On Tuesday night 10-13-15 the Lady Owls headed to Macon County High School to play against Merrol Hyde Magnet School Hawks in the D8A-AA Semi-Final. Talk about one super intense game! Smith County Lady Owls lost to Merrol Hyde last year in the very same game 3-5 and had vowed this year would be different. Both teams came out onto the pitch with nothing in mind but winning and making it to the final round of the playoffs. The Hawks took shot after shot against Smith County goalie Tori Lankford but she was determined that nothing would get by her. The Lady Owls had their fair share of shots on goal but nothing was hitting the net. Score at halftime was 0-0. Going into the second half, Assistant Coach Chris Smith said, “Whoever scores will win tonight.” Both teams struggled still to land a goal. With exceptional defense on both sides of the field, one was beginning to wonder if it’d come down to penalty kicks. With everything on the line, the Lady Owls still pushed forward hard and their efforts finally paid off when junior forward Abby Smith finally found the back of the net with a pass from Katy Wright. The Smith County crowd and sideline went wild. The game was not over yet though. Coaches Dunbar and Smith changed the formation to a 4-4-2 which stacked the two center mids. This would give them the added defense they needed in order to keep the Hawks out of scoring range. Smith County defense of Alyssa West, Delani Harrelson, Madison Spivey, Katy Wright and captains Lena Broyles and Savannah Wright along with goalie Tori Lankford were able to shut down the Hawks and bring home a victory of 1-0. The Lady Owls would finally overcome Merrol Hyde and make it to the D8A-AA Championship game just like they did in the Lady Owls’ captain’s freshman year of 2012. When Coach Dunbar was asked about the game, “Merrol Hyde is a great team and well coached. They sent us home last year and this year we returned the favor. It was a hard fought game from start to finish.”

The first round of District Playoffs against York Institute was off to a great start at home Monday 10-12-15. Delani Harrelson was able to perform her famous flip throw that was first touched by a York defender outside the eighteen, sending it into the box as Abby Smith made a touch pass off to Katy Wright. Katy was able to send the ball past the goalie and into the net. In the 10^th minute Katy scored again following a punt from goalie Tori Lankford setting game at 2-0.

The second half was 12 minutes under way when Lady Owls were able to score off of a flip throw again. Abby Smith was switched to left forward and by running onto the ball after the throw in, took a shot that the keeper wasn’t able to control and knocking it into the goal. Final goal came when Abbi Gregory took a shot outside the eighteen after receiving a pass from sophomore Dalia Rodriguez. The playoff game ended with a final score of 4-0 sending the Lady Owls to the semi-finals against Merrol Hyde Magnet School at Macon County High School on Tuesday 10-13-15 making them 13-0-0.

The Smith County Lady Owls travelled to Cumberland County for their last regular season game on Thursday 10-08-15. Lady Owls took the pitch strong and scored within the first 8 minutes of the game with a goal from senior forward Julia Pardue. It wasn’t long after that when Lady Owls found the net again with a combination of ball handling and passing. Young sophomore Alyssa Williams was able to win the ball in the mid-field from a Cumberland County punt by chesting a pass off to Pardue who laid off another pass to Savannah Wright. Pushing the ball toward the net, Wright touched the ball forward to Abby Smith who was then able to turn around the defender and send the ball wide back to Pardue as she was coming up the left side. Julia took the shot across the six aiming for back post when the goalie missed. However sophomore Kierra Crawford was in the right place at the right time and touched the ball into the goal bringing Smith County 2-0.

Cumberland County would not be denied as they started a comeback 25 minutes in by lacing one over our goalie’s head and putting them on the board with their first goal of the night. They scored once again in the 37^th minute as they brought it to a tie of 2-2. The pressure was on for the Owls to come ahead before halftime. Within the 40^th minute right as the halftime buzzer rang out, Mia Harrelson was fouled in the box giving Smith County a penalty kick that was taken by Abby Smith. She kept the ball low and to the right out of the keeper’s reach, upping the score 3-2 for Lady Owls. The second half the Owls showed a tougher resolve as they worked hard at defending and holding Cumberland back from finding the goal. The Lady Owls took a hit when they lost starting forward Julia Pardue to a knee injury and taking her out from the rest of the game. With twenty minutes left the rain set in but the girls continued to press on and defend bringing home a final score of 3-2 and an undefeated regular season of 12-0-0.

