Every year, local athletes and teams create lasting memories from both successes and heartbreaks. Each year, each group of individuals makes their mark on the year’s top headlines and 2022 was no different.
Here is the first half of our look back at the top local sports headlines from 2022:

No. 6 Viqueen basketball reaches state sectional
Beginning in mid-January, the Community Viqueens came together in a remarkable fashion and built a 15-game win-streak that included a District 7-AA title, a Region 4-AA title and a trip to the Class 2A state sectional.
All the hard work and perseverance paid off as the Viqueens rode the wave of momentum to a region title clash against East Nashville.
Utilizing an effective scheme that produced several points in the paint, as well as timely shooting from the perimeter, the Viqueens were able to defeat East Nashville in the region title and not only advance to the state sectional, but hosted York Institute with a trip to the 2A state tournament on the line.
In the region title, Community never trailed in the contest, but the game was not without its anxious moments as the Viqueens thwarted every Lady Eagle comeback attempt to take home its first region championship since 2016.
Despite traveling a large distance to play East Nashville in a gym where the Lady Eagles had recently won the District 8-AA championship, the Viqueens came out of the gate hot and were not deterred by the surroundings.
Haley Mitchell connected on two treys to give the Viqueens an early 6-2 first-quarter lead.
M.J. Simmons scored six points from her post position as Community used a 9-0 run to take a 12-2 lead with 2:23 remaining. The Lady Eagles battled back to cut the deficit in the final minutes as the Viqueens took a 16-8 lead to the second quarter.
The Viqueen prospects looked to take a nosedive early in the quarter as Simmons picked up her fourth foul while the Lady Eagle defense kept the pressure on. An East Nashville three-pointer cut the Viqueen lead to 38-37 with 5:18 remaining.
“Breanna Whitaker and M.J. both had four fouls, but I told them I trust you and you've both got to stay out there," Pierce said.
With an energized Lady Eagle crowd providing plenty of vocal support for its Nashville team, the next four minutes would be key in determining which trophy would be coming back to Unionville.
Whitaker broke the ice with a basket while Simmons scored five consecutive points, including a three-point play that gave the Viqueens a 45-37 lead with 3:46 left. Mitchell canned her fourth trey while Brothers added two foul shots as Community turned a one-point lead into a 50-37 advantage with a 12-0 run and 1:38 left.
The Lady Eagles would not get closer than 10 as the Viqueens took the hard-fought win.
While the region title in hand, Community hosted York Institute in the sectional, but a low-scoring game ended in heartbreak as the Viqueens’ remarkable season ended with a 32-31 loss.
The Viqueens battled back from an 8-point halftime deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead, but the York Institute Dragonettes retook the lead and held off the Viqueens down the stretch.
"In the second half we settled in, we didn't let that press get to us and we got back in the game, but we just couldn't ever hit that big shot to get a two or three-point lead," Pierce said.
"We had the looks, we had the stops, we had the steals, the ball just didn't go in," Pierce added.
Community lost just one senior from the sectional squad in Whitaker and returned the bulk of the squad for the 2022-2023 campaign.
Community finished the season as District 7-AA and Region 4-AA champions and a 25-8 overall record.

