The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through October 26, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: CLASS 6A School Record Pts Prv 1. Maryville (15) 9-0 150 1 2. Oakland 8-1 133 2 3. Whitehaven 8-1 122 3 4. Ravenwood 8-1 103 4 5. Blackman 7-2 86 6 6. White Station 6-3 72 7 7. Cordova 8-1 54 8 8. Smyrna 7-2 35 5 9. Science Hills 7-2 35 5 10. Bearden 6-3 12 9 10. Bradley Central 6-3 12 9 Others receiving 12 or more points: None. more

Wednesday, Oct. 21 Marshall County 19, Santa Fe 8. (Girls) The Tigerettes posted a total pin fall of 2009, while the Lady Wildcats ended up with 819. Junior Grace Steagall bowled the high game of the match, rolling a 161. The Tigers had a close game, winning 17-10 in points over the Wildcats, while squeezing out a 34-point margin (2461-2427) in pin totals. more

Forrest Middle School opened up the hardwood season on Oct. 15 at Westwood with a split as the girls fell 26-19, while the boys won the nightcap over their namesakes from Manchester 46-30 with Cole Villazon leading the Rockets in scoring with 14 points. Shea Lewis was the leading scorer for the girls with 6 points. more

Legendary 1975 team celebrates 40th reunion When the Forrest Rockets take to the field this week against Eagleville at Murrey E. Holton Field in Chapel Hill, they will win the Region 4AA championship with a victory over the Eagles and on hand will be another special group of winners. more

Critical contests ahead for county high school teams Two weeks to go, how time has flown by in the high school football season with Forrest and Marshall County sitting atop their respective region standings, while Cornersville is fighting for playoff hopes. Forrest, coming off a bye week, entertains Eagleville this week at Murrey E. Holton Field, and the Rockets can clinch their first region title in 29 years with a win. "We had a great week of practice last week and started preparing for Eagleville on our bye week and the guys have been really focused on what they've set out to accomplish," Forrest coach Matt Kriesky said. "In the offseason one of our goals for the year was to win the region." The Rockets (7-1, 5-0) have been a focused club all season and Kriesky knows the Eagles (4-4, 3-2) would like nothing more than to travel the short distance to Chapel Hill and upset the Rockets. "Eagleville has improved throughout the year and we know we'll get their very best effort Friday," Kriesky said. "Coach (Steve) Carson and his staff will have his guys up and ready for this game. Kriesky and the fifth-ranked Rockets would like to turn the tables with a big win and take the region crown in front of a packed house and a special group of former Rockets. The 1975 team that went 10-1 and won the Crockett Bowl will be honored at halftime for its 40th anniversary of that great season. "It would be really neat if we were able to accomplish this in front of them and we hope that everyone in Chapel Hill will come out Friday night to see these guys get recognized and also to watch some football," Kriesky stated. "It should be a great atmosphere with Eagleville coming to town." Marshall County is the No. 4 ranked team in the latest Associated Press Poll and it is well deserved as the squad has reeled off six straight wins. "I think we're growing and maturing as football team each week and our upper classmen are doing a great job setting the standard for how we go about our work each day," MCHS coach Thomas Osteen said. "But most importantly, I believe our team is still hungry to get better and not satisfied with where we are." The Tigers (7-1, 4-0) will make their second road trip of the season to Nashville to take on the Maplewood Panthers (2-6, 1-3) in a non-conference game that will be no easy task. "Anytime you play a team from Nashville you're most always going to be challenged by their speed and physicality," Osteen said. "The mantra this week is to correct many of the mental mistakes in preparation that we made during our last trip to Davidson County." The Panthers beat Portland last week 28-14 after dropping five in a row, but have the daunting task of stopping a potent Marshall offense that has no intention of slowing. "We'll prepare for Maplewood like we do ever other week," the coach said. "It's a 'huge' game because it's the next game and another opportunity to get better." The big next game will be for all the region's marbles when the Tigers host Page next week to settle the hampionship. "As exciting as looking ahead to next week may be, our staff and players have committed themselves to being process-centered and only looking day to day to improve," Osteen said. Cornersville sits in fifth in Region 4-A and is coming off a loss to first-place Columbia Academy. It doesn't get any easier this week for the young Bulldogs, who host Fayetteville for Homecoming at Frog Bottom. "It doesn't get any easier this Friday night also as we'll get the opportunity to face a very talented Fayetteville City squad," Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said. "We'll have to do a really good job on defense of reading our keys and getting a lot of Cornersville jerseys to the ball carrier. "Not only that, but we'll have to do a really good job of tackling in space also. When we get the chance to get them to the ground we have to make sure that happens." Randolph's Dawgs have shown no quit in them as they continue to fight for a playoff slot as they work to the future. "The mood here is positive this week and the guys are really working hard because even though we know its homecoming, our ultimate goal here is to win a football game," Randolph said. "The guys are excited about it being homecoming which is understandable, but they also understand what the task at hand is." Homecoming week always has its distractions, but Randolph is confident that the team will be able to enjoy the festivities, while working hard to stay alive in the post-season race and maybe, just maybe, hand the Tigers a nice upset loss. "There are several things that could pose a distraction this week because of homecoming, but our main objective is to stay focused and keep a business-like approach to the game," he said. "I want our guys to enjoy the true meaning of homecoming, but they also have to know what's at stake, and that's trying to win a big football game." more

