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Westwood Volleyball Falls to North Franklin

Anna Johnson of Westwood volleyball serves during Saturday’s match with South Franklin

Hosting their 2nd straight home game, the Westwood volleyball team welcomed North Franklin on Thursday to the Joel Vinson Gym.  The Lady Rocket varsity fell in straight sets 22-25 and 16-25.  The JV team won their match in a 2 set nail-biter by set scores of 26-24 and 26-24.

For the varsity Lady Rockets,  Anna Johnson led the way as she had a block and 3 kills.  Maddie Sullivan had 4 assists and Kelsey Vandenbossche had the team lead in aces with 4.    For the JV, Lilee Scott served up 8 aces on the match while Katie Lawrence was right behind her with 6 aces.

Westwood is back at home on Tuesday when they host their crosstown rival Coffee County Middle.  First serve is set for 4:30 PM.

Starters Sit as Titans Lose Preseason Finale

Quarterback Marcus Mariota traded his helmet in for a baseball cap on Thursday night, and so did the rest of the Titans starters.

Preseason game No.4 was reserved for the reserves for both the Titans and Vikings at Nissan Stadium.

The Titans lost 13-3 to the Vikings to wrap up the preseason.

Quarterback Luke Falk started the game for the Titans. He finished the contest 13-of-24 for 114 yards, and was sacked four times.

“I think he’s done a great job in and out of the huddle, controlling it and getting us in the right play,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Falk at the half. “We have to execute better. We can’t give up pressure. We can’t let these guys inside the pocket. We can’t jump offsides.”

The Titans took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 24-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop, which capped a 16-play, 69-yard drive that took 9:31 off the clock.

The Titans defense, led by reserves, held the Vikings to just eight yards and no first downs in the first quarter. The Vikings scored their first point late in the first half on a 39-yard field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson, which tied the game at 3-3. The Vikings extended the lead to 6-3 on a 22-yard field goal by Carlson in the third quarter.

The Vikings stretched the lead to 13-3 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Sloter to receiver Brandon Zylstra in the fourth quarter.

Next up for the Titans is business, and then the regular season.

The Titans must trim the roster from 90 to 53 players by 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Baby Cakes Walk Off on Sounds in Extras

The Nashville Sounds wrapped up the road portion of their 2018 schedule in heart-breaking fashion Thursday night as they fell to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 5-4 in 10 innings. Chris Bostick’s two-out single in the 10th secured the victory for New Orleans.

Metairie native Jeremy Bleich pitched the 10th inning for the Sounds and took the loss as he allowed a walk and a base hit in the final frame. Bleich induced a fielder’s choice, which retired the designated runner trying to advance to third base to begin the game. He then walked Christian Adames and two batters later surrendered the game-ending base hit to Bostick.

After being shut out Wednesday night, the Sounds lit up the scoreboard early Thursday night. After Beau Taylor reached with a bunt single in the first inning and moved to second on a wild pitch from Sandy Alcantara, Steve Lombardozzi stepped up to the plate. Nashville’s first baseman pulled a base hit to right field to score Taylor from second.

The Baby Cakes scored in three straight innings. They tied the game in the fourth inning when Peter O’Brien took Sounds starter James Naile deep. A lead off walk came back to haunt Naile in the fifth inning. Braxton Lee the stole second base and two batters later scored on a Peter Mooney base hit. Two runs scored in the sixth inning highlighted by O’Brien’s RBI double.

The Sounds briefly took the lead in the sixth inning as they sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs, two on an RBI single from Matt Joyce and one from BJ Boyd.

In his first start since returning from Double-A Midland, Naile issued a career-high four free passes and yielded four runs on seven hits.

The Sounds threatened to take the lead in the seventh, eighth, and 10th innings as they put a runner on third base with less than two outs. On all three occasions the New Orleans bullpen was able to wiggle their way out of the jam.

