It was an action-packed year for local sports with East Tennessee State’s first outright conference football championship in 52 years and the unexpected retirement of the team’s head coach.
There was the first NASCAR Cup Series dirt race in over 50 years held at Bristol Motor Speedway, also the site of a tremendous September racing weekend.
Controversy and a coaching change came with the ETSU basketball program. Science Hill won state championships in two different sports and the new Appalachian League was unveiled.
Milligan made history with cross country national championships and three Carter County teams advanced to the state football semifinals. These came as fans returned to the stands after the 2020 COVID restrictions.
Here are the Johnson City Press’ top 10 sports stories for 2021.
1. ETSU’S CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
It was a championship season for the East Tennessee State football team.
Led by running back Quay Holmes, the Bucs went 11-2 and won the Southern Conference championship outright for the first time ever.
The 11 victories were the most in school history.
It led to an appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, where the Bucs were seeded seventh in a 24-team field. They received a bye in the first round and put together one of the most memorable wins in school history, a 32-31 victory over Kennesaw State in the second round. ETSU scored 15 points in the final 1:38 to erase a 14-point deficit.
The Bucs needed to recover an onside kick, which they did, and get a two-point conversion on a do-or-die play to advance. Tyler Riddell hit tight end Nate Adkins for the two-point play, setting off a wild celebration.
Holmes broke the school records for career rushing yards, single-season rushing yards and touchdowns. He was chosen to six All-America teams and has declared for the NFL draft despite having one year of eligibility remaining.
2. SANDERS’ SHOCKING RETIREMENT
Two days after the winningest football season in ETSU history ended, Bucs coach Randy Sanders dropped a bombshell, announcing his retirement.
The stunning news left the program scrambling.
Sanders had been the Southern Conference coach of the year twice in his four-year reign and had built the program to national prominence.
A lot of talent was coming back so there was no reason to expect a drop-off.
Looking back, maybe there wasn’t as much pressure on that two-point conversion against Kennesaw State because Sanders knew if they didn’t make it, he’d ride off into the sunset. He had already informed ETSU of his decision.
Maybe Sanders gave us a hint during his postgame comments after the season-ending loss at North Dakota State, when he said “I’m proud of what these guys accomplished. I’m proud to be their coach this year. There’s some great memories and some accomplishments that can never be taken from us.”
Sanders was replaced by Furman offensive coordinator George Quarles, who made his name as a tremendously successful high school coach at Maryville, where he won 11 state championships.
3. BMS GETS DIRTY
Over 23,000 tons of dirt was hauled in as Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the first NASCAR Cup Series race on dirt in over 50 years.
After the race had to be delayed a day because of flooding around the speedway, the Food City Dirt Race lived up to the considerable hype. It was truly a spectacle to see the big, bulky stock cars slinging mud.
Joey Logano won the race after pre-race favorites Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell were caught up in an early accident. He became the first Cup Series winner on dirt since Richard Petty in 1970.
While this was the main event, there was a whole month of racing on the temporary BMS dirt surface including Martin Truex Jr. winning a NASCAR Truck Series race.
BMS attracted over 1,400 entries for the Bristol Dirt Nationals, which showcased a variety of cars over a week’s worth of action. There were also race weekends for the World of Outlaws Late Models and Sprint Cars.
4. ETSU BASKETBALL TUMULT
It was tumultuous year for the ETSU basketball program.
When Steve Forbes left for Wake Forest, his top assistant Jason Shay was promoted to head coach.
The Bucs began the season well enough, winning 11 of their first 17 games and starting SoCon play 7-2.
Then the bottom fell out. ETSU lost five of its final six regular-season games. A win over Chattanooga in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament provided a glimmer of hope.
UNC Greensboro ended the ETSU season the next day in the semifinals. Shay’s first — and last — season produced a 13-12 record.
Late in the season, when it had been revealed that the team had been kneeling during the national anthem before certain road games, a fan backlash ensued.
Shay defended his players’ rights to protest as the fan base became divided. Shay was out shortly after the season. He wound up at Wake Forest on Forbes’ staff.
ETSU went on to hire former Tennessee assistant Desmond Oliver. Oliver’s team got a signature win in mid-December when it beat Georgia 86-84.
5. RETURN OF THE FANS
After a year of limited attendance, the fans returned in 2021.
From high school basketball gyms to football stadiums, crowds flocked to see their favorite teams play.
Perhaps it was the feeling of freedom after being locked out — or having attendance severely limited — for a year. Whatever the case, they were back and the athletes were glad to have them.
Attendance at ETSU’s Greene Stadium illustrated the comeback. After playing in front of limited capacity crowds during the spring season, the school broke the football stadium attendance record four times during the fall season.
6. SCIENCE HILL WINS STATE TITLES
Science Hill had multiple reasons to celebrate at the TSSAA Spring Fling state championships.
First, its girls tennis team rolled to a 4-1 win over Franklin to capture the program’s second state championship. Then the baseball team capture the program’s fifth state title and the first since 1998 with a 9-5 win over Hardin County.
