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 …

Dylan Loy

Pigeon Forge uses 14-run inning to advance to district championship in Guinn’s 500th win

BY BRIAN HAMILTON PIGEON FORGE – Mike Guinn picked up his 500th win as a head coach on Monday evening, as Pigeon Forge used a 14-run third inning to build an 18-1 lead over Alcoa in the second round of the Class 2A District 2 tournament. The Tornadoes would battle back, scoring four runs in the top of the 5th, but the Tigers would prevail 18-5, cutting the game short due to the 10-run rule. Guinn began his career at Anderson County but has picked up the majority of the 500 at Pigeon Forge, where he won a state championship …

Macie Ridge

Alcoa snaps Westmoreland 25-game win streak to advance to Final Four

BY BRIAN HAMILTON MURFREESBORO – Alcoa came into the game as an underdog in the eyes of many, as the Lady Tornadoes were matched up with Westmoreland, winners of 25 straight. The Lady Tornadoes didn’t view themselves as an underdog, however, as they led for all but 21 seconds of the game and handed the Lady Eagles their first loss since December 3. The Final Four berth will be Alcoa’s first since in 38 years, when the Lady Tornadoes made it to the championship before losing to York Institute 65-34 in 1984. “Dawn Marsh’s team back in 1983-84 made it …

Alcoa-Tyner Academy

Alcoa comes up short in overtime against Tyner Academy 54-52 in substate sectional

BY BRIAN HAMILTON ALCOA – Jahvin Carter’s two free throws sent the game to overtime and Terrence Dorsey had an opportunity to force a second overtime with one half-second remaining, but the senior missed the first, as the Tornadoes trailed by two. Dorsey laid up a perfect miss off the side of the rim, which was corralled by Jordan Harris, but the putback didn’t fall, as Tyner Academy won 54-52 and advanced to the Elite 8 in Murfreesboro. “Sometimes, when you go all in on something, you’ve got to realize that you could come up heartbroken and I think for …