GRIDIRON
Special Publication of Elizabethton Newsmedia LLC
Football Preview
Team Previews
• Happy Valley • Elizabethton • Unaka
• Cloudland • Hampton • Johnson County
August 2021
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Table of A game like no other... Contents High School football evokes joy and
ELIZABETHTON Cyclones.........................................6 HAPPY VALLEY Warriors.......................................16 HAMPTON Bulldogs........................................20 UNAKA Rangers.........................................26 CLOUDLAND Highlanders..................................32 JOHNSON COUNTY Longhorns....................................38
On The Cover
GRIDIRON
Special Publication of Elizabethton Newsmedia LLC
Football Preview
August 2021
Team Previews
• Happy Valley • Elizabethton • Unaka
• Cloudland • Hampton • Johnson County
Photo by Ivan Sanders
Friday Night Lights include several key elements including players and cheerleaders. Local schools are ready for another great season in 2021.
Star Photos by: Ivan Sanders, Larry N. Souders, Dawn Lambert
Layout/Design
pride throughout the community
BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
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he bone-jarring collisions, sounds of helmets and pads popping, the band dancing and marching to the beat of their own drum, and cheerleaders performing stunts - it all adds up to another year of prep football in the Carter County and Johnson County communities. Sometimes it’s hard to explain just why football holds such a cherished spot in the hearts of each school community represented but the more one contemplates it, the clearer it is to see that football and life hold a lot of the same values. Adversity lies at the forefront of the game as does life. It’s about the ability to regroup not only as an individual but as a group and face that adversity head-on fighting with every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears we have to turn what seems like a hopeless situation into a victory. With pressure being applied from all sides it is that feeling of having a fellow brother standing beside of you in the trenches to remind you that the fight is something that one doesn’t have to do alone - there are others that are willing to come alongside you in the heat of battle. With the beginning of the 2021 season, some of the same adversity from 2020 exist as COVID is still a thorn in the flesh as the season kicks off with many fears of what that may bring. However, teams are pressing forward in preparation, the bands are expected to be able to once again troop the field during halftime, and fans will again fill the stands to cheer on their team. And the Elizabethton Star will endeavor to cover as many games as possible throughout the year as we hold the press on Friday nights to get the latest games in the paper for everyone to enjoy reading about over the weekends filled with photos from all the action. As the Sports Editor of the STAR, I take this project of providing a preseason look at each team and providing rosters and schedules so everyone can know where and whom each school plays very seriously. I appreciate each coaching staff, team, cheerleading squad, and school administration for working with us to provide this product to our readers. Also, for every business and individual who comes behind us in support of this project, we say a big “Thank You” because this couldn’t be accomplished without your financial contribution. And from my heart, I say a special “Thank You” to our team at the STAR who help bring the best sports coverage anywhere to our readers - Nic Miller, Allen LaMountain, Austin Alexander, Larry Souders, Brandon Hyde, Dawn Lambert, Randall Bennett, our magical paginator Robin Johnson, all of our pressroom staff who stay late on Friday’s to run our weekend paper, our advertising representatives, and our General Manager Delaney Scalf. Just like on the football field, it takes an army to bring our readers the sports coverage that we have been able to over the years and this year will be no different. In closing, we hope that you enjoy the 2021 Gridiron Football Preview. We want to take just a moment and wish the best of luck to our teams as they represent Carter County, Johnson County, and their respective communities on the field of play: Elizabethton Cyclones, Cloudland Highlanders, Hampton Bulldogs, Happy Valley Warriors, Johnson County Longhorns, and Unaka Rangers. You have and always will be winners in our eyes!!
