Friday, August 25, 2006 - UTM Football Preview from Coach Jason Simpson

UTM Skyhawks Loaded for OVC Run with New Coach

      Today, Rotarians welcome new UTM Football Coach Jason Simpson, who will preview the upcoming 2006 season.
     The Skyhawks have been picked to finish 6th in the OVC this year, despite returning 42 lettermen, including four All-OVC players Donald Chapman (TB), Taurean Stephens (WR), Alex Atkins and David Gilmore. Chapman led the OVC with 1,396 rushing yards and 16 TD’s last year and is a pre-season All-American.
    UTM’s quarterbacking position is between James Pritchard, Greg Preston and Dexter Anoka.
    Coach Simpson came to UTM after serving three years as offensive coordinator at UT-Chattanooga. He’s also coached at Jacksonville State and Texas State.
    “One Heartbeat” is the team slogan at UTM this fall as the youthful Coach Simpson and his staff look to continue to build on the momentum of last year’s success.
     Welcome Coach Simpson and good luck!

Vascular Surgeon Dr. Wright Jernigan to Visit

      Next Week, Dr. Wright Jernigan, a Union City native who recently joined the medical staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City as the community’s new Vascular/General Surgeon, will be our guest speaker. Dr. Jernigan will speak on the specifics of the types of services he is bringing to Union City and the advantages of these procedures. He will also give a brief overview of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and recent advancements in the field.
     Dr. Jernigan graduated Union City High School in 1989 and attended UT-Knoxville, where he met his wife, Samantha. They have three boys, Tristan (9), Austin (6) and Grant (3). Dr. Jernigan and his family have lived in Memphis for the past 13 years where he graduated from the UT College of Medicine in 1998. He then completed his seven year General Surgery residency, followed by a year of Vascular surgery training.

Golden Tornadoes Begin 2006 Season Tonight

      Last week, Rotarians heard from Union City High School football coach Jimmy Fishel, who begins his fourth season at the helm of the Golden Tornado program tonight in Martin as UC faces the Westview Chargers.
     Kickoff is set for 7:30 at Hardy Graham Stadium on the UTM campus.
     Fresh from an appearance in the Class-A state championship game last December, the Golden Tornadoes have been decimated by graduation, losing 22 Seniors, including 17 starters from a team that went 11-4.
     Joining Coach Fishel were his assistant coaches, David Barker, Ben Glasgow and Tracy Bruff.
     Senior players, who also paid a visit to Rotary last Friday were Demetrius Bracey, Marq Evans, Lucas Flood, Jordan James, Terrance Roberson, Bryce Moran, and Chris Stephenson.
     Senior cheerleaders who were also introduced included Betsy Appleton, Brooke Laws, Lindsay Beth Long, Molly Napier, Katelin Turner and Kaylie Wright.
Cheerleader sponsors were Stephanie Robinson and Laura Kingrey.
     “Last year was a great experience for our team and our community,” Coach Fishel said. “It represents our expectations here in Union City—and this year, our kids want to win a state championship.”
     With 58 players out this season, UC is in fact in a “reloading” campaign, having lost all those battle-tested seniors. UC will dump its traditional Wing-T formation and go with a multiple spread offense designed to push opposing defenses to the limits. Junior Brett White will quarterback the Tornadoes this year.
     Good luck UC in 2006!

Coming Attractions

9/1       BMH-UC---Dr. Wright Jernigan, new Vascular Surgeon at UC-BMH
9/8       Coach Darren Bowling—OCCHS Football
9/15     Fall Fest Preview with Robin Williams, Lynn Glover, Glenda Chrisp
9/22     Dr. Bob Cameron—New Birth Control Procedure
9/28     Rotary Fish Fry (Thursday) at Robert Kirkland home
       

Happy Birthdays

8/25     Jimmy Jones
8/25     Travis Shumate
8/31     Roger Harris

Happy Anniversaries

8/25     Travis and Linda Shumate
8/26     Larry and Rita Buckles
8/28     Kirk and Sharon Stone
8/30     Leland and Tajuana Davis
8/31     Al and Michelle Creswell

Random Facts

• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear
• A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds
• Almonds are a member of the peach family
• A snail can sleep for three years
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar
• 40% of all people at a party will snoop in your medicine cabinet
• No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.

Football Tonight
UC at Westview
Dresden at OCCHS

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