Lady Trojans, Mustangs host Smyrna

The bowling seasons continue Saturday and Monday for Soddy-Daisy's and Walker Valley's teams, all in sectionals against Smyrna and Columbia Central.

Soddy-Daisy will host the Smyrna girls at 1 p.m. Saturday at Holiday Bowl Hixson, which also is hosting the men's and women's city tournaments this weekend, and Walker Valley's Mustangs will entertain Smyrna at 1 p.m. Monday at Leisure Time Bowling in Cleveland.

Columbia Central will host the Lady Mustangs on Saturday and the Trojans on Monday, both at 2 p.m. EST at Galaxy Lanes in the Middle Tennessee town.

The state tournament runs Thursday through next Saturday in Smyrna, beginning with the individual tournaments. Area qualifiers for that competition include Tanner Johnson from Soddy-Daisy, who has the state's fifth best season average (222.37), and Walker Valley's Brendon Baker along with Reggie Long and Tanner Robinson from Central, Shane Wolfe from Chattanooga Christian, Josh Buie from Hixson, Jared King from McMinn County, Matthew Holliday from Signal Mountain and Ben Griffen from Crossville's Stone Memorial in Division I boys and Hannah Goodwin from CCS, Brandi Mooneyham from Sequatchie County, Halie Derrick from McMinn County, Kayla Bleil and Kylee Saunders from Soddy-Daisy and Chelsey McCormack, Alexis Rutledge and Amber Houchin from Walker Valley in Division I girls.

The Division II individual tourney will include Sydney Leech, Sara Griffith, Madi Stanley, Corey Swafford and Katy Richardson from defending team champion GPS; Morgan Wiley from the Baylor girls; Graham Leech, Aaron Speicher and Case White from McCallie; and Baylor sophomore Sho Takiguchi, who has the state's third highest Division II boys' average, 197.69.

GPS's Leech, Griffith and Stanley are second, fourth and fifth in the state in season averages.

Brainerd doubling up

Because of recent troubles with guns being fired outside gymnasiums in games involving Brainerd, Tyner and Howard, Brainerd's teams agreed to reschedule games set for tonight at Tyner this Saturday at noon and 1:30. Then after the switch, Brainerd boys' coach Robert High remembered something.

"We've got Cedar Grove coming in Saturday," High said of the school in Ellenwood, Ga., the Panthers and Lady Panthers have played regularly in recent seasons. "We've always played them the Saturday after Tyner."

So Brainerd now will play a rare doubleheader Saturday. When the teams return home from Tyner, they'll host Cedar Grove with the girls' game at 5:30 and the boys' game at 7.

"Why not?" High said. "The kids were like, 'Man, yeah!' It doesn't bother me. As long as the kids feel good about it."

Coach searches go on

While Sequatchie County High School filled its football coaching void this week by hiring Ken Colquette, two other Sequatchie Valley programs -- North Jackson and South Pittsburg -- are likely still at least two weeks from naming new coaches.

South Pittsburg athletic director Vic Grider, who stepped down as head coach after 16 seasons, is heading that school's search committee and said the list has been narrowed from 144 applicants to three finalists. Those three will come in for second interviews over the next couple of weeks before a decision is made.

North Jackson principal Sam Houston said the choices to take over the Chiefs also is down to three and final interviews will be conducted over the next week and a half.

In Hamilton County, Brainerd is in the early stages of its search to replace Stanley Jackson, who was asked to resign earlier this week, and Soddy-Daisy continues the process of finding a replacement for Kevin Orr, who resigned after last season.

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