Brett Francis of Coffee County CHS wrestling

Taking on 2 of the top teams in the region, the Coffee County wrestling team visited Smyrna to tangle with Stewarts Creek and Blackman on Thursday night.  The Red Raiders came up short to Blackman 47 to 24.  The Red Raiders got a come from behind win over Stewarts Creek 39 to 38.  The Lady Raider grapplers blanked Blackman 18 to 0.

The Lady Raiders won all 3 of their matches by pinfall wins.  Andrea Hickman(fighting in the 112 class), Mary Anne Walker(125) and Lyra Leftwich(132) all pinned their Lady Blaze opponent to gain the shutout win.

The Red Raiders fought gamely against the number 9 ranked team in the state in Blackman.  The Blaze picked up wins in the 5 largest weight classes to come from behind to hold off the Raiders.  Coffee County captured pinfall wins from Brett Francis(120), Hunter Waring(132) and Jesse Smith(145).   The Raiders also nabbed decision wins from Devin Judge(152) and Dakota Chalker(160) as they fell 47 to 24.

Against Stewarts Creek, the Raiders found themselves in a 27 to 6 hole after the first 7 matches to the Red Hawks.  But the Coffee County big men redeemed themselves winning 5 of the last 6 matches to grab the 39 to 38 team win.  Brett Francis(126), Dakota Chalker(160), Reynaldo Reyes(182), Nick Martinez(195), Christopher Speagle(220) and Cardin Stump(285) all captured important pinfall wins.  Jonathan Cable added a 4 to 3 decision win in the 138 pound weight class.

The Raider grapplers are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Tullahoma to take part in the Tullahoma Invitational.  All the action will take place at the Tullahoma High School gym.  Matches are set to begin at 10 AM.

Anna Johnson of Westwood basketball

Ending the regular season in Huntland, the Westwood basketball teams hit the road on Thursday night.  With tournament seeding still undecided, the Rockets and Lady Rockets were hoping to improve their match ups for the upcoming Duck River Valley Conference Tournament to be held in Eagleville.  Both Westwood teams came up short as the Lady Rockets fell 29 to 17 and the Rockets lost a 47 to 23 decision.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Rockets were ice cold in the 2^nd half as they were held to 2 points in each quarter.  The Lady Rockets, who only trailed by 7 at the half, held Huntland to 9 second half points but could not muster the come-from-behind win.  Anna Johnson led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 9 points.  Leonor Moreno added 4 points for Westwood.

Konor Heaton of Westwood basketball

In the boys’ contest, the Hornets held the Rockets to single digits in each quarter in the Westwood loss.   Andrew Thompson and Konor Heaton were the leading scorers for Westwood as each netted 5 points.  Cayden Trail added 4 free throws and Jayden Carter also finished with 4 points.

The Duck River Valley Conference tournament is set to begin on Saturday in Eagleville.  First round matchups for the Rockets and Lady Rockets were announced on Friday.  The Rockets are set to open up tournament play on Saturday at 5:45 taking on Community. The Lady Rockets open tournament play on Monday at 5:30 PM against MTCS. All tournament games will be held at Eagleville.

Derrick Henry runs the football against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night at Nissan Stadium. [AP Photo/Mark Zaleski]

And the Titans got another important win – 30-9 over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Henry broke the franchise record for most rushing yards in a game (238) while turning in one of the best individual performances in the stadium’s history. The Titans running back also ran for four touchdowns on just 17 carries. He electrified the crowd with stiff-arms and speed, while wreaking havoc on the Jaguars.

Chris Johnson previously held the single-game total with 228 yards in a game against the Jaguars during the 2009 season.

“I’d probably put this at No.1,” Henry said of his top performances. “But it’s not really about me – it’s about those guys blocking. So credit to them.”

Henry scored on runs of three, 16, 54 and 99 yards as the Titans pulled away in an AFC South battle. The Titans improved to 7-6 with the win. They’ll return to action on December 16 at the New York Giants.

“I’m speechless, man,” Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said of Henry. “I had a front row seat to it, and it was pretty awesome.”

The game featured one of the most memorable plays in team history — a 99-yard touchdown run by Henry in the first half.

Henry exploded up the middle on the carry, and then he put his powerful stiff-arm to use. In space, Henry stiff-armed Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye, before racing downfield, where he threw Jaguars linebacker Leon Jacobs off of him and to the ground. Further downfield he squared off with Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack, and stiff-armed him away as well before running into the end zone.

