The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team opens play in the TMSAA Sectional Tournament on Tuesday night at Stewarts Creek Middle School.  The Lady Raiders will take on Rockvale in the 8:30 game on Tuesday night.  The Red Raiders will open up tournament action on Wednesday at 4:30 PM as they take on Blackman Middle. 

Thunder Radio will be on hand on Wednesday to bring you the broadcast of the boys’ game as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Josh Peterson will be on the call beginning with the pregame show at 4:20.  The sectional tournament concludes on Friday with the sectional tournament champions advancing to the state tournament. 

Mikael Granlund scored in the first period, and Viktor Arvidsson tallied late, but it wasn’t enough, as the Nashville Predators returned from the bye week with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The result left the Preds frustrated with their efforts in the second period in particular, especially considering a quality start and a late push to try for the tie.

“We just got away from the identity that we want to play with [in the second period],” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “When you narrow the game down it really comes down to that second period, and we’ve got to dissect that. We’ve got to talk to the guys about it, and see why we came out and played the way we did in the first period, and then, [have an understanding of] where we went in the second period. We’ve got to do a better job understanding that you’re not always going to have the lead, and you’ve got to have pushback in games. [We need] a little bit more mental fortitude and consistency in what we’re doing and consistency throughout our lineup.”

William Nylander gave the visitors a 1-0 lead early in the contest, but less than a minute later, Mikael Granlund answered for the Predators with his ninth of the season, as he went short side on Frederik Andersen.

Zach Hyman put Toronto up by one again before the opening period was out, and the Maple Leafs added two more in the second stanza that left the Predators searching for answers.

“The first [period] was good, and then our second [period], we don’t play well, they score one or two and it just kind of keeps going from there,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We’ve got to find a way to get out of it after they score a goal. That next shift has got to be going our way. There’s going to be times when they have the puck, that momentum – that’s normal… You’ve got to find a way to get out of it… As a team, we’ve got to do a way better job of coming back and changing momentum to our way.”

Arvidsson slid the puck into the net with roughly seven minutes to play in regulation to bring the Predators back within two, but even with a late push, Nashville was unable to find the twine again before the Maple Leafs iced it with an empty-netter.

“We have to win games, and we need to play way better,” Granlund said. “We’re going to play this kind of game where we play 20 good minutes, but that’s not going to be enough. We have to do it better, the way we play. That has to change. We’re not going to win hockey games otherwise.”

Nashville will head back on the road for a back-to-back set, and it starts Wednesday in Washington (at 6:30 p.m. CT), a formidable foe.

One game into the final 10 weeks of the regular season, the challenge still remains for the Predators to find a way to climb back into a playoff spot. But the group can’t look at the entire road map. The next game comes again the Capitals, and the Preds need to find a way to correct the issues that arose Monday night.

“There’s different things that present teams positively and negatively every year; and right now, our biggest task from the coaches to the players is finding a way where we can put multiple games together, put full games together,” Hynes said. “It’s on everybody – the coaches and the players, and I think that’s what our challenge is. The good thing is we know what the challenge is. It’s not like you’re at a dartboard. I think we know exactly what we have to take care of, and that’s part of what our challenge is as a group. That’s what we have to overcome.”

Notes:

Forward Colton Sissons skated with the team on Sunday and Monday morning, but he remains on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury.

The Predators are headed to the Nation’s Capital to start a back-to-back set. Nashville will face the Caps on Wednesday (at 6:30 p.m.) before travelling to New Jersey to meet the Devils on Thursday (at 6:30 p.m.).

The Coffee County CHS basketball team traveled to Columbia on Friday for a district doubleheader with Columbia.  The Lady Raiders grabbed their 20^th victory of the season with a 62 to 44 win over the Lady Lions.  The Red Raiders played a near perfect 2^nd half to get a 57 to 46 victory and the district sweep.

In the girls’ game, Coffee County opened up a 16 point lead going into the halftime break and pushed the lead 22 with 6 minutes left in the game.  Bella Vinson was Coffee County’s leading scorer as she netted 27 points to be named the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game.  Jenna Garretson added 14 points and freshman post player Chloe Gannon finished with 8 points off the bench.  The win keeps the Lady Raiders in 1^st place in the district with a 7 and 0 record in league games and a 20 and 3 mark overall.

In the boys’ game, Coffee County carried a 1 point lead into the half and outscored the Lions 18 to 9 in the 3^rd period to own a 10 point advantage entering the final period.  The Red Raiders held off a pair of furious rallies in the 4^th quarter as Columbia got the deficit to 6 points on 2 different occasions.  C.J. Anthony led the Red Raiders in scoring as he had 12 points to be named the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game.  Jaxon Vaughn chipped in 11 points and Jaylon Wooten knocked down 10 points, including 3 clutch free throws in the 4^th quarter.  The win improves the Raiders district mark to 6 and 0 as they sit atop the district standings. Coffee COunty improved to 15 and 6 with the huge road win.

The Raider teams return home on Tuesday night.  Coffee County will play host to Lincoln County at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Thunder Radio will be on hand, as always, to bring you all the action.  Tip off for the girls’ game is 6 PM; we begin our exclusive live coverage with the Powers Storage pregame show at 5:50. 

Download the broadcasts at: https://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Westwood basketball teams concluded play in the Warren County Elementary League postseason tournament on Saturday.  The Rockets ended the season with a one point loss to Morrison 23 to 22.  The Lady Rockets completed their perfect season with a 49 to 26 win over Morrison. 

