Garrett Eldridge of CHS Basketball(Photo by Jay Bailey – Manchester Times)

The Micah Williams Era as head basketball coach of the Coffee County Red Raiders began successfully on Tuesday night with a 61 to 53 win over Huntland at the Joe Frank Patch Gym.  The Red Raiders trailed for a brief 15 second window early in the 1^st quarter as they played mistake free basketball on the night.  The Raiders committed just 10 turnovers on the night while playing aggressively on defense and offense.  Coffee County went to the free throw line 32 times converting 21 of those opportunities.  Garrett Eldridge led the Raiders in scoring with 20 points to earn the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game honors.  Junior transfer LeAundre Graham added 12 points, all of them coming in the 2^nd half.

Holli Smithson of CHS Basketball(Photo by Jay Bailey – Manchester Times)

The Lady Raiders were not as fortunate as turnovers and missed foul shots spoiled Coffee County’s chances for the upset of the talented Lady Hornets.  Coffee County outscored Huntland in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters but a 19 to 2 second quarter for the visitors dropped Coffee County 57 to 43.  Alliyah Williams was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the game as she led Coffee County in scoring with 10 points.  Holli Smithson added 8 points despite missing most of the 2^nd half due to foul trouble.  Five freshman played significant minutes for Coffee County highlighted by Abby Morgan who had 5 points for the Lady Raiders.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will travel to Huntland on Tuesday for the rematch.  The Red Raiders will be in action next on Thursday night as they travel to Smyrna for a boys only game with the Bulldogs.  That game will begin at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast beginning with the Powers Storage/Char El Apartments Pregame Show at 5:50.

Download the Podcast HERE

Trailing by 4 points after the 1st quarter, the 6th grade Westwood Lady Rockets basketball team roared back to claim a 14 to 7 win over Harris on Tuesday night at the Joel Vinson Gym. Westwood used an 8 point outburst in the 4th quarter to seal the win and earn the Lady Rockets their 3rd straight victory. Westwood was led in scoring by Haidyn Campbell who had 7 points. Alex Nelson added 6 points for the Lady Rockets.

Eight different Rocket players scored in the boys’ game as Westwood demolished the Eagles 37 to 6. Westwood held Harris scoreless in the 4th quarter as the Rockets earned a season sweep over the Eagles. Trenton Thompson led Westwood in scoring with 7 points while Austin Simpkins and John Dobson each added 6 points.

The Westwood 6th graders have a break before they travel to East Tullahoma on Tuesday, December 1st for a doubleheader beginning at 6 PM.

Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators post-game report by Pete Weber

Pekka Rinne

Pekka Rinne stopped 38 shots as the Nashville Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a 3-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Preds won the season series with the Ducks, going 2-1-0 against their Western Conference foe.
Tuesday’s contest wrapped up a five-game stretch in Music City that saw the Preds go 3-1-1, including tallying 18 goals over their last four games.
Anaheim outshot Nashville 40 to 21 on the evening but thanks to a few goals and some timely saves from Rinne, the Preds earned their 11th victory of the season.
“It’s a huge two points,” Rinne said. “It doesn’t matter how we [do it], I think at this point after the game you’re always happy if you get the two points.”
The Preds scored first for the 12th time this season, courtesy of a Shea Weber power-play goal on this occasion. Weber’s sixth tally of the campaign came off a Roman Josi feed, the 100th assist of Josi’s career.
Anaheim countered just over a minute later on a Rickard Rakell wraparound that slid under the pad of Rinne, butJames Neal put the Preds back up 2-1 at the 13:13 mark of the opening frame. Neal’s ninth of the season came on a wrist shot from outside the blue line that fooled Frederik Andersen and slid through his legs, extending Neal’s point streak to four games in the process.
Miikka Salomaki gave the Preds a two-goal lead with a masterful tip of Mattias Ekholm’s shot from the left wall at 6:13 of the second period. It was Salomaki’s first marker of the season and the second of his NHL career.
Former Preds forward Mike Santorelli crashed the crease early in the third and poked home a loose puck to pull Anaheim to within one, but Rinne and the Nashville defense kept the Ducks off the board for the rest of the night. In addition to Rinne’s 38 stops, the Preds blocked 23 shots, led by four from Josi.
“Tonight we found a way to win behind our goaltender,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We battled, we blocked shots, we fought, we competed, we hit; it wasn’t a typical game for us, but we still found a way to win.”
With the five games in Nashville complete, the Preds now head out on the road for a five-game trip through Thanksgiving, a stretch that will bring its own sets of challenges.
“We’ve got five games on the road in a short amount of time too, so it’s going to be a tough road trip with some travel,” forward Mike Fisher said. “We’ve got to be solid and be sharper and be sharper than we were tonight for sure.”
Tuesday wasn’t the first time Pekka Rinne has turned in a stellar performance in his career, but his 38 saves against the Ducks helped to ensure Nashville earned two more points, and he was impressive in doing so.
“He was rock solid tonight and gave us an opportunity to win a game,” Laviolette said. “He was sharp, he saw a lot of pucks, he got down in the crease and tied up a lot of rebounds and he was really good.”
Perhaps Rinne’s most jaw-dropping sequence of the night came in the second period when Carl Hagelin was in alone on a breakaway. Rinne turned aside the first opportunity, followed by a dive to his right to fight off a rebound attempt as well. With a little help from defenseman Ryan Ellis, the chance was thwarted, keeping the Preds in front.
“You just try to be ready for anything, and I was happy to make that save and then the rebound,”
Rinne said of the play. “It was a team effort at that point, but a key moment of the game for sure.”
Rinne has now allowed two goals or less in 10 of his 15 appearances this season, and although his teammates would prefer that Rinne not have to be so spectacular throughout the game, they certainly appreciate what he does in the blue paint.
“It was all him tonight,” Fisher said of his netminder. “He was unbelievable on breakaways and odd-man rushes and he bailed us out for sure. It wasn’t our prettiest game by any means and it was all him.”
The Predators are now 11-3-3 on the season, including a 3-1-1 mark during their five-game home stand. Nashville remains undefeated in regulation at 6-0-1 when being outshot.
Nashville will hit the road beginning Friday as they travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Friday night. Minnesota is next on Saturday, followed by stops in New York to face the Rangers and Buffalo and finally Philadelphia before returning home on Nov. 28 to host the Sabres. As always, Thunder Radio is your home for all Nashville Predators broadcasts