Red Bud uses physical effort to win opener vs. Adairsville
Displaying a combination of an efficient rushing attack and stingy defense, the Red Bud Middle School Phoenix soared to a 28-6 home victory to open up the regular season last Thursday, Aug. 24.
After a first quarter where both teams’ drives were stalled by fumbles, the Phoenix landed in the scoring column in the early second quarter when wide receiver Jeb Knight snagged a sailing 24-yard pass from quarterback Trevor Childers in the end zone. Childers capped off the drive by punching in the twopoint conversion to give Red Bud an 8-0 advantage.
The Phoenix struck again on the next possession, as running back Zach Lyles rumbled into the end zone for a twoyard rushing touchdown and pushed the score to 14-0. They failed to convert the two-point conversion, but still maintained a firm grip over the game.
“We started off a little slow, but we were able to really get rolling there in the second quarter,” Red Bud head coach Eddie Jones said. “Our offensive line was able to create plenty of holes for our guys to run through, and I think we started to put it together as the game went on.”
As the halftime was approaching, Red Bud cushioned its lead when Childers out- sprinted the Tiger defense 28 yards for additional score. Wyatt Springfield tacked on a two-point conversion, putting the score at 22-0 heading into the break.
After a quiet third quarter, the Phoenix rounded out the win when Christian Roberts powered in a two-yard rushing touchdown and a 28-0 lead in the middle of the fourth.
“I think the key was our physicality,” Jones said. “That was a good football team that we played, but once we realized how physical the game was going to be, I think we were able to win the battle at the line of scrimmage.”
Red Bud’s defense made its presence felt throughout the evening, causing a handful of turnovers and barely allowing the Adairsville offense to record any first downs. The unit’s only mistake was allowing the Tigers to score under the two-minute mark in the final quarter, but the game was well out of reach by then.
“I think at this point, our defense is a little ahead of where our offense is,” Jones said. “When they settled down today, I thought they were tremendous.”
In other recent middle school sports action:
Golf
-The Calhoun Middle School Yellow Jackets fared well Tuesday at the Calhoun Elks Club in a three-way golf match with Cartersville and Adairsville.
The boys team finished second only to Cartersville. Beau Black led the charge for the Jackets with a great round of two-over par 38. Ethan Lunsford chipped in a round of six over par 42. Connor Miles followed with a round of 44 and Nicholas Repp was just behind with a score of 45.
In the girls match, the Lady Jackets also showed improvement. Raigh Langston had the Lady Jackets’ low score with nice round of 51. The other contributors for the Lady Jackets were Alyza Parrott with a score of 61 and Lissa Lain Coffman, who was close behind with a 62.
-Both the Ashworth golf teams enjoyed a successful week, with both placing well in match play.
The girls team secured a first-place finish in a match against Red Bud and Cass at Fields Ferry on Tuesday, Aug. 29 with an overall score of 103. Brook Wilson posted a score of 50, Caitlyn Chilito added a 53, and Lindsey Lowrance, Kayla Silvers, Madison Miller and Catherine Hughes all finished with a round of 62.
The boys team finished second with an overall round of 230, narrowly topping Cass’ 231 and Woodland’s 233. Chandler Huffman led the way with a 54, Matthew Spence pitched in a 58, Caleb Freeman and Walker Angland chipped in a 59.
Softball
-The Calhoun Middle School Lady Jackets softball team went 5-1 last weekend at the Jessica Raines Memorial tournament at Jack Mattox Park.
According to coach Tony Lindsey, the team started off by beating GPS out of Chattanooga by a score of 6-0. Sydney Terry was the winning pitcher and did not allow a single hit. Molly Banks went 3-for-3 at the dish, Paris Kirby was 2-for-3 and Aryian Berner finished up going 2-for-2.
In the second game, the Lady Jackets beat another Tennessee team by a score of 8-2. The winning pitcher over Jasper was Ella Manley and added her own hit at the plate. Espy Reyes went 2-for-2, Banks was 3-for-3 and Kirby also went 3-for-3.
Saturday morning the Lady Jackets beat powerhouse Gordon Lee by a score of 5-2. The winning pitcher was Terry, allowing only three hits to Gordon Lee. Banks was 2-for-2 with a home run and Malysha Winston added a double.
The Lady Jackets struggled against New Hope, with McKinsey Ingle picking up the save and win after coming off a long injury layoff. Offensive standouts were Reyes, Kirby, Berner, Green and Mac, who all had hits in the game. The fiinal score was 3-2.
The Lady Jackets had to face GPS once again in bracket play and pulled out a victory at the end. The Mac attack toughed it out and kept the Bruisers close. Manley picked up the win in the end as Winston ended the game with a walk-off double to clear the bases. Kirby was 2-for-2, Molly Speach went 1-for-1 and Kayleigh Warren went 2-for-2 for the game.
In the semifinal loss to Westside, the Lady Jackets could only muster up two runs and dropped the game by a 5-2 score. Berner was 2-for-3 in the game and Molly Banks had a 2-for-3 performance with another home run.
The Lady Jackets open region play at home with Woodland Tuesday and play a non-region game with Rome Thursday.
-The Red Bud Middle School softball team defeated Cass 3-1 in its second region game of the season on Monday, Aug. 28.
The Lady Phoenix were able to prevail despite collecting just five hits. Grace Crocker and Arielle Evans each went 2-for-3 at the plate, with Evans knocking in all three RBIs. Jacy Smith went 1-for-2 at the dish and contributed to the overall fantastic defensive effort from the team.
Pitcher Taylor Long picked up the win, striking out nine Cass batters.