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Montgomery Central Indians: 2022 Year in Review





The Montgomery Central Indians celebrate after a big win over Marshall County.FILE/IAN CASTLE

The Montgomery Central Indians celebrate after a big win over Marshall County.FILE/IAN CASTLE

Following the 2020-21 prep sports season, Main Street Preps and Main Street Clarksville published a four-week long series recapping the seasons of every TSSAA school in Montgomery County.

After another successful school year of sports, the series is back!

Let’s reminisce on the top moments of the 2021-22 campaign, covering two schools per week in alphabetical order.

This issue will be covering the Montgomery Central Indians.

Overview

It was a good year in Cunningham.

The sports season started with the football team being perhaps the best in Montgomery County, claiming a postseason win and top-three finish in a difficult region. In wrestling, Genesis Gilmore was honored as an all-state selection in the 150 weight class.

Then spring came around, and both the softball and baseball teams made runs to the state sectional, with baseball getting even further than that. They also sent a tennis player to state.

Best boys moment

MCHS softball head coach Chris Jackson welcomes his team back into the dugout.FILE/BRADY McATAMNEY

MCHS softball head coach Chris Jackson welcomes his team back into the dugout.FILE/BRADY McATAMNEY

Here’s the scenario: the Indians football team is undefeated coming into a pivotal game at home against Marshall County, one of the top teams in the region. It’s senior night, and the Tigers had just scored 63 points the week prior.

Marshall County’s offense worked early, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. But the Indians’ “smash mouth” defense caught up, only allowing three points the rest of the way. They forced a turnover on downs, a goal line fumble and a last-second interception to win the game in the fourth quarter.

Those three stops helped set the stage for the Indians’ 22-17 win, cementing themselves as one of the top teams in an extremely difficult region.

Best girls moment

Who expected the Lady Indians’ softball team to win their region after they finished fourth in the district in the regular season?

That doesn’t really matter, because they were only ones who needed to believe it were themselves: and they did it.

Payton Harris fires a pitch during the state sectional game against Hardin County.FILE/BRADY McATAMNEY

Payton Harris fires a pitch during the state sectional game against Hardin County.FILE/BRADY McATAMNEY

After losing to Creek Wood in the District 9-3A championship, MCHS went on the road to beat Murfreesboro Central 3-0 and returned to Charlotte, beating the Red Hawks 2-1, winning the region championship.

That moment was the payoff of a culmination of learning, growth and self-love that the team endured all season long.

Best boys athlete

Montgomery Central is loaded with multi-sport athletes, but perhaps the one who had the greatest impact on its winningest teams was Andrew White.

On the football field, the speedy back handled the ball 79 times, running for 686 yards and 12 touchdowns – second most of any running back in the county. He also caught 12 passes for 186 yards and a score. Without his presence alongside Kade Davis and Logan Sykes, the team wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far as it did.

He was also key on the diamond, hitting in the middle of the Indians’ lineup and patrolling the outfield all season long for a team that made it to the state tournament.

Baseball head coach Todd Dunn talks to Aidan Karns (center) and Jordan Johns (left).FILE/ROBERT SMITH

Baseball head coach Todd Dunn talks to Aidan Karns (center) and Jordan Johns (left).FILE/ROBERT SMITH

Best girls athlete

Fact: without the brilliance of Payton Harris on the mound, the Montgomery Central girls softball team would not have won the region title.

Harris was an absolute menace to opposing hitters all season long. In 91 ⅓ innings, the junior struck out 159 batters and compiled an ERA south of 0.4. The Lady Indians went 14-4 in games she started.

The dominant performance all season long earned her a second-consecutive all-county first team nod, and the scariest part is that she’ll be back once again next season.

Best boys team

While the football team had a fantastic season and deserves this mark, it was the baseball team that was one of the last standing in the state.

The Indians’ record was better than it looked. Though they finished under .500, their losses came to state sectional and tournament qualifiers almost across the board, including teams in classifications higher than them. They got hot in the postseason and earned themselves their first trip to the state tournament since 2004.

Andrew White follows a block for a big gain.FILE/JAY SOWERS

Andrew White follows a block for a big gain.FILE/JAY SOWERS

Their record may have raised questions regarding whether they belonged there or not, but with two extremely close games in Murfreesboro, the Indians showed that they were, indeed, one of the top teams in 3A this season.

Best girls team

Of course it’s the softball team.

The Lady Indians were the second-to-last softball team standing in Montgomery County after making a postseason run. They capped off a strong season with the region title championship before falling in the sectional to eventual state runner-up Hardin County.

 

 

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