The Westwood Middle School basketball teams Welcomed conference foe Irving College to the Joel Vinson Gym on Thursday night.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Westwood teams grabbed a pair of big wins.  The Lady Rockets won 39 to 15 while the Rockets cruised to a 44 to 11 victory.

The Lady Rockets raced out to a 10 to 0 lead before Irving College could get on the scoreboard with 5:22 left in the 1^st half.  Westwood’s defense forced 20 turnovers in the game.  The Lady Rockets were led in scoring by Princess Penaloza who had 12 points.  Leonor Moreno added 10 points and Remi Benjamin chipped in 8 as the Lady Rockets improved to 12 and 0 overall and 9 and 0 in conference play. 

The Rockets roared out to a 10 to 0 lead in the 1^st 3 minutes and a 20 point lead at the end of the 1^st quarter.  Coach Will Pannell sat down his starters after the 1^st quarter with 3 of them not returning in the game against the outmatched Tigers.  Ten different Rockets scored in the game as many of the Westwood 6^th graders played nearly the entire 2^nd half.  Jayden Carter led Westwood in scoring as he netted 16 points in about 5 minutes of action.  The win improves Westwood to 10 and 2 overall and 8 and 1 in conference play. 

The Rockets and Lady Rockets will take off for the Christmas holidays as each enters the break in 1^st place in the conference.  The Westwood teams are back in action on Tuesday, January 7^th as they travel to take on Morrison.  Tip-off is scheduled for the girls’ game is 6 PM. 

Download the broadcast at: www.ThunderRadio.com/Downloads

The Red Raider basketball team of Coffee County CHS opened up play in the Red Raider Christmas Classic on Thursday night.  After a scheduling dispute, the Red Raiders ended up playing a pair of games on the night.  Taking on Knowledge Academy of Nashville in the opener, the Raiders claimed a 71 to 38 win.  In the nightcap, Coffee County fell to Glencliff by a final score of 72 to 68. 

In the opener, the Red Raiders started strong as they built a 37 to 15 halftime lead.  Coach Micah Williams used all 11 of his available players on the night and all 11 scored in the game.  Jaylen Wooten was the leading scorer as he finished with 12 points.  Hayden Hullett added 11 points and Jaxon Vaughn finished with 8 points. 

Against Glencliff, the Red Raiders led by 3 entering the 4^th quarter before the visiting Colts rallied for the win.  Glencliff rolled up 24 points in the 4^th quarter, thanks in part to a trio of 3 point baskets.  Coffee County was 6 for 12 at the free throw line in the 4^th quarter and 11 of 20 in the game in the heartbreaking loss.  Jaxon Vaughn was the leading scorer for the Red Raiders as he had 21 points.  Jaylon Wooten added 14 points and C.J. Anthony chipped in 12. 

Coach Micah Williams was attempting to rework the schedule at press time. 

Revised schedule for the Red Raider Christmas Classic:

Friday 12/20:
3:30 Glencliff vs. Knowledge Academy
4:45 Smyrna vs. Knowledge Academy

THERE WILL BE NO GAMES ON SATURDAY!!

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams welcomed White County to the CCMS gym on Thursday night for a conference doubleheader.  The Lady Raiders closed out a contentious 4^th quarter to get a 45 to 34 win.  The Red Raiders held off a late Warrior rally to grab a 38 to 31 win. 

Leading by 1 point with 4 minutes to play, the Lady Raiders closed out the game on a 16 to 6 run to grab a crucial conference win and avenge a loss to the Warriorettes in Sparta in November.  Olivia Vinson led Coffee County in scoring as she had 17 points including 13 made free throws in the 4^th quarter.  Taylor Anthony added 13 points.  The win gives the Lady Raiders a record of 12 and 4 overall and 9 and 3 in conference play going into the holiday break. 