Robin Johnson
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2021 Elizabethton High School Fighting Cyclones
Gunning for their third straight... Cyclones have a huge bullseye on back heading into 2021
BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
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biggest game and now it’s the third week of the season. As coaches and as players, we are not going to lower that standard,” Witten stated. “We have got to get the guys to compete to raise the bar and challenge themselves. You can be two ways as a program - you can be a program where no one wants to play you or a program where everybody wants to play you. “Our first six games are as tough as they have ever been. I think that it’s exciting and motivates you every
he Elizabethton Cyclones will soon find out how an elusive, exotic animal feels when they kick off their 2021 campaign as the back-to-back defending Class 4A State Champions as every team they play will be stalking them with like a hunter wanting to be able to plant their foot on their Star Photo/Ivan Sanders backs and shout to the highest Elizabethton Cyclone Head mountain - we took down the Coach Shawn Witten champs. This is something that hasn’t day.” been lost on Cyclones head coach Shawn Witten. And while the identity of “There are great challenges,” Witten shared. “We the 2021 Cyclones hasn’t yet been have set the bar really high and there are tons of expectations. We have got to perform at a high level. established, the success of this team Over the last 24 months, people in this area are tired has been replicating a formula that Witten and his coaching staff implemented of hearing about Elizabethton. and has followed on their way to winning 30 “Our road gets extremely tough. Guys before straight games and two state titles. them have set the bar high and we graduated 25“Time will tell what our identity will be,” plus players that have been in those big football Witten noted. “The system has proven that games that have paved the way to get us over the there is a winning formula. We have to get hump and there are great challenges.” All one has to do is to look at the brutal schedule guys to play within the winning formula. “The core value of your football team is the Cyclones have for the season to realize that the your sophomores and juniors -they have to competition is salivating to take their shot at the be the unsung heroes. They are role players Cyclones. and have to take on that role and maximize “Used to, the third week of October was our 6
Bryson Rollins Quarterback
that opportunity. “You have got to have people who will block, who will make the tackle, guys to be possession receivers to help move the chains, and special team role players,” continued Witten. Witten was asked what the keys on both sides of the football were heading into a new season in 2021. “To be a really good offensive team, you have to be able to run the football,” Witten said. “We can’t beat ourselves by turning the ball over and make mistakes. “You have to have anchor defensive linemen who can stop the run and be disciplined. There is a way to go about winning. “Our football teams over the last 14 years have been able to thrive in tough situations,” commented Witten. “That means situations that you have to execute two-minute drills, field goal situations, and special teams situations showing that we understand the critical parts of the game. I feel that is where we have made the most ground in the last couple of years in winning the state championships.” While the streak could potentially come to an end in 2021, Witten still sees his team having a path back to the podium in Chattanooga this year to defend their title. “You win with people, you lose with people but the greater the bond the better you are going to have a chance to win in the long run. We may take our bumps and bruises early, but I think we are going to be a stronger team in the end,” Witten stated. “We may come up short a couple of games but as long as we set ourselves up, we have the opportunity to defend our title. Is it going to be easy - by no means no but if the guys come with the great attitude as they have I think that we will be okay.”
2021 Elizabethton Football Schedule August
20 at Science Hill 27 RHEA COUNTY
September
3 GREENEVILLE* 10 DANIEL BOONE 17 at Grainger* 24 ANDERSON COUNTY
October
1 at Sullivan East* 8 Open 15 at Volunteer* 22 Open 29 at Seymour* ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games.
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2021 Elizabethton Cyclone Football Roster No. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 37 40 41 44 45 46 47 48 50 51
Name Cameron Baker Cade Russell Jesse Whitehead Zeth Mullins Josh Sweeney Jeriah Griffin Bryson Rollins Eli Blevins Gib Maupin Bryson Rowland TJ Little Luke Whaley Eli Williams Jake Roberts Dalton Mitchell Teddy Orton Zion Reddick Nate Stephens Bryson Davis Dillon Woodby Mason Williams Billy Woodby Kaleb Holzer Blake Stewart Caleb Campbell Sean Smithdeal Jacob Shelton Andrew Blevins Markel Chappell Jon Siepert Landry Buckles Will Taylor Harrison Lane Hunter Franklin Caleb Johnson Michael Bolton Maddox Tressler Wesley Shankles Diesel Russell Seth Campbell Denton Gilliam
Class 10 11 10 10 11 9 12 10 10 9 12 10 11 12 11 11 10 11 12 12 11 9 10 12 9 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 12 10 12 9 10 11 9 9 11
Ht. 6’2 6’0 6’2 5’9 5’9 5’10 6’1 6’1 6’1 5’8 6’3 5’9 6’1 6’0 6’0 5’11 5’10 5’10” 6’3 5’10 6’3 5’10 5’10 6’0 5’11 5’7 5’11 6’1 6’2 5’10 6’0 6’0 6’0 5’11 6’1 5’8 5’10 5’8 5’10 6’4 6’3
Wt. 210 205 180 170 160 160 205 165 170 160 170 160 220 190 175 180 225 175 215 190 175 210 175 220 155 145 180 210 235 145 165 155 175 200 190 135 170 200 165 315 225
Position WR/DB ATH WR/DB ATH WR/DB ATH QB WR/DB QB WR/DB LB WR/DB LB WR/DB ATH WR/DB LB ATH DL TE LB LB RB/LB LB K K LB DL DL LB LB LB LB DL DL LB LB LB LB OL OL
No. 52 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 66 67 68 70 71 74 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 92 99
Name JC Andes Kyron Smalls Drew Turner Jacob Whitaker Brock Stewart Andrew White Owen Slagle Carson Atkinson Gavin Kodak Eli Guess Conner Johnson Grayson Hatfield Corey Green Dylan McDuffie Carter Muncey Trenton Taylor Caden Draine Sam Bowers Josh Hayes Brad Cannon Carter Nagy Mason Ball Alex Riddle Jeremiah Norris Logan Campbell Edwin Mendez JT Long Blaine Tolley Landon Hughes Ben Adams Andrew Vance Ethan Henderson
