Howard Edges East Ridge in District Tourney Soccer Final

Howard downed East Ridge, 1-0, Thursday in the finals of the District 8/AA soccer tournament at the UTC intramural field.

The lone goal was courtesy of Yefri Mendes-Baltazar at the 17 minute mark of the contest.

Even with the loss, East Ridge (5-10) will advance to the Region 4/AA Tournament and take on Sequoyah (7-2-1).

Pioneer coach Jeremy McIntyre told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that he was excited about moving forward in the region tournament.

“Our guys are peeking at the right time,” McIntyre told Times Free Press reporter Patrick Maccon. “Howard is a top-notch team, and we fought with them until the end.”

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.