Newport Grammar’s Spencer Moore (34) analyzes the defense before making a move during the TMSAA Class A Area 3 Tournament on Monday night at Cherokee High School. The Warriors won 38-20, as both NGS teams moved on to Wednesday’s championship round.
Newport Grammar’s Talon Leas (4) prepares to receive a pass during Monday night’s TMSAA Class A Area 3 semifinal matchup between the Warriors and the Surgoinsville Eagles.
Newport Grammar’s Spencer Moore (34) analyzes the defense before making a move during the TMSAA Class A Area 3 Tournament on Monday night at Cherokee High School. The Warriors won 38-20, as both NGS teams moved on to Wednesday’s championship round.
Jake Nichols
Newport Grammar’s Talon Leas (4) prepares to receive a pass during Monday night’s TMSAA Class A Area 3 semifinal matchup between the Warriors and the Surgoinsville Eagles.
ROGERSVILLE — Tim Dockery appeared frustrated on Monday night, tugging out a notebook as he flipped through different plays.
It was halftime of his Newport Grammar boys’ matchup against Surgoinsville, as the Warriors led 22-7 in their first game of the TMSAA Class A Area 3 Tournament.
And, despite receiving a bye until Monday night, Dockery’s team was not playing up to its usual standard.
His brow remained furrowed less than an hour later, as NGS outlasted Surgoinsville by a score of 38-20 — after beating the Eagles by 37 earlier this season.
“You play a team a couple times a year, and the third time, they know level of competition is strong or weak,” said Dockery. “Sometimes, boys their age play against what their competition is. That’s what we did.”
“We’re a much crisper team,” he added. “It seems like we didn’t pass, catch or shoot the ball well. Intensity was really lacking, and I guess that’s part of my problem — I need to make sure we have a lot more of that for our next game.
“There are a lot of times that we come to work. (Monday), we went through the motions.”
Spencer Moore led the Warriors with 18 points on Monday, while Zachary Williams had 12. Eli Ramsey followed suit with eight, and Maurice Timmons and Talon Leas had two apiece.
Despite the less-than-ideal showing, the Warriors still advanced to Wednesday’s championship round.
Regardless of their finish Wednesday, they will move on to sectionals. From there, they can attempt to vie for a second-straight state title.
But Dockery is not ready to discuss that just yet.
“Let’s don’t even talk state,” he said. “Let’s be successful in the area, then we can go to sectionals. But for us to go into that as a No. 1 seed, we have to execute. And right now, we don’t have that.”
What will the right level of execution take? The kind of intensity that was lacking Monday.
“I think our boys will fix it within themselves,” he said. “They know they have to be intense, and things have to be a lot better than they were.”
For the Lady Warriors, NGS moved on from Monday’s matchup — a 52-6 win — to advance to the championship game in the girls’ bracket as well.
Karmine Carmichael led Newport Grammar with 19 points. Ellie Proffitt totaled 14, while Hayden Carter notched 11.
Leah Adams totaled four points, while Jaylee Lane and Meredith Grooms had two points each.
“They’re rollin,’ ain’t they?” asked Dockery with a smile. “They score a lot of points. They just need to keep on rolling.”
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