fcs basketball champions 2012

8/2/2019 FCS Basketball Champions 2012

1/12

Division 1 Class A Basketball State

Friendship Christian School

champions

Congratulations CommandersA Special Section to The Lebanon Democrat and Mt. Juliet News

Photo by:

Dallus Whitfeld


2/12

2 Friendship Christian School 2012 Basketball Champions

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Congratulations!

While Friendship Christian School

was in a ootball renzy last November

as the Commanders charged to their frst

state championship, one man on the Pos-

sum Town campus was getting more and

more antsy as FCS advanced through the

bracket.

Basketball coach Cleve Harris waswatching other hoops teams begin their

seasons in mid-November. But most o his

players were still donning ootball helmets

and shoulder pads or practice every day

and chalking up another playo victory on

Friday night.

It was a little rustrating, Harris

admitted ater his team took the schools

frst state basketball title. Even at [Christ

Presbyterian] we had great ootball teams

but we never missed a ballgame. Came

close, sometimes. And the frst year I leave

CPA and Im here coaching it happens.

Last year, I got those guys in time [ater

a second-round loss], but I still got them

pretty late.

Basketball could followvolleyball and football tochampionship

Friendships volleyball team had just

won the state, ootball was about to and

Harris had heard rumblings or months histeam could pull o the TSSAA hat trick

i he ever got his guys into practice.

I knew we actually had a chance to go

all the way, Harris said. Beore school

even started, I knew we had a shot. Sum-

mer, I made sure we played the Black-

mans, we played all the big schools that we

could fnd in the summer. We beat some o

those schools and we got beat, but it was

all really close ballgames. That was the

sign to show us we could actually do thisthing. Thats when the talk started getting

deeper and serious.

But frst, a our-month pause or oot-

ball season. Then our months became an

extra week, then another and another. It

would be fve weeks ater the scheduled

start o practice that Harris fnally got all

his guys in the gym.

Football is awesome and Im not

against ootball, Harris said. Matter o

act, i we had to do it again, I wouldnt

change a thing because o the fnal result.But as a basketball coach, you eel a

little pressure.

Football coach John McNeal didnt

hesitate to turn up the thermostat when,

in the moments ater winning the ootball

championship, he was asked by Murphy

Fair about basketball ollowing the ight

pattern set by volleyball and ootball.

We havent told [Harris] that yet,

McNeal told Fair and a statewide PBS au-

dience.

Were just very good riends and wejoke, Harris said o the longtime ootball

and baseball coach and athletic director

who joined his sta as an assistant this

Football titlesets stage for

hoopsStory: ANDY REED, Sports Editor

Photos: DALLUS WHITFIELD, Chief Photographer

The FCS cheerleaders encourage the Commanders to victory.


3/12

Friendship Christian School 2012 Basketball Champions 3

-Congratulations-Friendship--Christian-Commanders!

State-Champions

Greg Landers 615-758-74511767 N. Mt. Juliet Road

Mt. Juliet, TN

Jim Landers 615-443-1919401 S. Cumberland

Lebanon, TN

Monday-Saturday

10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

We Cater Anytime & Anywhere!We deliver & set up!

Stay & serve if you wish!

Congratulations FriendshipChristian Basketball 2012!!

winter. Hell say, I got mine, its your

time. Its a little pressure, but its un and

games.

Johns awesome. He made a big di-

erence sitting on my bench. Hes kind o

the opposite o me. Im intense. I coach the

way I want the kids to play... Sometimes

you can get way above yoursel and John,

with that really calm voice, would say

Were going to be okay. And that brings

you down to earth a little bit. That helps

me tons.

But McNeals November success

let Harris pacing the gym with the ew

non-ootball players on his roster as three

games were ultimately canceled. Only one,

a District 8-A trip to Gordonsville, was re-

scheduled.

Hoops season

finally startsFinally, on Dec. 5,two days ater Friendship

drilled Dresden 34-0 in

the BlueCross Bowl, Har-

ris gathered his ull roster

on the Bay Family Sport-

splex oor or its frst

practice. Westmoreland

was coming in the ollow-

ing night to fnally tip o

basketball season.

I had one true practice, Harris said.We beat Westmoreland [56-44], but we

didnt play very well. It was terrible. Im

so rustrated. How am I going to get oot-

ball out o these players? The hardest thing

o having hal o your team play ootball

and coming back to play basketball is the

motivation part, getting them inspired.

You just won the whole tournament,

and now Im asking you to regroup and

lets do this again.

