CHS Lady Raider basketball team with their championship hardware on Saturday

Entering Saturday’s Coffee County Classic final day, both of the Coffee County CHS basketball teams entered play unbeaten in the 3 day tournament as each matched with Oakland.  The Red Raiders got off to a rocky start before falling 50 to 31.  The Lady Raiders rallied from a 9 point deficit to claim a 61 to 52 win.

In the boys’ game, Coffee County got a 3 point shot to fall in their first possession before going ice cold over the next 9 minutes to fall behind 17 to 3.  Trailing 29 to 10 at the half, the Red Raiders mounted a comeback in the 3^rd quarter as they opened the half on a 7-0 run.  Coffee County trimmed the deficit to 10 points only to see Oakland close strong for the win.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Darius Rozier who had 12 points, Kyle Farless added 8 points and Andrew Mahaffey scored 5.

The girls’ game was a back and forth battle in the first half as the 2 teams went to the locker room tied at 30 at the half.  In the 3^rd quarter, Oakland’s defense held the Lady Raiders to 3 points to take a 9 point lead into the final 8 minutes.  The Lady Raiders exploded on a 15 to 5 run in the first 3 and a half minutes of the 4^th quarter to take their first lead of the second half at 48 to 47.  Coffee County’s Abby Morgan and Bella Vinson answered the call in the 4^th period as Morgan scored 12 and Vinson added 11 points in the decisive period.  Morgan finished with 23 points to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Vinson and Ellie Graham finished with 11 points and Jacey Vaughn added 10 points.  After the game, Ellie Graham, Jenna Garretson, Kiya Ferrell, Jacey Vaughn and Bella Vinson were named to the All-Tournament team and Abby Morgan was named the tournament’s Most Valuable player.  The win improves the Lady Raiders to 15 and 0 on the season.

The Lady Raiders will next be in action on Thursday as they begin play in the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational.   The Lady Raiders will take on Tampa Bay Tech on Thursday at 1:30 PM at Seffner Christian Academy.  The tournament concludes on Saturday.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders return to regular season play on January the 3^rd at Warren County.

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

By Jim Wyatt – TitansOnline.com

Win, and they’re in.

Well, not yet.

But it’s getting close.

On Saturday, the Titans did their part once again with a 25-16 win over the Washington Redskins. It was a nail-biter for the Titans and their fans, as they had to rally to get it.

The win gave the Titans (9-6) their fourth straight victory. Now, the team needs a loss by the Steelers (who face the Saints tomorrow) to cause the Titans vs. Colts game to be a win-and-in playoff scenario next Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

“We’ve just taken it one game at a time, and that’s all we can do,” said Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler, who sealed the game with an interception return for a touchdown on the game’s final play. “We’ve gotten the job done so far, but there’s work to do. We know our work is not finished.”

With the win, the Titans guaranteed themselves a winning record for the third straight season. It’s the first time that’s happened in the “Titans era.”

Titans safety Kevin Byard said the team won’t let up.

“There’s no time to relax right now,” Byard said. “I feel like the playoffs started for us a while back, and every single week we have to flush the game before and keep it moving. It’s a survive-and-advance mentality, and we’re surviving now and playing hard.”

The Titans lost quarterback Marcus Mariota to an injury late in the first half. Mariota suffered a stinger, and did not return.

Back-up quarterback Blaine Gabbert stepped in and proved to be a hero.

Gabbert guided a seven-play, 75 yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt to give the Titans a 19-16 lead with 4:30 left. Running back Derrick Henry was big on the go-ahead drive, ripping off 30 yards of runs to put the Titans inside the Redskins’ five.

Byard made a critical interception with 1:17 left, before Butler sealed the game with a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired.

“I’m really proud of (Blaine),” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Gabbert. “I’m really proud of the entire team because they stuck together.”

The Titans announced Mariota’s injury as a stinger. Mariota was injured after being sacked on a first-and-10 play from the Redskins 14. Trainers examined Mariota on the field, and he headed to the locker room prior to the half.

Mariota completed 10-of-13 passes for 110 yards before leaving the contest.

