Golf team, Junior Lions kick off season

DAVID HUNTER
The Cannon Courier

The Cannon County High School golf team opened up the 2015 season with two matches last week.

Their first match was Aug.3 at the Lions home course at the Smithville Golf Club against Smith County. CCHS was victorious 181 to 192 in the nine hole match. The Lions were led by Hunter Vickers who shot a 41, while Briar Jakes scored a 44. Bradley Vickers (46) and Chris Young (50) were the other two players whose score counted in the Lions final overall score. Only the top four golfers' average is tallied in the team's final overall score.

The following day, CCHS traveled to Southern Hills for a tri-match against Upperman and York, which it finished third with a final score of 172. Hunter Vickers had the lowest mark of all of the golfers with a 35, while Briar Jakes (40), Brady Vickers (43), and Chris Young (54) also scored for the Lions. York won with a total nine-hole score of 163, while Upperman concluded the match with a 165.

This week the Lions will compete in three matches all starting at 3:30 p.m. On Monday, CCHS hosted Macon County at Smithville Golf Club. The next day, the Lions traveled to Mountain View to face Monterey, and they finish out the week on Aug. 13 at Livingston Country Club against Livingston Academy.
The Cannon County Junior Lions kicked off the 2015 campaign with two football games last week. The Junior Lions opened at home on the high school field (Schwartz Field) on Aug. 4 against Unionville, which they fell 40-14.

"It was good, the boys came out and they were flat in the first half," CCJL head coach Jason Elrod said after the season-opening loss. "I was proud on how they played in the second half. They need to build off of the momentum. They were a little shell-shocked at first. I could tell on kind of how their demeanor was, and I guess just the lights, first game of the year, and limited practice time. They picked it up in the second half, and they got things moving in the right direction."

A couple of days later, the CCJL traveled to Red Boiling Springs for their second game in three days, which is tough for a football team at any level.
"It is really difficult, because of the travel time," Elrod said. "That is a couple of hour drive to and from, but school had not started yet, so it gives the kids a little more time to sleep in and rest their bodies. They knew beforehand scheduling wise, that we were going to have to two quick games at the first of the season. It gets better as the season goes along. They got to focus on it, and keep working hard to get there."

In the first game of the season, the Junior Bees jumped out to an early 16-0 lead, because of two Junior Lions miscues on their first two possessions of the game. CCJL quarterback Logan Bundy tried a halfback pass to Wade Love, but the fumble was returned for a Unionville touchdown and the two-point conversion.

On the next Junior Lions offensive possession, Love's punt went straight up in the air, and it was recovered by Unionville deep in CCJL territory. The Junior Bees scored on the next play to take a 16-0 advantage early on in the game. By the end of the first half, Unionville had a 40-0 advantage.
The Junior Lions, who only have 14 players on this year's team, came out more determined in the second half and they outscored their opponents 14-0. The CCJL got big plays on defense by Remington James and Nathaniel Campbell as the dynamic duo had several tackles for loss and a couple of quarterback sacks.

"Head coach (Jason Elrod) was telling us we do better in practice," Love said after the loss. "It does not matter the size, and we just need to go out and play as hard as we can."

While on offense, the Junior Lions went on a tag-team rushing attack by Love and Brady Cunningham. At the start of the fourth quarter, Cunningham punched it in from six-yard out to put the Junior Lions on the board, 40-6. Late in the game, Love used his incredible athletic ability to return a punt 50 yards for a touchdown and he added the two-point conversion to end the scoring for both teams.

"It was not easy, but the lineman was really doing all of the work," Cunningham said of his fourth quarter touchdown. "I just ran through the hole, and they made the hole.

The Junior Lions traveled to Red Boiling Springs on Aug. 6, in which their performance improved from the first game. However, they fell 32-18 for their second loss in three days.

"I am pleased on how they played, and they improved from the last game," Elrod said.
Heavy rain showers hit Middle Tennessee, a few hours before the game, so the field and football were wet, so it contributed to four CCJL turnovers during the defeat. However, Love had another impressive game scoring five touchdowns, but two were called back because of penalty flags