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1/4/20 — Naomi Fay Simmons
Mrs. Naomi Fay Simmons, 91, passed away Friday
December 28, 2019 at McArthur Manor in Manchester. She was born in Beech
Grove, Tennessee on June 20, 1928 to Joshua Belle Fletcher and Lula Pearl
McCullough Fletcher who preceded her in death along with her husband, Doyle
Kelso Simmons; son, Terry P. Simmons; sister, Camelia Rooker; brothers,
J.B. Fletcher Jr. and Johnson Fletcher.
She was a member of the Bible Methodist Church. She was employed by Star
Union and retired from Edens Pajama Factory.
She is survived by her daughter, Dianne and her husband Steve Parks of
Hillsboro, Tennessee; grandchildren, Chris (Kristen) Simmons, Kerrie
(Keith) Pippenger, Kelsie (Bradley) Adams, Jennifer Simmons and Lindsey
(Matt) Puia; 9 great grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Frances Simmons and
Thula Fletcher; several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be 1:00 PM Saturday January 4, 2020 in the Central
Funeral Home chapel with Minister, Tom Watkins officiating with burial to
follow in the Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. Visitation: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Friday at Central Funeral Home, Manchester, Tennessee.
12/31/19 — Gary France Allen
Allen, Gary France, of Lynchburg, passed this life on Saturday, December 28th, 2019 at Saint Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro at the age of 77. Mr. Allen was born in Shelbyville to the late James R. and Sara E. Grooms Allen. He served his country proudly in the United States Army during the Vietnam Era and went on to work as a driver for UPS. Mr. Allen was also a member of Smith Chapel United Methodist Church in Moore County. Some of his fondest memories in his adult life came from being the Bulldogs Coach in the Frank Mullins Youth Football League. Any former players are invited to attend the funeral service and act as honorary pallbearers. In addition to his parents, Mr. Allen was preceded in death by his brother, Tommy Allen; and one daughter, Michelle Hamlin. He is survived by his wife, Theda Allen; one daughter, Marsha Allen Hedge; son-in-law, Sean Hamlin; grandson, Drake Cook and his wife Brittany; three great-grandchildren, Trinity, Linda and Zander; one sister, Gail Mason; one brother, Donald Glen Allen and his wife Cathy; and a host of nieces and nephews. Visitation for Mr. Allen will be held on Monday, December 30th, 2019 at Kilgore Funeral Home from 5:00-8:00pm. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 at 1:00pm at Smith Chapel United Methodist Church, 87 Smith Chapel Drive, Shelbyville, Tennessee 37388 with Bro. Chris Harris officiating. Burial will follow at Smith Chapel Cemetery. For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Gary Allen Memorial Fund at the Jack Daniels Employee Credit Union, 488 Majors Boulevard, Lynchburg, Tennessee 37352. Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Coffee County Lady Raider Basketball Ends Roadtrip with Dominant Win
The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team closed out their 2 day trip to west Tennessee in grand fashion on Saturday. Taking on First Assembly Christian School out of Cordova, the Lady Raiders held the Crusaders to a pair of field goals in a 66 to 8 win.
The Lady Raiders scored in double digits in all 4 quarters to grab their 13th win of the year. The Lady Raiders rolled out to a 17 to 2 lead after 1 quarter and a 35 to 5 lead at the half as they held FACS to 3 free throws in the 2nd period. In the 2nd half, Coffee County held the Memphis ladies to a single 3 point basket as Coach Joe Pat Cope emptied his bench.
Ellie Graham led Coffee County in scoring with 16 points. Bella Vinson added 10 points in limited minutes. Marley Perry added 8 points off the bench as 12 different Coffee County players scored in the game.
The Lady Raiders return home on Friday when they will play host to Warren County in the first game of the non-district doubleheader with the boys. The girls’ game is set to tip off at 6 PM. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast. We begin our live coverage with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50.
Westwood Lady Eagle Basketball Team Wins Tournament Championship on Sunday
The Westwood Lady Eagles basketball team fought and clawed their way to the tournament title of the Motlow Shootout on Sunday. The Lady Eagles capped off a 3 and 0 weekeend with a win over Decherd in the finals. Westwood captured the title with a 21 to 10 victory.
The Lady Eagles were cold early in the title game getting a pair of free throws to take a 2 to 0 lead after 3 minutes. After the Lady Allstars of Decherd tied the game, Jules Ferrell hit a running jumper on the baseline and was fouled. After sinking the ensuing foul shot, Westwood dominated the remainder of the half taking a 10 to 2 lead into intermission. Westwood held Decherd to a pair of free throws for the first 16 minutes of the 2nd half to build a 17 to 4 lead and put the game away.
Ferrell led Westwood in scoring as she had 15 points. Reece Finch and Paisley Dyer each added 3 points for the Lady Eagles. Westwood finishes the season with a record of 13 and 0.
College Street Cougar Basketball Team Grabs 3rd Place Finish in Motlow Shootout
After suffering their 1st loss in 6 seasons on Saturday, the College Street Cougar basketball team bounced back on Sunday in the Motlow Shootout. Taking on a scrappy North Lake Leopard team, the Cougars fought and clawed their way to a 34 to 15 win in a true cat fight. The win gives the College Street cagers a final season record of 12 and 1 and a 3rd place finish in the 3 day tournament.
