Jellico 88 Midway 72-watch Thursday’s game with Harriman televised live over WLAF

By Clayton Carroll

HARRIMAN, TN (WLAF) – After gaining a first round bye in the region 2-A tournament due to postseason bans being issued to Oakdale and Greenback, Jellico readied to play the Midway Green Wave at Harriman High School on Tuesday night. The winner would receive a spot in the region championship game; and the loser would have its season come to a close.

Watch Tuesday’s win over Midway HERE on demand from WLAF. All telecasts are presented by Hope+Stand, Common Ground, UBank, Maximum Potential and The Pizza Spot.

Jellico started off fast to say the least. Carson Bolton, the leading scorer for the Blue Devils this season, tallied the first six points of the game. Isaac McNealy connected on a deep three pointer in the first couple minutes as well. The Blue Devils were not done, as Jellico exploded for a 11-0 run toward the end of the first quarter. After the first frame, Jellico led Midway 21-10.

The Green Wave of Midway cut the Blue Devil lead to eight at one point in the second quarter. However, this single-digit deficit was short lived. Jellico blitzed its way to an 18 point lead; and at the end of the first half, Jellico held a twelve point edge on Midway, 44-32.

At halftime, the “Voice of the Cougars” Josh Parker (left) caught up with Jellico High Principal Joey St. John.
John Zecchini registered the first points of the second half for Jellico. Midway rallied in the third quarter to trail Jellico by seven, 58-51 after three quarters.

The Blue Devils would not let Midway get any closer in the fourth quarter. Bolton and McNeally took charge in the final eight minutes. Jellico put the game away, advancing to the district 2-A championship game. When the horn sounded, Jellico left Harriman with an 88-72 victory.

Josh Parker speaks with Jellico Head Coach Mike Reynolds following the victory.

Carson Bolton, in typical fashion, led the Blue Devils in scoring with a beyond impressive 38 points. Isaac McNeally finished behind Bolton with 19 points. John Zecchini was the other Blue Devil in double digits with 14 points. Carter Terry scored five points. Trey Van tallied four points. Caleb Rose and Seth Brandenburg both totaled three points a piece; and Dre Webb rounded out the scoring column with two points.

With the win, Jellico advances to the Region 2-A championship game to battle the Harriman Blue Devils, who defeated Oliver Springs in the other semifinal matchup on Tuesday. Tip-off between Jellico and Harriman is at 7pm from Harriman High School. WLAF and WJJT will provide dual radio coverage like on Tuesday. Watch the live telecast of the game over any of the WLAF media platforms; 1450wlaf.com (the Lindsay’s Carpet & Paint Center video player), Roku, Amazon Fire, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and WLAF-TV 1089. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 2/27/24 10PM: PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S MATTHEW MOORE)

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