A young Cornersville squad returned home to Frog Bottom on Friday night looking to ride the momentum of a hard-fought win over Summertown against a dangerous Columbia Academy squad ranked fifth in the state in the latest Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs from Columbia (7-1, 7-0) showed why they earned the ranking in a 56-0 dismantling of Cornersville (2-6, 2-4) that saw the home team down 28-0 after the first quarter. more

One little piece of fall break rust was chipped off before Marshall County put a big whipping on Spring Hill, routing the Raiders 59-21 Friday night in front of a packed house at Preston Hopkins Field in Lewisburg. "Anytime you take two weeks off you want, number one to get better, get healed and not get out of rhythm," Tigers coach Thomas Osteen said. "We came out fast, we weren't rusty and we were dialed in because we had a great week of practice." more

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through October 19, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: Class 6A Record Pts Prv 1. Maryville (16) 8-0 160 1 2. Oakland 7-1 142 2 3. Whitehaven 7-1 127 3 4. Ravenwood 7-1 107 4 5. Science Hill 7-1 91 6 6. Blackman 6-2 89 5 7. White Station 5-3 56 7 8. Cordova 7-1 45 9 9. Bradley Central 6-2 36 10 10. Smyrna 6-2 18 NR more

Marshall County High School's Leah Hollingsworth finished in eleventh place at the Brentwood Invitational last week and the Tigerettes' sophomore will run in the Mid State Cross Country Association High School Championship at Smyrna tomorrow. more

The Forrest Lady Rockets traveled to White House Heritage Tuesday to take on the host Lady Patriots in the District 9A-AA Tournament semifinal and their season ended in an 8-0 loss. Audra Roach scored for the Lady Patriots 52 seconds into the match and it was all downhill from there for Forrest, who could not muster and offense in the contest. more

Marshall County High School seniors Wilson Limbaugh and Zach Smith represented the Tiger golf team well at the Class A-AA State Tournament at Manchester on Monday and Tuesday. Smith ended up in a tie for 40th place after shooting 85 on Monday and 81 on Tuesday, including a solid one-over par 37 for his final nine holes. more

ornersville takes on Columbia Academy, Tigers face Spring Hill Cornersville and Marshall County have huge region home games this week as the Bulldogs entertain first place Columbia Academy at Frog Bottom, while the Tigers battle Spring Hill at Preston Hopkins Field in Lewisburg. The Bulldogs (2-5, 2-3) are coming off a big win versus Summertown that broke a three-game losing streak. more

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through October 12, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: (The ballot of News Sentinel preps beat writer Chris Thomas.) Class 6A Record Pts Prv 1. Maryville (17) 7-0 170 1 2. Oakland 6-1 150 2 3. Whitehaven 7-1 139 3 4. Ravenwood 6-1 112 4 5. Blackman 5-2 95 5 6. Science Hill 5-1 90 6 7. White Station 5-3 56 9 8. Cookeville 6-1 42 10 9. Cordova 7-1 33 7 10. Bradley Central 5-2 31 NR Others receiving 12 or more points: None. more

The Forrest Lady Rockets took care of business Monday at Chapel Hill, beating Sycamore 7-2 in the second round of the District 9A-AA Tournament. Brynn Colvin continued her magnificent campaign, scoring four goals to improve her season total to 27. Katie Price, Haley Lowe and Rickee Gayle Carter all added one apiece for Forrest. more

The Tigerettes of Marshall County returned home to face a familiar foe in the first round of the District 12 A-AA playoffs facing a Spring Hill squad the Tigerettes lost a match against just three days earlier. Despite a spirited start and an aggressive finish, the Tigerettes (12-4, 4-3) gave up three easy goals in a 10 minute span in the first half on the way to a 5-1 loss to the Lady Raiders (7-5, 4-3) to close the season for the home team. more

The Cornersville Bulldogs traveled to Lawrenceburg Friday night in desperate need of a win to keep its playoff hopes alive against first-year TSSAA football participants Summertown (2-6, 1-5) Eagles, who were coming off their first ever region win against the Richland Raiders a week prior. The Bulldogs (2-5, 2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by relying on a talented group of freshman to overcome the cold, rain and fight of the first year Eagles. more

The deluge that descended upon Cross Plains Friday night came in three forms, a heavy constant, soaking rain, seven forced turnovers and a Forrest offensive onslaught that resulted in a big 56-26 win over East Robertson. "Your always glad when we come out with a win," Forrest coach Matt Kriesky said. "But we have to learn from this and get better." With the victory, Forrest (7-1, 5-0) is now just win away from clinching first place in Region 4-AA. more

The Lady Bulldogs (8-7-1, 5-4) traveled to Williamson County to take on top dog of District 11 A/AA Fairview (14-1-2, 10-0) for the regular season finale for both squads. Despite the record and prestige of the Yellow Jackets, the vastly improved Lady Bulldogs hung around for the entire game before losing 6-0 in a game in which the score was not indicative of the closeness between the teams. more

The Forrest Lady Rockets finished off the regular season with a bang, blanking non-conference Webb School 3-0 in Tuesday night's senior celebration at Chapel Hill. "I'm really happy, I was nervous coming in," senior Anyssa Strong said. "I was just glad we on our last official home game here." Forrest (6-3-1, 3-0-1) is the top seed from the South Division in the upcoming District 9A-AA Tournament that commences at 6 p.m. Monday night on the Lions Club Memorial Field at Chapel Hill. more