Harris got some advice rom, o all

people, his predecessor and coach o hisbiggest rival. Watertown coach Matt Brad-

shaw had gone through the same

thing fve years earlier when the Com-

manders lost the BlueCross Bowl. Armed

with a strong senior class, Bradshaw took

his Commanders to a sectional the ollow-

ing spring.

Matt was just great, Harris said. He

talked about this is how you do it. Theyre

going to be a bit slow. You cant get

rustrated.

Trips to Clay and Lancaster prepCommanders for down the road

Next up was a trip to longtime nemesis

Clay County. The Bulldogs, who have

probably handed Friendship more region

tournament losses than any opponent dat-

ing to the 1980s, orced the Commanders

on the sectional road the previous year

by beating them in the Region 4-A fnal.Harris believes had FCS won that game, it

would have gone to the State Tournament

in his frst season.

As it was, the Bulldogs provided the

Commanders their frst test o 2011-12.

They still had lots to learn ater a 65-55

loss in Celina.

Theyre an outside-shooting team and

they had weeks to prepare, said Harris,

who cut his basketball teeth on the hoops-

mad courts o Memphis. I have to adjust

as a coach to the teams in this region. Theylove the three-point ball. They can shoot

it and teams take tons more shots than we

do. My thing is we will apply pressure and

you just won the wholetournament, now im asking

you to regroup and lets

do this again.

Coach Cleve Harris

Hunter Anderson celebrates the win with teammate Andrew Wood (#3).


4/12


shoot a lot o little crib shots.

Next up was a trip to Smyrna or a game against

Lancaster Christian, a non-TSSAA school but a talented

team.

They were the best team, athletic team, that we have

played this whole year, Harris said. I we had played

[Booker T. Washington] or Lake County [in the State], we

might have met a team that was better.

Lancaster was the team that really showed us wecould actually do this thing.

Friendships 64-51 win was ollowed by a trip to

Pickett County, a school long renowned or its basketball

championships, both boys and girls. The game was origi-

nally meant to be played at the Bay Family Sportsplex,

but a conict with the ACT exam prompted a swap o

venue with a meeting at the end o the season.

Friendships 46-40 win in Byrdstown was called by

Harris the start o the season-long surge.

At least we started playing teams a whole lot better,

Harris said. Just by contesting their shooters.

Friendship faces Pope John Paul IIsize during holidays

Friendship entered the holiday season with a couple

o classics/tournaments. The Commanders won a pair o

games in East Literatures classic beore going to Mur-

reesboro or the annual Mid-State Christmas Tournament

held on a rotating basis by FCS, Ezell-Harding and this

years host, Middle Tennessee Christian.

FCS drew Division II Pope John Paul II or the open-

ing game and the Knights knocked o the Commanders

45-42. But the Commanders learned how to deal with a

dominant big man inside and fled it away or uture use.

We hadnt aced that until that game, Harris said.

They had a kid inside, he took over the game. We let him

catch it too close. That was one o the best learning game

we had because that was another piece o the puzzle that

we needed.

Three-point shooters I elt we were ready or. Big

guy dominant, we werent. We went back to practice and

we prepared how to stop somebody who is bigger.

Friendship salvaged fth place with back-to-back

wins over Class AAA Coee County and Portland to

round out the old year.The new year beganwith the District 8-A grind, inter-

rupted by an 11-point win over AAA Hillwood a get-even

45-29 triumph over Clay County at the Sportsplex and Mark Sandoval is presented with the most valuable player for Division I Class A.


5/12


another victory over Westmoreland.

FCS falters in district finalto local rival

O the district opponents, only county rival Watertown

seriously challenged the Commanders. Ater alling short

60-43 in early January at WHS, Matt Bradshaw brought

his Purple Tigers to his ormer address, the Sportsplex,

or a late-season rematch. Playing without starting pointguard Macieo Gaines, the Tigers put a serious scare in the

Commanders beore Friendship pulled out a 51-48 vic-

tory to clinch the top seed or the district tournament.

You beat a team so many times in a row, its hard to

continue to win against good teams, said Harris, who

won his frst fve games against the Purple Tigers. They

were fguring us out.

Harris enjoys a reputation as a coach who likes to

pressure and play uptempo. But he crossed the Tigers

up in their early-January meeting with the zone. When

Watertown came to Friendship a month later, it was Brad-

shaw, even without Gaines, who dialed up the press while

Harris was trying to slow it down.

