The Raiders and Lady Raiders of Coffee County basketball opened district play on Friday night as they welcomed Shelbyville to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  As you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Raiders dropped their first decision of the year to the Eaglettes 55 to 45.  The Red Raiders bounced back after Monday’s loss to drop the Eagles 57 to 48

The Lady Raiders suffered an ice cold 3^rd quarter as Shelbyville outscored Coffee County 13 to 2 in that pivotal period.  The Lady Raiders had a 1 point lead after the 1^st quarter and trailed by 2 at the half in a tight 1^st half.  A 4^th quarter rally by the Lady Raiders came up short as Coffee County falls to 5 and 1 on the year.  Abby Morgan led Coffee County in scoring with 17 points to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Jacey Vaughn came off the bench to finish with 7 points while Alliyah Williams added 6.

The Red Raiders rallied from a 4 point halftime deficit to outscore the Eagles in each of the last 2 periods.  The win snapped a 5 game Shelbyville winning streak in this rivalry.  Garrett Eldridge led the Raiders in scoring with 22 points as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Tyrese McGee added 9 points and the trio of Stephen Sullivan, Grant Sadler and DeAaron Rozier each finished with 6 points apiece.

Coffee County is back in action on Tuesday when they welcome Warren County to The Patch.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM, Thunder Radio will begin our live broadcast with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Five members of the CHS Football team were honored as members of the Region 2-6A All Region Team in an announcement made on Saturday night immediately following the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl championships being held at Cookeville.  Additionally, 3 Red Raiders were named as honorable Mention.

Selected to the All Region 1^st team were junior Alontae Taylor(Athlete), junior Deaaron Rozier(LB), senior Tyrese McGee(DB), senior Silas Vaughn(OL) and freshman Hayden Skipper(DB).   Selected as honorable mention were junior Pablo Sanz(K/P), junior Zach Vaughn(WR) and junior Keishaun Creel(DB).

Region champion and state runner-up Oakland swept most of the All Region superlatives.  Oakland coach Kevin Creasy was named the Region Coach of the Year.  Oakland’s Jacoby Stevens was the MVP, Brendan Matthews was named offensive MVP, Kyle Oliver was named defensive MVP and Elijah Robbins was named region lineman of the year.  Siegel’s Jacob Smith was named the region kicker of the year in addition to being named the TSSAA Mr. Football kicker of the year.

The CHS Wrestling team competed in the Mt Juliet Bear Brawl on Saturday.  The Raider teams finished in 8^th place in the dual meet.

In the opening match of the day, Joseph White(138 pounds), Rein Bozich(145) and Owen Teague(152) each got walk-over wins in a 66 to 18 loss.

Against Hunters Lane, Rein Bozich(145) won a pinfall win while Dustin Duke(113) and Owen Teague(152) each got walk-over wins in a 65 to 18 loss.

Against the host Bears of Mt. Juliet, Noah O’Shields(126) won in a forfeit  in a 64 to 6 loss.

The wrestlers will host their first home matches of the year on Tuesday as the Raiders will welcome Cookeville and Lawrence County to their home mat at the Coffee County Raider Academy.  First match gets underway at 6 PM.

The Coffee County Swim teams split a pair of matches with St. Andrews-Sewanee on Thursday night as the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Lions 38 to 30 while the Raiders fell to the Mountain Lions 34 to 16.  The highlight of the night came when Kaylee Williams earned a region qualifying time in the 200 Individual Medley.

The Lady Raiders got relay team wins in the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay.  Individual heat winners were:  Lindsey Cauble(200 free & 100 free), Kaylee Williams(200 IM & 100 breaststroke), Maria Pascual Garcia(50 free),

The Red Raiders got a team relay win in the 400 freestyle relay.  Individual heat winners were:  Nick Smith(200 IM)

To see complete results, check out the Swim Team Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/RedRaiderSwimming/?fref=ts

Wayne Simmonds scored twice on the power play as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Nashville Predators by a 4-2 final on Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena. The defeat is just Nashville’s second regulation loss at home this season and moves their overall record to 11-9-4.

The game went back and forth, with Nashville tying the score on two occasions thanks to goals from Calle Jarnkrok and Colin Wilson, but the Flyers were ultimately able to beat Juuse Saros three times before adding one more into the empty net.