College Street got off to a hot start as they raced out to an 8 to 0 lead in the first 11 minutes. North Lake finally solved the full court press to cut the lead to 10 to 5 with just under 6 minutes remaining in the 1st half. But the Cougars closed out the half on a 9 to 1 run. In the 2nd half, College Street built the lead to 28 to 9 before emptying the bench.
Gabe Hamby was the leading scorer for College Street as he finished with 13 points. Matthew White added 7 points. Riley Evans finished the game with 5 points as 6 different Cougars scored in the game.
Titans Punch Playoff Ticket with 35-14 Win Over Texans
The Tennessee Titans punched their ticket into the postseason in Houston on Sunday with 35-14 win over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
The Titans will travel to Foxborough next weekend to face the New England Patriots in the first round of the playoffs.
It will be the franchise’s second playoff appearance in three seasons. In 2017, the Titans beat the Chiefs in the playoff’s first round before being knocked out of the postseason with a loss to the Patriots.
With the win, the Titans finished the season with a 9-7 mark.
Running back Derrick Henry ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries in the contest and won the NFL’s rushing title in the process. Henry finished the regular season with 1,540 yards while playing in 15 games. Henry eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the sixth time this season in the contest.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who helped turn around Tennessee’s season, turned in yet another solid performance. Since Tannehill stepped in at Week 7, the Titans posted a 7-3 mark.
Also, receiver A.J. Brown went over the 1,000-yard mark for receiving yards in his rookie season.
It all added up to a big win for the Titans, who entered the day with a win-and-in playoff scenario.
Up 14-7 at halftime, the Titans took the opening drive of the second half and produced a 78-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a three-yard touchdown run by Henry. It was a big drive that featured all runs, including seven from Henry.
After the Texans answered back with a long scoring drive of their own, cutting the lead to 21-14 with 1:09 left in the third quarter on a one-yard by quarterback AJ McCarron, who started in place of regular Texans starter Deshaun Watson, the Titans stepped up again.
Henry finished off a five-play 75-yard scoring drive with another one-yard score, which was set up by a 47-yard pass from quarterback Tannehill to Brown, who made a remarkable catch at the one-yard line to set up the score to make it 28-14.
Then, a 53-yard touchdown run by Henry with 2:54 remaining in the game set off a celebration on the Tennessee sideline, and in the stands. It sparked chants of “Henry, Henry, Henry.”
The Titans fell down early before rallying.
The Titans took a 14-7 in the second quarter that ended with a one-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to tight end MyCole Pruitt and included a lot.
On the 16-play, 90-yard drive,. Brown went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season – on a 24-yard completion from quarterback Marcus Mariota, who entered the game for one play.
The Titans jumped on the scoreboard on their first possession on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to Brown, who caught the ball and outraced defenders to the end zone to tie the game.
It was a big early answer – it came less than two minutes after the Texans jumped out to a 7-0 lead early on a one-yard touchdown run by Duke Johnson, which capped off a 15-play, 75-yard drive.
By finishing with a 9-7 mark, the team finished with a winning record for the fourth season in a row.
12/28/19 — Brenda Elaine Rigsby
Miss Brenda Elaine Rigsby, age 74, passed away on December 25, 2019 at St Thomas Rutherford Hospital following an extended illness. She was born in McMinnville, TN on August 27, 1945. She was preceded in death by her parents, Grace and Marlin Rigsby. Miss Rigsby is survived by cousins Glenda Bagsby, Dale Lorance (Jennifer), Marsha Milan, and Gary Bryant (Gail) and their children and grandchildren, and by devoted friend Mary Emilane McLemore and her children and grandsons. Miss Rigsby taught Junior High in Manchester, TN and Senior High in Orlando, Florida for many years and genuinely loved and was loved by her students. She was also employed several years at AEDC in Tullahoma, TN. She will be remembered by her family and many friends as thoughtful, generous, kind, and caring. She was a person who lived her faith; she attended Center Point Pentecostal Church in Murfreesboro, TN and she cherished her church family. Services for Miss Rigsby will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at the Manchester Funeral Home with visitation from 12:00-2:00 followed by the funeral service at 2:00. Officiating will be Pastor Kevin Allen, Bishop Phil DePriest, and friend, Rick Spann. Burial will take place at 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 29, 2019, at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens in Tullahoma. Pallbearers will be James Bagsby, Tim Lorance, Tony Lorance, Dale Lorance, Gary Bryant, and Jon McLemore.
Manchester Funeral Home is honored to serve the Rigsby family.
www.manchesterfuneralhome.com
Predators Stage Comeback Before Penguins Ultimately Sweep Home-and-Home
The Nashville Predators recovered from a rough start to tie the game at 4-4 in the third period, but a controversial series of events delivered a late, third power-play goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a 6-4 win.
