The TSSAA has announced that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will soon lift the restrictions on attendance at prep sports events.
In a statement released Thursday, Gov. Lee stated that his Executive Order 74, which restricted the number of fans who could attend games to the immediate family of players, will be suspended effective Monday, Feb. 1.
TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress said that will mean cheerleaders and members of the general public will be allowed to attend games. The TSSAA rules on wearing masks, temperature checks before being admitted into facilities and social distancing will remain in effect.
Childress added that member schools are encouraged to limit fan attendance to a number that will allow adequate social distancing, recommending no more than one-quarter to one-third of typical seating capacity.
"We're proud that our member schools have been taking steps to follow the Governor's orders and limit the spread of the virus," Childress said in the release. "It is vitally important that we continue to be smart and safe in our activities, wear a mask, wash our hands and practice social distancing at every athletic contest."
Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / Red Bank senior Kel Eddins drives to the basket in Thursday's home victory over Central.BASKETBALL
Kel Eddins saw the basketball high off the glass and had one thing on his mind.
The Red Bank senior drove straight down the lane to spring up for a two-handed putback slam that signified the type of energy the Lions played with in Thursday's 61-40 District 6-AA home win over Central.
"We needed to come out and enjoy each other, see one another smile and compete at a high level," Red Bank coach Nick Fike said. "I challenged them to do a better job of rebounding tonight, and they did exactly that. We had 40 rebounds as a team. There was a lot of great energy on the floor and from the bench tonight."
Eddins' dunk was one of many extreme efforts by the future Western Kentucky football player who will be a preferred walk-on for the Hilltoppers after finishing with more than 1,000 receiving yards and intercepting six passes over his final two seasons.
Eddins - also took a handoff from senior star Cam Bell for a one-handed slam in the fourth quarter - finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, which included an alley-oop to Bell.
"We always remind Kel to play within himself," Fike said. "When he is going downhill, we want him to be explosive off the dribble. He is just a freak athlete. There is a reason why he is going to play football at a very high level. It was great to see him and our guys have fun out there."
Ryan Barber also found his range for the Lions (7-4, 5-2) as he connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, scored 10 points in the second half and provided strong defense. Barber, a standout at Lookout Valley last season, has averaged two steals per game for Red Bank.
Central received 11 points from sharpshooter Donovin Taylor-Wade, who made three shots from beyond the arc, left-handed speedster Kenneth Steward had 10 points and three steals and DJ Sandorfor blocked two shots.
Red Bank, which bounced back from losing three of its previous four games, hosts Howard on Friday night, and the winner will take control of the No. 2 spot in the district as the regular season nears its finish.
"We needed this win tonight," Fike said. "We have a big task in here tomorrow."
Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / Red Bank's Kel Eddins provided 10 points as many rebounds in Thursday's win over Central.McMinn County 84, Ooltewah 79: Junior guard Deleon Petty wowed the home crowd with 33 points as the Owls made a ferocious second-half comeback attempt, scoring 47 points after the break. However, McMinn County had seven players score at least eight points and were led by Ty Runyan (18) and Davion Evans (17). Ooltewah's Raymos McGee scored 18 and AJ Hyndman had 14.
Copper Basin 52, Arts & Sciences 49: Tim Fair led a comeback road win for the Cougars by scoring eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. CSAS was led by Ethan Bell's 16 points.
Baylor 55, Notre Dame 38: The Red Raiders received strong guard play from Al Peciulis and Troy Boynton, who combined for 38 points. Peciulis scored 14 of his 22 in the first half. Notre Dame was led by freshman Cole McCormick, who scored all 12 of his points off 3-pointers.
Marion County girls 47, Sale Creek 30: The Lady Warriors were red hot in the second half as they bounced back from a 17-16 halftime deficit. Lorence Bradford scored a game-high 22 points, while Sara Muir (16) and Molly Welch (10) were sharp for Marion County, which improved to 11-5 overall against 10-win Sale Creek.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293 and follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis. Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.