Top 15 most memorable games in Gibson County during 2024-25 school year

By Michael Odom | June 4, 2025 |

Humboldt’s Kendrick Taylor (1) shoots the ball against North Greene during the Class 1A state quarterfinals at the Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

The 2024-25 school year was full of great moments across the county in high school athletics. When I sat down to write this list, I had 30 memorable games come to mind.

But the list has been whittled down to the top 15 most memorable games that included Gibson County area teams.

1. Humboldt boys basketball hits buzzer-beater for 1A state tournament berth – For the Vikings to earn a return trip to the state tournament, they had to battle through a tough Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE) team. The game was close throughout, and was tied 49-49 with 7.7 seconds to play. Humboldt had scored five unanswered points, so MASE had the ball. A MASE player missed a layup, and the ball was passed down the court. Jeffery Patterson missed a mid-range shot, but Kendrick Taylor was there to grab the rebound and put it back up for the winning basket. Humboldt won 51-49 with Taylor scoring 21 points in the win.

2. South Gibson baseball eliminates Crockett County in 12th inning – Face elimination after an eight-inning, 1-0 loss to Dyer County the previous game, South Gibson couldn’t get any offense going for 11 innings. The Hornets had three hits in the first 11 innings, but their defense didn’t allow much out of Crockett County either. The Cavaliers had four hits. Aiden Moore pitched 110 pitches through 10 innings, giving up three hits with five strikeouts and three walks, and Gage Nesbitt pitched two innings, giving up one hit, striking out three and walking one.
With two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning, Tommy Baker hit a solo home run on a 2-1 count to right field to earn the 1-0 win over the Cavaliers.

3. South Gibson girls basketball beats Cocke County in 3A quarterfinals – For the third straight season, the Lady Hornets advanced to the Class 3A state semifinals. In the quarterfinals, South Gibson beat Cocke County 43-39. But with 7:07 to play, Cocke County held a 34-33 lead. Karson Dunn tied the game with a free throw, Jade Reed hit a layup, Trinity Johnson hit a free throw and South Gibson led 37-34 with 3:29 left in the game. South Gibson scored eight unanswered points. Jade Reed finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Faith Reed added 10 points.

4. Bradford baseball beats Whitwell to finish top six in 1A tournament – After losing the previous night in a close ball game, the Red Devils had to return to the field the next morning to try and stay alive in the Class 1A state tournament. It wasn’t going to be easy as Bradford faced Jacob McCurry, who entered the game with a 0.11 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched. Bradford waited him out as McCurry threw 118 pitches in six innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with 15 strikeouts and two walks. In the top of the eighth inning with the game tied 2-2, With bases loaded, Austyn Birmingham hit a sacrifice fly, Kaden Brauer hit an RBI single and Jax Street bunted again to score McDaniel on a fielder’s choice for the 5-2 win.

5. Milan football beats Fairley to earn a berth in the 2A state title game – In the first year under Wade Comer, the Bulldogs got back to the Class 2A state championship game for the 10th time in program history. Milan scored 14 points in the first quarter and had to hold off a second-half rally by Fairley. The Bulldogs had 190 yards rushing in the game, while Milan’s defense held the opposition to 34 yards rushing.

6. South Gibson girls basketball gives Westview lone loss – While no one would realize the significance of the game until March, South Gibson and Westview played in Medina on Dec. 13 in a matchup of two state tournament teams from 2024. South Gibson won 42-35, which would be Westview’s lone loss on the way to clinching the Class 2A state championship. South Gibson’s defense held the Lady Chargers to two points in the fourth quarter. Faith Reed led the Lady Hornets with 17 points and six rebounds, Jade Reed recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

7. South Gibson soccer comes back to win 13-AA title over Crockett County – The Cavaliers took a 3-0 lead on the Hornets in the first half, but South Gibson slowly got back in the match and tied it up with 10 minutes to play. Landon Brown, Austin Crone, Jonathan Lewis and Greg Suiter each scored on goal with Richard Addo adding an assist in the come-from-behind win.

