TSSAA Votes “No” On Public / Private School Split
Under Armour Clothing Deal Possibly Coming to Smith County’s Schools
The Smith County Board of Education is currently reviewing an offer from Under Armour sports clothing company. The offer came to the surprise of the Board as the deal was first proposed at their June meeting. For this past Tuesday night’s July meeting, a representative from Sports World out of Lebanon was present to elaborate on the contract:
There are two options to the proposal:
- 3 Year Agreement:
- 35% off of retail price
- 10% of total spent will be given back to school
- $2,000 gift certificate from Sports World
2. 5 Year Agreement:
- 40% off (clothing and accessories) & 35% off footwear
- 12% of total spent will be given back to school
- $2,000 gift certificate from Sports World
Another benefit will include athletes receiving the same discount as the school if they choose to purchase merchandise independently.
Sports World will be discussing the contract with coaches across the board in Smith County to get their input and thoughts. Also, the Board’s attorneys will be reviewing the contract agreement when it has been presented to them. The Board will continue the discussion and/or vote on the contract at their next meeting.
Currently, Smith County would be the first to sign an exclusive deal like this with Under Armour in the state. Under Armour is looking to become the largest sports clothing company in the United States. The multibillion dollar company now ranks second to Nike.
High School Football “Heats” Up
High school football season is among us: Memorial Day has come and gone. Fourth of July celebrations are over, and ‘dog days’ are in full force. Recreational league sports are practically over. Vacation bible school programs, church camps, band camps, as well as family vacations, are coming to an end. Now, the focus of many parents and kids will turn to the start of a new school year.
High school football coaches and young men from the age of 13 thru 18, who brave the heat and humidity, readily await the beginning of a new football season.
The “dead period” came to an end last week which meant local area football teams could resume their regular pre-season training. The “dead period,” a TSSAA sanctioned two week phase, prohibited the coaches and players from meeting together in their organized routine. According to assistant executive director of the TSSAA, Matthew Gillespie, “This dead period was designed as a 2-week no contact vacation between coaches and players.” Gillespie pointed out, “While the no contact vacation was in effect, players could still work out and go through their conditioning regiment even on school property if policy permits.”
Currently, area teams have reorganized and some members are participating in “7 on 7” passing camps. These camps involve quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. Also, their defensive counterparts: cornerbacks, safeties, and linebackers are working on their passing game against other teams. These camps while organized, supervised, and officiated by coaches usually involves one or more schools. Players wear helmets and cleats, but other equipment such as shoulder and leg pads are not used. The rule of ending a live play is the normal ‘two-hand’ touch method.
Smith County Insider will be providing full coverage of Gordonsville and Smith County High School Football action this fall.
Check back with us as we will be soon giving a preseason perspective of Gordonsville and Smith County High School Football programs.
We will also be covering the happenings of the “TSSAA Legislative Council Agenda Including Proposed Change To Public-Private Competition” on Thursday in Murfreesboro which could have an effect on high school football in Smith County. Please check back for more details.
8U District 2 Coach Pitch Tournament Championship (Game 2)
Lebanon Gold 13
Smith County White 6
After pulling off a big upset in the first contest, Smith County White and Lebanon Gold faced off in nightcap winner take all championship game on Thursday, July 9th, at the beautiful Harold “Slick” Collins Memorial Field.
Smith County took an early 2-0 lead on an error and hits from Mason Greer, Will George, and Wyatt Claywell, but Lebanon Gold quickly responded with four of their own to take a 4-2 lead to the third. Smith County retook the lead 5-4 on hits form Alex Bush, J Foster, Dalton Watts, and Nolan Kelley, but once again Lebanon Gold quickly pushed across four more of their own to retake the lead to 8-5. They then expanded the lead with a huge five run inning in the fifth to make it 13-5. Smith County responded cutting it to 13-6 behind an error and two hits from Brody Sykes and Dalton Watts, but Lebanon Gold went on to win the title and the trip to the state tournament.
Lebanon Gold pounded out 14 hits in the contest. They were led by Jordan Jewell, and Mickel Whitley who each had three hits. They were followed closely by Carson Fox and Lincoln McFarland who each had two hits. SoSo Weir, Zeb Major, Christian Frewin, and Cyrus Bennett each added a hit to round out the Lebanon Gold attack.
Smith County fought hard and had 11 hits in the contest. They were led by J Foster, Dalton Watts, and Mason Greer who each had two hits. They were followed by Alex Bush, Brody Sykes, Nolan Kelley, Will George, and Wyatt Claywell who each had one hit.