Class 10 9 12 11 9 10 12 9 9 10 12 12 10 11 9 12 11 11 10 11 10 10 10 9 9 10 12 9 9 9 9 9
Ht. 6’1 5’10 5’11 5’10 5’10 6’0 6’1 5’8 6’0 6’1 6’3 6’3 6’1 6’1 5’10 6’5 6’4 6’4 6’0 6’4 5’11 6’4 5’9 6’0 5’6 5’10 5’11 6’0 6’2 6’2 5’10 5’10
Wt. 200 265 215 200 210 215 255 180 220 205 280 260 245 240 200 285 225 330 250 230 165 225 160 165 140 170 175 175 205 200 190 195
Position DL OL DL OL DL OL OL OL DL DL OL DL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL DL WR/DB LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB LB TE DL TE DL DL
Head Coach- Shawn Witten • Mascot- Cyclones • Colors- Orange and Black Assistant Coaches - Jeff Pierce, Jordy Harrison, Brian Jenkins, Dave Campbell, Terry Moore, Michael Grindstaff, Devin Whitehead, Matt Campbell, Jacob Woodby, Matt Myers Terrence Turner, Ryan Witten, and Brock Pittman. Team Chaplain: Michael Koruschak. Team Trainers: Dr. Danny Smith, Dr. justin Smith, and Dr. Erin Kiser. Support Staff: Howell Woods, Collin Nidiffer, and Daniel McCauley. 8
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Elizabethton High School Cheerleaders are as follows: (front L-R) Sara Zimmerman, Morgan Guinn, Cassidy Estep. (middle L-R) Cagney Bennett, Kiarra Kerr, Kaylee Hollifield, Hailey Beverly. (back L-R) Lindy Simerly, Haley Stresemann, Lainey Snodgrass, Mallory Grindstaff, Madison Holly, Maely Ingram, Rheagan Haynes, Rebekah Hardin, Xandi Crockett.
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File Photo/Ivan Sanders
EHS quarterback takes off on a quarterback keeper against Sullivan Central.
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
EHS wide receiver attempts to shake free of an East Ridge defender.
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton running back Cade Russell finds a hole in the East Hamilton defense.
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Elizabethton Action
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Cyclone running back Nate Stephens takes off on a nice gain against Cherokee.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton receiver Cade Russell has the ball jarred out of his hands on a hard hit by a Blazer defender.
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
“Lander quarterback Chase Shell (3) scampers away from the pressure being applied by Happy Valley’s Landon Babb (32) during a last season game.
Warriors #3 Andrew Little gets into the open field for big yardage against the Cosby defense last season.
Warriors fighting to be atop the heap at season’s end BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
“For the running back slot, we have a few guys that are going to be able to carry the ball. Andrew Little, Spencer Hall, Ensor, and Pedro Colunga. We feel that we have some guys that can pick up the slack from acing adversity even before the season began, where Matthew graduated last year.” the Happy Valley Warriors had to play a Heading into a new campaign, many times a coach game of catch-up but that doesn’t mean that knows what the identity of his team will be for the anything has changed on Warrior Hill from a season. However, Jarrett said that hasn’t been the case competitive standpoint as head coach Jason Jarrett and for his Warrior team in the 2021 season. his coaching staff continue to work on how to replace “I am still trying to find the identity of the football some important cogs from last year’s team including team at this point,” shared Jarrett. “Honestly, we have starting quarterback Eli Ayers and running back Matto play great football in all three phases of the game. thew Bahn. Offensively, I don’t know if we are going to be a home “Our goal and expectations are to try and compete run team as far as breaking off the 50, 60, and 70-yard for a conference championship and I think that is every gains. However, at the same time, we have to have the coach’s goal at the beginning of the year however we mentality to move the chains. do have a lot of new faces in a lot of new places without File Photo “Defensively, we are kind of built on applying prestons of experience,” said Jarrett about this year’s team. Happy Valley head sure,” continued Jarrett. “We are going to try to come “Right now, we are trying to take it in a day-by-day coach Jason Jarrett from a lot of different places and really be extremely mentality which I know is cliche football talk but it’s aggressive on that side of the ball. On the flip side of a reality now at Happy Valley. Our goal is to be ultimately better at the that, if everyone doesn’t do what they are supposed to do you are suscepend of the year than what we are at the beginning and it’s a day by day tible to a big play.” mentality but at the same time we are going to try and put our best foot Jarrett echoed the sentiments of many coaches throughout the area as forward and we are going to competing and hopefully be in the mix once the new realignment has made it difficult for the Warriors to find compeagain for a conference championship.” tition who might be on the same level as the Warriors. Jarrett agreed that replacing skill is a tough thing to do but in the “There are no weeks off for our football team this season,” added Warrior camp he feels that utilizing a number of players could play out Jarrett. “There are no guaranteed wins. We are going to have to bring it to be a positive for the 2021 Warrior squad. each and every week and that is something that we are trying to get our “With the skill guys that graduated last year, it’s going to be tough to kids to understand - that we can’t be content with anything that we have replace those, especially by one individual,” Jarrett added. “We are going accomplished in the past because it’s a whole new year and a whole new to have to by committee and right now from the quarterback position, football team and we have to bring that mentality. we have a three-way competition for it right now, and up until we had to “If you are going to be a champion, you have to play great football in take a break we had done really equal reps in the seven-on-seven as well all three phases of the game.” as in the one scrimmage that we had.
