Sports

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com A tough lesson has been learned this week and it’s one all players and spectators should pay attention to: Actions have consequences. On Tuesday night, following the Dyer County Lady Choctaws’ loss to Arlington in the Region 7AAA Semifinals on the Lady Tigers’ homefloor, Dyer County head coach Derek McCord was assaulted by a juvenile assailant (and reported to be as many as five others) following the game...

With next Saturday being a year since the Lady Trojans took the field the last time in a regular season game, the Dyersburg softball team has been preparing for their 2021 season the last few weeks which opens on Monday, March 15 on the road at Tipton Rosemark.

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com With the 2021 baseball season and his senior year on the diamond approaching in less than two weeks, Dyer County’s Ethan Smith knows where he will be next season as well, as the Choctaw 12th grader signed to play at the college level with Christian Brothers University on Wednesday evening at Dyer County High School...

The fallout from Tuesday's incident following the Dyer County-Arlington basketball game which left Lady Choctaw head coach Derek McCord injured as the result of an assault by a juvenile continued on Thursday as the Lady Tiger basketball team has been removed from the postseason due to the incident.

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com With losses in the regional semifinals for three of our four teams and a first-round exit for another, the 2020-21 basketball season for Dyersburg and Dyer County High School came to a close on Tuesday night with road losses by the Trojans and Lady Choctaws...

ARLINGTON - Though the Lady Choctaws battled throughout the four quarters of the Region 7AAA Semifinals on Tuesday night in Arlington, Dyer County’s shots were having trouble finding the net as the hosting Lady Tigers hit plenty of theirs from the field on the way to a 61-41 win over the orange and white girls to end the DC basketball season for the third time in four seasons.

JACKSON - On Tuesday prior to the start of the Region 7 semifinal contest against South Side, Dyersburg head coach Blaine Mahaffey said his squad would have to “play very well offensively and avoid allowing 8-to-10 point runs” in order to have a chance to walk off the court at the end with the season still alive.

For the fourth straight year, the Dyer County Choctaws found themselves in a familiar spot – facing District 14AAA’s Bartlett in elimination action in the Region 7AAA Tournament. With the Panthers’ homecourt being the venue this season, the Choctaws saw their season come to an end against Class AAA’s No. 7-ranked team on Monday night, falling 90-42 to Bartlett (15-6) in the region quarterfinals...

Just a few months removed from playing his final game as a Choctaw, Dyer County senior lineman Andrew Roberts took the first step on his next football journey as he recently signed with Tennessee Valley Prep. “To be honest, just to get the opportunity especially with corona this year and how everything has been, it’s just a dream come true, really,” Roberts said of signing with Tennessee Valley Prep. ...

Monday, March 1 Dyer County at Bartlett (Region 7AAA Quarterfinals) (Boys Basketball, 7 p.m.) Tuesday, March 2 Dyersburg at South Side (Region 7AA Semifinals) (Boys Basketball, 6 p.m.) Dyer County at Arlington (Region 7AAA Semifinals) (Girls Basketball, 7 p.m.)...

The Dyersburg lead hovered at double figures for much of the second half before a late flurry by visiting Chester County forced the Trojans (13-11) to battle for the victory on the way to a 51-48 win over the Eagles in the Region 7AA Quarterfinals on Saturday night in Dyersburg.

Though the Lady Trojans were able to keep the game close early and led Class AA’s top-ranked team in each of the first two quarters, the Lady Hawks pulled away in the second half to take a 45-28 in the quarterfinals of the Region 7AA Tournament at South Side High School on Saturday afternoon in Jackson.

Coming off a disappointing loss to Munford in the District 13AAA Semifinals on Wednesday night in Tipton County, the Dyer County boys (9-13) got off to a sluggish start on Friday night in Brighton in the 13AAA Consolation Game and the Cardinals took advantage with a 67-52 win over the Choctaws...

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com Now that the District 13AA and 13AAA Tournaments, things are going to get dramatic really quick as our local teams now face win-or-go-home games their next couple times on the court. And, by really quick, I mean tonight as the Region 7AA Tournament kicks off with a busy afternoon and night of basketball action...

MIKE SMITH msmith@stategazette.com MEDINA — After winning back-to-back games to advance to the District 13AA championship game on Thursday against South Gibson, Dyersburg’s bid to claim the tourney title fell short despite a tremendous effort from the Trojans...