8U District 2 Coach Pitch Tournament Championship (Game 1)
Smith County White 8
Lebanon Gold 4
On Thursday, July 9th, the District 2 Championship between Smith County White and Lebanon Gold began at the beautiful Crump Paris Park. Smith County, coming out of the loser’s bracket, would have to beat the undefeated Lebanon Gold twice in order to head to the state tournament.
Smith County jumped out early on Lebanon Gold taking an early 5-0 lead on one error and hits from Jett Underwood, Alex Bush, Brody Sykes, Dalton Watts, and Paxton Hix. Smith County extended their lead in the third driving home two more runs on two errors and hits from Brody Sykes, Dalton Watts, and Nolan Kelley extending the lead to 7-0. Lebanon Gold responded with a big four run fourth to cut the lead to 7-4, but Smith County pushed across one more in the fifth on an error and hits from Mason Greer and Case Collins. They then held the mighty Lebanon Gold offense, throwing out three runners at third base in the sixth to win the contest and force a decisive game two.
Smith County was led by Brody Sykes and Dalton Watts who each had two hits. They were followed by Jett Underwood, Alex Bush, Nolan Kelley, Paxton Hix, Mason Greer, and Case Collins who each had one hit.
Lebanon Gold was led by Carson Fox who had two hits. Fox was followed by Chase Dickerson, Jordan Jewell, Mickel Whitley, Brycen Cousino, and Remarion Jackson who each had one hit.
8U District 2 Coach Pitch Tournament
Lebanon Blue 6
Smith County White 0
The District 2 8U Coach Pitch Tournament began this past Monday, July 6th, evening at the beautiful Harold “Slick” Collins Memorial Field located at Crump Paris Park. Among a crowd of nearly 150 people, the action kicked off with the lone Smith County team left in 8U tourney playing host to the Lebanon Blue All Stars.
Lebanon Blue got the scoring started early as they pushed across two runs in the first on a pair of singles and three errors by the Smith County defense. Smith County came back in their half of the first, loading the bases on singles by J Foster and Paxton Hix then an error allowing Nolan Kelley to reach, but Lebanon Blue’s outfield was ready as Brody Sykes smashed a ball to their right fielder who caught it on the run to end the threat. Lebanon Blue then pushed across one more in the third behind a single and two more errors by the Smith County defense extending the advantage to 3-0. In the fourth, Lebanon Blue extended the lead once again pushing the lead to 6-0 behind three run inning paced by four singles. Smith County never seemed to get anything going after the first as Lebanon Blue cruised to an opening victory 6-0.
Lebanon Blue had seven hits in the contest. They were led by Will Wright who had two hits on the night. Wright was followed by Jack Greer, Peyton Laws, Brayden Taylor, Camden Johnson, and Maddox Njezic who each had one hit.
Smith County was led by J Foster, Paxton Hix, Brody Sykes, and Case Collins who each had one hit. With the loss, Smith County was set to face the Sparta All Stars who lost to Lebanon Gold 14-5 in a loser’s bracket elimination game.
Smith County White 12
Sparta All Stars 7
After both team’s lost their previous contests on Monday, the loser’s bracket elimination game in the night cap of action this past Tuesday night, July 7th, at the beautiful Crump Paris Park. With both teams needing a win, as you could guess the magic in the bag was pulled out by both coaches. After nearly an hour and half rain delay, the magic of sour Skittles came to benefit the Smith County boys.
Smith County struck for three in the first behind a single from Jett Underwood and triple from J Foster to give them an early 3-0 lead. Sparta retaliated in the second as they pushed across two of their own, but Smith County once again was not going to be denied as they pushed across five more behind hits from Cole Hackett, Dalton Watts, Wyatt Claywell, Jett Underwood, and Alex Bush to extend the lead to 8-2. Sparta was able to tack on one more in their of half of the third and fourth innings to cut it to 8-4, but Smith County responded in their half of the fourth with two of their own to make it 10-4 on hits from Brody Sykes and Will George. Sparta retaliated with three of their own to make it 10-7, but Smith County slammed the door in the fifth as they pushed across two more runs on three Sparta errors to win the contest 12-7. Smith County advanced to the semi-finals where they would face off with the Lebanon Blue All Stars in a big rematch.
Smith County was led at the plate by Jett Underwood who had two hits on the night. Underwood was followed by Alex Bush, J Foster, Brody Sykes, Cole Hackett, Will George, Dalton Watts, and Wyatt Claywell who each had one hit.
Sparta was led by Mason Steel and Eli Scoggins who each had two hits in the contest. They were followed by Kayden Sanders, Gabriel Baker, Nicolas Nelson, and Jonathan Lohorn who each had one hit.
