Alcoa Soccer Runner-up

Alcoa falls to Merrol Hyde 2-0 in Class A title game

BY BRIAN HAMILTON CHATTANOOGA – Alcoa went into the Class A championship game on Saturday down several players, as the Lady Tornadoes were without starter Lila Miller and leading scorer Charlotte Tymon suffered a high hamstring pull in the semifinals against CSAS. Alcoa battled hard, but it was not enough to overcome the skill of Merrol Hyde (18-2-1), as the Lady Tornadoes fell 2-0 in the final. “We’ve played a couple down, but we just didn’t have depth,” Alcoa head coach Shane Corley said after the game. “We’ve tried to fill holes where we’ve had them and that’s what we’ve …

Alcoa girls soccer advances to state championship against Merrol Hyde

BY BRIAN HAMILTON CHATTANOOGA – Alcoa picked up a 1-0 win over the Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences on Thursday evening — one day after mercy-ruling Crosstown 9-0 — to advance to the state championship game against Merrol Hyde on Saturday. The Lady Tornadoes scored in the seventh minute against CSAS when Wendy Beristain kicked in a free kick by Scout Lauderback to take an early 1-0 lead. While it looked as if Alcoa was headed toward another route after scoring so early, the final 73 minutes remained scoreless, as the Lady Tornadoes won 1-0. “I felt like we’d …

Alcoa

Alcoa shuts out Class 6A Cookeville 38-0

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – The Class 3A Tornadoes shut out Class 6A Cookeville 38-0 on Friday to improve their record to 6-1 on the season behind a strong night from quarterback Caden Buckles and a stout defense. Alcoa had to resort to Buckles’ arm for most of the night, as the Cavalier defense held the Tornadoes to just 64 yards on 15 carries. “We certainly didn’t have our way with them up front,” Alcoa head coach Gary Rankin said. “We ran the ball better in the second half, but they were pretty tough up there.” Itty Salter ran for …

Alcoa-West

Alcoa defeats Class 5A West in double overtime

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Alcoa was coming off a narrow 30-27 loss to Class 6A #2 Maryville when the Tornadoes took their talents to Knoxville on Friday night to face the Class 5A #1 West Rebels and it was a classic. Alcoa was able to penetrate deep into West territory three times in the first half, but the West defense turned the Tornadoes away on fourth down all three times with Alcoa coming up empty in the red zone. The Tornadoes would finally break through with three seconds left before halftime on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Caden Buckles …

#2 Maryville takes down #3 Alcoa 30-27 in 93rd Battle of Pistol Creek

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – It was the 93rd edition of the Battle of Pistol Creek and boy, was it a good one. Maryville jumped out to an early 17-0 lead, but had to hang on late, as Alcoa fought back in the second half, only to fall 30-27. “You’ve got to put yourself in positions like this to learn about your team,” Maryville head coach Derek Hunt said. “It’s really hard to get our guys up for big game after big game. When you play a team that is good enough to beat you every week and you’re not …