Gabbert finished the contest 7-of-11 for 101 yards and a touchdown, with a 123.7 rating.

“Blaine stepped up,” Henry, who ran for 84 yards and a touchdown, said of Gabbert. “He was very smooth. Blaine has that attitude, and he has that killer instinct. Nothing scares him – he doesn’t shy away from anything. He goes out there like he’s the starter. When one man goes down, you have to step up and that’s what he did.”

Gabbert, who has completed 43-of-72 passes (59.7 percent) for 461 yards with an 80.3 rating this season, said he was happy to do his part.

“It was, “Just go win the game,” Gabbert said of his mindset when he entered the contest. “It was a fun win, and it’s always fun to win big games, and just go out there and play with the guys. You work hard day in and day out, and sometimes you don’t get the chance to play.

“So whenever I am out there I just try to make the most of the opportunity and have fun. I’m just glad we were able to pull it out and win the game.”

After the Redskins took a 3-0 lead on their opening possession on a 50-yard field goal by kicker Dustin Hopkins, the Titans took an early 6-3 lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Henry, which capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive that included a big third down run by Mariota, and completions to Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor.

The Redskins reclaimed the lead on seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Johnson to receiver Michael Floyd, which made it 10-6 with 4:28 left in the second quarter before the Titans cut the lead to 10-9 at the end of the first half on a 42-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop.

After the Redskins stretched the lead back to 13-9 with 4:57 left in the third quarter on another field goal by Hopkins, the Titans answered back with a 60-yard drive, and another Succop field goal, to make it 13-12 with 14:55 left in the contest. The Redskins added another field goal to make it 16-12 with 8:09 left.

Then came the big drive, which gave the Titans the lead.

Now, the Titans will sit back and find out just how big next Sunday’s game against the Colts will be at Nissan Stadium.

“That’s our mentality — survive and advance,” Taylor said. “You know, this is our playoffs right here. Lose and you go home. So we are taking it one game at a time.

“It is going to be fun celebrating this win tonight. Unfortunately, we have to put it behind us and get ready for the Colts.”

The Christmas break couldn’t have arrived soon enough.

A 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday sent the Nashville Predators limping into the holiday period, a reprieve they’ve likely had circled on the calendar for a while now with not one, not two, but four key players now on Injured Reserve.

The result sees the Preds go winless in their four-game road trip as their record away from home stands at 0-8-2 in their last 10 outings.

At times on Saturday, Nashville played the way they’re capable of skating, putting shot after shot on the Boston net. But, between penalties taken and mistakes made, they ended up on the wrong side of the ledger once more.

“We played well enough to win a game, we made enough mistakes to lose a hockey game,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “Right now, where we’re at, especially on the road, it’s about those one or two or three extra things in the course of a game that we could clean up that we’re in control of and we could be better, so it wasn’t a lack of effort. Our guys competed hard today, but it’s a mistake here, it’s a penalty that we shouldn’t take there, it’s execution of a penalty kill or shift 5-on-5, it’s little things and that’s what they say it takes to win on the road.”

If there’s a positive, the Predators are expected to get P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson, who have missed the last 40 games combined, back in the lineup shortly after the four-day break.

“We just have to regroup over the break,” Nashville center Kyle Turris said. “We’re working hard, we just have to find a way to get through it, push through it and we will. It’s no question, it’s trying to figure out over the break here.”

Patrice Bergeron returned to the Boston lineup on Saturday and gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. The score temporarily swelled to 2-0 for the home team in the second, until the Nashville coaching staff asked referees Dan O’Rourke and Frederick L’Ecuyer for a second opinion.

After winning the challenge for goaltender interference, Ryan Johansen threw his sixth of the season past goaltender Jaroslav Halak to even the score at 1-1 after 40 minutes.

Boston got a power-play goal early in the third to go up 2-1. Turris scored to tie the game and give the Preds life once more at 9:17. But the Bruins, who controlled the puck for the majority of the contest, broke through with a power-play goal, a 2-on-1 score and an empty-netter in the game’s final nine minutes.

