Campbell wins one, loses one on Brown Court

By Clayton Carroll

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – Your Campbell Cougars, both junior varsity and varsity squads, participated in scrimmages at John R. W. Brown Gymnasium on Friday morning. The JV Cougars grabbed a win against the cross-county Jellico Blue Devils in the first game of the day.

For the varsity Cougars, their first opponent was the Middlesboro Yellow Jackets, a team which got the best of the Orange-and-Blue last season 63-61 at Middlesboro.

The scrimmages consisted of four quarters, each having nine minutes with a running clock. Starting for the Orange-and-Blue in game one was Brady Hatmaker, Keegan Nelson, Gavin Cox, Luke Browning, and Will Croley. These could very likely be the main guys we see when the season rolls around in the fall. Also getting hefty playing time was Hunter Dotson, who was the first sub for Campbell.

Campbell Head Basketball Coach Ernie Clawson at Friday’s scrimmages.

Summer scrimmages can often be a time for experimenting, and giving younger players more game action. The Cougars did just that when Head Coach Ernie Mac Clawson subbed-in what was essentially the JV squad toward the end of the fourth quarter. Ethan Hess, Hunter Walker, Sam Sexton, Braydon Graham, and the aforementioned Hunter Dotson all received playing time.

It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the whole game. At halftime, the Cougars held a narrow 26-22 lead on the Yellow Jackets. Middlesboro put its foot on the gas pedal, and Campbell appeared to press the brake pedal as the Yellow Jackets outscored the Cougars 19-10 in the second half on their way to a 41-36 victory.

Assistant Head Coach Brandon Clawson said that he felt like the team wasn’t ready to play in game one; which was very uncharacteristic of the team up to that point in the summer. He mentioned that it was good, however, to get the young kids playing time and was proud of the effort.

The Cougars stepped up in the second game which was against the Grainger Grizzlies. The Orange-and-Blue routed the Grizzlies 51-38.

The Cougars have three more playdays before TSSAA dead period (the last week of June and first week of July), and following the down time, Coach Clawson said that the team will begin gearing up for the season through workouts, heavy practices and conditioning. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 06/17/2024-6AM)

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