15 for 15: Top 15 high school teams from 2014-15
The 2014-15 school year was an exciting one for many teams across West Tennessee in different sports.
Four area teams brought home a state championship, and a couple of others finished runner-up.
Many teams made program history by going further than the team has gone before.
So here is a look at the top 15 teams in West Tennessee this season:
1Haywood boys' basketball — The Tomcats won the Class AA state championship for the first time in program history.
Haywood went through the regular season undefeated against teams from the state of Tennessee, with the two losses coming against Velma Jackson (Miss.) and Simeon (Ill.).
In the Tomcats' road to the state title, they eliminated all three Class AA Mr. Basketball finalists – LaGerald Vick (Douglass), Chris McNeal (South Side) and Braxton Blackwell (CPA).
Jordon Varnado starred with a double-double in the final seven games, including all three games at the state tournament.
2Middleton girls' basketball — The Lady Tigers went undefeated on the way to claiming the Class A state championship for the first time in program history.
Middleton lost its NCAA Division I recruit (Deja Faulkner) over the Christmas break to a torn ACL.
The Lady Tigers rallied through that to keep the undefeated season alive. The region championship has been the struggle for Middleton in recent years, but the team beat Riverside for the fourth time this season to win the title.
In each of the three state tournament games, the Lady Tigers trailed by close to 10 points, but they rallied to win each one.
3Peabody football — The Golden Tide won the Class 2A state championship.
Peabody played in the tough District 14-A, which brought home two state championships – Union City (1A) and Peabody (2A).
The Golden Tide finished runner-up in the district behind Union City, as the Golden Tornadoes gave them one of their two losses on the season.
With the speed of Kendrick Malone at quarterback, Peabody met all of the West Tennessee small school powerhouses in the playoffs, beating Huntingdon, TCA, McKenzie and Adamsville in the postseason to reach the championship game.
The Golden Tide made easy work of Marion County in the championship game with a 34-7 win.
4TCA volleyball — The Lady Lions made West Tennessee history by becoming the first team to reach the title match of the state tournament.
TCA reached the Class A state championship match before falling to Goodpasture.
Outside hitter Clare Taylor proved to be the best volleyball player to ever come through West Tennessee with her hitting, serving and defensive abilities.
The Lady Lions did not drop a set to a Class A opponent until the state tournament, easily winning the District 15-A and Region 8-A crowns.
Earlier in the tournament, TCA took Goodpasture to five sets before losing.
5Lexington softball — The Lady Tigers finished runner-up to Greeneville in the Class AA state tournament.
After losing the opening game of the state tournament, Lexington won four straight games to reach the championship. The Lady Tigers beat Greeneville once, but fell in Game 2 of the championship.
Losses were few during the regular season as Lexington's lineup of hitters continually put runs on the board.
The Lady Tigers went on to win the District 14-AA and Region 7-AA crowns to reach the state tournament.
6Hardin County girls' bowling — The Lady Tigers won back-to-back state championships this season while building a 23-0 record.
The Lady Tigers not only brought home a team state title, but sophomore Ashley Channell won a second straight individual state championship.
Hardin County opened the state tournament with two dominating wins over Bartlett (27-0) and Wilson Central (21-6). But the Lady Tigers also proved that they can win close ones by beating Wilson Central 16-11 in the state title match.
Channell along with teammates Summer Napper, Sara Beth DeShazier and Hayley Hunt had standout matches at the state tournament en route to the victory.
7USJ boys' tennis — The Bruins have always been one of the premier programs in West Tennessee, and this year was no different.
USJ won the Division II-A West region championship and won the following two matches to reach the title match.
The Bruins fell to Knoxville Webb, but the play of Cade Reasons, George Markos, Dalton Hockaday, Andre Gregory and Hollen Spencer kept the winning tradition going.
Reasons and Markos went on to win the Division II-A state doubles title, and Hockaday reached the singles state quarterfinals.
8Crockett County football — The Cavaliers had a perfect regular season in claiming the District 13-AA championship.
Crockett County scored at least 35 points in all 10 games of the regular season behind the rushing of Johnny Jones and quarterback Cade Parlow. The Cavaliers broke 50 points in four of the 10 games.
After picking up two easy wins in the Class 4A state playoffs, Crockett County ran into a state championship contender in the quarterfinals from Trezevant. The Cavaliers lost by three points.
9Peabody baseball — The Golden Tide advanced to the Class A state tournament for the first time in the TSSAA era. Peabody won a state title in 1929 before TSSAA was established.
Peabody went undefeated against District 14-A competition and took five total losses with one against AAA competition, two against AA competition and one against A competition.
The Golden Tide beat defending state champion Jackson Christian on the road to advance to the state tournament, and they opened the tournament with wins over highly-ranked Summertown and Goodpasture to reach the semifinals.
The pitching duo of Matthew Pickard and Kendrick Malone kept many opposing teams off the scoreboard.
10USJ baseball — Coming off a state championship season, much was expected again from the Bruins.
The regular season was full of big wins over tough competition and a couple of appearances in championship games of regular season tournaments.
USJ finished third in the Division II-A West region, but went on the road to beat Davidson Academy in a three-game series to reach the final four of the state tournament.
The Bruins relied on a depth on pitching all season led by Ole Miss commit Ryan Rolison. Logan Carey led in the batting order.
11Jackson Christian girls' soccer — The Lady Eagles were dominant all season against teams from West Tennessee with Lexington being the lone loss.
Jackson Christian became the second school in West Tennessee history to win a match at the state tournament by beating perennial powerhouse Christian Academy of Knoxville in the quarterfinals 2-1. The Lady Eagles lost in the semifinals to Notre Dame 2-1.
Jackson Christian gave up nine goals all season leading to the state tournament, and that includes games in the district and region tournament.
The Lady Eagles had multiple weapons on offense, but junior Amelia Grizzell led the way with her speed and accuracy.
12Crockett County baseball — The Cavaliers peaked at the right time to reach the final four in Class AA baseball.
Crockett County had a strong season but finished fourth in District 13-AA heading into the tournament.
But behind the hitting of players like Jeremiah Nance, John Elford and Cade Parlow, the Cavaliers took one loss in the postseason before the state tournament, winning the District 13-AA and Region 7-AA crown along the way.
After an opening loss in the state tournament, Crockett County won twice to reach the semifinals.
13Adamsville softball — The Lady Cardinals reached the Class A final four after going 2-2 in the state tournament.
Adamsville won the District 15-A and Region 8-A championships over Jackson Christian, finishing the year with one loss to a district opponent.
The Lady Cardinals had two dominant pitchers in Gabby Morris and Parker Davis, which is a rarity in Class A softball.
14Madison boys' soccer — The Mustangs had high expectations this season after a strong 2014 season, and the team met those expectations.
Madison lost to one West Tennessee team during the regular season, and the Mustangs avenged that loss with a 4-0 victory over Dyersburg in sectionals to reach the state tournament for the second straight year.
15Lexington boys' basketball — The Tigers returned a majority of the 2013-14 team that reached the Class AA sectionals, so expectations were high.
Lexington finished runner-up in District 14-AA and won the Region 7-AA title for a rare chance to host a sectional game. The Tigers lost to Ripley in sectionals, but the program continued to build toward becoming an annual contender for postseason titles.
Michael Odom, 425-9754