Franklin County Times

BELGREEN — It was homecoming night for the Belgreen Bulldogs Friday. Brooklyn Massey was crowned the Homecoming Queen, and both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs came away with victories over region and county foe Vina.

The Belgreen boys defeated the Red Devils 62-17, with eight players contributing points to the Bulldogs’ final total.

“I thought we played well.” Belgreen head boys coach Greg Watson said. “We shared the ball well, but we need to run and move a little more.”

Things went Belgreen’s way in a hurry in the first varsity game of the night. The Bulldogs shot out to a 7-2 lead, then a 17-5 lead, then  a 35-8 lead.

The Bulldogs had a 14-0 run early on in the game that set the tone for the rest of the contest, and Vina was unable to keep up with the Bulldogs’ offense.

Outside of the contest itself there were some factors surrounding the game for Belgreen.

One is the coaching of Watson, who returns to the Bulldogs after a highly successful 2011-12 season. Watson was going to make a move to a school in Tennessee before deciding to remain at Belgreen.

Another factor in the match is the play of Josh DeVaney, a key player who missed most o last season with a knee injury.

He is expected to be a key player for the Bulldogs this season, so he must adjust and get back up to speed after the long time off.

Finally there is Nick Miller, who transferred from Vina to Belgreen during the offseason. He played against his old team last night, and his 10 points, the third-most of the game for Belgreen, prove that he has meshed well with his new squad.

“This season has been a bit of a transition,” Watson said. ‘We have some players on the team that have played together before and some that haven’t. We have to gel as a team, and so far they are working well together.

Chase Landers led Belgreen with 14 points on the night, with Dustin Smith picking up 12 points and Miller adding 10.

Tyler Hammock had 9 points for Vina, making him their top scorer. R.J. Henderson was next for the Red Devils with 4, and Hunter Haithcock and Andrew Hester added 2 points each.

Homecoming festivities were held during the middle of the varsity contests, and the ceremony is what made the two teams hold the boys’ varsity game, traditionally the nightcap, as the first varsity game of the night.

The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Red Devils played after Massey was crowned Homecoming Queen, and that match-up heated up quickly. Despite a strong effort by Vina, it was Belgreen that came away victorious at 66-47.

Belgreen scored first in the match, but Vina quickly tied it then took the lead. The Lady Red Devils came out in a press defense that surprised the Lady Bulldogs, forcing turnovers and swinging momentum in their favor.

Vina’s largest lead was 15-8 before Belgreen rebounded. The Lady  Red devils kept the lead until early n the second quarter when the Lady Bulldogs went up 20-19.

Belgreen would not give up the lead again, and the Lady Bulldogs outscored Vina 46-28 from that point on.

“It’s something we talked about,” Belgreen head girls’ coach Richie Hester said. “Vina is going to come out playing hard, and the main thing is to stay in the game and keep working, and eventually we’ll go on some runs, and we did. I’m proud of them, and it took all of the girls working together to get the win.”

Allyson Bragwell led Belgreen in points with 15, with Laken Bragwell and Lexie Bragwell totalling 14 each. Newcomer Katelynn Scott put 11 points on the board, and Jasmine Martin added 7 points along with 5 from Mollie Hester. Nine of 10 of Vina’s players scored in the contest, with the top mark going to Morgan Humphres with 14. Jessica Pickle added 12 and Caitlyn Benstine had 7.