GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Wildcats are at the best level they have been all season, as they enter postseason play against Giles County on Friday,  May 2. They won two of their last three regular-season games against Fayetteville, winning 6-0 and winning against Central Magnet 2-0.

Fayetteville

The Wildcats grabbed their sixth win of the season, matching their total from last season, when they took on Fayetteville on April 24. The Wildcats were clicking on all cylinders in this one. They took an early lead in the first half and were able to get up so much that head coach Richie Chadwick was able to go to his bench early.

Tullahoma ended up playing over 20 players in the contest.

Senior keeper Danny Eldridge against the opposing Tigers posted his second consecutive shutout, as he watched his offense run rampant in the 80 minutes of game time. Sophomore Gage Allen and junior Jude Smith led the Wildcats with two goals, while seniors Chase Banks and Riccardo Vazquez netted solo goals. Banks also led the team in assists with two, with Kirk Tipps and Noah Kelley both picking up singular assists.

Central Magnet

In their last regular game of the season, the Wildcats locked in a win, with their fourth shutout of the year.

Goals were hard to come by in this one, but Tullahoma was constantly putting pressure on Magnet, and it eventually paid off.

Allen in the first half crossed a ball into the box of Central Magnet and caught one of their defenders off guard as he tried to clear the ball out of harm’s way, but did the opposite. The ball deflected off the defender’s head and flew up in the air like a high pop fly. Central scurried around to get in position to this time clear the ball successfully, but in all the chaos they knocked their goalkeeper out of position. The ball as it made its way down from its high climb ricocheted off a Central player and into the back of the net. This gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the first half. 

The Wildcats’ defense continued to play at a high level in the second half, with sophomore Aiden Walker scoring their second goal and sealing their seventh win of the season away.