Though the Lady Choctaws rallied from a double-digit deficit to lead at the half then had to battle back at the start of the third quarter, the Dyer County girls were unable to get over the summit in the end as a dominating run by Hardin County led to the Lady Tigers taking a 54-42 win in the District 13AAA Championship Game on Thursday night in Savannah.

Though the Choctaws (9-12) kept within striking distance early and even tied the game early in the second quarter, a sharp-shooting second quarter proved to be the catalyst for the Cougars (10-10) to take a 70-45 win over Dyer County in the District 13AAA semifinals on Wednesday night in Munford.

Though the Lady Trojans took the lead early in the fourth quarter in the District 13AA Consolation Game on Wednesday night at Dyersburg, a quick Crockett County run in a low-scoring final quarter proved to be Dyersburg’s undoing as the black and gold girls fell to the Lady Cavaliers 41-39.

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com This time of the year, the focus of our local basketball players should be on one thing - the next team they have to face to advance. But, for people like yours truly who is out there on the road and at games every night this week, it can be fun and, actually, a good idea to see what is ahead for our local teams as they finish up the district tournament portion of the postseason...

MARTIN — After slipping past Milan on Monday in the District 13AA quarterfinal at DHS, the Trojans traveled to Martin on Tuesday to face No.1-seed Westview with a trip to Thursday’s title game on the line. While the two squads split contests during the regular season, on Tuesday the Trojans simply proved to be the better team. Dyersburg never trailed on Tuesday, going wire-to-wire in winning the contest 57-48 to advance and face South Gibson in the championship game on Thursday.

With the two teams splitting a pair of close games during the regular season, Dyersburg (10-10) traveled to South Gibson (14-10) on Tuesday night fresh off of Monday night's win in the District 13AA Quarterfinals over Milan for semifinal action.

The Lady Choctaws (17-7) set the tone early with a trio of 3-pointers in the opening two minutes of action as Dyer County held a double-figure lead after one then kept the double-digit lead for much of the rest of the way on the way to a 65-36 win over Munford (13-10) on Tuesday night in the District 13AAA Semifinals in Newbern.

With the 2021 soccer season approaching for the Dyersburg Trojans, DHS senior Andrew Kerber has already secured the next stop on his soccer journey following this season as the Trojan standout signed to play with Delta State University next season on Tuesday moring at Dyersburg High School.

For the third time this season and the second time in the past nine days, Dyer County's boys (9-11) had little trouble with the Crusaders as the Choctaws opened the District 13AAA Tournament with a 78-42 in over Liberty in the tournament quarterfinals on Monday night in Newbern.

After trailing at the half, the Trojans (11-10) rallied in the third quarter in the District 13AA Quarterfinal on Monday night to take the lead then held off a surging Milan team late to claim the 56-54 win over the Bulldogs in the Terry Glover Gymnasium on what was also Senior Night.

For a coach, losing a player to injury is one of the tougher things they have to deal with during their career. But, when it’s a senior going down with an injury, the effect is increased, especially in a case like Dyer County High School senior Meme Smith where the Lady Choctaw 12th grader has been injured during her final year in orange and white.

After a week with temperatures below freezing and wintery conditions putting a halt to sports action throughout the area, the high school basketball postseason will get underway this upcoming week as teams begin the road to Murfreesboro. For the Dyersburg Trojans (10-10, 4-4) and Lady Trojans (9-9, 4-4), the road to the state tournament begins at home as the teams will host Milan in a pair of first-round, play-in games on Monday night in the Terry Glover Gymnasium in the opening night of the District 13AA Tournament.. ...

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com As much as I enjoy seeing snow-covered earth during the winter, I can bet I am not the only one who is tired of seeing the snow and ice around here. Hopefully, by the time my readers see this column this weekend, we will begin to see the melting of this last week’s snowfall...

With winter weather blanketing the area and temperatures not forecasted to rise above freezing until Saturday, the District 13AAA Basketball Tournaments have been pushed back until next week. Initially, when the basketball schedules were made out before the season, the District 13AAA Tournament was set to begin with play-in games beginning on Thursday evening...

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com Well, walking outside into the mid-February Tennessee weather on Tuesday, the first thing which came into my mind was “man, that sunlight is deceptive.” You know, I have said in the last couple years when it has dropped below freezing (though, not quite like this), if it is going to be this cold, I want snow...