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2021 Happy Valley Schedule August 20 Open 27 CHUCKEY DOAK September 3 at South Greene* 10 UNICOI 17 HAMPTON* 24 at Unaka October 1 CUMBERLAND GAP* (HOMECOMING) 8 JOHNSON COUNTY (SR NIGHT) 15 at Cloudland 22 at Pigeon Forge 29 Open ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games.
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2021 Happy Valley Football Roster
Number 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 11 12 13 15 16 20 32 33 34 40 43 50 51 52 54 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 67 71 72 76 77 18
Name Blake Garmon Antonio Martin Andrew Little Carson Sells Jamie Esterline Cade Kendall Spencer Hall Jason Thomas Drew Blevins Dawson Young Reagan Ensor Reece Sauer Pedro Colunga Landon Babb Gabe Hamby Greg Visser Cayden Campbell Bronson Norman Joseph Sowards Maliek Clark Malachi Clark Alex Caldwell Hayden Lee Ethan Townsend Mason Hicks Matthew Savage Kylar Collins Cameron Cochran Zach Hicks Gavin Way Hayden Walls Colton Bailey Zach Stansell Jayden Walls Ben Stansell
Grade 12 12 12 9 9 9 12 12 9 10 11 9 11 12 11 9 12 11 10 11 11 12 9 11 12 9 10 12 9 11 11 11 10 9 10
Position QB/DB WR/DB WR/OLB/DB WR/DB RB/WR/OLB WR/DB RB/WR/OLB WR/DB QB/DB WR/DB QB/OLB TE/DE RB/OLB TE/DE/ILB FB/ILB FB/ILB FB/ILB FB/ILB OL/DE OL/DL OL/DL OL/ILB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL TE/DE OL/DL OL/ILB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Hampton High School Bulldogs
Bulldogs expectations are higher than ever in 2021 BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
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ampton was so close to reaching Cookeville in 2020 but a road trip to Meigs County where the Bulldogs came up just a few plays short brought an end to that dream. The Bulldogs, however, have returned to the field in 2021 with the same dream in tow and that is to play in the state championship game. A good starting point for this team will be to take care of business until they get another shot at South Greene in week seven as both teams are expected to hold a high position in the Class A polls throughout. “South Greene’s a good football team and they are number one until proven otherwise,” said Hampton head coach Michael Lunsford. “We have to work every day to top that. “Hopefully, they understand that we have five games and a bye week before we play them so there is a lot of football to go before then. Absolutely that will be a big game but it will be a big game in week seven and not now.” What has been challenging for the Bulldog head coach is finding non-conference games to play as the TSSAA realignments have made it more troublesome for all coaches to fill a 10-game slate. “It made it really hard how they did the districting and the conference realignments, it made it hard to find seven out-of-conference games, and then you have teams in the area that don’t want to play so it puts you in a bind and you have to play up and you have to do the best you can to find 10 games because it’s more important for me for these boys to play 10 games than anything else,” Lunsford stated. Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton also once again is blessed to have an abundance of Hampton High School head linemen that will provide the depth needed upfront to keep the coach Michael Lunsford. trench players fresh. Lunsford believes that this group of young 20
Conor Jones Quarterback
2021 Hampton Football Schedule August
20 PIGEON FORGE 27 JOHNSON COUNTY
September
3 AVERY COUNTY 10 at Cloudland 17 at Happy Valley* 24 Open
October
1 SOUTH GREENE* 8 at Gatlinburg-Pittman 15 at Cumberland Gap* 22 UNAKA 29 at Daniel Boone ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games. men will be the strength of the team and with their size, they won’t be facing to have to play every snap of the game to keep them rested. On the offensive side of the football, Lunsford is looking to maintain a balanced approach for the new season. “I think probably how well we can throw the football and how much balance we can achieve will be the key offensively,” stated Lunsford. “This is a team that we feel like we have a little bit more of an opportunity to spread it around and throw the football and do some things like that which we don’t always have the athletes to do. “We feel like we do have the opportunity to do that and so how good we can do that will determine how good we can be.” On defense, Coach Lunsford is looking to bring the pressure to their opponent’s offense forcing the offense to do what Lunsford wants them to do instead of being forced to adjust to what the opponent is doing. Much of that relies on putting the Bulldog defenders in situations to take away what their opponent does well. With the Bulldogs forced to play some larger schools, the ultimate concern is making sure that the players do the things needed to stay away from injury. Hampton lost the services of senior Morgan Lyons early in the preseason due to a broken ankle and for Hampton to be successful, they must keep injuries at a minimum. “When you are playing up, kids get hurt when they get tired,” commented Lunsford. “The important thing is to make sure that we have fresh people on the field at all times to where we don’t get those kids in those situations where they can’t play hard where they can get hurt. Hampton opens up its season on August 20th against Pigeon Forge at home. 21