Smith County White 9
Lebanon Blue 7
The semifinals of the District 2 8U Tournament featured the Smith County White All Stars taking on the Lebanon Blue All Stars on Wednesday, July 8th, at Harold “Slick” Collins Memorial Field. With a win, Smith County White would be two wins from the District 2 Championship and a trip to the state tournament.
From the first inning, Smith County seized control and never looked back as they pushed across five runs on two errors and hits from Brody Sykes, Dalton Watts, Nolan Kelley, and Mason Greer. Lebanon Blue pushed across two in their half to cut the lead to 5-2, Smith County responded in the third tacking on two more on an error and hits from Nolan Kelley and Paxton Hix to extend the lead to 7-2. Lebanon Blue responded with three of their own to cut the lead to 7-5, but Smith County once again extended the lead to 9-5 on an error and hits from J Foster and Brody Sykes. Lebanon Blue would not go down quietly as they pushed across two of more in the sixth to cut the lead to 9-7, but with the tying runs on first and second, Smith County Shortstop J Foster fielded a grounder with two outs and flipped it to the third basemen to send Smith County to the championship game on Thursday. After a clean handshake, the dogpile occurred sealing a great night of action in Smith County.
Smith County was led by Brody Sykes and Nolan Kelley who each had two hits. They were followed by J Foster, Dalton Watts, Paxton Hix, and Mason Greer who each had one hit.
Lebanon Blue was led by Ayden Moore who had three hits. Moore was followed by Antwan Abston, Mason Hallum, Madox Hallum, Brayden Taylor, and Camden Johnson who each had one hit.
Smith County Seniors Claim District Title
Senior League District 2 Championship Series
Smith County Seniors 6
Portland Seniors 5
The District 2 Championship series resumed this past Monday evening at the local Crump Paris Park after being suspended by rain the previous week. After numerous rainouts, the action finally was resumed on July 6th in the 3rd inning.
Smith County pushed across an early run to take a 1-0 lead with Portland at bat before the rain began to fall the previous week. According to Little League rules, any game previously shortened must resume before any contest may begin after. This contest resumed in the third inning when Portland was able to take the lead from Smith County 2-1 in their half of the inning on two walks and a single. Smith County then came to plate as Justin Vaden, Leith McKinney, and Chris McKinley strung together three singles and Britt Dillard drew a walk to put runners on for Adam Goolsby who singled to left field to give Smith County the lead 3-2. In the fourth, Smith County pushed across three more runs to extend the lead to 6-2. The inning started as Draven Wilkerson singled then a pair of walks loaded the bases for Chris McKinley who grounded a ball to the 2nd basemen to extend the lead to 4-2. Britt Dillard then came up and drove a ball to deep left to drive in two more, extending the lead to 6-2. However, Portland was going anywhere. In the sixth, Portland was able to push across three runs of their own on two errors, two walks, and single to make the contest 6-5. With the tying run on 3rd base, Smith County made a pitching change as Leith McKinney came in to strikeout the side, picking up the save,
Smith County pitcher Cody Bryant picked up the win in the contest as he tossed two innings of relief. Bryant turned the ball over to Mason Gregory who struggled with command. Gregory was relieved by Leith McKinney who came in to pick up the save working two innings of scoreless work.
Smith County was led at the plate by Adam Goolsby, Draven Wilkerson, and Chris McKinley who each had two hits. They were followed by Justin Vaden, Leith McKinney, and Cody Bryant who each had a hit.
Portland was kept off balance at the plate but did manage three hits. They were led by Dakota White, Noah Mayak, and Kory Meadors-Henry who each had one hit.
WP- Cody Bryant (SC)
LP- Ryan Smith (P)
SV- Leith McKinney (SC)
Senior League District 2 Championship Series (cont.)
Smith County Seniors 17
Portland Seniors 0
Once again battling the rain, the District 2 Senior League Championship Series resumed on Tuesday, July 7th, at the local Crump Paris Park. Smith County narrowly escaped a loss in the first contest, but the second was a completely different animal.
Through two innings Smith County had an early 3-0 lead as they were able to take advantage of an error and three straight singles from Nathan Huff, Cody Bryant, and Adam Goolsby to gain an early advantage. In the third, Smith County pushed across one more run on three straight singles from Mitchell Kirby, Chris McKinley, and Britt Dillard. In the fourth, the rain began to fall with Portland at the plate as the contest went into an hour and 10 minute delay. Upon resuming, the contest quickly swung Smith County’s way as they took advantage of seven walks and singles from Zeke Gibbs, Mason Gregory, Cody Bryant, Draven Wilkerson, and Leith McKinney to extend the lead to 14-0. In the fifth, Smith County pushed across three more runs on two walks and singles from Draven Wilkerson, Devin Goodwin, and Mason Gregory as they coasted to another District 2 Championship behind a 17-0 mercy rule victory.
