Trenton Thompson(#25) runs over a Community defender on his way to his 4th quarter TD on Thursday night. (Photo by Rachelle Long)

A fumble recovery by Will Partin in the final minute helped preserve a 21 to 14 win for Westwood on Thursday night at Community. The win preserved an outstanding defensive performance by the Rockets.
A hard fought first half saw Westwood take an 8 to 0 lead into the intermission after Reynaldo Ramirez punched in a touchdown run and Trenton Thompson added the 2 point conversion. Community, who was held without a first down in the first half, scored early in the 3rd quarter to cut the deficit to 2 after the missed PAT.
Ramirez and Thompson each added a second half touchdown as Westwood made an adjustment at the half to attack the weak side of the Community defense. Ramirez kicked an extra point to extend the Rockets lead to 21 to 6 in the 4th quarter but the Vikings were not about to give up. Community added a touchdown with 1:30 left in the game and the 2 point conversion made it 21 to 14. The Vikings recovered the ensuing onside kick and marched the ball inside the 10 with 57 seconds left on the clock. On first and goal, Community fumbled on a lateral and Partin fell on it to give the Rockets the road win.
The road win is the first win away from Dyer-Bouldin Field in over a year for the Rockets. “It is great to beat a team with a lot of skill players“ said Coach Chad Dyer following the game. He went on to say, “it is great to find a way to win a game that is that competitive (at the end of the game).”  After a police escort home by the Manchester Police Department, Westwood will take on Moore County at Dyer-Bouldin Field on Thursday in a 6:30 PM game. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of the game as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

Karson Young

A Coffee County corner kick in the 10^th minute turned out to be the only score of the night as the CHS Lady Raiders beat Tullahoma 1 nil on Thursday night.  Allie Amado served the ball into the box and Karson Young poked it past the Tullahoma keeper for the game winner.  Senior keeper Hollie Smithson and the rest of the Lady Raider defense were equal to the task in making that goal stand up in the remaining 70 minutes of the contest.

The win improves the Lady Raiders record to 4 and 1 on the season and 1 and 0 in district play.  Coffee County travels to Cascade on Tuesday for a 5:30 PM game with the Lady Champions in a non-district matchup.

Tyana Fenton of Lady Raider volleyball

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider volleyball team used the momentum of Tuesday’s win over Columbia to dispatch Franklin County on Thursday night in straight sets. The Lady Raiders cleaned up the errors from Tuesday night as they improved both their hitting and service percentages. Coffee County won by set scores of: 25-13, 25-19 and 25-10.
Coffee County was led in kills by Aerial Williams who had 8 while Baylee Nester added 5. Tyana Fenton led the Lady Raiders in aces with 8 and digs with 5. Rachel Henley added 11 assists and Aerial Williams and Alliyah Williams each had a pair of blocks in the win.
The Lady Raiders head to Chattanooga on Friday to begin play in the Choo-Choo Classic. Coffee County will travel to Red Bank Middle School to take on Sale Creek at 5 PM, Bayside at 7 PM and Notre Dame at 8PM. All those game times are Eastern time. The tournament will conclude on Saturday.

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball won their 3^rd straight match on Thursday as they swept North Franklin in straight sets.  The conference game was played at North as the Gatorettes are in their first season of competition.  Coach Malaysha Pack was able to get a dominant performance from her Lady Raiders as they won by set scores of 25 to 4 and 25 to 11.

The win levels the Lady Raiders record at 3 and 3 on the year overall and 2 and 2 in Central Tennessee Conference action.  Coffee County is back in action on Thursday, September 8^th when they travel to Shelbyville to take on Harris.  Opening serve is set for 5 PM.

A penalty kick by Lincoln County early in the second half dropped the Westwood Lady Rockets on Thursday night by a final of 1 to 0. Westwood keeper Alana Coker had 11 first half stops but the Lady Falcons were awarded a penalty kick in the 33rd minute after Westwood committed a foul inside the 18 yard box.
The Lady Rockets could not produce a goal as they dropped the non-conference friendly. Westwood will be back at home on Monday, September 12th when the play host to Fayetteville. That game is set to begin at 6 PM.

