Cascade Athletics

Champs' baseball hopes may rest on sophomores (03/12/10)
Coach Brandon Bassham's having a pair of aces up his sleeve last year helped his baseball team go further than any other team in Cascade's school history, finishing tied for third in the Class A state tournament. Josh Brown and Kyle Mullins shared District 9-A pitcher of the year honors in 2009 in helping lead the team to a record of 36-3-1, a school best. However, they leave behind enormous shoes to fill...

Dream disappears as Class A power halts Champs (03/03/10)
CROSS PLAINS -- A high-arching 3-point bomb found its target of twine from the hands of Matt Henderson to give Cascade a two-point lead just past the midway point of the third quarter. Those who traveled the 90-mile jaunt Tuesday to support the Champions rose to their feet in the East Robertson High School gym as the possibility of knocking off the top-ranked team in Class A and advancing to the school's first sectional this century appeared like a distinct possibility...

Steady-handed Champs hold off Indian rally (03/01/10)
Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch helped Cascade keep its season alive in a 78-70 win over East Robertson on Saturday night in the first round of the Region 5-A tournament. The second-seeded Champions (17-11) led for almost the entire game but had to survive a fast-paced fourth quarter that saw the teams combine for 63 points by knocking down 14-of-19 charity tosses in the final 6:31...

Injury, fouls add up as Lady Champs' season ends (02/28/10)
McEWEN -- In a span of 2 minutes, 31 seconds, the fourth-seeded Cascade girls went from being up nine points to down two in the fourth quarter against No. 1 seed McEwen. After holding the lead the entire second half up to that point, the Lady Champions simply couldn't circle the wagons down the stretch and lost 60-56 in the opening round of the Region 5-A tournament...

Region tournaments tip off tonight (02/26/10)
The win-loss records for high school basketball teams in Tennessee revert back to 0-0 with region tournament play getting started this evening. Shelbyville Central's ladies are riding high after their upset of Lawrence County in the District 8-AAA final on Monday. That earned the Golden Eaglettes (16-11) a top seed in the Region 4-AAA tournament...

Rockets explode midway through 9-A final (02/24/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- What initially looked like a battle for the ages turned into a one-sided affair as Forrest broke away from Cascade in the middle stages to win the District 9-A tournament championship 52-32 on Tuesday night. The fourth-seeded Rockets (12-17) rallied from a slight deficit in the second quarter on the strength of solid defense and clutch shooting to win their first title since the 2003-04 season...

Lady Champs watch another lead slip away (02/23/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- For the third time this season, Cascade held a second-half lead over Middle Tennessee Christian but fell apart late. The third-seeded Lady Cougars (20-8) rode a 9-1 scoring run that started in the third quarter and ventured into the fourth to help them earn third place in the District 9-A tournament with a 63-57 win Monday night...

Champs tame Vikings, return to 9-A tourney finals (02/21/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- A dominant rebounding effort and solid defense helped second-seeded Cascade fend off the upset bug and defeat sixth-seeded Community 46-23 in a District 9-A tournament semifinal Friday night. The Champions (16-10) won for the third time this season over the Vikings (7-20) by holding their rivals to lengthy gaps without a field goal...

Forrest bombs Lady Champs' title bid (02/19/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- For the first 10 minutes of action Thursday night, it appeared as though those in attendance to see top-seeded Forrest host fourth-seeded Cascade in a District 9-A tournament semifinal were in for quite a treat. Tiffani Grogan netted back-to-back baskets for the Lady Champions to even the game at 11 early into the second quarter...

Champs overcome slow start vs. Moore Co. (02/16/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- The manner in which it happened wasn't what they had in mind, but they'll take the end result any day of the week. Second-seeded Cascade trailed for the first 18 minutes of its first-round District 9-A tournament matchup with seventh-seeded Moore County but rebounded late to win 56-46 on Saturday night...

'Pack' attacks: Lady Champs stop Viqueens in 9-A opener (02/14/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- Cascade coach Chad Spencer admitted he was anxious to get the District 9-A tournament underway Friday. Given the youth of his team that includes three freshmen starters, he didn't quite know what to expect as the program looked to advance past the district's opening round for the first time since the 2005-06 season...

Champs take aim at district title (02/13/10)
Recent tournament history hasn't been kind to the Cascade boys. Two years ago, the Champions lost three straight postseason games to end their year on a sour note. It looked like they'd set themselves up quite nicely last season after earning a first-round bye in the district tournament. Unfortunately, they were upset in their first game by Forrest before being embarrassed 44-29 by Bedford County rival Community in the consolation game...

Lady Champs chase postseason victory (02/13/10)
Friday the Cascade girls attempted to do something no one on the roster has ever done -- win a postseason game. After losing in the Nos. 4-5 seed game the last two seasons to rival Community, the same pair were set to tip off in yet another elimination showdown in the opening round of the District 9-A tournament at Forrest High School...