The Hilltoppers routed Brighton 9-3 in the first game of the state tournament. They proceeded to beat Siegel twice, the first time in a 1-0 win when Cole Torbett threw 11 strikeouts. Science Hill won 4-1 in the rematch with Siegel in the semifinal round. It set up the state championship where Evan King won his second game in the state tournament.
Science Hill ended the season on a 14-game winning streak, rolling through the district and region tournaments.
Back on the tennis courts, Leah McBride and Allie Knox added more trophies with the state doubles title. It was an incredible week for the Torbett and McBride family. Cousins Cole Torbett, Jack Torbett and Caleb McBride, Leah’s brother, all played key roles on the state championship baseball team.
7. THE NEW APPALACHIAN LEAGUE
It was out with the old and in with the new as far as the Appalachian League was concerned.
As Major League Baseball eliminated 40 minor league clubs around the country, the Appy League as we knew it was doomed.
When all appeared lost, a new version of the league formed. Reborn as a summer collegiate wood bat league, the Appy League had teams in all 10 cities that thought they were losing baseball.
While the jury is still out on the concept, there was at least baseball being played around the region.
It seemed erratic at times with players coming and going and an entire new team being formed midseason in Kingsport
With a year under its belt, there’s hope that the league will come back as an improved version of itself.
8. BMS PLAYOFF WEEKEND
After the dirt was removed from Bristol Motor Speedway and the racing surface was returned to concrete, it was perhaps the most-action packed weekend ever at the “Last Great Colosseum.”
Chandler Smith started off the fireworks when he bumped past Sheldon Creed on a late restart to capture his first ever NASCAR Truck Series win in the UNOH 200. The victory advanced Smith to the second round of the Truck Series playoffs.
The next night produced an all-time classic finish in the Food City 300. A late-race caution meant a shootout at the end of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. A.J. Allmendinger emerged from the beating and banging with the lead, but Austin Cindric made one desperate attempt coming off turn 4.
The two collided and both cars spun across the finish line with Allmendinger taking the win. After taking the checkered flag, Allmendinger’s car bounced off the inside wall and slid in front of traffic where he was hit by teammate Justin Haley. He was unhurt, emerged from the car with his arms raised triumphantly. However, his car was too damaged to make it to victory lane.
Controversy ensued the next night at the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott tangled on the track and argued afterwards. Elliott slowed in front of Harvick, allowing his teammate Kyle Larson, to make the winning pass. The race was voted by NASCAR fans as the best race of the last five seasons.
9. MILLIGAN XC SWEEPS NATIONALS
Chris Layne has built a powerhouse with a number of top distance runners at Milligan University.
The cross country program took it to an entirely different level at the NAIA National Championships, sweeping both the men’s and women’s titles. Alyssa Bearzi became the school’s first individual cross country national champion and was named NAIA women’s athlete of the year.
Those were the first team championships in program history and Milligan became just the third school to sweep both titles.
The Milligan men scored a 115-175 victory over runner-up St. Mary’s (Kansas). Aaron Jones, a former Science Hill standout, was the top finisher for Milligan. He ran 25:21 and finished 11th overall. Nathan Baker was next and he became just the second three-time All-American in team history. Eli Kramer was a two-time All-American with his efforts.
Bearzi with a championship-winning run of 18:14 led the Lady Buffs to a 122-141 win over St. Francis. Lemi Wutz earned three-time All-American with her fifth-place run. Avery DeWolf Burton became a two-time All-American with her efforts.
10. HISTORIC RUN FOR CARTER COUNTY
Three Carter County schools made it to the state football semifinals, two to the championship game and Elizabethton literally came within one play of winning its third straight state title.
The Cyclones finished 11-2 after avenging a regular-season loss to Greeneville in the state quarterfinals. Elizabethton, led by Johnson City Press/Kingsport Times News Elite 11 player of the year Bryson Rollins, routed Upperman in the semifinal round to set up a showdown with undefeated Tullahoma in the championship game. The Wildcats defeated the Cyclones 21-14 in double overtime as Krys Uselton intercepted the ball in the end. For Tullahoma, it was a first state championship in 100 years of football.
Hampton made it to the championship game in the most dramatic fashion. Down 12 points to Trousdale County in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs rallied for a 22-20 victory. After being denied twice near the Trousdale goal-line, Levi Lunsford broke through to bring the Bulldogs within six points.
Quarterback Conor Jones led Hampton on the game-winning drive. Taking over with 4:35 left in the game, Jones scored the game-tying touchdown with 49 seconds left. He then scored the winning 2-point conversion.
It was Hampton’s first-ever trip to the state championship, where the Bulldogs lost 55-14 to Westview and quarterback Ty Simpson, who has already joined Alabama in practices for the College Football Playoff.
Cloudland nearly joined their Carter County brethren, jumping out to a 14-point lead over South Pittsburg. However, the Pirates scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 30-22 victory. Running back Seth Birchfield led the Highlanders with a record-setting season of 2,794 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns.