The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to Woodbury on Thursday night to take on Cannon County.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series, Coffee County came home with a split on the night.  The Lady Raiders needed overtime to get a 26 to 24 win.  The Red Raiders saw their 7 game winning streak come to a close as they fell 25 to 24.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders went on an 8-0 run in the 3^rd quarter to build a 3 point lead entering the 4^th quarter.  After a back and forth 4^th quarter, Cannon County nailed a 3 point basket with 10 seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.  In the overtime, Taylor Anthony had the lone points from the free throw line for the Lady Raiders to get the win.  Coffee Middle was led in scoring by Anthony who had 8 points.  Bella Lawson added 6 points while Channah Gannon, Olivia Vinson and Samantha Kirby each finished with 4 points. 

In the boys’ game, the Lions hit a 3 point basket with 10 seconds to go to take their only lead of the 4^th quarter and stun the Red Raiders.  After Coffee County went on a 9 to 0 run in the 2^nd half, they built a 23 to 19 lead midway thru the 4^th quarter.  The Red Raiders had some costly turnovers in the 2^nd half as they lost for the first time since November 18^th.  Jackson Shemwell and Ethan Hargrove led the Raiders in scoring as each had 6 points.  Cooper Reed and Evan Kirby both finished with 4 points. 

Coffee Middle will travel to Tullahoma on Monday night as they begin the final week of the regular season.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders will visit West Middle School for a conference doubleheader.  Tip off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM. 

Download the broadcast at: www.thuder1320.com/downloads

The Coffee County CHS freshmen basketball teams welcomed Lincoln County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Thursday night.  The Lady Raiders had an ice cold 2^nd half as they fell 33 to 20.  The Red Raiders saw a 2^nd half rally come up short as they fell 49 to 40.

Tied at 10 at the half in the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders saw Lincoln County open the 2^nd half on a 10 to 2 run to seize control of the game.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Kennedy Norman-Young who had 8 points.  Nia Sheffield finished with 6 points and Maggie Crouch added 4 points. 

In the boys’ game, Coffee County trailed by 15 points midway through the 3^rd period before mounting a comeback.  The Raiders cut the deficit to 3 points with 5:30 left in the game before falling 49 to 40.  Hayden Collins led the Raiders in scoring with 25 points.  Ryan Graveley added 6 points for the freshmen Raiders. 

The freshmen will welcome White County to “The Patch” on Thursday, January 9^th.  Tip off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM. 

As 2019 has come to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the girls’ basketball teams at Coffee County CHS, Coffee County Middle and Westwood Middle schools. 

The Coffee County CHS basketball team advanced to the 2^nd round of the region tournament with an overtime win over Stewarts Creek in February.  Thunder Radio was on hand to bring you the broadcast and reported on the win in a story we published on February 26^th.

Hosting a region quarterfinal basketball game for the 2nd consecutive season, the Lady Raider of CHS welcomed Stewarts Creek to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Monday.   Looking for their first region win since 2012, Coffee County saw Stewarts Creek rally in the 4th quarter to force overtime.  The Lady Raiders needed a come from behind rally in overtime to get the 59 to 55 win.

After a back and forth first half, Coffee County outscored The Red Hawks 8 to 4 in the final 3 minutes of the first half to take a 6 point lead into the half.  The Lady Raiders stayed hot as they pushed the lead to 14 points in the 3rd quarter behind 4 baskets from behind the 3 point line.  Stewarts Creek opened the 4th quarter on a 10 to 2 run to cut the deficit to 2 with 4 minutes left.  Coffee County built the lead to 7 only to see Stewarts Creek take the lead at 51 to 50 with 1 minute remaining.  Abby Morgan hit a free throw in the final minute and the Coffee County defense made a huge stop in the finals 15 seconds to send the game to an extra period.  In overtime, Morgan scored 6 points to give Coffee County the huge win as Coffee County remained unbeaten at home on the year.

