Results for the 4th Annual Big Man Tournament

The Bearden Bulldogs earned a decisive victory in the 4th Annual Big Man Tournament of Champions held at Powell High School on July 18, 2009. The Bearden #1 team won 4 out of the 8 events in the competition. Bearden has won the overall championship 3 times in the 4 years of the event. The host Powell Panthers finished second, and defeated Bearden #1 in the Tug-of-War competition. Coaches Matt Lowe of Powell and Buck Coatney of Fulton helped to organize the event. Each team consisted of ten players. The events required the linemen to use their strength, agility, quickness, and teamwork skills. Each event was scored like a track meet with the winning team scoring 10 points, the second place team getting 9 points, and decreasing points given to the lower-placed teams. The event was very successful, and everyone is looking forward to a bigger and better event next year.

Team Results

1. Bearden #1 (74), 2. Powell #1 (60.5), T3. Farragut (54) Fulton (54), 5. Bearden #2 (49.5), 6. Claiborne (49), 7. Central (37), 8. Powell #2 (29), 9. Fulton #2 (23).

Event Winners:

Bench Press- (Bearden #1) Edward Pena, Davis Tull 49 reps x 185 lbs.

Dumbell Relay- (Bearden #1) Brett Parisi, Dillon Wilker, Chris Jackson, Jaylin Stewart 46.64 sec.

1-Man Sled (40-yds)- Quientest Vinson (Fulton #1) 9.57 secs.

2-Man Sled (40-yds)-(Powell #1) Steven Ross, James-Michael Ussery 11.23 secs.

4-Man Tire Flip Relay- (Bearden #1) Drew Williamson, Mark Goltry, Edward Pena, Peter McKay 1min. 14 sec.

5-Man Sled (40-yds)- (Bearden #2) Kevin Stokes, Davey Kennedy, CJ Terry, Zack Wells, Harry Patty 15.27 secs.

Obstacle Course- (Bearden #1) Drew Williamson, Davis Tull 53.92 secs.

Tug of War- Powell #1 def. Bearden #1

Fulton to Participate in East TN Perimeter Passing League Saturday @ Maryvile College

Maryville College will host the East Tennessee Perimeter 7 0n 7 passing league Saturday, July 18. Games begin at 10 am and the tournament concludes at 6 pm. This is Fultons first year participating in the event which will host 31 teams from the East Tennessee area. The event is being organized by former Scots football players Nick White and Brian Gossett, the event was moved to Maryville College in the summer of 2008 and dedicated to the memory of Cody Bowers. Admission is $4 and concessions will be sold.

Passing Day Schedule:

10 a.m.

Fulton vs. Grace

Central vs. Farragut

Loudon vs. Austin-East

Lenoir City vs. Seymour

Greenback vs. Polk County

Anderson County vs. Smith County

Maryville vs. McMinn Central

Oak Ridge vs. Heritage

Karns vs. Alcoa

Catholic vs. Sequoyah

11 a.m.

Fulton vs. Oak Ridge

Central vs. Austin-East

Lenoir City vs. Polk County

Cumberland County vs. Cumberland Gap

Smith County vs. McMinn Central

Upperman vs. East Ridge

Sequatchie vs. White County

Greeneville vs. Wartburg

Claiborne vs. Chattanooga Central

Karns vs. Sequoyah

Noon

Farragut vs. East Ridge

Loudon vs. Upperman

Greenback vs. Sequatchie

Seymour vs. White County

Anderson County vs. Cumberland Gap

Maryville vs. Cumberland County

Heritage vs. Wartburg

Grace vs. Greeneville

Alcoa vs. Claiborne

Catholic vs. Chattanooga Central

1 p.m.

Fulton vs. Heritage

Farragut vs. Austin-East

Central vs. Loudon

Lenoir City vs. Greenback

Seymour vs. Polk County

Anderson County vs. McMinn Central

Smith County vs. Maryville

Oak Ridge vs. Grace

Alcoa vs. Sequoyah

Karns vs. Catholic

2 p.m.

Fulton vs. Greeneville

Sequoyah vs. Chattanooga Central

Karns vs. Claiborne

Austin-East vs. Upperman

Central vs. East Ridge

Polk vs. Sequatchie

Lenoir City vs. White County

McMinn Central vs. Cumberland County

Smith County vs. Cumberland Gap

Oak Ridge vs. Wartburg

3 p.m.

