Cherokee sweeps Rockwood

By BRODY JONES

Roane Newspapers

The Cherokee Yellow Jackets and Lady Jackets defended their home turf Thursday night as both teams defeated visiting Rockwood.

Defense was the name of the game in both wins as the Lady Jackets picked up a 36-20 victory while the Cherokee boys held on for a 28-20 victory.

Cherokee will play at home again on Monday against Harriman while Rockwood will not play again until Dec. 1, when they travel to Oliver Springs.

Girls Game

The Cherokee Lady Yellow Jackets used a swarming defense to give the Rockwood Lady Tigers a stinging 36-20 defeat.

In the opening period, the Lady Jackets got out to a 8-0 run following both teams being tied at 2-2 to take a 10-2 lead early in the game.

Cherokee used a 14-4 second quarter to get out to a commanding 24-6 halftime lead.

The Lady Jackets edged Rockwood in the third stanza to take a 30-10 lead.

The Lady Tigers managed to cut the final margin in the final period to 36-20.

Cherokee had a 28-14 advantage on the boards, but where they did the biggest bulk of their damage was in the steals department, racking up 20 steals compared to seven for Rockwood.

The Lady Jackets were led in scoring by Haley Cornellison with a double-double in the form of 14 points and 13 boards while Sydney Spurgeon had 12 points.

Alison Mossing had six steals in the victory.

Leading the Lady Tigers in scoring were Samantha Freels, with six points and five boards, and Lexi Monroe with four points.

Cherokee (36) Cornellison 14, Spurgeon 12, Mossing 4, Langley 4, Futrell 2.

Rockwood (20) Freels 6, Monroe 4, Penley 2, Wicks 2, Young 2, Hill 2, Summerall 2.

Boys Game

The old saying goes that the best defense is a good offense.

Thursday night, however, the best offense proved to be a great defense as the Cherokee Yellow Jackets fought off a determined Rockwood Tigers squad for a 28-20 victory.

Cherokee outscored Rockwood in the opening period 7-5. The scoring would be 7-5 again in the second quarter, but this time with Rockwood tying the game at 12-12 going to the locker room at halftime.

Cherokee got out to a 19-16 lead going into the final stanza. The final quarter saw Cherokee go on a 9-4 run to close out the game with a 28-20 win.

The Jackets edged the Tigers on the boards 25-21, but where Cherokee was most effective was team steals, winning that battle by a 15-7 tally.

Cherokee was led in scoring by Jordan Huddleston with 15 points with eight boards, six steals and a blocked shot.

Balland Bailey had six boards and five steals in the win for the Jackets with Tre Colquitt adding six boards of his own.

Jared Breazeale led Rockwood in scoring with eight points plus eight boards and a blocked shot. Bryan Williams had six boards in the loss for the Tigers.

Cherokee (28) Huddleston 15, Bailey 4, Golliher 3, Boles 2, Sampson 2, Ott 2.

Rockwood (20) Breazeale 8, Clem 5, Freels 5, Williams 2.