Morgan led all scorers as she finished with 25 points, including 13 in the 4th quarter and overtime.  For her heroics, Morgan was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Bella Vinson had 13 points including 2 big free throws in overtime.  Jacey Vaughn and Ellie Graham each played spectacular on the night and each finished with 8 points.  The win improves the Lady Raiders to 28 and 4 on the season.

The Lady Raiders will be back in action on Tuesday night at Riverdale as they take on the number 1 team in the state, Riverdale, in the semifinals.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM.  That game will be broadcast by our partner station WGNS of Murfreesboro.  You can listen to WGNS online at www.WGNSRadio.com. 

Download the broadcast at: http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/stewarts-creek-at-coffee-county-girls-basketball_141396

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team qualified for the sectional tournament and got a first round win over Oakland.  Thunder Radio brought you the story of the win in a story we brought to you on January 29^th.

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team opened play in the TMSAA Section 2 tournament on Monday night at Stewarts Creek.  Hoping to advance to the inaugural TMSAA State Tournament in February, the Lady Raiders squared off against Oakland Middle School.  A huge 4th quarter rally lifted Coffee Middle to a 32 to 26 win and a berth in the Sectional semifinals.

Trailing 22 to 16 entering the 4th quarter, the Lady Raiders got busy.  Coffee Middle went 10 of 13 at the free throw line and held Oakland to 4 points in the final frame to stun the Lady Chargers.  Alivia Reel led Coffee County in scoring with 13 points, including 8 points in the final quarter.  Chloe Gannon finished with 8 points as she was 2 for 2 at the free throw line in the final period.  Maggie Crouch and Olivia Vinson each poured in 4 points.

The win advances the Lady Raiders to Wednesday night’s semifinals where they will take on White County.  Tip-off is set for 4:30 PM at Stewarts Creek Middle School.

The Westwood Lady Rocket basketball team rides a perfect 12 and 0 record into 2020.  The Lady Rockets got the year started off with a bang with a championship in the Morrison Ruritan Preseason Tournament.   Thunder Radio brought you the recap of the championship  game win in a story we published on October 28^th. 

The Westwood basketball teams traveled to Morrison on Friday night for the final night of the Morrison Ruritan Preseason Tournament.  The Lady Rockets continued their tournament dominance with a 36 to 18 win over Morrison.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Rockets held Morrison to 5 first half points with their man to man defense allowing them to build an 18 point halftime lead.  Westwood stretched that lead to 24 points going into the 4th quarter as they rolled to the championship win.  Bryleigh Gray had four 3 point baskets to lead the Lady Rockets in scoring as she finished with 12 points.  Keena Seivers added 8 points while Leonor Moreno netted 7 points for Westwood. Gray, Moreno and Princess Penaloza were all named to the All-Tournament team from Westwood.   Keena Seivers was selected as the tournament Most Valuable Player. 

As 2019 has come to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the boys’ basketball teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County Middle, Westwood Middle and Temple Baptist Christian schools. 

The Coffee County CHS basketball team earned a region berth in 2019 and hosted a region tournament game for the first time since 2006.  The Red Raiders advanced to the district tournament finals with a hard fought win over Lawrence County.  Thunder Radio was on hand to bring you the broadcast and reported on the win in a story we published on February 16^th.

Trying to get their 3rd win of the season over Lawrence County, the Coffee County Red Raiders squared off against the Wildcats on their home floor on Friday night.  With a home region tournament game as the reward to the winner, the 2 teams battled from the tip-off to the final horn in the District 8AAA tournament semifinals.  In the end, Coffee County rose to the occasion in the 4th quarter to get the 50 to 44 win and advance to Saturday’s District championship game.

After ending the 1st quarter tied at 8, the Red Raiders nudged ahead by 3 points at the half and stretched that lead to 7 points heading to the 4th quarter.  Lawrence County responded to close the gap to 2 points with 5 minutes left in the game on a pair of 3 pointers.  From that point, Coffee County was able to knock down just enough field goals and free throws to hold off the upset-minded Wildcats.

