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CHS Soccer Team Falls on Senior Night
2019 CHS Soccer Seniors
The Coffee County CHS soccer team played host to Central Magnet on Thursday for Senior Night. Taking on a strong Lady Tigers team in a non-district match, the Lady Raiders suffered their first loss in more than a month. Coffee County fell by a final score of 3 to 2.
The Lady Tigers got on the board first in 15th minute when they drilled a free kick just under the crossbar to take a 1 to 0 lead. They added a 2nd goal in the 18th minute on another high shot. Katie Cotten drilled a shot off the post in the 20th minute as the Coffee County offense began to gain some rhythm. Maddy Jones got the Lady Raiders on the board in the 28th minute as she redirected a Reyna Flores corner kick into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 1 going into the half.
Central Magnet got a goal 13 minutes into the 2nd half as they completed a long through pass to give their forward a one on one against Coffee County keeper Lucy Riddle. 10 minutes later, Madison Rooker made a great individual play to cut the deficit to 3 to 2 in the 63rd minute. The Lady Raiders had several other scoring opportunities down the stretch but could not notch the equalizer.
The Lady Raiders will take off for Fall Break before returning to action on Thursday, October 10th. The Lady Raiders will travel to Murfreesboro for a non-district match with Siegel. The match will be the final match of the regular season and will kick-off at 7 PM.
CHS Volleyball Grabs Pair of Wins at Warren County
The Coffee County CHS volleyball team traveled to McMinnville on Thursday for a 3 way matchup at Warren County High School. The Lady Raiders got a pair of wins over the host Lady Pioneers of Warren County and the Lady Lions of Covenant Academy. Coffee County beat Warren County in 3 sets and swept Covenant Academy in 2 sets.
Coffee County will host their final home match of the year on Monday when they have a rematch with Warren County. They will also recognize the seniors before the match for Senior Night. Opening serve is set for 6 PM.
CHS Golf Closes Out Regular Season with 5 Team Match at Bear Trace
Chase Hancock of CHS golf
The Coffee County CHS golf team traveled to Bear Trace on Thursday for their final match of the regular season. Facing off against district foes Lawrence County, Franklin County, Marshall County and Lincoln County, the Raiders and Lady Raiders got an early look at the Bear Trace course that will host the district and region tournament.
The Red Raiders shot a team score of 373 to finish in 4th place in the 18 hole match. The Red Raiders were led by Chase Hancock who shot an 84. Logan Hale scored an 86, Chris Robinson fired a 94, Caleb Jarrell finished with a 109 and Avery Hill carded a 118. The Lady Raiders ended the match with a score of 247. They were led by Cadie Prater who shot a 123. Maggie Crouch was 1 stroke back at 124.
The Raider linksters will be back in action on Monday when they compete at the district tournament at Bear Trace. That tournament will get underway at 9 AM. Coach Mike Ray will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday morning from 10 to 11 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.
CCMS Volleyball Season Comes to Close
The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team traveled to Warren County on Thursday for a semifinal match-up in the CTC Postseason Tournament. The Lady Raiders fought hard, but came up short in the match-up with Warren County. The Lady Raiders fell by set scores of 20-25 and 20-25.
“We got beat, but (we) fought so hard” said Lady Raider coach Tori Taylor speaking about her team’s performance. Coffee County finished the season with a record of 11 and 6 and finished the regular season and the tournament in 3rd place.
Community holds vigil for teenager after suicide; authorities say investigation remains open
A Coffee County Central High School student committed suicide late Sunday night. And now the community is mourning and searching for answers.
Channing Smith was a 16-year old student and, according to his brother – Joshua Smith – Channing took his life after other students turned personal screen shot messages over to social media to attempt to “assassinate Channing’s character” because he was gay. Those reported screenshots outed Channing’s sexual orientation.
Thunder Radio spoke to Coffee County Sheriff’s Department investigator James Sherrill. According to Sherrill, screenshots of text messages were posted on social media. Sherrill reiterated the investigation is open and that the department is awaiting the results of digital forensics and will present its findings to the District Attorney’s office at a later date. Sherrill said that multiple students have been interviewed.
On Thursday, a few hundred people gathered, including students, community leaders and concerned citizens for a vigil and singing at Fred Deadman Park. Channing’s mom addressed all of those in attendance.
“What happened to him should never have happened,” Channing’s mom stated. “I’ll tell your right here and now. You guys need to be a little bit more aware about what you’re posting, how you’re posting it and why you’re posting it. Just because you think it’s cute, or funny to make someone embarrassed or humiliated … think again. Because if someone would have realized that, my son would not be dead. And for the people responsible: I just hope you feel the same pain we do.”
Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott released the following statement on Thursday:
“I, like the rest of the community, am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the young life of Channing Smith. I express my heartfelt condolences to his family. My office has encouraged, cooperated in and supported the investigation into the events leading to this death. Ethically, I am prohibited from commenting on an open investigation or prosecution. However, procedurally, no charging decisions have been made by my office nor has the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department asked for a decision since the investigation has not been completed. When all relevant facts are available, my office will advise the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department on what charges, if any, we believe are appropriate to help guide it in that decision. Any report that my office has failed or refused to act is inaccurate and I wanted to clarify this for the sake of the Smith family as they do not need the added burden to the already incomprehensible pain that they are experiencing. I would ask for the everyone to extend their prayers for the family and to respect their privacy as this process moves forward.”
Unemployment continues to drop across state, county
Unemployment rates for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties dropped during August 2019 according to data released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
Unemployment is now less than 5 percent in 89 of the state’s counties. The August rates in six counties currently sit at 5 percent or greater.
“Many counties saw unemployment decrease by more than a percentage point in August, while several dropped by two percentage points,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord. “To see lower rates in every county across the state is always a positive sign coming out of the summer months.”
Sevier and Williamson counties had Tennessee’s lowest unemployment in August with a rate of 2.5 percent. Williamson County’s rate dropped by 0.7 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month, while Sevier County decreased by 0.8 of a percentage point.
At 2.6 percent, Davidson and Cheatham counties had the next lowest rates in the state. When compared to July, Davidson County saw a decrease of 0.6 of a percentage point and Cheatham County experienced a 0.7 of a percentage point drop in unemployment.
Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, Maury, Robertson, and Smith are the remaining counties that have the 10 lowest unemployment rates for August.
Clay County recorded the state’s highest August unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, but that represents a 1.9 percent drop from July’s rate. At 6 percent, Hancock County has the second highest rate which is 2.1 percent lower than the previous month’s statistic.
In Coffee County, the rate sits at 3.3%, which is down from 3.5% last year in this month.
Coffee County officially in moderate drought
You have probably noticed that your grass is a little brown and crunchy. The National Weather Service has officially placed most all of Coffee County in a moderate drought status.
In fact, about 75% of the state is considered in a moderate drought as no significant rainfall has been gauged in the past month. The forecast doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon, with temperatures in the 90s expected this weekend into Monday.
Coffee County CHS Volleyball Sweeps Eagleville; Crowns New Career Leader in Aces
Amanda Mukai -CHS volleyball
The Coffee County CHS volleyball team welcomed Eagleville to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Wednesday for a game in front of the student body. In a season of phenomenal performances, Amanda Mukai became the 2nd Lady Raider in as many weeks to set a new career record. In the process, Coffee County swept Eagleville in straight sets 25-8, 25-20 and 25-23.
Mukai led the Lady Raiders in aces with 5 to become the career leader in service aces for the Coffee County program. Mukai finished the match with 193 aces in her career passing Cameron Davis who owned the previous record with 189. Kiya Ferrell added 3 aces as Coffee County finished with 12. The Lady Raiders also got an amazing 30 kills as they finished the match with a strong hitting percentage of 27.8%. Keelie Hillis led Coffee County in kills with 9. Keri Munn added 8 kills while Ferrell finished with 6. Munn led the team in blocks with 4 while Mukai also led the team in assists with 17. Ferrell was the team leader in digs with 8 while Abigail Parker and Sarah West each had 6.
The Lady Raiders are back in action on Thursday when they travel to McMinnville to take on Warren County. Opening serve is set for 4:30 PM. Coach Andrew Taylor will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday morning from 10 to 11 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.
Coffee County Cross Country Race League Meet Scheduled for Thursday
The Coffee County Elementary Cross Country League will hold their 3rd race of the season on Thursday afternoon in Manchester. The league is made up of 2 elementary schools in Tullahoma, both Manchester City School system elementary schools and all 6 elementary schools in the Coffee County School system.
Thursday’s 1 mile race will be held at the Manchester Soccer Park located on McMinnville Hwy directly across the street from J&G Pizza and Steak House. The boys’ race will start at 4 PM with the girls’ race to follow. The race is hosted by the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department.
Thursday Prep Schedule
Thursday Prep Schedule
1:00 PM – CHS Golf vs. Franklin Co/Columbia/Lincoln Co at Bear Trace
4:00 PM – Elementary Cross Country Race League at Manchester Soccer Park
4:30 PM – CHS Volleyball at Warren County
5:30 PM – CCMS Volleyball at Warren Co – CTC Tournament
6:00 PM – CHS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Murfreesboro Central