* Original reporting by Rickey Clardy

No. 5 Champ football records three-straight shutouts
After posting a 2-3 record through the first half of the 2022 season, things began to click for the Cascade Champions that jumpstarted a remarkable three-game win-streak that included three-straight shutout victories over Community, Forrest and Jo Byrns.
During the run, Cascade outscored its opponents, 129-0, reaching a near-unheard of mark for the Champion squad.
Even more impressive was in the Champs’ previous win against Huntland, Cascade recorded its first shutout of the season.
In a turnover-free Battle of Bedford against arch-rival Community, Cascade coach Jake Tyre saw the potential of his team when the offense protected the ball and the defense was able to execute its game plan to near-perfection.
“It was about as perfect a night as you can get offensively and defensively. The kids get up for this game every year,” Tyre said after Cascade’s 46-0 win against Community.
Xamarion Dixon and Chance Brown each rushed for two touchdowns and Dixon threw another on a 36-yard pass to Hayden Dowell to highlight the win.
Cascade followed with another blowout against a longtime-rival against Forrest the following week, beating the Rockets 49-0.
Cascade out-gained the Rockets 359 yards to just 85 and once again, the Champion defense showcased just how dominant it could be when everything was falling its way.
“The defense is playing lights out right now,” Tyre said. “They’re understanding what we’re doing, and we’re rotating a lot of guys which keeps us fresh throughout the game.”
Dixon again highlighted the Cascade offense with three rushing touchdowns, but it was touchdown runs of 65 and 51 yards by Connor Huie that broke the back of any momentum by the Rockets.
As with any team that finds success, the challenge for Tyre and the Champions was to not rest on their laurels and focus on being 1-0 at the end of each week.
For the third-straight week, that’s just what Cascade did as the Champs made the long trek to Jo Byrns and shutout the Red Devils in a 29-0 effort.
This time, it was Huie’s night to shine as he was an absolute terror for the Jo Byrns defense, rushing for 173 yards on 13 carries and tacking on three more touchdowns.
“He’s done it all year. He’s been our alpha. He’s been the hard-nosed kid on the field every night we’ve played. He’s not going to juke you, he’s going to run you over,” Tyre said of Huie’s efforts on the ground.
On the defensive side, Cascade was able to liberally substitute among the defensive front and keep fresh legs in the game, which eventually wore down the Red Devils.
In total, Cascade piled up 349 offensive yards en route to their third-straight shutout.
“It’s fun to watch and it’s fun to be part of,” Tyre said.
Cascade’s win-streak helped secure a playoff berth after an up and down first half of the season.
Despite a talented run game and a stingy defense that found its footing in the second half of the season, Cascade’s year came to a close in the Class 2A playoff opener at Summertown in a 32-24 loss.

* Original reporting by Will Carter and Chris Siers

No. 4 SCHS soccer makes state tourney for 1st time
The 2022 season for the Shelbyville Central soccer team was nothing short of historic for the program.
From running an unbeaten district gauntlet, to facing adversity in the in the region title and finding a way to fight to a victory, the 2022 Golden Eagles were a team you couldn’t count out until the final buzzer sounded.
In the Class 3A state sectional, Shelbyville saw visiting LaVergne take a first-half lead, then had to weather a near two-hour weather delay, before scoring twice in the final 16 minutes to punch their ticket to the Class 3A state tournament.
“I felt like we were playing scared for the first 64 minutes and I told the boys we don’t need to be cautious because we’re down a goal. Let’s go and get them and press and stop being such good guys. My guys are such good guys off the field and sometimes in soccer you have to play hard and get in scrappy battles for the ball,” Shelbyville coach Chris Fritz said.
Shelbyville played a close first half until the Wolverines broke the stalemate with a goal in the 37th minute and held a 1-0 lead through most of the second half.
Keeper Jonathan Rojas made several remarkable saves in goal to help keep Shelbyville within striking distance.
With 16:16 left on the clock, weather moved in and lightning forced a delay that lasted nearly two hours.
“I put all the seniors on the field and I told them you have 16 minutes left on your home field. No matter what, this is it. So go out there and try to win every ball and that’s what we did,” Fritz said.
After several near scores by the Eagles when play resumed, it was Brian Contreras scoring the equalizer on a header, played off a free kick by Kolby Themm that knotted the match at one apiece.
With a newfound surge in momentum in hand, and the Eagles back line not giving an inch to LaVergne, Themm took a free kick from near mid-field and lobbed the shot just over the Wolverine keeper’s head to punch the Eagles’ ticket to the first-ever state tournament.
“It’s surreal, but it’s not. When you’re with our program year-round and you’re with these guys so long, you know their character and what they’re capable of. I’ve been preaching for years that we have the kids that can do that and these kids had the self-belief to do it,” Fritz said.
Shelbyville’s historic run eventually came to a close with a 4-1 loss to Brentwood in the opening round of the Class 3A state tournament.

* Original reporting by Chris Siers