Darius Rozier was the leading scorer for Coffee County as he finished with 14 points, including 5 clutch free throws in the 2nd half.  Kyle Farless added 12 points, with 8 of those points coming in the second half.  Chase Simpkins and Harley Hinshaw each added 8 points with Simpkins getting 6 second half points and Hinshaw netting 5.  For their efforts, Rozier, Farless, Simpkins and Hinshaw were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.   The win improves Coffee County to 19 and 5 on the season and guarantees them a home game in the first round of the region tournament next week.

The Red Raiders will advance to Saturday’s championship game where they will take on Columbia.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM at Lawrence County High School.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 6:50.

The Lady Raiders will also play in Saturday’s girls’ championship game where they will take on Tullahoma.  Tip-off is set for 3:30 PM at Lawrence County High School.  Thunder Radio will bring you all the action beginning with the Powers Storage pregame show at 3:20.

Download the broadcast at: www.Thunder1320.com/downloads

The Coffee County Middle School boys’ basketball team enters 2020 on a 7 game winning streak and has won 9 of their last 10 games.  One of the highlights of the impressive start was a road win for the Red Raiders at White County.  Thunder Radio brought you the story of the win in a story we brought to you on November 15^th.

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to Sparta on Thursday night for a conference doubleheader with White County.  The Lady Raiders fell behind early as they fell 37 to 30.  The Red Raiders shut down the Warriors in the 4th quarter to grab a 31 to 25 win.

In the boys game, the Red Raiders trailed by 1 at the half before pulling ahead in the 3rd quarter before holding White County to a single free throw in the final 6 minutes.  The Red Raiders showed off their balanced scoring attack as Jackson Shemwell, Ethan Hargrove and Brendan Sheppard each netted 8 points.  Evan Kirby tacked on 4 points for Coffee Middle. 

The Raiders and Lady Raiders return home on Monday night as they welcome West Tullahoma to the CCMS gym.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The pregame show begins at 5:50, tip-off is set for 6:00.

The Westwood Rocket basketball team is also in the midst of a winning streak.  The Rockets are 8 and 1 in conference play and opened the season with a 3^rd place finish in the preseason tournament.  Thunder Radio brought you the recap of the consolation game win in a story we published on October 28^th. 

The Westwood basketball teams traveled to Morrison on Friday night for the final night of the Morrison Ruritan Preseason Tournament.  The Rockets shook off their jitters from Thursday night to get a 37 to 18 win over Dibrell in the tournament’s consolation game. 

In the boys game, the Rockets held Dibrell scoreless in the 3rd quarter to push a 9 point halftime lead to 17 points entering the 4th quarter.  Jayden Carter led Westwood in scoring as he finished with 12 points.  Jaiden Warren added 10 points and Caiden Warren netted 9 points.  Caiden Warren and Jayden Carter were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team saw the graduation of their all-time leading scorer in 2019 in Cody Swayze.  Swayze helped lead the Eagles to a 2^nd place finish in their season-ending tournament.  Thunder Radio brought you the recap in a story we published on February 18^th. 

The Eagles of Temple Baptist Christian School closed out their season in Saturday at home in their very own Eagle Invitational.  Temple finished the tournament with a record 4 and 2 with both losses coming at the hands of tournament champion Victory Baptist Academy of Shelbyville.

The Eagles went 3 and 1 in pool play as they opened play on Friday with a 49 to 34 win over Faith Christian of Jamestown.  Cody Swayze led the Eagles in scoring with 32 points as Alex Gloden added 11.  . They followed up with a loss to Victory 60 to 45.  Swayze scored 29 in the loss while Gloden once again scored 11.  The Eagles closed out Friday with a 46 to 32 win over Philadelphia Christian.  Swayze scored 32 points in the win while Gloden finished with 10 points.

