GRAY DEYOSports Writer

After capping off their regular season with a 13-1 record, the Lady Wildcats made their way through their district playoff bracket and won the championship game against Central Magnet on Oct. 16 by a score of 3-2. Here is a recap of the ‘Cats run to becoming district champs in 2025.

Spring Hill

The Lady Wildcats secured a first round bye in the district tournament, finishing a district record of 6-0. They waited patiently for their first round opponent, who ended up being the Spring Hill Lady Raiders. Spring Hill won their opening game in the district playoffs against Giles County, which matched them up in the second round with Tullahoma. The Lady Wildcats beat the Lady Raiders earlier this season by a score of 6-0.

In the playoff matchup between the two teams, Spring Hill came in optimistic, but Tullahoma quickly flat lined their hope of having a chance with a couple of early goals in the first half.

In the second minute of the game, senior striker McLayne Bobo scored off a long pass from senior Lexi Chamblee. This gave Tullahoma the confidence they needed, where they rallied and found the back of the net again in the 10th and 13th minute of the game to give them a 3-0 lead.

The second goal was scored by senior Avery Sisk, who Chamblee assisted the goal again by dotting a long pass to Sisk. The third goal was scored off a strike from the top of the box by junior Brindley Duncan and was assisted by senior Catelynn Ballard. Sisk showed off her relentlessness in the closing minutes of the first half. She fired two shots at the goal, where the Lady Raider keeper made a couple of good saves, before Sisk put her third shot attempt away to give the ‘Cats a 4-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, the goal scoring started from a header by Bobo from a cross by senior Leah Fogarty. The last goal of the game that gave Tullahoma the 6-0 win was a cross from Fogarty to Duncan. The junior, Duncan, was able to direct the ball into the net off a one-hit volley.

Central Magnet

Tullahoma played Central Magnet earlier this year in what may have been the most anticipated matchup in the whole district in the regular season.  Both teams going into the game on Sept. 2 had undefeated district records and had no losses overall between them, even outside of district play. This game truly established just how special Tullahoma was, as they went on to win the game 6-0. Since that game, Magnet only lost one other game and held a record of 15-2-1 on the year.

In the playoff bout against Tullahoma,Magnet was able to brush off their down performance in the regular season and gave Tullahoma a run for their money in the championship game.

Tullahoma, as they often do, got off to a strong start, in the playoff game against Magnet, by scoring a goal in the opening 10 minutes. From then on in the first half, both teams traded deep offensive attacks, with nothing leading to goals until an offensive push with just under three minutes remaining in the opening half. Junior Brindley Duncan ripped a shot at the Magnet keeper, and a lapse by the Magnet defenders allowed senior Avery Sisk to sneak past their backline and hit a shot in the back of the net off the rebound of Duncan’s shot. This gave Tullahoma a 2-0 lead, but Magnet, unlike they did in the two teams’ last game, responded.

Right at the start of the second half, the opposing Lady Tigers raced down the field, and senior Claire Parkerson scored a goal by getting ahead of defenders. This made the score 2-1 with over 35 minutes left to play. Not even a minute later after this goal, Central was on the move again. A move by a one opposing Lady Tiger forward generated a handball, and unfortunately, the penalty took place inside Tullahoma’s penalty box. This gave Central a penalty kick, which they quickly capitalized on, tying the game at 2-2.

In a completely new ball game, the nervous energy in the stands on both sides was palpable. One slight mistake could sway the outcome of this game. Central continued to generate good offensive possessions, but those came to a stall late in the second half as Tullahoma began to find its footing. Senior McLayne Bobo, with seven minutes to go in the match, let a shot go from the top middle of the penalty box, and it was tracking. The Magnet keeper barely got a hand on it, as she was able to deflect it off the crossbar and over the top of the net. The Tullahoma sidelines and stands erupted and sighed upon this happening, however, they did not have to wait long to cheer again, because another promising attack was on the way.

Tullahoma, not even 30 seconds, sent a cross into a swarm of players, both from Tullahoma and Central. In this pile-up, Duncan directed the ball into the right side of the net off a header, giving Tullahoma a 3-2 lead. Cheers rang out, and after a few minutes of solid defense, the Lady Wildcats were crowned as district champions.

It has been a great season for Tullahoma, and they will look to rack up more trophies when they enter regional tournament play.