Dyer County boys win region; Hill, Morris take individual titles

 





Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

It was a big day for a lot of local high school golfers as The Farms hosted the Region 8A Tournament beginning on Monday morning. When all was said and done that afternoon, Dyer County’s boys golf team punched its ticket to the TSSAA Class A State Tournament next week  in Sevierville while a pair of other local golfers took home the individual titles.

The region win marks Dyer County’s first trip to state in either boys or girls golf as a team in school history.

“The greens were in tough spots so, when you were approaching the hole, you had to be strategic about it,” Dyer County Head Coach Lyle LaRue said. “You had to maybe not go for the birdies but aim for the safe part of the green.

“From what I can tell that’s what they were doing the whole match. Put in on the back of the green and keep it in play and you’ve got a chance.”

Dyer County was led by freshman Beau Thurman, who shot a 74 to finish in a four-way tie for first place which lead to a playoff. Hoss Harrison was right on his heels with a 75 while Jamison Rhodes scored a 78. Seth LaRue rounded out the Dyer County scoring with an 81 to account for the Choctaws’ 308 score.

“He was fought back,” LaRue said of Thurman. “He had a couple of bad holes but it seemed like every time he had a bad hole he would follow it up with a birdie or something.

“He did a good of fighting back after having a bad hole.”

Only the top team advances to the state tournament.


The Region 8A Runner-up was Dyersburg, who scored a 330 on the day and was led by John David Morris, who joined two other players in a four-way tie and playoff with Dyer County’s Thurman. When the playoff was over, Morris emerged as the individual champion for the region, taking the title on the first playoff hole.

“He did really well today,” Dyersburg Head Coach Kavin Carr said. “He only had one bad hole, I think.

“He was able to recover from that and wound up with a 74.”

The winning shot came from a chip shot just off the green.


“With the confidence with his wedge off the edge of the green, he didn’t even take his putter over there,” Carr said. “Really proud of him. He puts in a lot of work out here. That work ethic and all pays off so I am real proud of him.”

In addition to individual region championships by former Trojan Ace Mahaffey in 2022 and 2023, Morris gives the black and gold three titles in four years.

“Individually, we’ve got some good ones,” Carr said. “And, really, I wouldn’t change the team that we’ve got.

“We just didn’t play our best golf today and Dyer County has been real consistent all season. They played really well so congratulations to them on a great season.”

Ryan Wesson was four strokes behind Morris with a 78 while Brett Horner shot an 88 and Thaxton Coppage added a 90 on the day.

Dyer County’s boys and region champ Morris won’t be the only local representation next week in Sevierville as Lady Choctaw Kennedy Hill won the Region 8A Girls Championship via a one-hole playoff with South Gibson’s Marleigh Chicantek.

Hill, a senior, is the daughter of former Dyer County golfer Whitney Hill, who advanced to the state tournament twice in golf as an individual and was the first Lady Choctaw to ever reach the state tournament back in 1997.


“We’ve been in such a tough region and this was a tough region again,” LaRue said. “She pulled it out and won the tiebreaker for the region championship.

“She played solid. I watched her for four or five holes. Kind of the same thing as the boys. She didn’t try to get crazy. She aimed and tried to put it in the middle of the greens. She putted real good, too.”

Kennedy Hill led both the field and Dyer County with a 78 on the day. Lily Flagg shot a 103 while Josie Ferguson added a 110 to round out their high school careers as the Region 8A Runner-up.

South Gibson won the region with a score of 172, nine strokes ahead of Dyer County.


Dyersburg golfers Stella Madden and Cally Cook both competed as individuals, scoring 101 and 119, respectively.

With the season ending for Dyersburg except Morris, Carr talked about next year.

“We’ve got to get our best matches in and best scores in on the days that count – which is district and region,” Carr added. “We’ll get back to work at it when we get back from state.”

The TSSAA Class A State Tournament takes place Thursday, Oct. 9 and Friday, Oct. 10 at Sevierville Golf Club.

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