David Watson to join Oakland football staff

Former Blackman football coach David Watson will join Oakland coach Kevin Creasy's staff this fall.

"He's put out really good teams the last three years, and that speaks volumes," Creasy said. "We're fired up to have him here at his alma mater. He'll help us on the field and will be a great addition in the classroom."

A former assistant coach at Riverdale and head coach at Siegel prior to taking the head coaching position at Blackman, Watson is a 1990 Oakland graduate and was part of two state championship runner-up squads.

Coincidentally, Watson is joining the staff of the only county school to defeat his Blaze in the three seasons in which he was head coach. He went 28-10 at Blackman (16-4 in region play) before the school elected to go in a different direction after the Blaze's 9-3 campaign in 2017.

Watson will coach tight ends and H-backs with the Patriots, who went 13-1 and reached the Class 6A state semifinals last season.

Warriors fare well in Early Bird meet

Riverdale's girls and boys track and field teams both fared well in the Warriors' Early Bird meet last week.

Both Riverdale squads won the event, which also included Stewarts Creek, Smyrna, Spring Hill and Central Magnet.

Top finishers in the meet were:

Boys results

100 dash: Michael Scruggs (Riverdale) 11.03, Cameron Addie (Stewarts Creek) 11.30.

200 dash: Demarion Sheppard (Riverdale) 23.00, Cameron Addie (Stewarts Creek) 23.23.

400 dash: Troy Hutson (Riverdale) 53.51, Caleb Harney (Riverdale) 53.88.

800 run: John Neal (Riverdale) 2:11.75, Griffin Faulk (Riverdale) 2:17.03.

1600 run: Connor Meadows (Central Magnet) 4:45.98, John Neal (Riverdale) 4:49.06.

3200 run: Connor Meadows (Central Magnet) 10:07.65, Andrew Nau (Stewarts Creek) 10:12.81.

110 hurdles: Keith Fletcher (Riverdale) 17.16, Nicholas Shelton (Stewarts Creek) 17.22.

300 hurdles: Tylan Beard (Stewarts Creek) 43.76, Tevin Woods (Riverdale) 44.95.

High jump: Curtis Riggins (Riverdale) 6-02, Damien Horn (Spring Hill) 5-10.

Long jump: Michael Scruggs (Riverdale) 21-08.5, Troy Hutson (Riverdale) 19-00.

Triple jump: Curtis Riggins (Riverdale) 40-09.5, Brandon Smith (Riverdale) 40-08.

Pole vault: Zachary Kindle (Riverdale) 10-0,

Discus: Myles Hicks (Riverdale) 123-10.

Girls results

100 dash: Ar'Nazsia Johnson (Riverdale) 12.54, Kyra Wilder (Stewarts Creek) 12.62.

200 dash: Kyra Wilder (Stewarts Creek) 25.93, Ar'Nazsia Johnson (Riverdale) 26.48.

400 dash: Annie Johnson (Riverdale) 1:00.85, Ke'Asyia Ward (Stewarts Creek) 1:01.44.

100 hurdles: Shakira Waller (Riverdale) 17.41, Monica Banks (Riverdale) 18.50.

300 hurdles: Shakira Waller (Riverdale) 55.05.

800 run: Hannah Dye (Riverdale) 2:59.31, Kylie Stephens (Stewarts Creek) 2:51.00.

1600 run: Sarah Sneed (Riverdale) 5:47.58, Emily Groves (Riverdale) 6:05.61.

3200 run: Sarah Sneed (Riverdale) 12;35.63, Emily Groves (Riverdale) 13:40.54.

Long jump: Kennedy Spicer (Stewarts Creek) 14-10, Raven Marable (Riverdale) 13-07.5.

High jump: Kaylee Fuller (Riverdale) 4-02.

Triple jump: Jessalyn Miller (Riverdale) 30-01.

Pole vault: Kaylee Fuller (Riverdale) 6-06.00.

Shot put: Jaire McDaniel (Riverdale) 29-08, Hannah Kelsey (Riverdale) 29-03.

Discus: Maddie Taylor (Central Magnet) 85-0, Jaira McDaniel (Riverdale) 76-10.

Hart named third-team All-American

Former Blackman standout Isaiah Hart recently was named National Junior College Athletic Association third-team All-American.

Hart led Motlow State to the national tournament for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, who is an Austin Peay signee, is the Motlow all-time single season and career leader in steals, with 125 and 231, respectively.

He is the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 189. His 1,089 career points are eighth all time, as is his 16.3 points per game career average.

Noteworthy

Oakland senior placekicker Aaron Sears, a Mr. Football finalist, has committed to Arkansas State. … The Rutherford County Track & Field Championships will be held at Stewarts Creek on April 23-25. … The Central Magnet boys soccer team split a pair of games in the first Battle of the Magnets over the weekend, defeating Hume-Fogg 1-0 and falling to Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences 1-0.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.