Eighteen days later, the rivals met in the district fnal

at Macon County and the pressure fnally burst as the Ti-

gers won their frst league championship since 1935 with

a 49-47 victory.

Matt out-Cleveed Cleve all the time, Harris said.

Matt Bradshaw is a good guy, but hes smart... I knew he

was going to be prepared.

Harris makes vow

That game also provided Harris with his New Years

resolution as it pertained to Friendship basketball.

I said I would never, never again would I let anybody

else dictate the pace o the game, Harris said. From

now on, were going to press everybody, because thats

our game.

At the end o the game when we needed to get back

in the game, we played our way. We start pressuring.

They start turning it over. I said Hey, we couldve been

doing this all along.

Like most New Years resolutions, Harris eventually

broke this one. But not beore his Commanders fnishedo Clay County, Jackson County and Clarkrange in the

region and a young Chattanooga Arts & Sciences team in

the sectional.

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Dalton Patterson hugs a teammate as the championship caps are handed out.


6/12


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Congratulations Commanders

2012 Basketball Champs

6651 Eastgate Blvd. 524 W. Main Street 1050 Murfreesboro Rd.

Cgtult tFriendshipChristian

Commanders2012 BoYs sTaTe Champions!FirsTFreedomBanK.Com

Commanders season recap

Date Opponent Results Dec. 6 Westmoreland W 56-44Dec. 9 at Clay County L 65-55Dec. 12 at Lancaster Christian W 64-51

Dec. 16 at Pickett County W 46-40Dec. 19 at Ezell-Harding W 60-46

EastLitChristmasClassicatEastLiteratureDec. 20 Donelson Christian W 44-40Dec. 21 Montgomery Central W 48-44

Mid-StateChristmasTournamentatMiddleTennesseeChristianDec. 27 Pope John Paul II L 45-42Dec. 28 Coffee County W 43-39

Dec. 29 Portland W 58-42

Jan. 3 *Gordonsville W 76-44Jan. 6 *at Watertown W 60-43Jan. 10 *Red Boiling Springs W 74-52Jan. 13 *at Trousdale County W 67-53Jan. 17 Hillwood W 59-48Jan. 20 Clay County W 45-29Jan. 23 *at Gordonsville W 67-45Jan. 24 at Westmoreland W 52-35

Jan. 27 *Trousdale County W 61-23Jan. 31 *at Red Boiling Springs W 67-31Feb. 3 *Watertown W 51-48Feb. 6 Ezell-Harding W 67-58

District8-AtournamentatMaconCountyFeb. 17 Trousdale County W 68-40Feb. 21 Watertown L 49-47

Region4-Atournament

Feb. 25 Clay County W 59-44

Region4-AtournamentatLivingstonAcademyFeb. 28 Jackson County W 64-45March 1 Clarkrange

W 64-49ClassASectionalMarch 5 Chattanooga Arts & Sciences W 66-29

BoysStateChampionshipsatMiddleTennesseeState

March 15 Grace Baptist W 52-46March 16 McEwen W 54-51March 17 Perry County W 38-34

*District 8-A game

2011-12 Friendship Christian Commanders

No. Name Position Height Class 0 Hunter Anderson guard 5-11 sr.2 Allen Heaston forward 6-2 jr.5 Dalton Patterson guard 6-0 sr.

10/11 San Gatlin guard 5-8 fr.12 Hunter Watts guard 5-11 jr.14 Aaron Johnson forward 6-1 sr.20 Steven Hollis guard 5-8 fr.21 Drew Hutchison forward/center 6-3 sr.22 Mark Sandoval forward 6-4 sr.23 Sam Lancaster forward 6-1 sr.24 Anthony Williams guard 6-1 fr.33 Austin Defevers center 6-3 sr.44 Colton Gaines forward 6-2 fr.

52/3 Andrew Wood center 6-4 fr.55 Blake Petty forward 5-10 sr.

Head coach: Cleve HarrisAssistant coaches: Ross Jordan, John McNeal, Jason MillerTrainer: Nathan JohnsonPresident: Jon ShouldersPrincipal: Randall DunnAthletic Director: John McNealSchool colors: Green, White, Gold


8/12


Friendship finishes off ClayCounty /Harris eyes State

The Clay County matchup appeared to

be ticketed or the Region 4-A fnal. But up-

sets in both district tournaments orced the

Bulldogs to come to the Sportsplex or the

frst round.