2021 Hampton Bulldogs Football Roster No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 13 15 16 18 20 23 24 25 28 34 39 47 48
Name Class Johnathan Greenwell 11 Caleb Royston 12 Michael Harrison 12 Conor Jones 12 Geno Carrico 10 Collin Morgan 12 Tyler Thompson 12 Levi Lunsford 11 Ty McElyea 11 Chance Point 10 Hunter Dejoode 9 Broady Hicks 11 Elijah Mckinney 10 Dylan Trivett 10 Logan Brochu 9 Grayson Young 10 Morgan Lyons 12 J.J. MCelyea 10 Corey Mckinney 11 Justin Arnold 9 Carter Verdon 10 Evan Mann 11 Ryan Crumley 12
Ht. 6’0” 5’11 6’3 6’0 5’10 6’1 6’1 5’9 6’0” 6’1 5’3 5’10 5’9 6’1 5’10 5’11 6’2 5’9 5’6 5’8 5’7 6’2 5’9
Wt. 190 180 175 175 180 225 150 215 200 160 115 175 140 160 145 210 205 140 150 145 140 160 230
Position WR/LB WR/CB K/WR QB/FS TE/LB TE/DE WR/FS TB/LB/WR TB/LB WR/CB WR/CB WR/CB WR/CB QB/FS/WR WR/CB FB/LB LB/RB WR/CB WR/FS FB/LB WR/LB WR/DB FB/LB
No. 49 52 53 55 57 58 60 61 63 64 67 68 71 72 74 78 82 84
Name Class Ashton Hardin 12 Andon Winters 12 Austin Bentley 11 Collin Morgan 12 Mason Wilson 11 Chris Berry 9 Greg Tolley 10 Jonah Boling 10 Bryson Law 9 Shayden Oliver 10 Will Thorton 10 Bryson Montgomery 9 Devin Ward 11 Zach Beam 12 Nathan Weatherbee 12 Mckinley Kuhn 12 Hank Parlier 10 Mason Ford 11
Ht. 6’2 6’4 6’0 6’3 6’3 5’9 5’11 5’11 5’11 5’9 6’1 5’6 6’0 6’2 6’3 6’2 6’0 5’10
Wt. 205 270 200 250 220 190 240 220 230 205 300 315 285 310 370 365 145 140
Position TE/LB OT/DE OG/DE OG/DE FB/TE/DE FB/TE/DE OG/DE OG/DE OT/DT C/OG OT/DT OT/NT G/DT C/DT OT/DT OT/DT WR/FS WR/FS
Head Coach: Michael Lunsford Mascot: Bulldogs Colors: Blue and White
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Hampton High School cheerleaders are (front L-R) Izzy Bowers, Kylie Odom, and Kyndal Scalf. (middle L-R) Jessa Hampton, Briley Curtis, Shania Pierce, Makayla Burleson, Chloe Bradley, Cheyenne Fair, Allison Bowers, and Reagan Ashley. (back L-R) Sydney Covington, Hannah Smith, Anna Hatley, Briley Davis, Emma Harmon, Lauren Hyder, Amber Gilbert, Marina Bailey, Keagan Campbell, Lacey Taylor.
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Hampton Action
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Bulldog running back Levi Lunsford breaks free for a good gain.
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Hampton quarterback Conor Jones pushes his way toward the endzone against Cloudland.
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Bulldog running back Morgan Lyons is dragged down by two Volunteer defenders after a big reception.
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Hampton defensive back Broady Hicks tries to knock away a pass from a Volunteer receiver.
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Star Photo/Dawn Lambert
The 2021 Unaka High School Rangers
Rangers have untapped potential to be a solid team Landon Ramsey Quarterback
BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
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he Unaka Rangers had a breakout season in 2020 finishing second in the region and hosting a playoff contest for the first time in a long time. Many Ranger supporters up on Stony Creek are carrying over high expectations for this year’s squad and they have a good reason with two of the top players in Class 1-A in 2020 in wide receiver and defensive back Devin Ramsey and quarterback Landon Ramsey. Coach O’Brien Bennett welcomes those expectations but also knows that it is going to take many of the young Rangers to quickly turn their potential into results. “We always want to be raising expectations,” Bennett said. “Carter County, in general, has a lot of great football programs and the expectations for football in Carter County whether it’s Hampton, Happy Valley, Cloudland, or Elizabethton you have got high expectations for football programs. “We want to get to where we belong in the same breath with those guys and we want in the same breath consistently because they are great programs year in and year out.” Bennett said his team has looked pretty good in the summer’s seven-on-seven competitions with a lot of kids who have shown great Star Photo/Dawn Lambert potential. However, he added that potential only means that you Unaka High School head coach haven’t done it yet and while improvements have been made, the O’Brien Bennett.
