Macon Tigers Capture Season Title
By Mark Darnell
The Macon County Tigers claimed the regular season 9AA title this week with two conference wins over White House and Westmoreland. The team now has 20 wins on the season and will say good-bye to four talented Seniors from this squad
On Tuesday the 7th, MCHS traveled to White House. By most accounts the Tigers seemed a little off, not quite playing like they had most of the season. Stone Cold shooting seemed to be the issue as Macon would go 6 of 23 from the field and would trail the Blue Devils at the half 20-21. That scoring freeze would continue in the third as the Tigers would only make two baskets and trail 26-32 after three quarters. Finally, it seems the Tigers woke up. Dallas Grace went 4 of 5 from the field and Macon clawed their way back to a 2 point deficit with seconds left in the game. Sometimes shooters just have to keep shooting and Junior Tyler Clark let fly his only made shot of the game. That three point bucket gave the Tigers a 52-51 come from behind victory.
Scoring were: Tyler Manning 15, Andrew Kempf 2, Trey McPherson 7, Dallas Grace 11, Dalton Shrum 4, Aaron Carter 4, Dillon McCormick 6, and Tyler Clark 3. Brantley Russell played but did not score.
Friday Feb 10th was designated Senior Night for the Macon County Tigers as they hosted the Eagles from Westmoreland. Senior Brantley Russell scored the first two baskets of the game while all four other starters scored in the half and MCHS led 32-24 at the half. The length and athleticism of this Tiger team seemed to bother the Eagles, converting quite a few turnovers into points in the second half. Even though the game was hotly contested by the Eagles, the Tigers had the game well in hand and posted a 54-41 win.
Scoring were: Manning 8, Kempf 1, McPherson 12, Grace 15, Shrum 4, Russell 10, and T. Clark 4. Carter, McCormick, and Peyton Clark played but did not score.
Seniors Andrew Kempf, Tyler Manning, Dallas Grace, and Brantley Russell will be sorely missed. They have led this squad to a regular season title and a 20+ win season. Many Tiger hopefuls think the Class of 2012 can lead this team deep into the postseason.
The Tigers will close out the season at Clay County on Monday the 13th. The District 9 AA Tournament will start in Gallatin later in the week.