Local teams set for tourney time (02/11/10)
Four local high school basketball teams put their seasons on the line over the next two days as the District 9-A tournament gets underway at Forrest High School in Chapel Hill. A pair of Bedford County rivals lock up in the first round on the girls' side for the third straight year as fourth-seeded Cascade (16-8) takes on fifth-seeded Community (14-12) on Friday afternoon at 5:30...

Improved Champs halt Eagleville (02/07/10)
EAGLEVILLE -- After running into a slick spot in the latter part of its District 9-A schedule, Cascade needed to grab hold of the wheel and steer things back onto the straight and narrow with the postseason right around the corner. It did just that Friday night as the Champions took control early and finished strong late to defeat district-leading Eagleville 57-48...

Defensive stand boosts Lady Champ win (02/07/10)
EAGLEVILLE -- The girls teams from Cascade and Eagleville came out firing in the early portion of their District 9-A contest on Friday night with the teams posting a respectable 31 points between them. The Lady Champion defense turned it up a notch in the second quarter, held the Lady Eagles from making a field goal for over seven minutes and cruised late for a 62-46 win to finish off the regular-season sweep...

Loss drops Lady Champs in 9-A standings (02/03/10)
MURFREESBORO -- A chance for Cascade to solidify itself in the District 9-A standings and get over the hump against a rival fell by the wayside as it blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 46-40 to Middle Tennessee Christian on Tuesday night. "We're a young team and it show when it comes to the end of ballgames," said Cascade coach Chad Spencer, whose team lost in overtime at district-leading Forrest on Friday even though it led by five with only a few minutes remaining...

Champs can't get over hump at MTC (02/03/10)
MURFREESBORO -- The early stages of Cascade's pivotal District 9-A matchup at Middle Tennessee Christian contained five lead changes before the Cougars took control and held on for a 59-56 victory Tuesday night. The Champions (13-10, 9-4 9-A) trailed 13-8 after a quarter as their recent woes at the start of games continued. They have been outscored 42-17 in the opening quarter of their last three district road losses...

Local teams back on the court (02/02/10)
Even though schools in Bedford County are not in session today, some high school basketball teams will still take to the hardwood this evening as a rise in temperature and rainfall melts away the snow and ice. The district schedules are quickly coming to a close and teams are jockeying to get high seeds in their upcoming tournaments...

Cascade girls put scare in No. 4 Forrest (01/29/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- Slightly over a year ago, the Cascade girls accomplished the unthinkable by breaking a five-year losing streak and toppling No. 2 Forrest in its own gym. History very nearly repeated itself Thursday night as the Lady Champions clung to a five-point lead with just over three minutes remaining against the now-ranked No. 4 Lady Rockets...

Forrest storms past Champs (01/29/10)
CHAPEL HILL -- A perfect storm of disaster struck the Cascade boys on Thursday night as Forrest brought the thunder and defeated its District 9-A rival 64-24. The Rockets netted a mere seven points in the second half of Tuesday night's 53-39 loss to Middle Tennessee Christian, which meant they were out for blood in this one...

Champs break open battle with Vikes (01/27/10)
A nip-tuck battle teetered to Cascade's favor shortly before halftime and the Champions never relinquished the advantage again in a 62-57 win over Bedford County neighbor Community in front of a rowdy crowd Tuesday night. An Austin Thurber basket put Community in front 29-23 midway through the second quarter. However, the Champions answered with eight unanswered points in 79 seconds...

Lady Champs, Viqueens need OT, again (01/27/10)
A smothering defensive effort helped Cascade's girls creep by rival Community 43-39 in overtime Tuesday night in front of a capacity crowd in Wartrace. The Lady Champions (15-6, 7-4 District 9-A) held their neighbors to just one field goal over the game's final 8:55, including a clutch effort in overtime that kept the Viqueens (13-9, 5-6) off the scoreboard the first three minutes, thanks in part to their full-court press, which resulted in its share of forced turnovers...

Cascade's Potts commits to Motlow (01/26/10)
Cascade standout M.K. Potts verbally pledged Saturday to continue her basketball career at Motlow State. The 5-foot-6 shooting guard plans to ink her scholarship papers with the Lady Bucks and coach Karen Serra in the spring signing period. Potts enters tonight's home game with Community averaging over 18 points per game, while also accumulating 117 rebounds, 46 assists and 20 blocked shots...

Champions make it past scrappy Boyd (01/24/10)
Locked into a two-point game midway through the second quarter, Cascade was posed with quite the challenge by a gritty F.C. Boyd Christian team that had never defeated the Champions since the two were placed into the same district before the 2005-06 season...