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Rangers still are not where they want to be. One of the things that Bennett faces in the new season is how to replace several pieces of the puzzle that graduated in 2020. “Our numbers are down,” stated Bennett. “We graduated a big senior class and had some juniors that elected to graduate early. We are down as far as numbers but the kids that we have out here are talented though and have a ton of potential. “The key for us as always at the small school level is to stay injuryfree. We are just an injury or two away from a complete 180-degree change for the season and it’s tough to do that and get out here and get great reps when there are so few of us. “That is for us to figure out as a coaching staff. We will have a lot of guys going both ways this season. That’s the reality of 1-A football. Hopefully, we can chase some kids out of the hallways.” And while the Rangers have been working hard in the off-season to add more muscle and speed, the story won’t be told until the team hits the field for its first regular-season game of the season.
“It’s great to be bigger and stronger than we have had in the past but none of that matters until we put it on the field on Friday night,” commented Bennett. “We want to compete every day. I tell our starters every day that my job is to fire you at the end of every day. I want some guy behind you to make me fire you and then when he takes over I want to fire him for someone else working harder behind him. “We want to continue that competition all year long because iron sharpens iron.” While the Rangers showed last season they are hungry to be at the top of the heap in the region, until they can consistently replicate the same outcome of 2020 they won’t be that team that teams have circled on their schedules. “We feel like for us in-conference that we have a wide range of possibilities,” Bennett shared. “We have the potential to be pretty good and we have the potential to be pretty bad. We can’t sit there and hang our hat on what we did last year.” The Rangers open their season at region foe North Greene on August 20th.
2021 Unaka Schedule August
20 at North Greene* 27 CLOUDLAND*
September
3 Open 10 TWIN SPRINGS, VA 17 at Jellico* 24 HAPPY VALLEY
October
1 at Harlan, KY 8 CLAIBORNE 15 at Cosby* 22 at Hampton 29 JENKINS, KY
ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games. 27
2021 Unaka Rangers Football Roster No. 2 3 4 5 7 8 11 13 14 15 20 21 23 33 50 54 55 56 62 63 64 65 66 77 80 84
Name TJ Thomas Devin Ramsey Drew Smith Caleb Lydick Takoda Freeman Johnny Douglas Kaleb Gonzalez Landon Ramsey Jaycob Nidiffer Micah Gray Jamol Blamo Isaiah White Ryan Peters Bo Markland Nathan Painter Aidan Peterson Noah Carden Matt Smith Brayden Powell Cody Drew Tyler Smith Aaron Tipton Drew Smith Nathan Wilson Marcus Shomaker Daytona Denton
Class Position 10 RB/LB 12 WR/DB 12 RB/LB/OL 12 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 11 WR/DB 11 QB/LB 10 WR/DB 9 WR/DB 11 RB/LB 10 WR/DB 11 RB/LB 11 RB/LB 11 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 12 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 11 OL/DL 12 RB/LB/OL 12 OL/DL 10 OL/DL 10 WR/DB
Head Coach - O’Brien Bennett Mascot- Rangers Colors- Maroon, White, Baby Blue Defensive Coordinator - Jake Jones, Ed Beck, Colby Jones, Austin Drew. 28
Star Photo/Dawn Lambert
The 2021 Unaka High School Unaka Rangers cheerleaders are (front L-R) Celeste Wilson, Madeline Markland, Kylee McCall, and Emma Davis. (back L-R) Jordan Pippen, Annie Townsend, Kanyon Tisdale, Rachael Lloyd, and Makayla Bunton.
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Unaka Action
File Photo/Jenny Jones
Unaka’s Devin Ramsey breaks loose on a big run for the Rangers.
File Photo/Jenny Jones
Unaka quarterback Landon Ramsey looks to rifle a pass down the field.
File Photo/Jenny Jones
Rangers Caleb Lydick (5)
Unaka’s Ryan Peters looks for yardage.