Alcoa vs. Chattanooga Central

Catholic vs. Claiborne

Farragut vs. Upperman

Loudon vs. East Ridge

Seymour vs. Sequatchie

Greenback vs. White County

Maryville vs. Cumberland Gap

Anderson County vs. Cumberland County

Heritage vs. Greeneville

Grace vs. Wartburg

4 p.m.

Fulton vs. Wartburg
Karns vs. Chattanooga Central

Sequoyah vs. Claiborne

Central vs. Upperman

Austin-East vs. East Ridge

Lenoir City vs. Sequatchie

Polk County vs. White County

Smith County vs. Cumberland County

McMinn Central vs. Cumberland Gap

Oak Ridge vs. Greeneville

5 p.m.

Alcoa vs. Catholic

Farragut vs. Loudon

Seymour vs. Greenback

Anderson County vs. Maryville

Heritage vs. Grace

4th Annual Big Man Tournament of Champions scheduled for Saturday, July 18 @ 10 am

Information Provided by Fulton SID Russell Mayes:

Preparations are underway for the Fourth Annual Big Man Tournament of Champions linemen competition on July 18 at Powell High School. Registration begins at 9 am and the event gets underway at 10 am. This unique competition for football linemen features eight different events that showcase both individual and team efforts. Each participating school enters a team of ten linemen that compete in the various skill events. The competition is concluded with an old fashioned team against team tug-of war. Individual players can only enter in two events plus the tug-of-war. Points are awarded in each event, just like a track meet, and the school with the most points at the end of the competition is declared the champion. Schools scheduled to participate in this year’s event include: Powell, Fulton, Claiborne, Bearden, and Farragut.

Admission is only $3 dollars for this unique event. For more information, contact Matt Lowe at Powell High School at 335-0775, or Buck Coatney at Fulton High School at 659-4356. Members of the media are encouraged and welcome to attend.

Order of events: (# OF PARTICIPANTS PER TEAM)

• BENCH PRESS (2)
• DUMBELL RELAY (4)
• 1 MAN SLED (1)
• 2 MAN SLED (2)
• 4 MAN TIRE FLIP (4)
• 5 MAN SLED (5)
• OBSTACLE COURSE (2)
• TUG OF WAR (10)
  

2008 Results:

• Team Results--1. Central (55), 2. Bearden 1 (53) 3. South-Doyle 1 (52.5), 4. Heritage (52), 5. Fulton (46.5), 6. Cumberland Gap (37.5), 7. Powell (33), 8. Bearden 2 (23), 9. South-Doyle 2 (14.5)
  

Event Winners

• Bench Press- Tie- Jon Shipley (Cumberland Gap), Eric Costner (Heritage) 31 reps x 185 lbs.


• Dumbell Relay- (Bearden 1) Sam Zivi, Peter McKay, Mark Goltry, Tanner Fine 44.44 sec.1-Man Sled (40-yds)- Antwan Hamilton (Fulton) 9.43 secs. (Event Record Time)


• 2-Man Sled (40-yds)-(Heritage) Minh Tran, Evan Tall 10.29 secs.


• 4-Man Tire Flip Relay- (South-Doyle 1) Chase Phillips, Taylor Stansberry, Zach Rhodes, Ricky Stansberry 1min. 52 sec.




• 5-Man Sled (40-yds)- (Heritage) Eric Costner, Cody Garland, Minh Tran, Todd Merriman, Evan Crockett 12.5 secs.


• Obstacle Course- Dylan Wolfenbarger (Central) 21.58 secs. (Event Record Time)


• Tug of War- Fulton def. South-Doyle
  
  

Falcons Land in the Top 5 in Preseason Football Polls

This years edition of the football Falcons are being lauded by two prominent Tennessee high school football pollsters. The Falcons have landed in the top 5 of both Earl Nall and Murphy Fair's pre-season rankings. Here is a complete rundown of each poll, which also includes local and rival teams:

--Earl Nall, technology director for the TSSAA, released his 17th annual state football preseason rankings earlier this month. For his preseason ratings he uses a statistical model that takes into account historical data with the single most important factor being Margin of Victory. Note: Only 3 times in its 17 year history has a team made it to one of the 80+ state championship game since the ratings began that wasn’t ranked in the top 10 in the final week 10 ratings.

