GRAY DEYOSports Writer

Tullahoma rallied late against Rockvale to win their sixth game in a row, 67-62.

Xavier Farrell shot and made a three to cut into Rokvale’s lead late in the third quarter, following a 6-0 run from RHS, making the score 52-49. A clutch three-ball fans, teammates, and coaches had come accustomed to Farrell making, but this time the Wildcat senior was not sprinting back on the defense following the shot, but instead laying on the floor.

Following the three, Farrell’s feet got tangled up and fell to the ground and grimaced in pain. He was able to get back up with the help of his teammates and then jogged to the locker room.  The absence of Farrell summoned sophomore guard Alex Miller. The second-year Wildcat got an extended run Tuesday night with the senior’s fall and the absence of the starting point guard for the Wildcats Khani Johnson.

Johnson was in street clothes Tuesday night, as he was cleared to rest upon being announced as one of the players to participate in the TACA football All-State game.

Miller filled in well for Tullahoma’s award-winning special teams man, as he shot a three that bounced high off the left side of the rim and free fell into the basket as the third quarter buzzer sounded, making the score 55-52 Rockvale. RHS however ramped up their intensity at the start fourth quarter, and raced out to a seven-point advantage, making the score 59-52 with 5:12 remaining in the game. The run from RHS forced head coach for Tullahoma Jason Welch to call a timeout, and as the Wildcats have done time and time again this year…

They responded.

The Wildcats roared out of the timeout and went on an 8-0 run, and the main contributor of said run was no other than Tullahoma’s leader—Xavier Farrell.

“Xa is all heart and effort,” Welch said.

“He leads us vocally through his efforts, and he never stops. He stepped on his foot after a huge three and sent word that he was coming back.”

The senior wildcat jogged back to the bench from the locker room a few minutes after his fall and checked back in not long after in the final period of play.

From a seemingly suffering a scary injury to coming back and helping his team steal a game that felt like it was becoming out of grasp, Farrell flat-out put on a show. Out of the eight points scored on the Wildcats’ run to retake the lead, he scored six of them, with the other bucket coming from Junior Wildcat Jayden Thompson, who finished the night with 15. Farrell ended the night as the game’s leading scorer with 33, and probably could have scored more as he picked up his fifth and final foul late in the fourth, forcing him this time to stay on the bench, with no window for another miraculous return.

Just as the last time, Farrell was forced out of this contest the sophomore Miller trotted on to the hardwood, and he was immediately thrust into a crucial situation. Miller lined up at the free throw line after getting fouled in the bonus with a Wildcats lead of 65-61 with 9.4 seconds remaining. He missed his first attempt, then missed the second, got a bonus attempt due to a lane violation, but came up cold turkey on the extra shot.

Pressure was ever building in the arena.

Rockvale came down the other end and cut the lead to three with a split pair of free throws, with the second attempt going long off the top of the rim and falling into the hands of Miller.

With 1.7 seconds remaining the second-year Wildcat took the line again, and this time he did not let his chance to seal the game falter.

He looked up at the rim and smirked. He then made his first attempt and then drained his second, locking the game away as Rockvale threw up a meaningless heave at the final buzzer, with Miller’s free throws stamping a 67-62 win.

“He is a good player that with confidence will make lots of plays for us in the future,” Coach Welch said regarding Miller’s clutch free throws at the end of the game.

This team doesn’t stress when confronted with adversity. If the scoreboard is shining injured, losing, or winning, they are playing, and they’re playing hard. They will look to tack on another win and extend their win streak to seven, on Dec.13 when they take on Lincoln County.

The result were not available by the press time.