“We played good at times and played bad at times,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We get lulls in our game, and we just need to compete for the whole 60 minutes. That’s what we always preach, and that’s what every team looks to do. At times we were great, and at other times we weren’t.”

Outside of the opening period in Ottawa on Monday, the effort and compete level has predominantly been there for Nashville, and yet they went 0-3-0 to close out the trip (losing 2-1 to Chicago; 2-1 to Philadelphia and 5-2 to Boston).

Now with the break arriving, the Preds have no choice but to recharge and refocus before getting back on the ice after the holiday.

“It’s good that we get the break here, get your mind out of this little rut we’re in and enjoy some family and some time away from the game,” Ellis said. “Hopefully, we come back hungrier and rested, maybe a bit healthier than we are now and go from there.”

Notes:

Defenseman Mattias Ekholm returned to the Predators lineup after missing Thursday’s game in Philadelphia due to illness.

Forwards Colton Sissons, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg, as well as defenseman P.K. Subban, were absent on Saturday and all remain on Injured Reserve.

Blueliner Yannick Weber was injured in the final period of Saturday’s game and required assistance to exit the ice.

The Christmas Break has arrived for the Predators, who will now get the next four days off before returning to the ice on Dec. 27 as they host the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena.

Jonathan Cable of Coffee County CHS wrestling

The Coffee County wrestling team hosted their first home match of the year on Thursday night.  The Raider grapplers welcomed Cookeville and Tullahoma to their home mat at the Coffee County Raider Academy.  The Red Raiders came up short in the 2 battles as the fell to Cookeville 38 to 21 and to Tullahoma 56 to 9.

Against Cookeville, the Raiders got their lone pinfall win from Chris Speagle (at 220 pounds).  Gabriel Westbrook(106) got a forfeit win  while Jesse Smith(145), Jonathan Cable(138) and Rey Reyes(182) all got decision wins.  Against Tullahoma, Jonathan Cable(138) won a pinfall win and Jesse Smith(145) won a 4 to 1 decision win.

The Raiders return to the mat on Friday when they travel Huntsville to take part in the Battlefield Duals.

Abby Morgan(#23) is congratulated by her teammates and coach Joe Pat Cope after eclipsing the 1,000 point mark.

Friday at the Coffee County Christmas Classic saw the Red Raiders roll to their 3^rd straight win and Lady Raider Abby Morgan eclipse the 1,000 point mark for her high school career.  The Red Raiders opened the day with a 67 to 49 win over Riverside Christian.  The Lady Raiders held Nashville Central Christian to single digits in every quarter in a 67 to 28 win.

In the opening game of the day on Friday, the Red Raiders got off to a red hot start as they jumped out to a 26 to 8 lead after 1 quarter and cruised to the easy win over Riverside Christian.  In a game where the starters played less than 10 minutes, Coffee County kept the lead near 20 points for most of the game.  Andrew Mahaffey got a field goal and a trio of triples to score Coffee County’s first 11 points.  Mahaffey finished with 11 points.  Connor Shemwell finished with 8 points and C.J. Anthony added 7.

C.J. Anthony of Coffee County CHS basketball

It seemed that everyone on hand for the girls’ game knew Abby Morgan was 7 points away from 1,000 at the start of the game.  But in the first half, Morgan missed her first 6 shots before closing the half with 5 points.  Morgan sank a driving layup just 42 seconds into the second half to send the crowd into celebration mode.  The Lady Raiders pulled the starters with 3:14 left in the 3^rd quarter as 9 different Lady Raiders scored in the win.  Jacey Vaughn led the team with 20 points.  Morgan finished with 9 points, while Ellie Graham added 8 points.

On Saturday, both Raider teams will be in action in the final day of the Coffee County Christmas Classic.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders will play back to back games beginning at 12:30 PM against Oakland.  The Red Raiders will take in the Patriots at 12:30 with the Lady Raiders game to follow.  Thunder Radio will bring you live action of the girls’ game, beginning around 2 PM, streaming at WMSRradio.com and on the Thunder Radio app.

Abby Morgan is presented the game ball from coach Joe Pat Cope on Friday afternoon at CHS.