The final game of 2019 is a difficult one to accept. On the one hand, the Predators allowed three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game. But they also scored three unanswered to even the score as they dominated the play for the majority of the third.
Mikael Granlund scored twice, including the game-tying tally and his 100th career goal in the final period, but the Penguins won it late. A goaltender interference call on Austin Watson led to a Pittsburgh power play, and Jake Guentzel jammed the puck in for the game-winner.
“Terrible start by us,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “In the first [period], we didn’t show up… I thought we played a lot better in the second and third period, and that’s how we have to play for for 60 minutes or you’re not going to win.”
“Not a good start,” Granlund said. “In the second period, we started playing the way we can play… We found a way to get back to the game, but that’s obviously a tough ending there.”
The second half of the back-to-back games couldn’t have started much worse for the Preds, as they gave up two goals in the first 1:05 of the game. Pittsburgh made it 3-0 when they scored on a power play midway through the opening frame, and for the second straight night, the Preds made a goalie change with Pekka Rinne coming in for Juuse Saros.
“That’s on us – we weren’t very good in front of them,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of his goaltenders. “It’s not the position that you want to be in, but that’s the position that we’re in. We needed to play better to start the game.”
In the second, and with the Penguins leading 3-0, Viktor Arvidsson converted on the man advantage to give the Preds some life, and after the Penguins went up by three once more, Craig Smith cut the deficit to two again.
Arvidsson puts home PPG
00:39 • December 28, 2019
Then, with less than a minute to play in the middle frame, Granlund found a loose puck in the slot and put it past Matt Murray to bring his club to within one after 40 minutes.
In the final frame, Granlund found a loose puck again and barely got it to cross the line to push to tie the game at 4-4. But, with less than two minutes to play, Watson was called for goaltender interference, and Guentzel scored on the ensuing power play.
The Penguins added an empty-netter before the night was done to leave the Predators frustrated once more.
“It’s always disappointing,” Josi said. “This team has a lot of character, and everybody wants to win, but we need to figure it out, and I think everybody in here is tired of answering the same questions.
“There’s just a lot of things we need to do to better. We can play a lot better in front of our goaltenders, and we’ve been hanging our goaltenders out to dry the last two nights. That just can’t happen, so we’ve got to make sure we correct all that.”
Notes:
Preds Captain Roman Josi tallied three assists to extend his career-high point streak to seven games.
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators placed forward Colton Sissons on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis also missed Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury.
The Predators recalled forward Yakov Trenin from Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. Trenin did not dress against the Penguins.
Defenseman Jarred Tinordi played his first game as a member of the Predators.
Saturday marked the final game for the Predators in the 2019 calendar year. Next, it’s on to Dallas and the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day at the Cotton Bowl.
Manchester Elementary Basketball Teams Split Saturday Semifinals
Saturday was semifinal day for a pair of Manchester elementary school teams at the Motlow Shootout at Motlow’s Moore County Campus. The Lady Eagles of Westwood fought off a tough Broadview team to grab a 14 to 10 win and advance to the title game. The Cougars of College Street suffered their first loss of the year in a 28 to 17 defeat to Farrar Elementary of Tullahoma and will play in Sunday’s consolation.
In the girls’ game, it was a battle of Eagles as Westwood and Broadview did battle in a nip and tuck contest for the entire game. Tied at 10 with 3 minutes remaining, Jules Ferrell hit a layup to put Westwood on top of the Eagles from Winchester. Ferrell put the icing on the cake by hitting a pair of free throws to give the Manchester Eagles their 12th win of the year. Ferrell led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 9 points. Reece Finch chipped in 5.
In the boys’ game, College Street had no answers for the height advantage of the Frogs from Farrar. The Cougars trailed early before rallying to cut the deficit to 11 to 9 at the half. In the 2nd half, the Cougars made it a 1 point game before Farrar stopped the rally and pulled away to get the win. College Street was led in scoring by Gabe Hamby who had 6 points. Matthew White chipped in 4 points for the Cougars.
Westwood will advance to Sunday’s championship game as they are set to take on Decherd. That game will tip off at 5 PM. College Street will hit the court at 4 PM in the consolation game against North Lake from Franklin County. Both games will be held at Motlow’s Nesbitt Center on the Moore County campus.
Coffee County Lady Raiders Grab Tournament Win in West Tennessee on Friday
The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team traveled to West Tennessee on Friday for a 2 day trip to Fayette County. The Lady Raiders opened the 2 day tournament on Friday with a 61 to 51 win over Bartlett.
After suffering a stunning loss on Thursday, Coffee County bounced back to grab the Friday win. After falling behind in the 1st quarter, the Lady Raiders rallied to take a 4 point lead into the half. Coffee County held off a 2nd half rally from the Panthers and closed out strong as they finished with 23 points in the 4th quarter.
Coffee County was led in scoring by Bella Vinson who had 18 points. Jenna Garretson added 15 points while Jalie Ruehling added 11 points. The win improves the Lady Raiders season record to 12 and 3.
Coffee County will conclude their road trip on Saturday as they close out the 2nd day of tournament action at Fayette Academy in Somerville. Coffee County will take on First Assembly Christian School at noon.