The Sounds return home for the final series of the season. Game one of their four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds is Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Chris Bassitt (5-5, 4.35) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Austin Warner (1-1, 3.73) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

  • With tonight’s 5-4 loss, the Sounds dropped to 70-66 on the season.
  • Nashville is now 9-6 in extra-inning games this season.
  • The Sounds finish the 2018 season with a 31-39 road record.
  • Boog Powell extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single in the fifth inning.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

8/30/18 — Birthdays

Birthdays:
Jonathan Cox, 17 — Pizza Winner!

Carol Pass

Jennifer Vaughn Trail, 53

Lakita Bretz, 31

Kelley Lovell, 16

Jamie Newman, 43

Anniversaries:
Wyatt & Janet Nettles

Juvenile Arrested After Tullahoma Officials Find Threatening Social Media Posts

At approximately 12:45pm, Thursday, August 30th, Investigators and officers of the Tullahoma Police Department took a seventeen (17) year old male into custody after investigating threatening social media posts. The department, in conjunction with the Tullahoma City Schools began investigating social media posts which were being passed by students and parents. Although the initial post did not make any reference to the school or any student, the Department began efforts to identify those involved and ensure the safety of the students, school and the community.
The Department would like to thank the Tullahoma City Schools for their assistance and providing valuable information leading to this resolution. The Department also wants to thank the many students and parents that provided information. At this time the juvenile has been charged with possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and will be appearing in the juvenile court in Coffee County. As a result of the investigation, Tullahoma Police does not believe there are any other people involved, and the charging of the juvenile has brought this issue to a safe resolution.
Tullahoma City Schools officials stated that there was never a weapon on any school property.

TN Economy Could Shift with Record Community College Enrollment

Motlow College and Chattanooga State Community College are among the schools seeing increased enrollment from the Tennessee Reconnect Program. (Larry Miller/Flickr)

It’s back to school for people of all ages in the Volunteer State, as a record number of adults head to college through the state’s Tennessee Reconnect program.
The grants are available to residents age 25 and older to earn an associate’s degree or technical certificate. The program has seen more than 31,000 applications – almost double what was expected.
Mike Krause, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said the interest level is indicative of the need.
“We think that that is happening even as our economy is strong, because we’ve made an unprecedented offer to these adult students, that they can attend community or technical college tuition free,” he said, “and that opportunity is one that’s nowhere else in the nation.”
Krause cited the program as one reason community-college enrollment is on the rise in Tennessee, when it has been on the decline in other parts of the country. The low unemployment rate means more people are working, and federal funding cutbacks to higher education also have had an impact.
Krause said 48 percent of the people applying for Tennessee Reconnect make less than $25,000 a year, which means they might be living below the poverty line, depending on the number of people in their household. He added that, in the long term, the program will shape the state’s workforce as well as the students’ futures.
“Something important is going on in Tennessee right now that is not going on anywhere else in the nation,” he said. “The opportunity here is for a higher-education credential to transform these Tennesseans’ ability to earn a living income.”
Krause said about two out of three enrollees are women, many looking to support their family and be a role model for their children. He said they’ve heard several anecdotal stories about parents and kids starting college together this semester.
Tennessee Reconnect info is online at tnreconnect.gov, and information on the community-college enrollment trend is at insidehighered.com.

Tennessee Department of Health Urges Steps to Avoid Mosquito-Borne Diseases

The Tennessee Department of Health is reminding consumers about the importance of protection from mosquitoes.. Photo credit: Filiford/morguefile.com

The Tennessee Department of Health urges Tennesseans to take preventive steps to avoid mosquito-borne diseases. TDH has seen a recent increase in West Nile virus in mosquito testing in addition to human cases. Sadly, this includes two recent West Nile Virus deaths in Shelby County. In addition to West Nile virus, Tennessee has seen six cases of La Crosse encephalitis in children so far this year.
TDH encourages everyone to follow these precautions to avoid mosquito bites: Use insect repellants such as DEET on your skin, following all label recommendations for use. Wear long, loose and light clothing to help prevent bites through fabric. It’s best to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Reduce mosquito populations around your home. Mosquitoes can breed in any place that holds water, including clogged drains or gutters, watering cans and empty bottles.