On Saturday, Temple opened with a 44 to 30 win over Dogwood Christian to advance to the title game.  Swayze paced the Eagles in scoring with 27 points while Mich Gloden added 9.  In the title game with Victory, foul trouble prevented the Eagles from the revenge win.  Victory pulled away late in a 76 to 53 win.  Swayze poured in 37 points while Mich Gloden added 8.

The Eagles ended the season with a record of 11 and 8.  Senior Cody Swayze ends his career as Temple’s all-time leading scorer as he finished his career with 2,197 points for his JV(middle school) and varsity(high school) career.

As 2019 has come to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the swim teams at Coffee County CHS, Coffee County Middle and Westwood Middle schools.

Becky Behrendorff took over the reins of the prep swim programs for the 2018 and 2019 season and immediately saw an increase in numbers, especially in the middle school division.  For the first time ever, Westwood and Coffee County Middle fielded separate teams after competing together in recent years. 

Twelve different middle school swimmers competed at the regional swim meet in January.  Thunder Radio reported on the region meet with a story we published on January 28^th. 

On Saturday, the Westwood Middle and Coffee County Middle swim teams competed in the MTHSSA Middle School Region Meet in Nashville.

For Coffee County, the girls’ 200 freestyle relay team captured an 11^th place finish with a time of 2:08.48.  The girls’ 200 medley relay team finished in 13^th place in a time of 2:23.24, bettering their seeding time by 0.78 seconds.   The 200 freestyle relay team came in 25^th place with a time of 2:25.17.  In individual races,

• Emily Williams captured 6^th place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:11.32 which was more than 2 seconds better than her season best time she recorded in the preliminaries.  Emily also touched the wall in 1:21.66 in the finals of the 100 breaststroke to claim 13^th
• Clancy Sand finished 12^th in the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 28.41 and 26^th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:23.35.
• Elli Masters swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.25 and swam the 100 backstroke in a time of 1:25.98.
• Patrice Driggers swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 36.51.
• Michael Floyd swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.19.
• Riley Bellamy swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.87 and the 100 freestyle in a season best time of 1:15.08.
• Emily Snider swam the 100 freestyle in a season best time of 1:16.46.
• Taylor Wall swam the 500 freestyle in a season best time of 7:03.35 to finish in 23^rd place and finished the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:37.32

For Westwood, the girls’ 200 medley relay team finished in a time of 2:42.50.   In individual races,

• Nick Bogle grabbed a 3^rd place finish in the 100 butterfly as he posted a race time of 56.27. Bogle also finished 5^th in the 200 IM as he bettered his preliminary time by 5 seconds to cover the distance in 2:08.88.
• Abby Gilday cut more than 5 seconds off her 200 freestyle time as she finished in 2:30.20 and she swam the 50 freestyle in 32.63
• Elsie Lazalier trimmed her season best time in the 200 freestyle as she swam the distance in 2:35.20. Lazalier also posted a season best time in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:34.94 which was over a 4 second improvement from her previous best.
• Cale Hays swam the 50 freestyle in 37.81

The regional meet ends the prep season for the middle school swimmers.

The high school team sent 4 members to the state meet in Nashville in February.  Thunder Radio reported on the state meet in a story we brought to you on February 11^th. 

Four members of the Coffee County CHS swim team competed on Friday and Saturday in the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association state meet.  The Raider swimmers got a pair of Top 20 finishes and 2 new personal bests in the 2 day event in Nashville.

Jack Beachboard had the highest Raider finish as he captured a 13th place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke with a new personal best time of 59.44.  Beachboard also grabbed a 26th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:50.11.

Kaylee Williams swam a personal best time of 1:08.75 in a swim-off for the 100 yard breaststroke.  Williams finished the event with a 13th place finish.  Williams also finished in 44th place in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:20.95.

Jase Rice had a 42nd place finish in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:13.02.  Anna O’Connor swam a time of 1:08.48 in the 100 yard butterfly to finish in 72nd place.