• Class 4A rankings:

1. David Lipscomb 73.5 pts


2. Nash Maplewood 70.1


3. Mem Fairley 68.5
   
4. White House 66.2


5. Knox Fulton 66.2


6. Crockett County 64.3


7. Chatt Red Bank 64.0


8. Jackson Soutside 63.1


9. Giles County 61.5


10. Haywood County 59.8
    

• 2009 Opponents Rankings: 3A--13 Knox Carter, 47 Gibbs, 50 Union County; 2A--1 Alcoa, 5 Austin East, 22 Gatlinburg Pittman, 47 Pigeon Forge; 5A--18 Knox Powell, 23 Morristown West, 25 Knox West


• Notables from other classes: 1A--1 South Pittsburg, 11 Knox Grace; 2A--1 Trousdale County; 3A--1 Alcoa, 10 CAK; 5A--1 Henry County, 4 Knox Catholic, 14 Clinton, 18 Knox Powell, 21 Knox Halls; Class 6A--1 Oakland, 4 Maryville, 6 Knox Farragut, 15 Knox Bearden

--Murphy Fair, self proclaimed high school football "Guru" and capitalist from Tullahoma, TN. Fair puts out an annual pre-season football preview magazine that profiles most all of the teams in Tennessee. He can also be heard on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone on Fridays from 2-3 PM. Murphy's preseason Top Five in each playoff classification consists of the five teams that he believes have the best chance to be competiting in the BlueCross Bowl in Cookeville in the first week of December. Teams are listed alphabetically:

• Class 6A--Brentwood, Maryville, Millington, Oakland, Whitehaven
  
  Class 5A--Clinton, Henry Co., Melrose, Mitchell, Sullivan South
  
  Class 4A--Fulton, Giles Co., Lipscomb, Maplewood, Red Bank
  
  Class 3A--Alcoa, Austin East, Tyner, Milan, Westview
  
  Class 2A--Boyd-Buchanan, McKenzie, Oneida, Trinity Christian, Trousdale Co.
  
  Class 1A--Huntingdon, Jo Byrns, South Pittsburg, Union City, Wayne Co.

Southern Cal Interested in Steele

The offer list for rising senior Jalen Steele includes numerous mid-major schools, but this summer he is starting to receive interest from Major Division 1 schools. The Southern Cal Trojans and their new coach, former UT coach Kevin O'Neill, are the latest school to show interest in the Fulton Basketball Standout.

Fulton coach Jody Wright said he received a call from O'Neill on Monday about Steele and received another Tuesday seeking Steele's transcript.

Steele has a lengthy list of offers, which includes Dayton, Tulane and Marshall. Now major Division I programs are showing their interests.

Marquette and Xavier have come on hot during the July evaluation period.

And now USC.

"I think (Steele) has himself on the national radar now," said Wright.

O'Neill has a connection to Wright, who used to work basketball camps at Tennessee with O'Neill and assistants Billy Schmidt (now head assistant at Dayton) and Lawrence Frank (coach of the New Jersey Nets). So, he didn't give Wright a fluffy business pitch.

"He is in a difficult situation (taking over for Tim Floyd at USC). He said they're probably facing probation and losing some scholarships," said Wright. "But he told me needs a shooter who can defend well. Word had it, from another buddy of his (in Knoxville), that Steele was the real deal."

Tennessee has not offered Steele.

"Recruiting is need-based, and it's a business," said Wright. "If UT is full of guards, it doesn't make sense to recruit him and doesn't make sense for him to go there.

"Jalen wants to go somewhere where he can play, and, at the same time, he wants to play at the highest level he can."

Steele was the PrepXtra boys' player of the year this past season, as he scored 21.3 points per game and led the Falcons to their second Class AA state title in a row.

He is showcasing his game this week in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Hoosier Shootout with the Tennessee Travelers.

"He knew coming in that this summer was big for him," said Wright. "He's concentrated on his body. I think he surprised some people over at the Rocky Top League this summer. Not just with his shot, but also with his jumping ability. He had a couple of really nice slams. Forceful. Over people. Not breakaways.

"He's a good, solid 190 (pounds). He knew July was huge for him. His stock is really rising."

Steele Takes Rocky Top League's Improvement Award as Team Wins Championship; Seeing Interest From Flyers

Fulton rising senior Jalen Steele received the Bruce Pearl Award (Improvement) for his outstanding performance in this summers Rocky Top League. Steele scored 22 points in the finals and was instrumental in helping to lead his team, the HT Group, to win the league championship. This was Jalens second year playing in the Rocky Top League which features current/former UT players and other college and professional players with local ties.