The Dyer County basketball teams headed down to Jackson on Saturday to close the regular season and returned from the Hub City with a pair of big District 13AAA wins over Liberty. In girls’ action, the Lady Choctaws (16-8, 7-1) had a record-setting performance from beyond the arc on the way to an 83-25 win over the Lady Crusaders. In the second game of the day, the Choctaws (8-11, 4-4) completed the season sweep of the Crusaders with an 82-53 win over Liberty...

The Dyersburg State women battled back after trailing following the first quarter to take a lead at the break before holding off the Saluqis on the way to a 63-58 win over Southwest TN on Saturday afternoon at DSCC.

Due to conditions caused by winter weather in the area, Friday night’s Dyersburg home basketball game against Milan was canceled. Due to the proximity to the postseason, this game will not be made up. Administrators are attempting to reschedule Tuesday night’s Dyersburg-Westview postponed game as weather and time allow...

The District 13AAA contest between Dyer County and Liberty in Jackson which was originally scheduled Tuesday night will be played on Saturday at noon at Liberty. The girls game will tip off at noon and the boys game will follow.

With the regular season winding down this week, the careers of the senior members of local basketball teams will be put on the line in the upcoming weeks as they enter the postseason tournaments.

Like the rest of the 2020-21 Lady Trojan senior class, Dyersburg’s Lyric Latham has been a part of the black and gold program through all four years of her high school career and has evolved her game along the way.

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com For those who crave basketball action and enjoy it best when it’s live and in-person, Tuesday brought this to a halt as winter weather began to move into the area. For me, when it is this cold, I want snow...

Three Oaks Middle School hosted its annual football awards banquet recently. Choctaw players receiving individual honors were (front, from left) Robert Hunt (Defensive Lineman of the Year), Landon Daniels (Offensive Player of the Year), Christian Cravins (Iron Man Award), Jamin Gauldin (Most Valuable Choctaw Award), Brady Smith (Offensive Lineman of the Year); (back, from left) Christian Shepherd (Rookie of the Year), Devin Hayward (12th Man Award), Tyler Liddell (Academic Award), Darius Hayward (Receiver of the Year) and Preston Kapture (Defensive Player of the Year).

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com Shortly before the local area was put into an ice storm warning on Tuesday evening, the threat of wintery weather brought the high school basketball schedule to a halt before both Dyersburg and Dyer County were set to travel for District 13 contests...

Coming off a pair of seasons in which he saw success as a part of the Dyer County defense, Choctaw linebacker Caleb Briscoe will continue his career at the college level as the DCHS senior signed to play football next season with Bethel University on Tuesday afternoon.

Following a standout career in which he started for four years on the gridiron at Dyer County, Choctaw senior Josh Stewart will take his talent to the next level as the orange and white football player signed with the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Monday afternoon.

JASON PEEVYHOUSE jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com There were plenty of takeaways from this past Sunday’s Super Bowl as the one which comes to mind the quickest is how much Tom Brady added to his resume. Now, I am by no means a Tom Brady fan, but with every ring he wins (and he’s probably not done yet, folks, sadly), I have to wonder if anyone still doubts his place in the history of the National Football League...

In a late addition to the Lady Choctaws’ schedule, Dyer County (15-8, 6-1) travelled over to Middle Tennessee for a non-district matchup against Lipscomb Academy but could not overcome the Lady Mustangs in Nashville, falling 58-56 on Saturday evening...

The Dyersburg State Eagles got their 2021 season off to a strong start on Saturday in Millington, getting a pair of big wins over TCCAA foes at USA Stadium. The Eagles opened their season with a 10-1 win over Southwest TN in the first game of the day then followed it up with an 11-1 win over Jackson State in the second contest...

NASHVILLE —- The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will present its proposal for changes to public land duck hunting to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission for consideration at its Feb. 18-19 meeting. The meeting will be held in Franklin at the Marriott of Cool Springs...

On Friday night at DHS, fans, cheerleaders and the dance team were welcomed back for the first time this year to witness a pair of basketball games. The Trojan and Lady Trojan squads made sure their return was worth the wait.

Though the Cardinals led by double figures at the end of the second and third quarters, Dyer County (7-11, 3-4) battled back in the final frame to cut it as close as six before Brighton sealed a 67-59 win over the Choctaws on Friday night in Newbern on Senior Night.

With the 2021 high school baseball season approaching next month, Dyer County’s Jerrod Gurden knows where he will play his freshman season in 2022 as the Choctaw senior signed with Freed Hardeman University on Thursday evening at Dyer County High School.