Four unanswered goals for the Stars erased a 2-0 lead for the Nashville Predators and bestowed a 4-2 victory to Dallas in the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl.

The loss on New Year’s Day was difficult to stomach for the Predators. They appreciated the experience and significance of playing in the NHL’s premier regular-season event, but to fall in game with such pomp and circumstance – and one in which they held a multi-goal lead – left the group deeply disappointed in the final result.

“This game, it didn’t feel like just a regular-season game, it felt like something bigger,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “I feel like it just makes it a little bit worse, makes it sting a little bit more than any other game.”

“It was a playoff type of game,” Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “[In the third period], it’s not good enough letting three goals in a big game, and it’s disappointing.”

The outdoor game began with a scary start, as defenseman Ryan Ellis left the game following an elbow to the head from Stars forward Corey Perry. Nashville received a 5-minute power play from the hit, and the Stars took a delay of game penalty to give the Predators a 5-on-3. Matt Duchene tallied on the two-man advantage to give the Preds a 1-0 lead, and just moments later, Dante Fabbro made it 2-0 with another power-play goal.

Rinne denied the Stars on a penalty shot midway through the first to keep it at 2-0, and that score held through nearly two-thirds of the game. But late in the second, the Stars finally solved Rinne with a power-play goal of their own. In the final frame, Dallas scored three times in the opening 6:35, and although the Preds had a surge in the second half of the frame, they couldn’t find a way to put another puck in the net.

“The second period, I think, is when the game changed and we stopped going after it,” Duchene said. “We got two goals, and we sat back a little bit maybe trying to just prevent more than attack. What made us good in the first is we attacked… I thought the third [period] was 50-50 [in chances], but we didn’t start doing it until it was 4-2, so it’s disappointing.”

Despite the result, the spectacle of the day wasn’t lost on the participants. More than 20,000 of the 85,630 fans in attendance – the second-highest total in NHL Winter Classic history – came from Nashville, and the support was felt from start to finish.

Unfortunately, that’s what makes the final tally even tougher to handle.

“It was such an experience playing out there, and it was so cool having all these people here from Nashville,” Rinne said. “You could hear them, and it was a blast. It was awesome, and it’s an experience you’ll remember. I feel like that’s why it hurts a little bit more. You want to make this a special game, and it was nonetheless. Even though we lost, it was special.”

“The National Hockey League did an unbelievable job putting on this event,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re very fortunate to be a part of it. Hockey down in Texas, a couple of Southern teams going the way we did, it was an incredible day. You want the score to go in a different direction, but overall the atmosphere was excellent.”

The first game of the decade is part of a larger road trip for the Predators, and now that the vintage attire has been packed away, they’ll head west to California in search of wins in Los Angeles and Anaheim this week.

The outcome outdoors leaves an empty feeling, but Nashville has no choice but to embrace what’s ahead as the year 2020 arrives.

“At the end of the day, whether we lost at home or we lost here at American Airlines Center, it’s the same thing in the standings,” Duchene said. “We can’t we can’t bury ourselves here. We have to stay positive and keep pushing. We have games in hand on a lot of teams, and we have some ground to make up, but we’ve got over half a season to do it.

“We’re going to shake this one off. We’ve got a couple days and get ready for L.A. and then Anaheim back-to-back, and those have to be wins for us.”

Notes:

Ryan Ellis left Wednesday’s game and did not return with an upper-body injury.

Preds Captain Roman Josi assisted on both of Nashville’s power-play goals in the first period to extend his career-high point streak to eight games. He also became the first defenseman in Preds history to reach the 40-point mark in fewer than 40 games.

The temperature at puck drop was 55 degrees fahrenheit, making this the warmest Winter Classic in NHL history.

The Winter Classic now complete, the Predators will head out to California for a weekend set against the Kings and Ducks on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, before returning home for a single game against the Bruins on Tuesday.