Former coach to be honored at Hampton

By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR CORRESPONDENT
wholtsclaw@starhq.com

   Tonight at Hampton High School, one of the top county coaches of all time will be honored.
   Jerry White Night will take place during the games at VanHuss-White Gymnasium pitting the two teams he coached in Hampton and Cloudland.
   All of his former players from both schools are encouraged to come out and honor the legend after his retirement earlier this year.
   White finished with an impressive 634 wins coaching in 33 years of coaching, two of those years with the Highlanders where he first started, and the other 31 where he became a legend at Hampton.
   He took over the Hampton job in 1971, and led the Bulldogs to five state tournament appearances, with 13 district, 14 conference, and eight regional titles with 11 substate rounds to his credit. He had an amazing 98 wins in the postseason during his career.
   His Bulldog squads played in the 1981 and 1983 state championship games and placed in the semi-finals in 1992.
   His final Hampton team won last year's District 1-AA crown, defeating a tough Elizabethton squad at Sullivan North.
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   Elizabethton Living Up To Expectations Thus Far
   The Elizabethton Cyclones are proving their legitimacy thus far this season, period.
   Last Saturday, the Cyclones overwhelmed a Sullivan Central team who was projected to hand Elizabethton a loss or two this season by some of the experts.
   They swept the Highlands Classic in Abingdon, and now will travel to middle Tennessee to face Montgomery Bell Academy and Sycamore this week before returning to compete in the Arby's Classic.
   Sycamore currently has a winning record with wins over Harpeth and Clarksville, while MBA is struggling off and on.
   Elizabethton should dominate these two squads and advance forward to a test many of us are awaiting at Viking Hall when they play Chattanooga Brainerd in a first round match-up on December 26th.
   A match-up many area fans would like to see is a possible Elizabethton-Science Hill clash which could take place.
   If Elizabethton can advance consistently in the tournament, they will be projected as a favorite in the AA class to possibly win a state title. However, it's a long road and the tenacious play of the orange must continue.
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   --Boys Player of the Week: Vince Redd, Elizabethton
   Redd was a dominating machine this past week in Abingdon, scoring double digits in all three tournament games, as well as pulling down the dubbs from the boards. He gave an amazing 20-point performance in the Cyclones' victory over Sullivan Central, giving him the MVP award.
   --Girls Player of the Week: Kelly Taylor, Unaka
   Taylor pulled down double digits twice last week, and led Unaka in total scoring. She had 17 in Unaka's big 85-51 victory over Cosby, and 12 in the Lady Rangers' 61-50 win over North Greene.
   --Boys Games Of The Week
   Elizabethton at Montgomery Bell Academy
   If Elizabethton goes into this game on fire after last week, then it will be no match. Montgomery Bell Academy has taken a few tough losses already this season and will be in a tough situation until their 6-8 seventh grader, who is on pace to be bigger than Shaq, starts high school ball. Elizabethton 68-53
   Cloudland at Hampton
   In the finale of Jerry White Night at Hampton this Tuesday night, the Bulldogs host a struggling Highlander squad. Cloudland is still struggling without guard Mark Byrd, and may struggle in this one. Hampton 58-50
   Happy Valley at David Crockett
   The Pioneers won big the last time these two teams met, and it could be a very different story this go round. The Warriors are coming off some big wins and are looking to continue their recent win spell. David Crockett 62-49
   --Girls Games Of The Week
   Cloudland at Hampton
   The defending district 1-A and 1-AA Champions meet in this one. Hampton has won seven of the last ten against Cloudland, but this is a much different Highlander squad. This game will go down to the wire in Bulldog Country. Coudland 46-38
   Daniel Boone at Happy Valley
   The Lady Warriors are currently one of the top teams in the Watauga Conference race with wins over Johnson County and Hampton this past week. Although Ben Godsey's squad is playing their best ball right now, they face one of the top teams in AAA with the Lady Trailblazers. Daniel Boone 52-36
   Elizabethton at David Crockett
   The Lady Cyclones will spring forward this week with a big non-conference game against Crockett. I expect Elizabethton to pull of the road win this Friday night. Elizabethton 60-48.