The Coffee County CHS football team traveled to Maplewood on Friday night for their final non-region game of the year.  In a battle of defenses, the Red Raiders could not take advantage of great field position all night as they struggled with horrible weather conditions.  Maplewood got a pair of 2^nd half touchdowns to grab a rain-soaked 14 to 8 win over Coffee County. 

In a driving rain in the first half, Coffee County started all 5 of their drives in Maplewood territory but could only manage one touchdown on offense.  The Raiders moved to the 12 yard line on their 1^st drive before turning it over on downs.  On the 1^st offensive snap for Maplewood, the wet football squirted past the quarterback on the snap into the end zone where Collin Ward tackled the running back for the safety and a 2 to 0 lead.  Coffee County scored their lone touchdown on an 8 play drive that began at the Maplewood 11 yard line in the 2^nd quarter.  Matthew Pittman squeezed in on 4^th down from the 1 yard line for the score and the extra point attempt into the wind sailed wide to give Coffee County an 8 to 0 lead at the half. 

Maplewood got their 2 touchdowns in the 2^nd half thanks to a pair of big plays.  A jet sweep with 6:16 to go in the 3^rd period resulted in a 78 yard score for the Panthers, but the missed extra point made the score 8 to 6.  On the next drive, a 56 yard run gave Maplewood a 1^st and goal at the 1.  Coffee County held the Panthers out of the end zone until 4^th down before Alex Broome of Maplewood scored his 2^nd touchdown on an 8^th yard run .  The 2 point conversion was good as Maplewood took their only lead with 10 minutes to go in the game.  The Panther defense stifled Coffee County in the 4^th quarter and held on for the win. 

The Raiders were held to 145 yards of total offense in the game, including 67 yards in the 1^st half.  Pittman was the leading rusher for Coffee County as he carried the ball 20 times for 86 yards.  Marshall Haney had 12 carries for 39 yards.  Connor Shemwell was 3 of 14 passing in the miserable weather conditions for 20 yards.  For his heads up play on the safety, Collin Ward was named the Mid-Tenn Turf Most Valuable Player.   

The Red Raiders are on the road again next Friday as they travel to McMinnville to take on Warren County.  The game will kick off at 7 PM at Warren County Middle School.  Thunder Radio’s live coverage will begin with the Friday Night Thunder Pregame Show at 6 PM. 

Download the broadcast at: www.thunder1320.com/downloads

The College Street and Westwood elementary cross country teams raced on Saturday in the 2019 Chattanooga Cross Country State Qualifier Meet.  The College Street boys and girls teams each came home with a 5^th place team finish to qualify for the state meet in Knoxville on Saturday.  Five runners from Westwood also qualified based on their individual times. Additionally, Harlow Maychrzak of North Coffee Elementary qualified as she ran a time of 7:27.94 to finish in 24th place.

For the College Street girls, Jada Nagel was the top finisher as she broke the tape in 14^th place with a time of 7:08.57.  Other Lady Cougar runners with their time and finish position were: Sallona Dillard

For the boys, Jaxon Pruitt was the top finisher as he finished with a time of 6:53.95 which was good enough for 26^th place.  Other Cougar runners with their time and finish position were:  Riley Evans(7:03.45, 34^th place); Bryton Toombs(7:06.71, 40^th); Samuel Burch(7:18.20, 48^th); Jamie Ferguson(7:32.46, 59^th); Kayden Morris(7:47.95, 73^rd); Samuel Rogers(8:02.95, 78^th); Blane Ingle(8:10.70, 80^th); Ethan Hayes(8:15.95, 82^nd); Remington Cargile(8:33.03, 91^st); Bennett Sanders(8:43.80, 95^th); Cole Shedd(8:44.70, 96^th); Logan Mancino(8:47.47, 97^th); Aidan Hayes(8:50.21, 98^th); Brady Clem(8:50.72, 99^th); Niko Zou(8:54.78, 103^rd); and Aaden Mancino(9:08.21, 109^th);