Motlow Lady Bucks soccer coach Andy Lyon

With its first match now less than one year away, Motlow State Community College has announced that Andy Lyon of Tullahoma will be the school’s first head coach of the new women’s soccer program.

Lyon is familiar to soccer players and fans throughout middle Tennessee and beyond. He is the chairman of Camp Forrest FC, a select soccer club based in Tullahoma. He has won both indoor and outdoor state tournaments and has coached numerous players that have represented various college soccer teams throughout the region.

“I’m excited and looking forward to the challenge of starting the first junior college soccer program in Tennessee,” said Lyon. “I believe Motlow is in an advantageous area geographically due to the large pool of women’s soccer players in the surrounding area. I’m anxious to get started and am looking forward to bringing in quality student-athletes who will represent Motlow State as women’s soccer pioneers in our state.”

Born in Nottingham, England, where he took part in Nottingham Forest Youth programs and studied and played soccer at Leeds University, Lyon came to the United States to join the coaching staff of the NY/NJ Metrostars in their youth development program. He was hired away from the Metrostars by the Major League Soccer organization to direct youth camps and as a player development consultant.

Coach Lyon currently holds a USSF B coaching license as well as USSF national youth license and a NSCAA director of coaching diploma. He spent two seasons as an assistant coach of the men’s program at the University of the South and was an assistant coach with the Webb School girls’ soccer team in Bell Buckle.

“Andy is exactly the type of coach and leader that we were looking for to start our program,” said Scott Shasteen, athletic director at Motlow. “He has vast experience in coaching on all levels and he is very familiar with high school coaches and student-athletes throughout Motlow’s 11-county service area as well as across the country.”

Lyon’s first day of work was Sept. 1, and in addition to leading the new women’s soccer program, he will also be the coordinator of non-credit activities at Motlow.

“I am eager to get started on this exciting project and am thoroughly looking forward to bringing in quality student-athletes who will represent Motlow on the women’s soccer stage,” added Lyon. “Soccer continues to grow and the new women’s team gives student-athletes a path to play on the junior college level.”

Motlow has not yet determined where it will play home games while it seeks to build a soccer facility on the Moore County campus. Those interested in the Motlow women’s soccer program can contact Coach Lyon at 931-393-1622 or alyon@mscc.edu.

Marcus Mariota didn’t start here on Thursday night, but that didn’t keep the Titans from finishing the preseason in style.

With the team’s starters in the bench, the Titans jumped out to an early lead here against the Dolphins and then cruised to a 21-10 win at Hard Rock Stadium.

Next up is the regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on September 11.

“I like the way we’re playing,’’ coach Mike Mularkey said. “We are playing our style of football. It doesn’t matter what the game is. It’s preseason game four; people can say that. But this is how we play. I like what we’re doing, and we’re moving the ball by doing it. We have to quit making some mistakes with not taking what the defense gives us, but if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

The Titans took care of business early in this one, even with Mariota and running back DeMarco Murray watching from the sideline. Both players went through pregame warmups, but coach Mularkey elected to hold them out of the preseason finale. The majority of the starters played one series before being replaced in the lineup.

The Titans jumped ahead 14-0 early, scoring first on a one-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry just over a minute into the contest. It came after Titans safety Rashad Johnson recovered a fumble to end Miami’s first possession.

“Getting that first stop was huge,’’ Johnson said. “It was something that was plaguing us this preseason. Going into the season, we have to be able to stop opening drives and haven’t been able to do it all preseason. It was big for us to go out and get that off our backs. We know we can do it, but to go out and do it is a totally different thing.”

A one-yard run by Antonio Andrews added to the scoring in the first quarter, and it capped off a drive when Henry ran wild through the Miami secondary. Henry ripped off runs of 22 and 26 yards en route to finishing the night with 62 yards on seven carries.

Henry finished the preseason with 216 yards on 34 carries (6.4-yard average), with three touchdowns.

“That’s something that we preach all the time, being physical as a team and setting the tempo,’’ Henry said. “That’s what we wanted to do as an offense tonight. We came in and scored after the fumble recovery. Then we had a turnover, but we picked it back up in that third drive and got things going.”

Matt Cassel started the game for the Titans, but threw just one pass before being replaced by Alex Tanney on the second drive of the game. Tanney played the rest of the way for the Titans, who led 21-7 at the half.