“They didn’t want to tackle him – they’re scared of him,” fellow running back Dion Lewis said of Henry, and the Jaguars. “They didn’t want nothing to do with him today. He was on fire. They didn’t want to tackle him, and he was running hard, aggressive, and physical. It was fun to be a part of history.”

The 99-yard touchdown run was only the second in NFL history.

The other: Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard run for the Cowboys back in 1983.

“It’s so crazy, because before we went in the huddle, it was like: You have to go break a 99-yarder,” Henry said with a smile. “My main focus was to get positive yards. When I had the ball, I hit it and my stiff-arms worked. But it started up front with (the offensive line). … Everybody was going crazy. It was a crazy play.”

It was demoralizing for the Jaguars, who dropped to 4-9.

“I’ve never been a part of a guy running like that,” Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson Jr. said. “I mean, it was like little league out there. Every time he touched the ball, he was scoring, it felt like. … He could have run for 300 on us today, if we’re being honest.

“If I was his coach, I would have let him break the (NFL) record.”

Henry’s run gave the Titans a 13-2 lead, and it followed a big goal-line stand by the Titans, who got a big stop from linebacker Rashaan Evans on Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette on a fourth-and-goal from the one.

The run was a sign of more to come for Henry, who owned the night.

On their first possession, the Titans capped a six-play, 73-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Henry, which made it 7-0. The Titans came out flying on defense, too, as safety Kevin Byard ended Jacksonville’s first possession with a sack.

The Titans appeared to be on the verge of adding more points, but Mariota was intercepted when a throw sailed over intended target Tajae Sharpe, and into the arms of Jaguars safety Ronnie Harrison.

Later, disaster struck when return man Cameron Batson muffed a punt, and then was tackled into the end zone for a safety, making it 7-2.

But the game swung back to the Titans on the goal-line stop, and the Henry run that followed.

The Titans added a 33-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop to make it 16-2 at the half.

In the third quarter, Henry exploded for a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 23-2.

Henry then busted off a 54-yard touchdown run, which gave the Titans a 30-2 lead and sent Nissan Stadium into a frenzy. The Jaguars scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.

The Titans will watch results unfold over the weekend before returning to work next week.

The race for a playoff spot continues. There’s work to be done.

“We have to keep stringing these things together, and winning games to give yourself a chance,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think there’s a bunch of teams bunched up and hopefully this week there’s some movement.

“But if not, we understand we have to win games. You can’t sit there and hope for a whole bunch of help when there’s five or six teams all bunched together.”

The Nashville Predators couldn’t erase a four-goal Vancouver lead and fell, 5-3, to the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. The loss snaps Nashville’s two-game winning streak and sees them move to 0-4-1 in their last five outings away from home.

From the start of Thursday’s contest, the Canucks were faster than their opponents, with the Preds saying they didn’t match Vancouver’s speed or intensity in the first 30 minutes.

“We just gave them way too many chances,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We turned the puck over too much, especially in the first two periods. We have to play a lot better defensively.”

“Their fast game appeared even faster because of our puck decisions,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We gave up way too much in the first period and the first half of the game.”

The Canucks seized a 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play thanks to a power-play goal from Alexander Edler and a tally at 19:33 from Bo Horvat.

Preds winger Ryan Hartman cut the deficit to one when he redirected a Yannick Weber shot past Jacob Markstrom at the 7:21 mark of the second stanza. However, Jake Virtanen got it back moments later, and Elias Pettersson beat Pekka Rinne on a penalty shot late in the period to give Vancouver a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes.

Juuse Saros entered the game for the Preds in the third period, and the visitors battled back and had a number of chances. Nashville scored the last two goals of the contest to make the final mark closer, with British Columbia natives Colton Sissons and Matt Irwin converting.

“We pushed back in the second half of the game, but it was too late,” Laviolette said. “The start wasn’t good, and it ended up costing us the game.”

“It’s been happening too much as of late,” Josi said. “We’re not playing well defensively and not making the right decisions, so we have to look at it and correct it.”

Up next, Nashville will face Calgary for the second time this season. The Preds claimed a 5-3 victory at Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 19 – and the visitors would certainly like to erase the memory of Thursday’s performance with a bounce back against the Flames.

“It’s tough, but we’ll bounce back,” Sissons said. “We’ll be just fine.”

Notes:

Anthony Bitetto and Zac Rinaldo were scratched for the Predators on Monday.

Juuse Saros saw his first action since his last start on Nov. 23 in St. Louis.

Nashville’s two-game trip concludes on Saturday night in Calgary with a meeting against the Flames. The Predators then return for a three-game homestand next week, beginning on Tuesday against Ottawa.