Pilot Rocky Top League championship to HT Group (KNS Article)

The HT Group ran like a well-oiled machine en route to its second
consecutive Pilot Rocky Top League championship under coach Pat Walden.
"The key was getting guys that played well as a team and bought into the team
concept,'' Walden said. "No one cared who scored; we just identified
mismatches.''Asheville's Jon Primm (16 points) and Fulton High School's Jalen
Steele never wavered in the backcourt for HT Group.
Steele was particularly effective, scoring 22 points with UT walk-on Skylar McBee guarding him throughout the night.
"I would love to play in the SEC. Some teams are giving
me a look,'' said Steele, who is giving serious consideration to an offer from
mid-major power Dayton. "I may decide later this month, but if not I'll sign in
November.
"This was fun, our team really jelled and figured out what it could
do with shooters, drivers and mismatches inside with Wayne, Boo and
Renaldo.''

Rocky Top League Awards (KNS)

Couple of New Schools Calling on Steele (Rivals Article):

As evaluation period opens up on July 6, many schools will be scattered
trying to watch their top targets and evaluate those they haven't been able to
see with no April scouting period this year. One of the prospects that Dayton
has been coveting for a very long time is the Fulton (Tenn.) Falcons star Jalen
Steele. A couple new schools are trying to get involved as they play catch-up to
the Flyers, who have been there since day one.Jalen Steele had a busy month of
June as he played with his high school team and also participated in the Rocky
Top Summer League in Knoxville. He's a gym rat by nature and Dayton has liked
what they've seen in his work ethic and ability for a very long time. After all,
it led him to back-to-back state championships for Fulton. Now it's getting down
to crunch time to see where he will play in college."Not much has changed (with
recruiting)," Jalen admitted. "I got a call last week from a new school."The new
school belongs to the Big East Conference and is one that Dayton has been
competing with for some of their guard targets. "Marquette called last week,"
Steele said. "They told me they needed a combo guard and that they would be in
Indianapolis to watch me."He also expects the Flyers to be in attendance for his
games at the Hoosier Shootout. "Oh yea, they'll be there in full force."Another
team that was trying to get involved was the University of Tennessee. "They
called and were talking about recruiting me," he explained. "I am not quite sure
what is going on with that, but they talked to my uncle about it."As it pertains
to unofficial visits, Jalen has been to Dayton three times and Virginia
Commonwealth once. He didn't get to make any visits during the month of June
because of other commitments.Steele said he's still on pace to make a decision
sometime this month or at the beginning of August.Jalen and the Tennessee
Travelers will be at the Hoosier Shootout (July 6-9) in Indianapolis, followed
by The Triple S Jam Fest in Morgantown, West Virginia (July 14-16), the Super
Showcase in Orlando (July 23-27), and the Price Chopper in Kansas City, Missouri
(July 28-31).

Flyers Going After Guards (Dayton Daily News)

Highly touted basketball prospect Jalen Steele of Knoxville, Tenn., visited
Dayton for the Duquesne game last season and found the revelry in the stands as
entertaining as anything on the floor.
“The fans are into the game,” the 6-foot-2 senior-to-be said. “They’re real faithful to the team. They’re into it. They get the team ready to go. If there’s a bad call, they get mad. I loved it.”
That wasn’t all Steele found appealing about UD. “Me and the coaches
click very well,” he said. “And I clicked with (Flyer recruit) Juwan Staten. Me
and him exchanged phone numbers.”
Steele, who is being recruited by Marquette, Clemson and Xavier and has
about 20 scholarship offers, averaged 21.3 points last season in leading Fulton
High School to its second consecutive state title.
He scored 20 points in the state semifinals, hitting the game-winner in the lane at the buzzer, and tossed in 22 in the final to earn tourney MVP honors.
“He’s a tremendous, tremendous competitor,” Fulton coach Jody Wright said. “He has an unbelievable desire to win, and that has manifested itself many times in big ballgames. Like many great players, the bigger the game, the better he plays.”
“I think Dayton has done it the right way,” said Wright, who coaches Steele. “They have recruited him hard all along. Right now, somebody has to beat Dayton out. I’ve said that from the get-go. Anybody that gets on you the earliest and goes the hardest, that’s tough to beat.”