Andrews scored on a four-yard touchdown run after Miami got on the scoreboard with a one-yard touchdown run by Daniel Thomas. Miami cut the lead to 21-10 on a third quarter field goal.

Rookie safety Kevin Byardrecorded an interception in the end zone to quash one Miami drive.

The Titans face a tough 24-48 hours coming up. By Saturday at 3 p.m., all clubs must be down to the regular-season limit of 53 players.

The regular season is on the horizon.

“I think the offense has been ready for the season,’’ tackle Taylor Lewan said. “We’re playing as a team. The chemistry has been better than ever. We have plenty of talent. We just have to keep playing physically.”

Remember, Thunder Radio is your exclusive home for Titans football in Coffee County.  Hear all of the action on your hometown station.

Following in the footsteps of Julio Teheran and Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz provided the Braves with another solid outing vs. the Padres on Thursday afternoon at Turner Field, helping lead his team to a 9-6 win and its first sweep of San Diego since May 2008.

The Braves’ offense provided plenty for Foltynewicz. After Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer in the third, Atlanta erupted for five runs in the fifth to knock Padres starter Jarred Cosart out of the game after allowing seven runs in 4 1/3 innings. No Padres starter was able to complete the fifth in the series.
“I just didn’t have a good feel for anything today, felt kind of locked up, pitches weren’t crisp,” Cosart said. “Mainly the offspeed pitches, [I] couldn’t get them down in the zone.”
The Padres were unable to get a runner on base through the first three innings, as Foltynewicz fanned three while throwing just 29 pitches. Travis Jankowski had the first hit against the righty with a leadoff single in the fourth, but he bounced back to record five straight flyouts.
Twelve of the 15 outs Foltynewicz recorded across six innings of work came in the air, but he also allowed a solo shot to Hector Sanchez in the fifth and a two-run homer to Wil Myers in the following inning.
“There were a couple bad pitches I left out over the zone, and you saw what happened there,” Foltynewicz said. “But other than that, my changeup was working real well for me today. My fastball didn’t have the life it usually does, but I got away with some stuff.”
The Padres rallied for three runs in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback. With the win, Atlanta registered its first sweep at Turner Field this season.
“It has a lot of meaning,” said Freeman about getting the sweep. “You want to win as many games as you can. Obviously, we’re not having the season we wanted to, but we’re trying to end strong. We’ve been doing that. We’ve been playing better baseball for the last couple of months, and we welcome those sweeps.”
After extending his on-base streak to 24 games with a walk in the first inning, Freeman’s homer two innings later marked his 10th during the streak. The first baseman has batted .361 (30-for-83) with 26 RBIs in that span, and his 34 extra-base hits since the beginning of July lead the National League.
It’s been a rough second half for Myers, but before Thursday’s game, the Padres’ All-Star first baseman spoke about his desire to “finish on a good note here in September.” He got off to the right kind of start, launching a two-run homer in the sixth — his first long ball since Aug. 13. More >
“I thought Wil turned the page in his third at-bat,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “I thought that was one of his better at-bats in a while. He really got in, competed and drove the ball out to left field. Then in his next at-bat, he singled up the middle, so those were good things to see from him.”
Twenty-five months after he last threw a pitch in the Majors, reliever Shae Simmons returned to the mound for Atlanta for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery 18 months ago. The right-hander entered the game in the top of the eighth and needed only nine pitches to set the Padres down in order. His fastball sat between 96-97 mph, and a contingent of his teammates greeted him at the dugout steps to congratulate him as he exited the field.
“[Simmons] was good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He had been away for a while, and when you get a guy like that, there’s never the perfect time to put him in the game. But right there was kind of as good as any, because we had six outs to cover and some guys who could have backed him up if something went wrong. I thought he did great for not being out on a Major League diamond for a while.”
Atlanta opens a three-game series vs. the Phillies on Friday night in Philadelphia with Joel De La Cruz on the mound. The 27-year-old rookie has seen his ERA rise from 3.41 to 4.66 over his past four starts and is still in pursuit of his first Major League win. This will mark the right-hander’s second start vs. the Phillies this year, as he allowed seven runs (four earned) across six innings in an 8-2 loss on July 4. First pitch is set for 6:05 CT.