Lady ’Dogs overcame adversity to win 13A postseason

Posted: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:00 pm

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
Winning under adverse conditions was getting to be a habit for one Gleason sports team in the 2012-13 sports year, while it was a mixed bag in other sports.
The Lady Bulldogs basketball team won, and won, and won under the most unusual circumstances last season. Gleason finished 22-8 in a season where it had not one, not two, but four different coaches guiding the team.
Head coach Joel Ayers came down with a case of diverticulitis in December and missed several games, but his wife Ashley, who is an assistant coach, held the team together until he returned later in the season. Ayers suffered another setback shortly afterward and underwent surgery to take care of his ailment.
The Lady Bulldogs kept on winning. With Ayers undergoing surgery and his wife Ashley by his side, the team was left in the hands of Chris Leo and Luke Hughes. The team still won.
Ashley came back while her husband recovered near the end of the season and kept the team together, nearly winning the District 13A regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the district tournament. But a three-game setback ended all hopes of a No. 1 seed, and the Lady Bulldogs fell to the No. 3 spot behind Dresden and Huntingdon.
Ayers recovered quicker than expected, and the Lady Bulldogs ran through the tournament and beat Dresden in a highly physical game in the tournament finals. Briana Jones, the district MVP and Tennessee Sports Writers Association Class A All-State player, had a game for the ages and led the team to a 38-35 win after being down by 10 points in the first period.
With the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage, it looked like the Lady Bulldogs would be making a deep run in the Region 7A tournament. But, Gleason could not get past Lake County as the Lady Falcons ended the Lady Bulldogs’ season for the second year in a row in the first round of the region tournament.
The Gleason football team made the playoffs once again and finished 6-5 after losing to Halls 41-32 in the first round of the Class A state playoffs. Although the Bulldogs did not make a deep push in the playoff, they still had some good wins and finished the regular season with back-to-back victories.
Gleason lost to West Carroll 21-6 in a highly competitive game and came back the next week with a 27-6 win over Halls in Week 3. The Bulldogs looked to keep the momentum going in Week 4 against McKenzie and end a seven-game losing streak to the Rebels. Gleason fell to McKenzie once again 31-14 in game that was much closer than the score indicated.
“Our football team was 6-5 and made the playoffs once again,” Gleason principal Lee Lawrence said. “They have been very steady and consistent over the past several years, and we are proud of the work put forth by coach (Noah) Lampkins and his staff to keep them at this level.”
The Bulldogs beat South Fulton the following week, then lost to Huntingdon before beating Fulton City 20-0.
The Bulldogs went up against Dresden and came close to pulling off the upset before falling to the Lions 23-14. Gleason beat Scotts Hill 53-21 and Bruceton 40-0 to make it back in the playoffs.
The boys’ basketball team had its struggles during the season and finished with a 3-25 record. The Bulldogs were competitive during the season, but scoring points on a consistent basis was not in the cards with the team having two and three good periods each game while struggling to score in the other periods.
A coaching change developed after the season when Jamie Roney stepped down from his head coaching duties to concentrate on being a father. Leo was named the head coach shortly afterwards, and he is looking to turn things around in the program.
One bright spot for the basketball team was Bethel University’s signing of Austin Perry. It was a rare signing for a Gleason boys’ basketball player.
The baseball and softball teams also saw their share of struggles during the season. The baseball team was looking like it would be a contender for the district title before the season started, but pitching and poor execution on defense in some games resulted in 6-14 season.
The Bulldogs had an opportunity to keep their season going in the district tournament, but a 10-7 extra-inning loss to Bruceton ended Gleason’s season.  
Keaton Collins, Chase Ezell, Blake Taylor and Perry were some of the Bulldogs’ top players on the season.
The softball team made some strides under new head coach Albert Collins, but still only managed a 4-16 record. Collins will have most of his players back for next season with starting pitcher Emily Bell leading the way.
Lawrence admitted that with most schools, there are ups and downs with the sports programs, and Gleason is no different. Gleason athletics has to take the good with the bad and he is looking forward to the future and the direction the athletic program is taking.
“As with all sport seasons, there are positives and negatives,” Lawrence said. “We always try to learn from the areas that were not spectacular so that coaches, players, fans and the community benefit and see progress. Overall, I am pleased with how our high school teams competed and represented themselves this year.
“I’m excited about the new year of sports for the Bulldogs. I’m most excited that we get to watch these hard-working young men and women grow and mature over another season.”

Published in The WCP 6.18.13