Smith County pitcher Leith McKinney was dominant on the mound working around two walks. The 15-year old righty tossed a complete game, scattering two hits, while striking out eight in pitching his team into the 2015 Senior League State Tournament in Morristown, Tennessee.
Smith County pounded out 13 hits in the contest. They were led at the plate Draven Wilkerson, Mason Gregory, and Cody Bryant who each had two hits. This trio was followed by Leith McKinney, Mitchell Kirby, Devin Goodwin, Chris McKinley, Britt Dillard, Zeke Gibbs, and Nathan Huff who each had one hit.
McKinney kept Portland off balance as they were able to scrap out two hits. They were led by Jordan Douglas and Noah Woods who each had one hit.
WP- Leith McKinney (SC)
LP- Noah Mayak (P)
John Ross Hord – TN Future Star
John Ross Hord is an upcoming 8th grade student at DES and plays Jr. high football for SCMS. On April 12, he attended a try-out in Nashville,TN for the TN Future Stars Football Team. Additional tryouts were held in Knoxville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. On May 5, Hord received the news that he had been chosen as 1 among 500 7th and 8th graders to play on the 7th grade TN Future Stars Team. Hord stayed at the campus of UT Knoxville with other teammates chosen across TN from June 10-13 in order to prepare for the TN vs KY Future Stars Classic game held on June 13 at Alcoa High School. TN won against KY 32-0. John Ross is the son of Rob and Annette Hord and the brother of Robin Anne Hord. His grand parents are Garry and Jeanne Nesbitt and Diane Holleman.
Smith County 12U vs. Hartsville 12U
Smith County 12U 10
Hartsville 12U 2
On Sunday, July 5th, the 12U Area 2 Tournament was finally concluded after numerous rain outs and suspension of play due to weather on Friday. Smith County and Hartsville met in the 2:00 contest, with the winner advancing to the District 2 Tournament.
Smith County jumped out on Hartsville early behind pitcher Kevin Boles. SC took a 4-0 lead in the first and expanded it to 8-0 in the second with a four run inning powered by an Ethan Young home run. Hartsville cut it to 8-1 in the fourth as they pushed across a run, but Smith County retaliated with a two run fifth to take a 10-1 lead. Hartsville pushed across a late run as Smith County went on to win 10-2.
Kevin Boles got the start for Smith County working 3-1/3 innings of work striking out nine and walking one. Boles turned it over to Cody Williams who tossed a solid 1-2/3 innings of relief striking out two, walking two, and giving up three hits. Cole Huddleston came on in the sixth to nail it down for Smith County tossing an inning of relief with three strikeouts and two walks.
Smith County was led at the plate by Zeke Dillon who had three hits in the contest. Dillon was followed by Michael McKinley, Ethan Young, and Cody Williams who each had two hits. Ethan Young blasted a two run homer in the second to pace the offense for Smith County. Collin Howell added one hit to Smith County’s cause.
Hartsville was led by Trent Pharris, Robert Butcher, and Jesse Kleinpeter who each had one hit.
WP- Kevin Boles (SC)
LP- Robert Butcher (H)
Smith County Red 10U vs. Sparta 10U
Smith County Red 10U 9
Sparta 10U 6
After being rained out on Friday, the Smith County Red 10U All Stars met up with the Sparta All Stars on July 4th. After Gallatin claimed the Area Championship before this contest, a spot in the District 2 Tournament in Lebanon awaited the winner of the tie breaker if Smith County Red was able to pull off a victory.
Smith County Red jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, and then extended it in the second to 6-0. Sparta pushed across four of their own to cut the lead to 6-4. Smith County once again extended the lead to 8-4, but Sparta once again pushed across two more to cut it to 8-6. Smith County pushed across one late run in the sixth to make it 9-6, then shut the door on Sparta to win the contest 9-6.
Smith County Red starting pitcher Abe Goolsby worked five plus innings of work in picking up the win for his team. Owen Gregory came on in the sixth to slam the door and pick up the save for Smith County.
Smith County Red was led by Abe Goolsby with two hits. Goolsby was followed by Taylor Kemp, Kyle Adams, Tucker Smith, Tristan Wood, and Westen Vance who each had one hit.
Sparta was led by Seth Green with two hits. Green was followed by Trad Grizzle, John Issac Baker, Paul Keller, Owen Adams, Bray Frasier, Jacob Maples, and Layne Brown who each had one hit.
WP- Abe Goolsby (SCR)
LP- Trad Grizzle (SP)
SV- Owen Gregory (SCR)