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
2021 Cloudland High School Highlanders
Benfield looking to establish a balanced attack at Cloudland BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
R
OAN MOUNTAIN - There’s a new head coach in Roan Mountain this football but the good news is it’s a familiar face as Zac Benfield will be leading his alma mater’s football team into battle after taking over for Coach Scott Potter who has moved to the elementary school as the principal. Benfield is thrilled to have the opportunity to be Cloudland’s new head coach and realizes that the expectations will be as high as ever when the Highlanders take the field. “I am excited and I am excited for these kids,” stated Benfield. “They have spent a lot of time in the weight
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Chase Shell Quarterback
room - these seniors have. It was a tough decision at the takes the field at Orr Field. However, he also knows moment but I am glad I made it. how the Highlander community rallies around their “I love Cloudland. The kids up here you can push team. them to an extent that you can’t push a lot of kids “There is a lot of pressure but with a lot of before they quit and these kids like to be pushed to that pressure in Roan Mountain there comes a ton of extent because they like to get better. support,” stated Benfield. “That support may change “It’s a blessing as a coach to be at Cloudland, it quickly but starting off there is a lot of pressure but really is.” I have a lot of people supporting me and that means The new coach said one of his goals entering the the world to me. season is to be balanced offensively by mid-October “The question is do I have football players who which means about a 60-40 run to pass offense. want to get better and I do. That takes a lot of pres“I think that we can score a lot of points this year,” sure off me because I have kids willing to work. I added Benfield. “I think that we have a strong line and am not big on the moral stuff - we need to be in on a smart quarterback as well as athletic wide receivers. every play.” “You put all that together in a disciplined fashion The key for success in 2021 centers around one and I think that you will be okay.” thing in Benfield’s mind. That expectation to be balanced will take a while “We have to stay away from injuries. If we can and Benfield knows that. But as has been the case in complete the season being healthy, we will be exactly Star Photo/Ivan Sanders where I want us to be but if we don’t it’s going to the past, the Highlanders will be run-heavy. However, Cloudland Highlanders head coach Benfield added that doesn’t mean that the ‘Landers be tough. We have to stay healthy in all aspects,” Zac Benfield. won’t be hitting the airways a little more than what continued Benfield. Highlander fans have seen in the past. One thing many will notice right off the bat when On the defensive side of the ball, Benfield will be the ‘Landers take the field against the Jellico Blue counting on his defensive coordinator Adam Boling who has been with the Devils on August 20th will be the new blue camo uniforms the coaches have program for the last three to four years to bring the relationship that he has purchased for the team. developed with this year’s seniors - especially the safeties and outside line“What we as coaches at Cloudland demand out of our kids is something backers to the forefront of the ‘Lander defense. that they wouldn’t demand out of themselves,” Benfield shared. “These kids Boling also is able to help coach other kids on the field which is beneficial have had that switch of mindset and have come into practice with it and even to Benfield as well. selfishly I want to get better because I am not going to waste my time. If these Benfield knows the pressure that will be present when his first product kids are going to work hard then they need to look good as well.”
2021 Cloudland Football Schedule August
20 JELLICO* 27 at Unaka*
September 3 at Rockwood 10 HAMPTON 17 Open 24 COSBY*
October
1 WEST GREENE 8 at Unicoi County 15 HAPPY VALLEY 22 at Johnson County 29 at North Greene* ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games. 33
2021 Cloudland Highlander Football Roster
No. Name 2 Dylan Shell 3 Chase Shell 4 Seth Birchfield 5 Cayden Clarke 7 Kyle Birchfield 9 Austin Carroway 12 Gage McKinney 13 Camden Peppers 14 Skylar Hamby 16 Miguel Hernandez 19 Levi Carroway 21 Maverick Simerly 22 Elijah McKinney 24 Kingston Cole 34 Coy Laney 35 Caleb Sluder 56 Landon Johnson 58 Cayden Cordell 62 Jacob Street
Class 12 12 12 11 11 10 11 9 12 10 12 12 10 9 12 12 12 10 11
No. Name 72 Eli Benfield 74 Dylan McClellan 75 Silas Burleson 82 Jake Isaacs
Position WR/CB QB/SS RB/OLB WR/CB WR/CB RB/MLB WR/FS RB/MLB WR/CB WR/CB RB/OLB RB/DE WR/CB WR/CB FB/MLB RB/OLB C/DT T/DT T/DT
Class 12 10 10 12
Position T/DT T/DT G/DT TE/DE
HEAD COACH: ZAC BENFIELD MASCOT: HIGHLANDERS ASSISTANT COACHES: ADAM BOLING, BRADEN LACY, & GARRISON JULIAN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: AMY HORNEY
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Cloudland High School Highlander cheerleaders are (front L-R) Karah Fields, Kaiden Smith, Hannah Hart, Carter Shaw, and Libbie Tomberlin. (middle L-R) Hailey Simerly, KateLynn Simerly, LillyAnna Johnson, Mia Clarke, Kendall Birchfield, Melena Roberson, and Katie Baldwin. (back L-R) Faith Roark, April Stone, Tate Shaw, MacKenzie Maro, Shana Canady, and Ella Benfield.
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Cloudland Action
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Highlanders running back Seth Birchfield (4) and teammate Coy Laney (34) File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Cloudland quarterback Chase Shell
File Photo/Ivan Sanders
Cloudland running back Seth Birchfield.
File Photo/Cara McCloud
Cloudland’s Caleb Sluder.