“We knew going in that their power play was really good,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of the Flyers. “Their players have had a lot of time together and cohesiveness, and they’re pretty set in what they do. They bring pucks to the net, and when they do that, things can happen. That was a difference in the game tonight.”

As was the case yesterday in an overtime loss to New Jersey, there were large portions of the game where the Preds were pleased with their execution, but the lack of a full 60-minute effort – this time with a slow start at the beginning of the game – didn’t bring the desired results.

“Our first [period] wasn’t very good,” defenseman Roman Josi said. “We had a lot of pressure and didn’t execute well and after that we came back… but our [power play] wasn’t good, and it might’ve made a difference at the end.”

“We got off the marker a little bit slow in the first period,” Laviolette said. “We built up steam. I thought we were better in the second, and we had our best period in the third, but were chasing the game the whole time. Coming from behind and trying to catch it at the end is not a good way to play the game.”

The Predators have one more game to go on their current home stand – Tuesday night when Colorado comes to town – as they look to get their 12th win of the season before heading back on the road.

“Just the effort from everyone for 60 minutes; there’s no team in this League that’s not going to show up and play,” forward Filip Forsberg said. “Everyone needs the points no matter where you are in the standings. The inspiration level has to be higher from the start and even in the last period.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, just to work hard for 60 minutes and the results will come.”

Notes:

Forward Reid Boucher made his Preds debut on Sunday evening after being claimed on waivers from New Jersey on Saturday. Boucher recorded one hit in 7:15 of ice time.

“It’s a different situation to come in the way he did, to try to jump into a moving train,” Laviolette said of Boucher. “It’s difficult at times. I think the more he settles in and gets some practices with our guys, the better off he’s going to be.”

Preds goaltender Juuse Saros started for the Predators on Sunday, the fourth of his career and third of the season.

With his assist on Colin Wilson’s goal, Mike Fisher now has six points (2g-4a) in his last six games.

Nashville will conclude their three-game home stand on Tuesday night as they host the Colorado Avalanche at Bridgestone Arena.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Nashville Predators Radio Network immediately following Coffee County basketball.

The New Jersey Devils scored three times in the third period and Mike Cammalleri won it in overtime, as they defeated the Nashville Predators by a 5-4 final at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday afternoon.

After Nashville entered the final period with a 4-1 lead, the Devils notched two quick goals to begin the third, and then capitalized on a power play before the end of regulation to tie the game.

“We called a timeout at the three-minute mark and for the rest of the third, I thought we dominated after that,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “They ended up cashing in a power-play goal with eight minutes left, and they got a tie out of it. I thought we had plenty of opportunity to win when it was 4-3, but it didn’t happen. It’s an ugly way to lose a game, and it’s a terrible feeling for everybody involved.”

It’s a lesson to be learned for the Preds in what is still a relatively early portion of the season, and something they hope they won’t have to repeat again.

“It’s the NHL – you know there are good players on both sides, it doesn’t matter the deficit,” defenseman Matt Irwin said. “If you’re not in it mentally, any team on any given night has a chance to get back at it.”

“We are a young group for sure – hopefully guys can learn from it,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “It just can’t happen. I don’t have an answer to why it happened, and it just can’t happen.”

Kevin Fiala delivered two of the Nashville goals on the afternoon, with P.K. Subban and Roman Josi chipping in the others. Fiala, who recorded his second multi-goal game of the season, was a bright spot for Nashville, earning praise for his efforts.

“I thought tonight was his best game in a Predators uniform,” Laviolette said on Fiala. “I thought he worked extremely hard. He brought the puck to the net and was confident in what he was doing; it was a real positive for him and his line. I thought they did a lot of good things offensively out there, but Kevin sure did have a good game with a lot of great things offensively.”

Perhaps the best part about the loss is that the Preds don’t have to wait long for a chance to wipe it from their memories – they’ll host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. CT.

“It’s a lesson learned and the good thing about it is we’re right back at it again tomorrow night,” Irwin said. “I think that’s the positive here, we can put this behind us and learn from it and move onto Philly tomorrow.”

“I think that helps a lot; tomorrow we would just be thinking about the game and the point that we lost,” Ekholm said. “But it would be nice to come back tomorrow and catch two points in front of our fans.”