By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
Last week, we highlighted the first handful of top local sports headlines from 2024. Here’s the top three local sports headlines from last year.
The Cornersville Lady ‘Dawgs’ bench erupts after a basket in the region semifinals against Moore County. (Post File Photo by Chris Siers)
3. Lady ‘Dawgs basketball reaches region semifinals
It was certainly a mixed bag of results for the Cornersville Lady ‘Dawgs last season, winning their first seven of nine games to start the year.
But then the Lady ‘Dawgs struggled to an 0-5 record through the month of December.
But after that rough December run, Coernersville then rattled off seven-straight wins and found themselves in the District 9-A championship against Richland, but came up just a basket short of knocking off the top-seeded Lady Raiders for the district title.
Still, Cornersville continued to advance in the postseason and survived elimination in the Region 5-A quarterfinal, beating Huntland 45-30.
The win advanced Cornersville to the Region 5-A semifinals.
Although Cornersville fell behind at multiple points at the end of regulation, the Lady ‘Dawgs took a late lead over Moore County and had a handful of late-game chances to win in regulation, but eventually the Raiderettes went on to win following an overtime buzzer-beater to end the Lady ‘Dawgs’ run.
I told them to leave it all out there. They came back to the locker room and could have been, “what if, what if,” and they didn’t. They left it all out there in an absolute battle,” McMahon said.
There was no quit in the Lady Dawgs, who trailed for the majority of regulation.
After a brief lead with 4:16 left in the first, Moore County took an 8-7 lead off a 3-pointer by Ellie Graham and didn’t trail again until a steal by Jayli Childress and a layup by Abigail Finley put the Lady ‘Dawgs up 37-36 with 2:59 left in regulation.
Cornersville stretched its lead to four points off a 3-point play by Anna Wood, who hit a layup, drew the foul and hit the ensuing free throw to bump the Lady ‘Dawgs lead to 40-36 with 1:43 left.
A layup by Katy Fletcher brought the Raiderettes back within a basket at the 1:27 mark and 30 seconds later, a Cornersville turnover allowed Moore County to tie the game at 40.
With time dwindling, Cornersville was eventually awarded possession following a jump ball with just over one second left on the clock.
The ball eventually found its way into the hands of Ady Gentry, who fired a baseline jumper, which missed just short off the iron.
She corralled her own rebound and attempted a reverse layup that again missed just short as time expired, forcing overtime.
In the overtime period, Cornersville took an early lead with Finley again answering the bell on a 3-pointer from the wing to put the Lady ‘Dawgs up 43-40 with 3:24 left on the clock.
Graham answered at the 1:51 mark on a 3-pointer to again tie the game at 43.
Like Cornersville at the end of regulation, Moore County was awarded possession under its own rim with :00.7 left on the clock and on the in-bound pass, it was Fletcher who caught the pass and scored off the block to escape a valiant effort by the Lady ‘Dawgs.
“We got down in a few spurts here and there and we battled back every time,” McMahon said.
At the time of this publication, Cornersville picked up right where it left off and owns a very competitive 8-5 overall record in the 2024-2025 season.
*Original reporting by Chris Siers
Junior quarterback Tyler Thompson posted video game caliber numbers en route to winning the Class 4A Mr. Football award. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
2. Tyler Thompson wins Mr. Football
Tyler Thompson bided his time as the backup for the Marshall County Tigers through his freshman and sophomore seasons.
While backing up then-quarterback Silas Teat, the Marshall County coaching staff knew they had a gem of a QB in Thompson.
Before taking his first official snaps as the starting quarterback, Thompson was quick to credit Teat and his tutelage while serving as backup.
“I think it’s good I sat behind him because I know a lot more than I did coming into this year.”
Teat threw for over 4,000 yards in his career with the Tigers and completed 59 touchdown passes.
Thompson hopes to carry on the legacy of successful quarterbacks for Marshall County this season.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about him. He’s not started at the varsity level yet, but he would have started for a majority of high school teams last year. We’re tickled to death he’s our starter. We knew as soon as last year was over, who it was going to be. It’s been cool to build the offense around his skill set,” Tiger coach Thomas Osteen said.
Boy, were they ever excited.
Showing no nerves, Thompson seized the reins of the offense during his first start and never let up, earning a Mr. Football nomination in the process.
That nomination eventually turned into the Class 4A Mr. Football award as Thompson was officially announced as the winner in December.
He completed 182-of-267 attempts for a total of 2,824 yards, good enough for 68% completion.
He threw 45 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions.
Thompson added another 209 rushing yards and led the Tigers with 11 rushing touchdowns as well.
*Original reporting by Chris Siers
Senior defensive end Reid Mitchell (64) celebrates after coming up with a fumble recovery on the Pearl-Cohn 1-yard line in the Region 5-4A championship game on Halloween night. (Post File Photo by Chris Siers)
1. MCHS Football wins Region 5-4A title
When Marshall County graduated several players from key positions from the 2023 team that reached the third-round of the playoffs, there were plenty of questions surrounding just what the 2024 Tigers would look like on the field.
The Tigers very quickly put those questions to bed as Marshall County put forth one of the most dominant regular seasons in school history as the Tigers posted a perfect 10-0 campaign, highlighted by beating defending Class 4A state champion Pearl Cohn for the Region 5-4A title on a rainy Halloween night.
Leading the charge for Marshall County was junior quarterback Tyler Thompson, who posted video game numbers en route to winning the Class 4A Mr. Football Award.
The high-octane Tiger offense was complemented by a stingy defense that found its footing after tough games against Columbia and Shelbyville Central to open the season.
Following those two wins, the Tigers allowed an average nine points per game through the remaining eight games on the regular season schedule, which ultimately culminated in a 24-21 overtime win against Pearl Cohn.
“What a night to remember. I’m so proud of our kids. Our motto all year has been tough people win. It was raining and muddy. We’ve been a great throwing team all year. It was tough to throw the ball tonight,” Tiger head coach Thomas Osteen said following the win over Pearl Cohn to secure the region title.
Marshall County got a 19-yard field goal from Luis Gonzalez in overtime to make the win official.
From there, the Tigers dominated Lexington and Station Camp in the first and second round of the playoffs, setting up a rematch against Pearl Cohn.
Although the Tigers built a 21-0 halftime lead over Pearl Cohn, the Firebirds proved that the 2023 title wasn’t a fluke and rallied to force overtime for the second-straight meeting against Marshall County and found an overtime touchdown to end the streak of 13-straight wins.
Marshall County ended the year with a 13-1 overall record.
Thompson completed over 68% of his passes and totaled 2,824 yards to go along with 45 passing touchdowns and just seven interceptions, while adding 11 more on the ground.
His top target of the year was senior wide out Aja Jones, who totaled 967 yards on 52 catches, while scoring 18 touchdowns.
Kel Hightower made 46 catches for 670 yards and had 10 touchdowns as well.
It was more of a running back by committee, but senior Jamahl Gentry led the Tigers with 604 rushing yards and five touchdowns. DJ Gardner Jr. added 463 yards and eight scores as well.
Defensively, Marquay Allen and Jaden Keys led the Tigers with 76 tackles each, with Keys recording 11.5 tackles for loss in the campaign.
*Original reporting by Chris Siers
