What's Happening in Henderson County

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Trinity Valley Community College spent the regular season earning the right to play at home in the playoffs. Now the Cardinals have to take advantage of it. No. 3 TVCC (7-1) will host Snow College (5-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bruce Field in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference regional semifinals. The Cardinals have won seven s...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) On this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell looks back at the Hornets’ 56-21 win over Madisonville and ahead to Friday’s Senior Night matchup against Van at Bruce Field. Hornets Riding High Athens is 8-0 overall and 3-0 in District 9-4A Division II after what Harrell called the team’s most complete performance of the season....

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) On this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell lookes back at a hard-fought 23-13 win over Rusk and ahead to a Madisonville team that has found its stride in district play. Finding a Way Against Rusk Athens managed just 23 points against Rusk after averaging more than 50 through its first six games. Injuries to Charli Kiser and...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Athens is 6-0 and coming off its most complete performance of the season. But the Hornets have another challenge ahead, and the goal is simple: Keep getting better. That was the message from Athens Coach Zac Harrell on this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast as the Hornets prepare to travel to Rusk Friday night. Athens opened district play wit...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Five straight wins have carried Trinity Valley to No. 5 in the country and first place in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. This week, the Cardinals (5-1, 5-0) travel to Cisco (1-4, 1-3) for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday. Last week, TVCC dominated New Mexico Military 39-10. The Cardinals built a 37-0 lead in the third quarter,...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Talking on this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell said the Hornets are happy with their 5-0 start, but the focus changes Friday when Brownsboro comes to Bruce Field for the district opener. Now the games count Athens used the first five games to improve a young team replacing 31 seniors from last season. The Hornets won all...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) The wins have piled up. So has the ranking. But for No. 6 Trinity Valley, the message this week is about what comes next. The Cardinals have won four straight since their season-opening loss at Georgia Military and enter Saturday’s home game against New Mexico Military Institute at 4-1 overall and 4-0 in Southwest Junior College Football...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Talking on this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell looked back at Athens’ 4-0 start and ahead to Friday’s final non-district game at Gladewater. The Hornets are coming off a 55-39 Homecoming win over Kaufman and have scored at least 40 points in every game this season. Expecting to Win Harrell said the Hornets have probably...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Talking on this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell looked back at Athens’ 50-48 win over No. 4 Pine Tree and ahead to Friday’s Homecoming game against Kaufman. The Hornets are 3-0 after rallying from a 21-7 first-quarter deficit and scoring 21 unanswered points after halftime at Pine Tree. What Pine Tree Showed The win at Pi...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) After opening with road games at Georgia Military and Kilgore, the No. 13 Cardinals return to Bruce Field to face No. 3 Tyler Junior College. TVCC is 1-1 overall and 1-0 in Southwest Junior College Football Conference play after beating Kilgore 22-17 last week. Tyler is 3-0. Building on Kilgore Coach Sherard Poteete said the Cardinals han...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Talking on this week’s Athens Hornets Podcast, Coach Zac Harrell said Athens is happy with its 2-0 start, but the focus remains on improving each week. The Hornets showed progress in last week’s 48-35 win over Henderson. Now they get another strong test Friday night at Pine Tree. Building Week by Week Harrell said Athens improved from Wee...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Trinity Valley Community College head coach Sherard Poteete said the Cardinals’ focus this week is less about what happened in Georgia and more about how they respond to it. Speaking on this week’s Cardinals podcast, Poteete broke down the 49-10 loss to Georgia Military, what showed up on film, and what TVCC needs to improve before Saturd...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Talking on this week’s Hornet podcast, Coach Zac Harrell looked back at Athens’ 40-21 season-opening win over Nacogdoches and ahead to Friday’s home opener against Henderson. Growing From Nacogdoches Athens came home from Nacogdoches 1-0, but Harrell said the biggest goal now is improvement. Several Hornets were in new roles last week, in...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Trinity Valley Community College has waited longer than expected to learn what its 2026 football team can do. Now the Cardinals are going to find out against one of the nation’s best. No. 6 TVCC will open its season Saturday on the road against No. 10 Georgia Military after the Cardinals’ scheduled opener last week was canceled. That mean...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) Now it counts. Athens opens the 2026 season Friday night at Nacogdoches, where Hornets head coach Zac Harrell expects his team to face one of its toughest opening tests in recent years. Harrell joined the Athens Hornets Podcast this week to wrap up the preseason and look ahead to the Dragons. Looking Back at Lindale Harrell was pleased wi...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) In this week’s Athens Notebook podcast, Michael Hannigan and Athens Head Coach Zac Harrell look back at what the Hornets learned from their first scrimmage at Fairfield and ahead to a much tougher test Thursday against Lindale. The conversation also gets into how Athens has developed its young roster, why this year’s offense could feature...

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title and Holt Wrecker Service ) In the first Athens Notebook football podcast of 2026, Michael Hannigan sits down with Head Coach Zac Harrell to reflect on the first two weeks of practice, discuss the standard of sustaining elite success, and preview Thursday’s Meet the Hornets event and Friday’s scrimmage at Fairfield. Sustaining Greatness Coming off an 11-3 season tha...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) By Michael V. Hannigan To be the best, there comes a time when you have to beat the best. For Athens, that time comes Friday night in Tyler. The Hornets will face top-ranked Carthage at 7 p.m. at Rose Stadium in the Region 2 final. Athens is the home team. It is a rematch of their district showdown in Octo...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) Michael V. Hannigan They’re thankful, but still hungry. That has been the tone all week as Athens heads into its third-round playoff game Friday afternoon. The Hornets play Sunnyvale at 1 p.m. in Ennis in the Class 4A Division II regional semifinals. Athens is the visiting team. Coach Zac Harrell said this...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) By Michael V. Hannigan This one has the makings of a shootout. The Hornets will face undefeated Krum on Friday night in the area round, a matchup between two high-powered offenses. Athens is averaging 53 points per game. Krum is averaging 51. Krum enters the game at 10-0. One of its early games was cancele...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) Michael V. Hannigan The Cardinals walked into their open week holding the No. 2 seed. They walked out holding a bus ticket to Miami, Okla. A forfeiture ruling against Navarro College in the final week of the season changed the Southwest Junior College Football Conference standings and moved TVCC into the N...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) By Michael V. Hannigan The regular season is over. The real season begins Friday. Athens opens the Class 4A Division II playoffs against Gilmer on Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Henderson. The Hornets will be the home team and sit on the home side of the field. Head Coach Zac Harrell knows the challenge ahead. “Y...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) By Michael V. Hannigan The regular season will close where it began, under the lights at Bruce Field. Athens (7-2, 3-1) will host Bullard (3-6, 1-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday for Senior Night, celebrating 32 Hornet seniors who have helped turn the program into a district contender. “This group has meant a lot to...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) By Michael V. Hannigan Playoff football is back at The Valley. After clinching a postseason spot with last week’s 56-8 road win over New Mexico Military Institute, the No. 7-ranked Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals will close out the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against Northeastern Oklahoma...

( Post sponsored by Tinsley Title , Holt Wrecker , R&R lawn specialists , Gibson Pharmacy .) On this week’s Hornet podcast, Coach Zac Harrell said the Hornets have shown resilience this season by staying focused and improving each week, no matter the circumstances. Staying Focused Last week’s 60-6 win over Rusk came a day early because of weather concerns, but the Hornets didn’t let that rattle th...