Against Clay County, we did one o the

best jobs o fnding their shooters, makingthem shoot the ball a little aster, Harris

said. It was ater that game that I said We

got a chance to win this thing. And I wasnt

talking about region.

By taking out Clay Countys shooters,

Harris elt the Commanders could deend

most o the teams they would catch in

the State. The exceptions were B.T. Wash-

ington and Lake County. And he elt Lan-

casters athletes and PJP IIs big man were

comparable to them.

I thought we got a shot at this thing,

Harris said. But you dont want to talk out

loud too much because you eat your words.

Instead, the Commanders were tak-

ing huge bites out o their opponents. With

just their second region title [all in the last

three seasons] in their hip pocket, Friend-

ship entered its ninth sectional against a

much younger Arts & Sciences team which

ousted FCS rom this round a year earlier

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FCS students cheer from the stands to support the Commanders.

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Congratulations Friendship Christian Basketball Team 2012!

in Chattanooga. This time, the Patriots had

to make the long bus ride and ace not only

Cleves team, but Cleves Crazies, the FCS

student section.

We got the sixth man advantage now,

Harris said.

And the sixth man enjoyed a Monday

night party in a 66-29 triumph to punch the

Commanders frst ticket to the Murphy

Center oor or the Boys State Champion-

ships at Middle Tennessee State University.

Harris hits jackpot inState Championships draw

In the Associated Press poll, BT Wash-

ington was ranked No. 1, Perry County No.

2 and Friendship No. 3 down the stretch

o the season. At the drawing or brackets,

Harris hit the jackpot when BTW, Perry

and deending champi-

on Lake County weredrawn into the oppo-

site bracket. Friend-

ship would catch

another revenge game

or the quarterfnal

round. Grace Baptist

had beaten Bradshaws

Commanders in the

sectional two years

ago at the Sportsplex.

We used that with

the seniors, Harris said. We are actuallypaying back all

the losses.

But what I was really worried about,

and this is something that I wouldnt say

until now that its over, I eared Grace more

than anything because or the frst time,

Friendship wasnt the underdog.

That was based on a comparison o

scores. Grace had narrowly beaten A&S in

the Region 3 fnal beore Friendship routed

the Patriots.

Basketball has nothing to do withscores, Harris said. Teams match up di-

erently. And all I could think o was that

big kid inside.

Friendship jumped to a 17-3 lead in the

second quarter beore that big kid, Cory

Nelson, knocked down 20 points as the

Golden Eagles pulled even at 32-32 late in

the third quarter. But Grace never led and

behind Allen Heastons 16 points and Dal-

ton Pattersons 13, the Commanders won

their frst game in the Glass House 52-46.

Mark Sandoval had a triple-double, not

all o the good kind. Friendships human

matchup nightmare totaled 10 points and

12 rebounds but committed 11 turnovers.

Patterson who, unbeknownst to every-

one outside the team, was playing on a oot

injured earlier in the week during a practice

at Belmonts Curb Events Center [where

Harris had taken the Commanders, along

with Lipscombs Allen Arena to get them

used to playing in a big arena] admitted

Friendship was lucky, an ingredient most

championship teams need along the way.

I was sti the whole game, all the

way to the end, said Patterson, who was

named Deensive Most Valuable Player as a

saety in the Blue Cross Bowl three months

earlier. Football is a lot easier. This is

something new, something Ive never been

through.

Nothing can help nerves, Harris said.

Nerves is something youve got to be able

to fght through.

Underdog Commanders oustMcEwen to reach state final

Friendship looked smoother 24 hours

later against McEwen in the semifnals. The

Commanders were underdogs against the

31-1 Warriors.

We are dangerous when we are under-

dogs, Harris said.

Friendships ullcourt deense helped

uel a 17-10 frst-quarter lead. It also

put several Commanders in serious oul

trouble. It was bad enough Harris broke his

resolution and held the ball or nearly our

minutes near the end o the frst hal as the

entire town o McEwen, seated in one end

the Monte Hale Arena bowl, booed.War-

riors coach Phil Ross had his own oul

issues and was fne with the tactic.But the Commanders never trailed ater

the early moments and survived a com-

bined 41 points rom Garrett Mullinicks

and Patrick Mullinicks [no relation] to

prevail 54-51 as Sandoval posted a double-

double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Heaston used his smooth moves near the

basket to score 13.

More than the points, Friendships

success could be ound on the glass, where

the Commanders outrebounded McEwen

25-18, negating a minus-2 in turnovers.