For the Westwood boys, Ricardo Solorio was the top finisher in 22^nd place with a time of 6:47.46; Joel Poxtan was 61^st with a time of 7:34.97 and Levi Rossman came in 62^nd with a time of 7:35.71 as all 3 qualified for state as individuals.  Other Westwood boy runners were: Eli Henley(7:38.72, 68^th); Alex Dolack(7:54.72, 75^th); John Martinez(8:01.96, 76^th); Eduardo Poxton(8:02.70, 77^th); Dominick Campbell(8:19.72, 85^th); Gaiden Stinson(8:22.03, 86^th); Aaron James(8:54.20, 101^st); Oswaldo Moreno(10:01.54, 112^th) and Markus Walden(10:53.97, 113^th). 

For the Westwood girls, Bella VanZandbergen(7:52.09, 41^st) and Addison Frederick(7:56.09, 45^th) qualified for the state meet as individuals.  Other Westwood girl runners were: Chloe Smith(8:53.31, 82^nd); Lexxi VanZandbergen(9:01.56, 87^th); Kate Kennedy(9:11.56, 96^th); Elie Davenport(9:11.56, 97^th); Danica Fleenor(9:35.32, 98^th); Hayley Pope(9:36.57, 99^th); Carter Trail(9:50.32, 104^th); Kenzi Benedict(9:51.57, 105^th); Jean Waldon(10:14.32, 110^th); Alyssa Bowen(10:56.60, 113^th); Serena Selby(12:15.31, 118^th) and Summer Harrell(13:35.00, 119^th). 

The Tennessee State Elementary School Championships is hosted by Knoxville Youth Athletics at Victor Ashe Park.  The College Street and Westwood runners will all compete in the 1 mile race.  The girls’ race will start at 10:30 AM(EDT) on Saturday with the boys’ race scheduled for 10:50 AM(EDT) on Saturday.

Competing against a field of 56 middle school runners, Kailee Rossman of Westwood took part in the Chattanooga State Qualifier on Saturday.  Running as an independent, Rossman finished in 21^st place overall with a time of 14:38.06 on the 2 mile Moccasin Bend course.  That finish was good enough to qualify Kailee for Saturday’s Tennessee State Middle School Cross Country Championships.

Rossman will compete in the state meet on Saturday in Knoxville.  The Tennessee State Middle School Championships is hosted by Knoxville Youth Athletics at Victor Ashe Park.  Kailee will once again participate individually in a race that featured 306 runners in 2018.  The race will get underway at 1:00 PM EDT on Saturday.

The Coffee County CHS cross country team traveled to Dickson on Saturday to compete in the Mid State Cross Country Association Championship.  Over 500 runners descended on Buckner Park for the event featuring teams from all over middle Tennessee.  In their final tune-up before Saturday’s region championship, the Raider runners posted strong times on a chilly day in Dickson. 

For the Red Raiders, Jacob Rutledge led the way with a 35^th place finish posting a time 17:27.57 for the 5K course.  Garrett Masters posted a time of 19:13.94, Ethan Welch finishes in 19:42.78, Jacob Slabaugh ran a 20:17.84, Christian Alvarez came home in 20:23.79, Bodey Todd ran a 20:48.66 and Jacob Melton posted a time of 20:57.09 to help lead Coffee County to a 15^th place team finish. 

For the Lady Raiders, Patricia Barrera was the top finisher as she posted a time of 23:05.43 to capture 96^th place.  Other Lady Raiders runners were: Madison Rooker who ran a 25:02.27; Zoe Mills who posted a 25:14.71 and Haley Sherrill who ran a 28:22.53. 

The Raider thinclads are back in action on October 24^th when they compete in the TSSAA Region Meet.  That meet will be held at Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon.  The girls’ race is set for 9:30 AM with the boys to follow at 10:10 AM.