TDOT Halts All Lane Closures for Labor Day Weekend

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will halt all lane closure activity on interstates and state highways for the Labor Day holiday travel period. Construction crews will stop all lane closure activity beginning at noon on Friday through 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 4. This will provide maximum roadway capacity for motorists traveling during the busy Labor Day holiday.
While lane closure activity will be stopped, workers will still be on site in many construction zones, and drivers are urged to obey posted speed limits. Drivers convicted of speeding in work zones where workers are present face a fine of $250 to $500, plus court fees and possible increased insurance premiums.
In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lost three workers in the line of duty. All three were struck by passing motorists. Those tragedies bring the total number of TDOT lives lost to 112.

CHS Golf Captures 3rd Place Finish in Golden Classic

Hosting the highly regarded Golden Classic on Wednesday, the Coffee County CHS golf team welcomed 15 other teams from across the state to Willowbrook.  The field featured teams from 10 other boys’ high schools from across the state along with many probable state tournament qualifiers.  The Red Raiders matched their Monday score of 314 for the 18 hole round which was good enough for 3rd place.

Signal Mountain won the team championship with a score of 306.  Cookeville came in 2nd at 308.  Wednesday’s result gives Coffee County a record of 48 and 4 on the season.  Seniors Josh Perry and Austin Farris led the way for Coffee County as each shot a 76. Samuel Prater shot a 78 while the brother tandem of Matthew and Logan Hale shot matching 84’s.

“We are of course disappointed with our finish” said coach Mike Ray after the match.    He went on to add “all the boys agreed that this was not our best effort but we will get back together in practice and work on a few things.  I’m sure they will be ready to go next Tuesday.”

The CHS golfers return to the links on Tuesday when they travel to McMinnville Country Club to take part in the Keith Maxwell Invitational.  That 18 hole tournament tees off at 9 AM.

Lady Bucks Soccer Opens 2nd Season With a Conference Win

The Motlow Lady Bucks opened the 2018 soccer season with a two-game road trip and returned after earning a convincing 3-0 win over TCCAA opponent Southwest Tennessee in Memphis Sunday afternoon.

Motlow (1-0, 1-1) opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Northwest Mississippi in Senatobia, Miss., Friday afternoon. The Lady Bucks will travel to Oxford, Ga., this weekend for matches against South Georgia Tech Sunday and Oxford College on Monday.

After spending last season as the lone Division 1 community college soccer team in Tennessee, the Lady Bucks have been joined this year by Southwest Tennessee, Dyersburg State and Columbia State. Games against TCCAA opponents will determine seeding for the conference tournament in late October. Motlow posted an 8-7-1 record last year, including two wins over Southwest Tennessee, which played at the Division III level in 2017.

Sophomore Tyler Feaster, the top returning scorer from last season, got Motlow on the scoreboard first with a goal at the 32:20 mark with an assist from Bailee Walls. Sophomore Megan Blumhoefer scored at the 44:50 mark with an assist from Keely Smith, and freshman Emily Vallejo wrapped up the scoring at the 76:12 mark on an assist from fellow freshman April Gillespie.

Walls led the Lady Bucks with nine total shots, including six on goal. Feaster had six shots with two on goal, and Vallejo shot four times, all on goal.

Freshman Annie Kate Gibson played the entire contest as goal keeper and stopped all three shots that Southwest Tennessee attempted. Motlow out-shot the Lady Saluqis 16-6 and led in corner kicks 5-1. Southwest had four fouls during the game, with the Lady Bucks logging three.

Friday against Northwest Mississippi the Lady Bucks were unable to get their offense untracked in the first half. Northwest scored its first goal three minutes into the contest and extended its lead to 2-0 with a goal at the 10-minute mark. Motlow’s defense stiffened and the score remained 2-0 at the intermission.

Vallejo got the Lady Bucks on the scoreboard at the 80:56 mark with an assist from redshirt-freshman Kristen Heath. Northwest wrapped up the scoring with its final goal in the final second of the game. Walls had five shots, with four on goal, while Feaster had five shots and two on goal. Gibson played the full 90 minutes as keeper, notching four saves on seven Northwest shots.

Motlow led in total shots 20-10 and the two teams were even with five corner kicks each. Northwest committed nine total fouls while the Lady Bucks had six.