I dont know i any team ever

outrebounded us the whole season,

Harris said.

Meanwhile, in the other bracket, Lake

County used a miracle 75-oot shot in the

frst round to oust BT Washington beore

losing to Perry County, setting up a state

fnal showdown against the upstart Com-

manders and a Vikings program with six

championships in its history.

football is a lot easier. This

is something new, something

Ive never been through.

Dalton Patterson

FCS Allen Heaston shoots to score during the championship game.


10/12


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Coach Cleve Harris (right) talks with (lefttoright)Assistant Coaches Ross Jordan, John McNeal and Jason Miller latein the fourth period during the championship game. Athletic trainer Nathan Johnson is seen behind.

Harris breaks resolution inchampionship

For the fnal game o the 2011-12 sea-

son, Harris abandoned his vow made in the

atermath o the Watertown loss. Playing

on the third straight day, atigue would be a

actor on both sides.

I just knew we had to get to the shoot-

ers, Harris said. I didnt want to get intoa dogfght with a team that loves to run and

has great shooters. Lets slow it down and

control the shooters.

One o those shooters was Cannon

Rhodes, whose dad, Mike, became a Perry

County legend in the 1970s beore becom-

ing a star at Vanderbilt. Rhodes missed all

seven o his three-point attempts through

the frst three quarters as Friendship slowed

it down and led 21-16. The Vikings missed

their frst 18 threes o the game beore a late

desperation urry.It was evident, his legs were gone,

Harris said. He was shooting arther out

than usual, making bad decisions.

Perry County was tired so decision-

making was huge. We were tired, too. But

we controlled every game we played up to

that point.

It also meant controlling the crowd.

McEwen and Perry County seemed to

have brought their entire populations to


11/12


Murreesboro. Friendships an base, though very

vocal and loyal, was split during this spring break

week. The baseball and sotball teams were in Gul

Shores, Ala., and another group was in Honduras

on a mission trip. Even at ull strength, no private

school [especially one like Friendship whose old-

est alumni are just how hitting their mid-50s] has

the an base to match an entire town. At least, the

Commander baseball and sotball teams were backhome or the state fnal.

That was fne with these Commanders, who

thrived on an us against the world mentality.

This team has to be the most dangerous team

I ever coached when theyre the underdog, said

Harris, a 16-year assistant at CPA and a longtime

AAU coach. When you say they cant, they want

to prove you wrong. Thats what makes these group

o guys, not just in basketball, but in ootball with

Trousdale County [fnally knocking o the Yellow

Jackets in last alls playos ater years o utility],

getting over the edge. These seniors, any challenge,theyre going to accept. Theyre not going to back

down.

Their crowd, against McEwen, thats what

made me decide Im going to do it, Im going to

slow it down. We can keep the crowd out o the

game i we can cut their runs... I we can get the

lead, were going to keep the lead. Its going to be

hard-ought to get the lead on us.

Left out of program roster,Sandoval wins tournament MVP

Sandoval picked up his ourth oul early in thethird quarter o the state fnal and didnt return until

the start o the ourth. That extended time on the

bench kept him rom another triple-double. But the

6-4 senior who causes matchup problems when he

plays guard still led Friendships 38-34 win with

eight points and nine rebounds.

Despite being omitted rom the State Tourna-

ment program, Sandoval was named Most Valuable

Player, joining Patterson and Heaston on the All-

Tournament team as the Commanders concluded a

28-3 season.

Basketball championship forged fromother title runs

When hes not playing basketball, Sandoval is

on the tennis court, where hes helped the Com-

manders contend or the State Tournament. Other

players also play ootball or baseball. McNeal, who

was with his baseball team in Alabama and didnt

get to MTSU until Saturdays fnal, credited in part

his teams run to last springs baseball fnal or the

ootball championship.

Even while Harris was nervously twiddling histhumbs in November, his ootball guys, while going

or a championship in that sport, were helping to

lay a oundation or the basketball title.

It was a lot o carryover, Harris said. Most

coaches, ootball and basketball coaches, have

problems at a lot o schools because theyre sharing

athletes.

I would not change a thing. Coach McNeal

and my relationship is really good and I think oot-

ball is a positive i coaches use that correctly. I used

it or building toughness... mental toughness. n

FCS Coach Cleve Harris is presented with the Division i Class A Coachs Award.


12/12


5400 Coles Ferry Pike Lebanon, Tennessee 37087 www.FriendshipChristian.org 615.449.1573

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