| Tornado boys join girls as worthy of high praise in polls | | Posted: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 7:00 pm
| By MIKE HUTCHENS
Messenger Sports Editor
With the majority of the attention — and rightfully so — on the Union City girls’ program, the Golden Tornado boys have gone mostly unnoticed this season.
Apparently, some folks are starting to take note.
The UC boys moved up two spots to No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press Class 1A poll.
Tenth in each of the first two listings, the Twisters (13-6) won their only game last week (61-50 over Humboldt) and benefited from losses by both Cloudland and Clay County who had been ranked ahead of them.
Union City collected 45 total points in balloting of sports writers and broadcasters across Tennessee this week. Columbia Academy (16-2) garnered 11 of 17 first-place votes cast to retain the No. 1 spot.
Wartburg (16-3) and 16-1 Trinity Christian Academy of Jackson remained Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Tornadoes’ six losses are tied with Hampton for the most of any ranked team. Of those half-dozen setbacks, though, four have come vs. Class 2A opposition, a fifth against an out-ot-state team, and only one (Greenfield) vs. a Single-A entry.
Maintaining or improving their status will likely prove challenging for the Twisters this week as they play at Halls tonight, at home Friday vs. a South Fulton team they narrowly defeated earlier, then visit Jackson for a return date with 2A Liberty, who beat UC by one earlier this season.
The Union City girls — with their sixth straight victory (61-33 vs. Humboldt Friday) — strengthened their hold on the No. 1 spot in the Class 1A poll.
The Lady Tornadoes (17-3 overall and 9-0 in District 14A) received 10 of 17 first-place votes and 160 total points to easily outdistance both Summertown and Cosby, which tied for second with 134 points each.
Last week, when UC made history with its first-ever No. 1 state ranking, the Twister girls enjoyed just a 13-point advantage over No. 2 Cosby.
A matchup with South Fulton (14-4) — currently in third place in 14A and winners of six straight heading into tonight’s game at Greenfield — figures to be Union City’s toughest challenge of a pending three-game week.
Lake County (10-4) fell out of the Top 10 after back-to-back losses to Halls and Liberty last week.
The Westview girls moved up to No. 2 in the Class 2A poll, trailing only unanimous top-ranked Grainger.
The Lady Chargers (19-2), whose only two losses came vs. Union City in close games, beat Haywood 65-27 to leapfrog Livingston Academy in the new ratings. LA (19-4) edged No. 5 (1A) Clarkrange, 50-46, in its only game last week.
A District 13AA showdown at fifth-ranked Covington (21-2) awaits Westview on Friday after a home game against Milan tonight.
On the boys’ side, Dyer County (18-2) dropped from sixth to 10th in Triple-A after losing 76-70 to Munford last week.
The 2A poll saw once-beaten Jackson South Side (14-1) stay at No. 2 in Class 2A, with Covington (19-3) inching up a spot to fourth after winning three times last week.
A complete listing of the latest polls can be found on page nine.
Sports editor Mike Hutchens can be contacted by email at mhutch@ucmessenger.com. Published in The Messenger 1.22.13 | | | | |