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Johnson County High School Longhorns
Longhorns look to burst out of the gate early in 2021 BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
MOUNTAIN CITY - The Johnson County Longhorns are hoping that 2021 will be better to them than 2020 and that is not only on the game front but the health front. After having to battle COVID in the first couple of weeks of the season, the ‘Horns finally were able to go back to work and ended their season by going 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the region which was good enough for fourth place. Their season came to an end at Alcoa being defeated 49-0. Head Coach Don Kerley is hoping for his team to get started off on the right foot in 2021. “All of our kids work hard and that is what you try to get to,” Kerley said. “Last year COVID got in everybody’s way but we have got a good group of kids and we just have to work hard and hope for the best. “We have six starters back on both sides of the football but there are a lot of new faces there too. “Usually, we get a few more when school starts but school is starting a little later this year and we are in the mid-40s. We hope to get about 10 more when school starts back.” Kerley is anxious to see how his team comes out of the gate this season Star Photo/Ivan Sanders and if there is one place that he is feeling pretty good about, he has an abunJohnson County High School dant group of linemen that should provide needed depth in the trenches. head coach Don Kerley “We have more senior linemen than what we have had in a long time so
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Connor Simcox Quarterback
that should be a plus,” Kerley stated. “Usually, we have 50 players and eight linemen, and this year we have a dozen to 15 linemen which is a lot better and we have a lot of seniors in that mix.” Kerley will be looking to senior Ethan Icenhour to provide leadership on the defensive side of the football but realizes there is still work to be done in the secondary especially after the Longhorns finished up their seven-on-seven competitions due to the youth. Sophomore Conner Simcox will be back under center to lead the Longhorns offensively. Simcox had a solid seven-on-seven season utilizing several of the ‘Horns good receiving corps. If there is a concern for the offense, it is at the running back slot where Kerley feels his team is thin. Kerley shared that senior Corey Neely will be his main back and that his team is just not blessed with that big back they have had in the past. Coach Kerley was asked which game in the season will be the one where he knows exactly where his team stands for the 2021 season. “The Chuckey Doak game usually determines who is going to be at the top or bottom of the conference,” Kerley commented. “When Coach Murphy was down there, we would beat them or they would beat us, and usually if we beat them he was like, “My season’s over,”. I would say you still have eight or nine games left and he would say it’s over. “And sometimes that’s the way it is because conference wise it’s hard to catch back up. That’s going to be a big game. Hopefully, we get better all the way through. We have to avoid injuries.” Asked if the redistricting hampered the way he had to schedule opponents in 2021, Kerley replied, “Nobody wants to play South Greene and they are on there. Nobody really wants to play Volunteer either but they are on there. Those are two pretty big teams to pick up. “Scheduling was pretty tough for us. The schedule is going to kill us because it’s tough. The conference is wide open every year. Basically, it’s going to be who can stay healthy.” Johnson County joins West Greene, Claiborne, Unicoi County, and Chuckey Doak as the other conference teams. The ‘Horns will open their season on August 27th at Hampton.
2021 Johnson County Schedule August
20 Open 27 at Hampton
September
2 at Chuckey Doak (Thursday)* 10 SULLIVAN EAST 17 at West Greene* 24 VOLUNTEER
October
1 CLAIBORNE CO.* 8 at Happy Valley 15 at South Greene 22 CLOUDLAND 29 UNICOI COUNTY*
ALL CAPS denotes home games. * denotes region games. 39
2021 JCHS Longhorn Football Roster No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 13 16 17 18 20 21 22 24 25 30 31 32 33 34 42
Name Brenton Black Evan Dollar James Potter Ethan Simcox Carter Rhudy Conner Simcox Aiden Fredell Luke Worlock Dalton Brown Mason Sluder Grinnan Walker Nathan King Nate Rice Corey Neely Jace Stout Sam Cretsinger Landell Walker Nikolas Bigwood Julianna Lisi Hank Sauer Noah McQueen Kyle Sluder Connor Gibson
Class 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 9 12 9 11 10 12 12 9 9 9 11 12 10 9 9 9
Position WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB/K WR/DB QB WR/DB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB WR/FS RB/DB RB/LB RB/DB RB/DB WR/DB WR/DB FB/DE K TE/DE RB/LB RB/LB FB/LB
No. 44 50 52 53 56 64 66 67 68 71 72 73 74 75 76 77
Name Ethan Icenhour Nick Speed Trevor Henson Aiden Sluder Gavin Wilson Shawn Perkins Nathaniel Sumerow Jacob Earp Gunner Hutchins John Stout Nate Dorman Nemiah Willis Angel Martinez Noah Brown Ayden Fallin Daniel Stout
Class 12 11 12 11 12 12 12 12 9 12 9 10 12 9 10 10
Position FB/LB C OL/LB OL/DL LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL
Head Coach: Don Kerley Mascot: Longhorns Colors: Maroon and White
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2021 Johnson County High School cheerleaders are (front L-R) Katie McCulloch, Gracie Grayson, Kaylee Anderson, Ashlee Anderson, Bella Phipps, Kirsten Day, and Hannah Walker. (middle L-R) Aviel Tester, Chloe Hopkins, Katie Lipford, Audrey Godines, Paiteen Carroll, and Madi Walker. (back L-R) Aleena Summerow, Allison Trivette, Coach Katherine Lewis, Adrianna Porter, and Ryleigh Icenhour. Not pictured: Jessie Mae Williams, Makenzie Poe, and Coach Michelle Walters.
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