With a 35-25 win at Sequatchie County this past Friday night, the DeKalb County Tigers put themselves in the driver’s seat for the Region 4-3A Championship, which, if captured, would be the first Region/District Championship in football in school history. The Tigers can take one step closer to that goal this Friday night, as the Grundy County Yellow Jackets visit Smtihville. Football Game Night will have all the action on DTC3 and www.dtc3.tv at 6:45 p.m. this Friday night. Kickoff of the game is at 7:00 p.m. Join Tom Duggin, Darvin Gill and the coach, Chris Vance, for all the coverage LIVE from the VanHooser Stadium in Smithville.

DeKalb County (5-2, 3-0 Region) has won four of their last five games after last Friday’s win, with most of their victories coming down to the wire. The Tigers held a two possession lead for much of the night in Dunlap, but the Indians had the ball late in the final quarter, after having closed the gap to 28-25. A.J. Mooneyham ran for a pair of touchdowns, while QB Steven Jennings both threw and ran for a score. Jesse Smith scampered in for the Tigers’ other score in the game. The Tigers are currently tied with Upperman for first place in the Region 4-3A standings. DeKalb County is scheduled to visit Baxter on October 23, in what might prove to be the Region Championship game.

Grundy County (1-5, 1-1 Region) is coming off their bye week, after having lost three consecutive games. The Yellow Jackets are winless on the road this season (0-3), having averaged only six points per game on the road. Grundy’s lone win of the season came at home against Cannon County on September 4, when the Jackets recorded a 37-14 victory over the Region rival Lions. Grundy County’s run heavy offense averages approximately 166.5 yards on the ground per game, led by James McDaniel’s 433 yards and four scores.

DeKalb County and Grundy County have met 11 times since 1972, but have not squared off on the gridiron since 1994. The Yellow Jackets own a 7-4 overall lead int he series, and are 3-2 against DeKalb County in Smithville. Grundy won the last four meetings in the series and seven of the last eight overall. The Tigers won the first three meetings in the series, in 1972, 73 and 75. DeKalb County’s last win in the series came in 1985, which was a 27-0 shutout. The two teams played in the 1990 Walking Horse Bowl in Shelbyville, a 21-20 win for the Yellow Jackets. The last meeting was in Smithville in 1994, a game won by Grundy County, 31-12.

DTC Sports will begin coverage of high school football on Friday night with Armchair Quarterbacks, airing at 6:00 p.m. (AQ also airs Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.), with LIVE coverage of Football Game Night following from the Dr. John L. VanHooser Memorial Stadium in Smithville at 6:45 p.m. Watch local high school football exclusively on DTC3, DTC3 HD (channel 303) and live via web stream at www.dtc3.tv.

The Lady Owls faced off against the Jackson County Blue Devils in a re-match at home on Thursday night. Forward Abby Smith led Smith County off to a great start by scoring back to back goals a minute apart with assists from Katy Wright and Abbi Gregory in only 8 minutes into the game. Lady Owls were able to put one more point on the board as Katy Wright found the net at minute 32 with a halftime score of 3-0. During Halftime we honored our 5 seniors: Lena Broyles 16, Savannah Wright 25, Julia Pardue 24, Katie Fox 18 and Delani Harrelson 19.

At the start of the second half the Lady Owls kept on the pressure by adding another quick goal by Savannah Wright with an assist from Mai Harrelson. Smith County continued on and added another final goal when they were awarded a Penalty Kick for a foul in the box. The PK was taken by Senior Savannah Wright. Play continued until the Blue Devils were awarded their own PK for a foul in the box. Leaving the game at 5-1 for the night. The season for the Lady Owls is now 11-0-0. They travel to White County on Thursday.

Quote from Coach Bubba Dunbar, “Tonight we honored our seniors for their hard work and commitment. This was a great game to let them just play and have fun. The younger girls played hard and enjoyed this time with the seniors.”