grader Aubrey Felice sent the ball up to Sophomore Brianna Solomon. The goalie came out to fall on the ball but Brianna beat her, fell over the keep and had a front row view of the ball rolling into the net to give her, her first goal on the season. While the Lady Owls dominated the rest of the half and came close several times, the half would close with SC 2, Greenbrier 0.The half was dedicated to to honoring our Senior Lady Owls. The Seniors this season are: Allexis West, Brennan Rigsby, Jaynada Wallace, Ashley Bush and Gracey Angel. The second half was full of energy. The lady Owls continued to frustrate the Lady Cats. There were two more goals added and they both would come from Junior Biz Davis. Goalie Anna Vining and that back line secured a clean sheet and SC won the game 4-0.
The JV followed the Varsity game and a few things were very visible in this game. There were some nerves, of course, it was interesting to see that this jv team seemed more comfortable playing together than would be expected, chemistry. Most importantly, the future of the team promises to be incredibly bright.This game was physical, there was a yellow card awarded to the Lady Cats. This game was full of teamwork and focus. SC would score once in each half, both goals brought to you by Junior McKayla Pace. However, this game would be called with seven minutes left due to lightning. Goalies Eden Daniel and Karsyn Bucy kept the goalkeeping staff in clean sheets on the night and the Lady Owls won this game 2-0.
Next up will be SC Lady Owls hosting Upperman on Tuesday September 1st at 6 PM. We hope to see so many supporters there cheering on this great bunch of student athletes. Please wear a mask and help us social distance in order to keep everyone safe, comply with the TSSAA terms and allow the girls to continue this season. Thank you all for the support and care.
Gordonsville beats Smith County 28-0, notching first shut out in the series since 1995
The Gordonsville Tigers beat the Smith County Owls 28-0 on Saturday night. The win over the Owls marked the Tigers second win over their rivals in three years, and back to back wins at Owl Stadium.
The Smith County Owls started off strong, kicking and recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff, and the Owls were able to get the passing game going early, driving to the 25 yard line, but a fumbled snap recovered by Gordonsville gave the Tigers the ball at the 40 yard line.
The Tigers were able to piece together some big plays in the rushing game on their first drive, which was capped off by Tyler Gregory running it in to give Gordonsville a 7-0 lead with 1:25 left in the first quarter.
The Owls were stopped on their next drive, but we’re able to punt it to the 10 yard line to pin the Tigers back. The Tigers were able to make a couple plays. The Owls were able to get the ball back following an interception by Johnny Lyda, but the Owls were stopped and forced to punt on the ensuing drive.
Neither team was able to get their offenses going on the next two drives, with both teams being forced to punt. The Tigers were able to block the Owls punt and get the ball back to start their drive in the red zone and they scored a couple plays later on a 12 yard rush by Darrel Holt with 1:49 left in the first half to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
The Owls were able to drive down and attempt a 45 yard field goal that hit the crossbar and bounced back out, and the Tigers kept their 14-0 lead going into the half.
Smith County got the ball back after half time, but the Tigers defense was able to force a three and out, and Gordonsville got the ball back around midfield. The Tigers offense was able to get going on the ensuing drive, with Darrel Holt running it in for his second touchdown of the night with 5:41 left in the third quarter to take a 21-0 lead.
The Tigers defense was able to pick up another stop, and the Gordonsville offense kept their foot on the gas, with Tyler Gregory running it in to score his second touchdown of the night to extend the lead to 28-0 with 11:13 left in the game.
The Owls connected on a 50 yard pass play, but turned the ball over on the next play to give the Tigers the ball back, and the Tigers were able to drive down field and keep the clock moving to end the game and secure the win over the Owls, 28-0.
What’s Next for the Tigers?
The Tigers will be on the road again next week to take on Pickett County on 9/4
What’s Next for the Owls?
The Owls will be at home again next week to take on Upperman on 9/4
SCHS vs GHS football game delayed
The annual rivalry game between the Smith County High School Owls and Gordonsville High School Tigers has been postponed until Saturday, August 29th, at 6:00 pm. The one-day delay is due to the forecasted inclement weather of a tropical depression from the remnants of Hurricane Laura.
Limited tickets are still available for pre-sale before the game. If any tickets remain available, they will be sold prior to the game on Saturday. The gates will open up at 5:00 pm.
Be sure to follow the Smith County Insider’s sports page for coverage of the Owls and Tigers all season long.