The Red Raiders held a 5 point lead going into the 4^th quarter before White County rallied to cut the lead to 1 point.  Coffee County held off the charge and pulled away late to gain a season sweep over the Warriors.  Cooper Reed led the Red Raiders in scoring with 15 points.  Ethan Hargrove added 12 points and Jackson Shemwell finished with 6 points.  The Red Raiders will go into the holiday break with an overall record of 11 and 3 and 10 and 2 in conference play.   

The Raider teams will return to action on January 2^nd when they travel to Woodbury to take on Cannon County.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Tipoff is set for 6 PM, Josh Peterson will have the pregame show beginning at 5:50

Marcus Hogberg won his NHL first game when Anthony Duclair scored 2:40 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Duclair one-timed a pass from Thomas Chabot on the power play for his 20th goal of the season, tying his NHL career high set in 201-16 with the Arizona Coyotes.

Rocco Grimaldi, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi each scored in the third period, and Juuse Saros made 19 saves for the Predators (16-12-6).

Craig Smith scored with a backhand to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 11:16 of the first.

Tkachuk scored a power-play goal with a wrist shot off the right post to make it 4-1 at 1:20 of the third. Grimaldi got the Predators within 4-2 15 seconds later at 1:35.

Ryan Ellis’ pass deflected in off Johansen’s skate on the power play at 9:39. Josi went end-to-end, deked Senators defenseman Cody Goloubef and beat Hogberg with a backhand to tie it 4-4 at 13:07.

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team will host their annual Red Raider Christmas Tournament beginning on Thursday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. The Red Raiders will welcome 4 teams for the 3 day tournament which begins on Thursday night. Seven games will take place over the 3 day tournament. Coffee County will play a pair of games beginning on Thursday night at 6:30 PM as they take on Knowledge Academy. They finish the tournament on Saturday taking on Providence Christian Academy at 1:30 PM. Saturday’s game will be broadcast here on Thunder Radio. We will begin live pregame coverage at 1:20 on Saturday with the tip-off at 1:30.

The Titans have signed kicker Greg Joseph to the team’s 53-man roster while placing veteran Ryan Succop on Injured Reserve, ending his 2019 season.

Joseph, who had been on the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers, played in 14 games with the Cleveland Browns last season and he hit 17-of-20 field goal attempts, including 11 for 11 inside of 40 yards and one from plus-50 yards. He also hit 25-of-29 extra point attempts. Joseph also had 47 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs.

Succop finished the season 1-of-6 on his field goal attempts, and he had a kick blocked in the team’s game against the Texans on Sunday. Succop made 24 of his 25 extra point attempts this season.

Succop handled field goals and extra points for the Titans since being activated from Injured Reserve before the team’s November 3 contest against the Panthers. The Titans waived kicker Ryan Santoso, who handled kickoffs for the team in games against the Raiders, Colts and Texans, on Tuesday.

Joseph will handle field goals and kickoffs for the Titans.

Also on Wednesday, the Titans signed linebacker Nigel Harris to the team’s active roster. The Titans also added receiver Trevion Thompson to their practice squad.

The 6-foot, 210-pound Joseph, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, initially signed as an undrafted free agent with Miami (5/11/18), but was waived by the Dolphins on 9/1/18. He signed as a free agent with Cleveland a few weeks later before eventually being waived by Cleveland this past August. He was signed to Carolina’s practice squad on 11/25/19.

In college, Joseph spent four seasons at Florida Atlantic, and he finished his career hitting 165-of-170 extra point attempts (97.1 percent) and 57-of-82 field goal attempts (69.5 percent). He attended American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Florida.

Harris (6-2, 225) joined the Titans practice squad last season and was added to the active roster for the final two games. This year Harris again was added to the practice squad in October. In 2017, the University of South Florida product saw action in eight total games as a rookie (with Chargers, Giants and Buccaneers) and totaled nine tackles and three special teams stops.

Thompson (6-2, 205) signed with the Los Angeles Chargers following this year’s NFL Draft. He was injured during offseason workouts and was waived-injured by the Chargers. He spent time on the Buccaneers practice squad earlier this year. In 57 games at Clemson, Thompson recorded 53 receptions for 506 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans face the Saints on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.