MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Few athletes can match the accomplishments of Red Bank seniors Tim Benford and Dominique McDuffie. They helped the Lions’ football program to four consecutive region championships, including 10-0 regular seasons each of the last two years and both qualified for last year’s state track meet.
Each signed college football scholarships and helped the Lions to three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in program history, as well as the school’s first region basketball title.
But if not for the emergence of a pair of freshmen, Red Bank might not have made its way back to the Class AAA state tournament for the first time in seven years.
After losing six of its first 10 games, Red Bank has lost only one of its last 23 and will play eighth-ranked Dobyns-Bennett today at 6:15 EDT. The Lions’ turnaround is credited largely to the maturation of freshmen Nick Ross and Kelvin Clay.
“You understand you’ll take some knocks when you have to play younger kids but you just hope they’ll progress,” said Lions coach John Cherne, whose team is the only one in the AAA bracket with freshman starters. “Those two kids have matured and now are playing like you would want upperclassmen to.
“Our kids aren’t just happy to be going there. You can tell by the attitude we’ve had that they want to go there and prove themselves.”
Benford and McDuffie each average more than 14 points per game and the two freshmen have added double-digit scoring several times in the postseason, easing the scoring load.
“The freshmen have really stepped up big time,” Benford said. “I didn’t think they would be this far along but they’re in the flow now.
“We’ve all played in big events in other sports, and I think experience carries over, even in different sports. People don’t know much about us yet, but I’m hoping they will soon.”
In the AA bracket, Howard returns to the state tournament for a second straight season and will play fourth-ranked Bolivar Central, a program with two state titles in the last five years. The Hustlin’ Tigers tip off at 1:15 EDT.
Stephen has covered high school sports in the tri-state area since the early 1990s, starting at the News-Free Press as a 19-year-old reporter. He has been with the Times Free Press since its inception and has been an assistant sports editor for more than seven years. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP’s newsroom, winning numerous state and regional awards for his writing on high school athletics. He has two children, Riley ...
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