Two-A-Days: Cosby looking for first playoff berth since 2011

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Cosby is coming off a disappointing season, which saw the Eagles finish 1-8 and having to defeat Hancock County in the season finale for their lone win of the season. The Eagles’ last trip to the playoffs was in 2011 — head coach Kevin Hall’s first season — which was a 45-6 loss at Oneida. Hall, however, is optimistic about the 2022 season, partly because Cosby returns key playmakers in quarterback Tyler Turner and receiver Hayden Green. “Tyler throws a really good deep ball and Hayden is going to be really explosive with the ball in his …

Morristown West

Two-A-Days: Morristown West looks to build on momentum from 2021

BY CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent Last year, Morristown West finished 5-6 overall (5-5 regular season, 0-1 postseason). The Trojans went 4-0 at home but due to some mental mistakes, according to head coach Alvin Sanders, they weren’t able to close out wins on the road. This year, getting the players ready, not just on the field, but mentally, has been the focus. Sanders said the goal is for this year’s team to be better mentally prepared to handle the twists of turns in a game than last year’s squad was. When asked if he feels this team is better than last …

Morristown East

Two-A-Days: Hurricanes look to bounce back after 2-8 campaign in 2021

BY CHRISTOPHER MALONEY Correspondent Smoky Mountain Sports sat down with Morristown East head coach Caleb Slover, and this is what the head coach had to say about his 2022 team, the season they had in 2021 and the potential season ahead. Morristown East went 2-8 in 2021 and one big reason for this was that they had trouble putting together four “consistent” quarters. Though this year’s team has some youth in some skilled positions, there are a good number of returnees from last year, as well, who have a year or more of experience under their belts. Starting senior quarterback …

Alcoa State Champs

Two-A-Days: Alcoa sets sights on 8-peat with Nix at helm

BY BRIAN HAMILTON Alcoa completed its seventh consecutive Class 3A championship run last December, defeating East Nashville 45-14. The Tornadoes now hold the longest streak of TSSAA championships in the common era. Believe it or not, however, Alcoa is only halfway to breaking the nation record of consecutive state titles, as St. Louis from Hawaii won 14 straight from 1986 through 1999. South Dakota’s Sioux Falls Washington has also been credited with 14 straight from 1951 through 1964, but during that day and age, many of those titles were viewed as mythical. Regardless, Alcoa seemingly has a stranglehold on Class …

Alcoa Champs

Alcoa defeats two-time defending champs Forrest 6-1 to win first state title

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Alcoa faced Forrest twice on Saturday, as rainstorms cancelled all games on Thursday, stretching most of the softball series into Saturday. The Lady Tornadoes (29-13) lost to Forrest (30-12) in the 2:30 game 11-5, handing Alcoa its first and only setback of the state tournament, forcing a winner take all game at 6 p.m. The Lady Tornadoes would take an early lead in the championship game and came away with a 6-1 win and the school’s first state softball championship. It was the third consecutive time that Alcoa and Forrest had faced one another, with …