The Lady Rockets capped off a 17 and 0 season with a dominating win over the Lady Tigers of Morrison.  Westwood got off to a slow start trailing 9 to 4 after 1 quarter of play.  The Lady Rockets cranked up their defense holding Morrison to 1 free throw as they outscored the Lady Tigers 14 to 1.  Westwood poured in 33 points in the 2^nd half to roll to the big win.  Bryleigh Gray led Westwood in scoring with 13 points.  Princess Penaloza finished with 9 points as both Gray and Penaloza got all their points in the 2^nd half.  Allie Sullivan netted 8 points and Leonor Moreno scored 7 for Westwood.  After the game, Moreno was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.  Gray and Penaloza were named to the all-tournament team.  The Lady Rockets finish the season as the preseason tournament champions, the regular season conference champions and the postseason tournament champions. 

After leading 12 to 9 at the half, the Rockets saw Morrison tie the game in the 3^rd quarter.  The Rockets missed 4 free throws in the 4^th quarter as they dropped their 2^nd straight 1 point loss.  Jayden Carter led the Rockets in scoring with 6 points.  Caiden Warren added 5 points and Cayden Trail chipped in 4.  The Rockets finished the season with a record of 13 and 4 and the regular season conference title.  Carter and Warren were named to the all-tournament team. 

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams competed on Saturday in the finals on the TMSAA Area 6 tournament at CCMS.  Thunder Radio was on hand to bring you all the action as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series. The Lady Raiders fell in their title game matchup with White County 41 to 30.  The Red Raiders dominated the 2^nd half against Whitthorne of Columbia as they won 48 to 38. 

In the girls’ game, Coffee County got on the board first with a free throw in the first 30 seconds.  White County went on an 8 to 2 run to seize a lead they would not surrender.  The Lady Raiders made runs in the opening minute of both the 3^rd and 4^th quarter but could never get any closer than 10 points in the 2^nd half.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Olivia Vinson who had 12 points.  Taylor Anthony netted 10 points for the Lady Raiders as their record to fell to 19 and 6 on the year. 

In the boys’ game, the Red Raiders opened the 2^nd half on a 13 to 3 run in large part to forcing turnovers and owning the an advantage in rebounding.  Coffee County outrebounded Whitthorne 20 to 11 for the game while forcing 15 turnovers.  The Red Raiders pushed their advantage to 16 points in the 4^th quarter to get the win and improve their season record to 18 and 5.  Ethan Hargrove led Coffee Middle in scoring as he had 22 points.  Brendan Sheppard added 10 points and Copper Reed netted 8 for the Raiders. 

Both Raider teams will advance to the TMSAA Sectional Tournament this week in Smyrna.  The Lady Raiders will take on Rockvale on Tuesday night at 8:30 PM.  The Red Raiders will be in action on Wednesday at 4:30 PM as they take on Blackman.  Both games will be held at Stewarts Creek Middle School in Smyrna. 

Download the broadcasts at: https://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County Lady Raider wrestling traveled to Lebanon on Saturday to compete in the Middle Tennessee Wrestling Officials Association Grand Championship at Wilson Central.  Competing against squads from more than 100 schools, the 4 member Lady Raider team came home with a 23^rd place team finish. 

Alanna Coker was the top finisher for the Lady Raiders as she grabbed a 2^nd place finish in her division.  Coker got 3 pinfall wins and a major decision win to advance to the championship match.  In the title match, Coker battled for 5 minutes and 4 seconds before falling in title match. 

Mary Wolfrun finished in 4^th place in her division.  She finished the day with a record of 4 and 2.  Wolfrum won her first match via a forfeit before falling via a pin in the 2^nd round.  Wolfrum got an amazing 3 straight pinfall wins to advance to the 3^rd place match.   In the medal match, Wolfrum fell in another 2^nd round pin to grab the 4^th place medal. 

Lyra Leftwich was 3 and 2 on the day in her division.  Leftwich grabbed pins in all 3 of her wins before being eliminated one match short of the medal round.   Mary Anne Walker was 2 and 2 on the day and fell one match short of the medal round.  Walker earned a bye and a pin in her 2 victories.

The Temple Baptist Christian School Eagles welcomed Shenandoah Baptist Academy to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Friday night for Senior Night.  The JV team grabbed their first win on the year 29 to 11.  The varsity team completed the Senior Night sweep with a 33 to 28 win to honor senior Mich Gloden.

In the JV game, the Eagles avenged a 2 point loss from December in the victory over their rivals from Cleveland.  After building a 5 point lead in the 1^st half, the JV Eagles outscored the Lions 15 to 0 in the 3^rd period to coast to the win.  Sam Floyd led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points, including 6 points in the penultimate 3^rd quarter.  Isaac Stewart added 5 points with all of those coming in the 3^rd quarter.  Nathan Baker and David Tran each finished with 4 points for Temple. 

In the varsity game, the Eagles held the visiting Lions scoreless in the 1^st quarter as they rolled to a 19 to 7 halftime lead.  In the second half, Temple hit 6 of their 9 free throws to hold off the Shenandoah rally and capture the win.  Alex Gloden was the leading scorer for Temple as he netted 12 points.  Sam Floyd poured in 12 points and the Eagles lone senior finished with 7 points 4 rebounds and a pair of steals. 

The Eagles will close out the season on February 7^th and 8^th as they host their annual Eagles Basketball Tournament at Temple.  Thunder Radio will bring you that tournament schedule next week.