East Ridge Alumni and Supporters Association, Inc., has been formed with Bobby Hudgens (class of 1974) as president David Copeland (’67) as vice president, Candice Visage Bell (’80) as secretary and non-alum Robert Stahl, the president of Southern Community Bank, as treasurer. The group was started after East Ridge High School’s home stands at Raymond James Stadium were condemned, Hudgens said, but “it was long overdue.” The first priority is to help with the rebuilding of the stadium “better than before,” said Hudgens, noting that there are more than 100 members already but more are sought. The association will be tailgating before the Pioneers’ playoff football game tonight at Finley Stadium, beginning at 5. “We’ll have free hamburgers and hot dogs and drinks, and a band. It’s going to be a good time,” Hudgens said. Membership costs $50 to join and $25 to renew each year, and project donations will be accepted from nonmembers also. People can join tonight at Finley or online at eralumni.com. There’s a Facebook page as well.
Basketball
* Hamilton Heights will be hosting the Hawks’ Havoc, a four-team round-robin boys’ basketball tournament, this weekend at Chattanooga State. Joining the Hawks will be Central Park from Birmingham, Wesley Christian from Allen, Ky., and The Rock from Gainesville, Fla. Each has multiple NCAA Division I prospects. Hamilton Heights has two D-I signees – 6-foot-9 center Abdulhakim Ado (Mississippi State) and Ezekiel Balogun (The Citadel) – plus underclassmen with high-major offers, led by guard Shai Alexander, who recently got a scholarship offer from Florida. Central Park is led by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga commitment C.J. Jones, a 6-4 guard who scored 43 points in a win last week. Hamilton Heights will play The Rock tonight at 7:30 and Wesley Christian on Saturday at 3:30. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children.
* Shelby Brown and Carrie Cheeks scored 19 and 18 points as Lee University beat visiting Young Harris 79-63 in women’s basketball Thursday. Anna Woodford and Haris Price had five assists each, Price adding four steals, for the Lady Flames (2-1), and Erin Walsh scored 11 points with three 3-pointers. Briana Bell had 21 points and Meredith Tarver added 14 for Young Harris (1-1). Lee, by the way, is offering free admission for Bradley County residents – with valid IDs – to all regular-season sports events this school year.
* Jordan Bowling had 23 points and 15 points and Corey McDonald scored 12 points as Dalton State beat Blue Mountain 63-50 in men’s basketball Thursday.
* Brandon Cole had 30 points and eight rebounds in Bryan College’s 82-73 AAC basketball loss Wednesday to Union College, while Tyler Yoder scored 12 points and Oteriah Lee had seven assists with 10 points for the Lions (3-3). The Lady Lions improved to 7-0 by whipping 19th-ranked Union 77-49 with Amber Levi scoring 20 points – she was 4-for-6 on 3-pointers – and Keila Formont adding 12 points and four steals.
Golf
* UTC men’s golf coach Mark Guhne commented Friday through a school release on his two early signees for 2016-17: Baylor School’s Oliver Simonsen, the son of Honors Course head professional Henrik Simonsen, and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College All-American Phillip Hickam. “I’m excited about Phillip and Oliver and the impact they can have on our program,” Guhne said. “Both of these young men are talented, and I think they are great fits to our returning roster next year. Both expect to win. They come from a background where, if their team doesn’t win, it’s a disappointment.” Simonsen was the Division II-AA state runner-up this fall as Baylor won the team title, and he also finished second in the 2014 Under Armour/Scott Stallings Championship. Hickam is the seventh-ranked player in NJCAA Division II and tied for second in last season’s national tournament.
* Georgia Northwestern golf All-American Chase Cole from Dade County signed scholarship papers this week to continue his career at Dalton State College. The three-time region champion for Dade was fourth in the state tournament as a freshman and twice later a state runner-up, and in his freshman season at GNTC he finished fourth in the NJCAA Division III national event. Bobcats coach Jared Willerson said in the signing release that it was “kind of a bittersweet moment for me. I’ve enjoyed having Chase the last year and a half and we still have a lot of work to do this spring, but I’m really happy for him. He’s an explosive player and a special talent.” Said DSC coach Ben Rickett: “I’m excited to add Chase to our lineup. Bringing in a junior that’s been playing college golf for two years is a little different than bringing in a freshman.”
Baseball
* East Tennessee State baseball coach Tony Skole announced Wednesday his program’s early signings for the 2016-17 school year, and the five included pitcher Dylan Bice from Heritage High School in Ringgold and middle infielder Cade Gilbert from Ringgold High. They had been reported months ago as Buccaneers commitments. The ETSU staff commented in a release that Bice “is a physical right-handed pitcher at 6-foot-4, 219 pounds. His fastball runs in the low 90s while topping out in the mid 90s. He is ranked by PerfectGame as the eighth-best high school pitcher in the state of Georgia.” The comments on Gilbert included, “He is an excellent defender, a very good runner and profiles a top-of-the-order bat. Gilbert fits the mold of an ETSU infielder, as he plays with great energy, passion and tempo.”
Volleyball
* Covenant College senior Chelsea VanDyk from Manhattan, Mont., capped her outstanding volleyball career at the Lookout Mountain school by earning 2015 All-America honorable mention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Covenant, by the way, leads the USA South’s 13-school overall Presidents Cup standings through the fall seasons, with 47 points to 45.5 for second-place Maryville.
Football
* Senior wide receiver Justin Houston from Bradley Central High School was one of three Tusculum College football players named to the All-South Atlantic Conference first team for 2015. That was his third consecutive year to lead the SAC in receptions and earn first-team recognition. He finished his career with a school- and league-record 322 receptions, fourth most in NCAA Division II history, and Pioneers records also for receiving yards (3,182), 100-yard receiving games (13), kickoff returns (68) and all-purpose yards (4,622), and his 110 catches in 2013 and 106 this year are the top two season totals in program history.
* Maryville College senior defensive end Zach Capehart from Silverdale Baptist Academy was a 2015 first-team all-conference selection for USA South football. He had 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles this season.