Fulton

Fulton leads from start to finish, defeats Austin-East for 4th district title in five years

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEYMOUR – Fulton didn’t want the same feeling they had in 2025, when the Falcons lost to Carter in the district championship and had to navigate through the region as a 2-seed before getting a rematch in the region championship. That might indeed happen again in the region this year, with Austin-East, but this season Fulton will enter the regional tournament as the 1-seed after defeating the Roadrunners 58-45 to win its fourth district championship in five years. The Falcons started the game hot and every time Austin-East got close, Fulton had an answer. After building a …

Lady Highlanders use hot start to rout Pigeon Forge, win district championship

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – The Class 2A District 2 championship has gone through Gatlinburg-Pittman and Alcoa the last four years, but with Alcoa moving to 3A, there was room for a new challenger. This year the championship game featured a new participant, as Pigeon Forge defeated Cumberland Gap in the semifinals to advance to the title game. Gatlinburg-Pittman wasted no time in claiming its fourth district title in five years, as the Lady Highlanders jumped out on Pigeon Forge early, building a 21-3 lead en route to a 73-38 win. The win earned Gatlinburg-Pittman its second consecutive district title. …

Cocke County outscores Northview 14-2 in 4th to win third straight district crown

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KODAK – Due to inclement weather, Northview Academy and Cocke County didn’t find out whether their game, which would decide first place in Class 3A District 3, would be played or not on Tuesday until that afternoon. The school board was able to approve the game to be played, however, with the tip-off being moved forward one hour to 5 p.m. Both teams looked rusty throughout the game, but Cocke County seemed to shake that rust in the fourth quarter, while Northview never seemed to be able to. “It was an ugly game both ways. I didn’t …

Northview Academy defeats Gibbs 65-34, sets up rematch with Seymour in district final

BY BRIAN HAMILTON STRAWBERRY PLAINS – Northview Academy wrapped up the semifinal round of the Class 3A District 3 tournament in the same fashion as it did in 2022, defeating Gibbs convincingly to earn a championship game berth against Seymour. None of the semifinal games went much different than a year ago, but there is one thing Northview head coach Brooke Shelley would like to see go different this year, and that is the result of the championship game. The Lady Cougars earned a chance to right that with a 65-34 drubbing of Gibbs on Thursday night and will look …

Gatlinburg-Pittman

Gatlinburg-Pittman defeats Alcoa 81-56 for back-to-back district championships

BY BRIAN HAMILTON GATLINBURG – Gatlinburg-Pittman jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed, as the Highlanders won 81-56 to win their second consecutive district championship. Gatlinburg-Pittman withstood a heavy punch by Alcoa in the second quarter, before going on a 14-0 run to lead by 16 at the half. The Highlanders blew the game open in the third quarter, leading by as many as 31 points. Four starts graduated from last season’s district championship team, with Houston Byrd as the only holdover in the starting lineup. One year later, with a retooled starting lineup, and a freshman phenom …