DeKalb County Ace Tiger Pitcher Patrick Cantrell Signs with Freed-Hardeman University

December 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Patrick Cantrell, a senior and ace pitcher for the DCHS Tiger baseball team signed a letter of intent with Freed-Hardeman University on Wednesday to play collegiate ball for the Lions after he graduates.

Joining Cantrell at the signing were members of his family, coach, and teammates.

Last year, Cantrell was 9-1 on the mound and helped lead the Tigers to the Class AA Sectional where they lost to Signal Mountain 3-1 on May 21. The Tigers finished the year 16-13-1 with an 8-2 district mark.

Cantrell said he took a shine to Freed-Hardeman the moment he visited the campus.

“I went down there for a showcase, and I fell in love with their field. A couple of months later they had me down for a campus visit. Its’s a small town like ours and very beautiful. I just loved it so much,” he said.

Cantrell plans to become a teacher and baseball coach after he completes his college education.

“I am going to study education. My plan is to get my four-year degree there and then after that get my teaching license and hopefully come back here to teach and help Coach Webb with the baseball program,” said Cantrell.

Although he has shared many great moments with his teammates, with perhaps still more yet to come as another high school baseball season looms on the horizon, Cantrell said the one that will always standout for him is last year’s appearance in the state sectional. “Probably going all the way to sub-state last year is my most memorable experience as a player. We fell short but we are really working hard, every single one of us to get farther this season,” added Cantrell.

Tiger Coach Tad Webb said Cantrell’s dominant pitching performance was a key ingredient to the team’s success last year.

“He is a major contributor to our program. He is one of our leaders. This last season he went 9-1 with 80 plus strikeouts for the year. He was very dominant in the district. We finished in the sectionals and lost to Signal Mountain, but he was our ace going in and we went very far with him leading us,” said Coach Webb.

Although known for his pitching prowess, Coach Webb said Cantrell contributes as a hitter and outfielder.

“He swung it well for us last year. He is in the middle of our lineup. He got hot during the season and came through in some clutch situations and he is also a major component out in the field for us. He plays left field and could potentially play center this year when (Isaac) Knowles goes to the hill so Patrick is not just a pitcher. He is an everyday player for us which we are grateful for”.

Coach Webb added that his star pitcher has earned his accolades and is proud that Cantrell will be taking his athletic talents to the next level after his high school days are done.

“This is a moment he has dreamed about, and it is something he is getting paid for with all the hard work and effort he has put in over the years. I know his family is proud of him. We are equally proud of him as a coach and a program but not just for the athlete he is but for the young man he is as well. We’re proud of the way he conducts himself. He puts God first and that’s the way it needs to be,” said Coach Webb.

Freed–Hardeman is a private university associated with the Churches of Christ and located in Henderson, Tennessee. It is primarily undergraduate and residential, enrolling full-time students of traditional college age. The university also serves some commuting, part-time, and adult students on-campus and through distance-learning programs. The university offers a limited number of master’s and doctoral level graduate programs including Bible, Business, Counseling and Education. Arts, science, and professional degrees are conferred.

Freed–Hardeman teams, nicknamed athletically as the Lions and Lady Lions, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I level. Until the fall 2020 semester, they primarily competed in the American Midwest Conference, but since have become part of the Mid-South Conference. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and tennis; while women’s sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross-country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.

December 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Forty-seven fifth graders at DeKalb West School graduated from the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

D.A.R.E. is a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department-led series of classroom lessons that teaches fifth graders in DeKalb County how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

Billy Tiner, the Sheriff’s Department’s School Resource Officer at DeKalb West School, doubles as the D.A.R.E Officer instructor for the fifth-grade classes.

The 10-week course identifies fundamental, basic skills and developmental processes needed for healthy development including: Self-awareness and management, Responsible decision making, Understanding others, Relationship and communication skills, and Handling responsibilities and challenges.

D.A.R.E. believes that if you can teach youth to make safe and responsible decisions, it will guide them to healthy choices, not only about drugs, but across all parts of their lives. As they grow to be responsible citizens, they will lead healthier and more productive drug-free lives.

As part of the course, students prepared essays on what they have learned from D.A.R.E. and a winner was selected from each fifth-grade class. The winners at DeKalb West School were Makenna Lomas from Ms. Rachel Desimone’s homeroom class and Kaylee Womack from Ms. Jeanna Caplinger’s homeroom class. Halia McDaniel was the overall winner, and she received a $50 check from General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II presented in his absence.

DWS D.A.R.E. students are Krystopher Barrick, Slade Bennett, Gabriel Blair, Adam Brown, Grant Brown, Kayla Checchi, Joelle Cool, Adonis Cooprider, Levi Cripps, Jacob Dies, Elliott Dillard, Bobby Joe Dillon, Elijah Emberton, Robert Floyd, Zander Ford, Katelyn Fry, Riley Gibbs, Ayres Gonzalez, Joslyn Gorman, Spencer Gregory, Jada Hale, Mia Hall, Jaretzy Aguilar-Castellanoes, Javan Hefflin, Dayton Heflin, Jacob Johnson, Makenna Lomas, Jonah Maynard, Halia McDaniel, Ezalee Moore, Declan Moss, Kaden Mullinax, Savana Muncey, Jaython Myers, Jake Nokes, Allie Pedigo, Kate Pistole, Maddux Pyburn, Levi Randolph, Aydin Reed, Isaac Scott, Kenzie South, Miley Tays, Harley Willingham, Logan Winfree, Hunter Winne, and Kaylee Womack.

December 15, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Lady Tigers couldn’t match White County and lost at Sparta Tuesday night 83 to 29 to the highly ranked Warriorettes. The Tigers, meanwhile, lost to the Warriors 53 to 37.

https://www.wjle.com/tiger-talk/

White County jumped out to a 27 to 5 lead in the 1st period of the girls’ game and held a 46 to 10 advantage by halftime. The Lady Tigers trailed 64 to 24 after the 3rd period and lost 83 to 29.

Senior Kadee Ferrell was out of the game still recovering from an ankle injury last week. Ella VanVranken scored 9 followed by Avery Agee 6, Ally Fuller and Dare Collins each with 4 and Madison Martin and Ella Hendrixson each scored 3.

The Tigers trailed the Warriors 15 to 12 after the 1st period of the boys’ game and were down 37 to 15 by halftime. White County led 40 to 34 after the 3rd period and went on to defeat the Tigers 53 to 37.

Stetson Agee led in scoring for the Tigers with 12 points followed by Nathaniel Crook 6, Elishah Ramos 5, Jordan Young 4, Brayden Antoniak 3, and Isaac Knowles, Robert Wheeler, and Alex Antoniak each with 2.

The Lady Tigers drop to 5-4 (0-2) while the Tigers slip to 6-3 (1-1)

Next week, the DCHS basketball teams will be heading in different directions. The Lady Tigers will compete in the Heritage Christmas Classic at Maryville Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, December 20, 21, & 22 while the Tigers will play in the Riverdale Christmas Classic at Murfreesboro on Monday and Tuesday, December 20 & 21.

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