8. Milan softball clinches first-ever berth in 2A state tournament – The Lady Bulldogs had never played in a Class 2A sectional before this past season, which means they had never reached the state tournament. Milan beat Lakeland Prep 15-0 in the sectional game as Camryn Greene pitched a four-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk. Laylah Dinwiddie went 2-for-4 with five RBI, one stolen base and one run, Olivia Morgan went 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases, Greene went 2-for-2 with two RBI and one stolen base and Addison Rushing went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs and one stolen base.

9. South Gibson forces second semifinal game, beating Greeneville – After losing to Greeneville – the eventual state champion – in the opening game of the Class 3A state tournament, the Hornets needed to beat Greeneville twice in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship game. South Gibson beat Greeneville 9-1 to force a second semifinal game. Freshman Tyler DeHaan allowed one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and three walks over seven innings. The Hornets scorednine runs on six hits.

10. Milan football eliminates JCM in 2A second round – During the regular season, the Bulldogs suffered one loss, and that was to Jackson Central-Merry. But in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs, the Bulldogs avenged the loss with a 14-7 overtime victory. Dee Kelley and Markell Cunningham had key interceptions in the win. Jaydon Peete scored on the first play of overtime, while Kelley intercepted a pass to clinch the victory. Cunningham intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the second quarter.

11. Milan finishes as region runner-up to reach sectionals for the fourth straight year – After losing to Adamsville 10-0 the previous night, the Bulldogs had to play Adamsville again for the Region 7-2A runner-up spot. Adamsville took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but in the top of the seventh inning, Will Johnson hit an RBI single to tie the game when an Adamsville outfielder lost the ball in the sun. In the top of the ninth inning, Johnson hit an RBI single to score Tristan Shostrand to send Milan to sectionals. Lucas Morris went 3-for-4 with one run.

12. Milan softball beats Scotts Hill in Region 7-2A semifinals – To have the chance to play Lakeland Prep in the sectional game for a berth in the state tournament, the Lady Bulldogs first had to play a quality Scotts Hill team. Milan pulled out a 1-0 win on the road as Camryn Greene hit a single and Maycee Masters scored on an error on the play. Masters went 3-for-3 with one run and one stolen base. Greene pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and one walk.

13. South Gibson wins Region 7-3A title with victory over Dyer County – After winning two of the first five meetings of the season, the Hornets tied up the season series by winning the region championship with a 4-0 victory over the Choctaws. Jack Bradberry picked up the win, allowing four hits with fourth strikeouts and no walks over five innings. Cade Allen earned the save with two hitless innings, including three strikeouts. South Gibson scored two runs in the first inning as Tommy Baker scored on a wild pitch and Bradberry hit an RBI single and two more runs in the fourth inning as Mark Brafa hit an RBI single and Baker hit an RBI single.

14. Milan football eliminates Huntingdon in the Class 2A quarterfinals – For 2025, the “Dog and Pony Show” belonged to the Bulldogs as Milan won 28-25. Huntingdon led 12-0, 18-7 and 25-14. But a Jaydon Peete 19-yard run cut the Mustangs’ lead to 25-20, and then Peete had runs of 21 and 54 yards to give Milan the 28-25 lead. Peete rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

15 (tied). Gibson County volleyball beat Union City for first Region 7-A championship – The Lady Pioneers had made two straight appearances in the Class A state tournament, but they had never played a sectional game at home. Well, Gibson County beat Union City 25-14, 25-11, 25-18 in the Region 7-A championship to earn a home playoff game. Sania Reaves was named the Region 7-A tournament MVP. In the match, Hannah Prestininzi had 27 assists, two kills and five digs, while Ella Kate McCurdy had 10 kills and nine digs.

15 (tied). Milan softball avoids elimination with walk-off win over Ripley – After losing to Ripley 8-6 in the opening round of the District 14-2A tournament, the Lady Bulldogs had to win three straight games to get back to the championship game. In the third win, Milan trailed 4-2 after four innings. Milan got one run back in the fifth inning. But in the bottom of the seventh, Mia Pearson led off with a double, Camryn Greene was walked and Addison Rushing hit an RBI double with Bailey Doles scoring the winning run on an error for the 5-4 win.
Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.