As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County CHS softball team.  The Lady Raiders returned to the state tournament for the 5^th time in program history which the Lady Raiders captured a 4^th place finish.

Thunder Radio reported on their final game of the year in a story we published on May 26^th

Tori Bell

The Coffee County Lady Raider softball team battled their way to a 4th place finish in the TSSAA state softball tournament on Thursday.  The Lady Raiders scratched and clawed their way to a 5 to 3 win over Brentwood on Thursday morning.  Injuries and exhaustion finally set in on Thursday night as Coffee County lost to Henry County 14 to 4

In the morning game, the Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 3 to 0 lead then rallied for a pair of runs late to grab a 5 to 3 win.  The Coffee County defense was once again on point as they did not commit an error for the 2nd straight game.  Tied at 3 entering the 6th inning, Sarah West hit an RBI single to give the Lady Raiders the lead.  Katie Rutledge drove in an insurance run in the top of the 7th.

Rutledge also came on in relief pitching when Kaylee Skipper had to come out of the game in the 5th inning with a blister on her pitching hand.  Rutledge pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to capture the win. Rutledge added a single and 2 RBI as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Haley Hinshaw finished with a single, a double and 1 run scored.   Haley Richardson had a single and a double and an RBI.

In the night cap, Henry County erupted for 7 runs in the 2nd inning and built an 11 to 0 lead before ending the Lady Raiders season by a final score of 14 to 4.   The Lady Patriots from Paris banged out 13 hits as they outhit Coffee County 13 to 6.  Coffee County sophomore pitcher Haley Richardson took the loss in the circle but crushed a 2 run home run for Coffee County to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.   Senior Tori Bell finished with 2 hits, a run scored and 1 RBI.

The Lady Raiders will finish the season with a record of 26-18-1.  Following the game, Coach Steve Wilder informed his team that he was leaving Coffee County for a job in Florida.  You can see that story at:  http://www.thunder1320.com/news/coffee-county-softball-coach-steve-wilder-resigns/

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

As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Westwood Rockets soccer team.  For the 3^rd year in a row the Rockets claimed the CTSC conference title.

Thunder Radio reported on the championship win in a story we published on May 1st

For the third consecutive season, the Westwood soccer team claimed the Central Tennessee Soccer Conference regular season title and postseason title on Saturday.  The Rockets, unbeaten in conference play this year, faced their toughest challenge of the year on Saturday against St. Andrews.  Westwood got a late goal to capture the 1 to 0 win.

Calling this a “rebuilding year”, Coach Jonathan Graf went into the season lacking a potential prolific scorer, inexperience at key positions and a brand new goal keeper; it appeared that Westwood’s run of conference titles was in serious jeopardy.  But do not tell that to these Rockets who worked well as a team and carried on the winning tradition.

On Saturday, the Rockets locked horns with a Mountain Lions team they defeated on March 2nd 3 to 0.  In that contest, Westwood scored a pair of goals in the last 10 minutes to cushion a 1 to 0 lead they fought to hold most of the match.  On Saturday, neither team could find the back of the net in the first 47 minutes.  Elliot Sain broke the scoreless tie in the 58th minute on a shot deflected off of a St. Andrews player.

Coach Graf and members of the Rocket soccer team will be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday at 10 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.

As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Westwood baseball team.  For the 2^nd straight season, the Rockets showed improvement on the field as they finished with a 7 win season.

Thunder Radio reported on their final game of the season in a story we published on April 28^th

Trent Thompson of Westwood baseball

The Westwood baseball team’s season came to a close on Thursday with an 11 to 1 loss to Fayetteville in the elimination bracket of the Duck River Valley Conference tournament.   Fayetteville erupted for 7 runs in the 3rd inning to capture the win.

Westwood was held to 5 hits in the loss.  Brett Jones scored the lone Westwood run as he got on base in the 5th inning and was driven in on an groundout by Brady Nugent.  Trent Thompson finished the game with 2 hits.

The Rockets will end the season with a final record of 7 and 11.  The 7 wins this year represents the 2nd straight year of improvement for Westwood baseball.  The Rockets are coached by Dusty Hereford and Herb Nugent.

Dallas scored twice in the shootout and the Nashville Predators fell to the Stars by a 4-3 final on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. The result sends the Preds into the Christmas Break on a three-game winless skid, the longest such streak of the season.

Despite being a recent point of emphasis, the Predators took four minor penalties in the opening period, and although they only allowed one power-play goal in the period, it gave Dallas life, enough to ultimately help them to an eventual win.

“For parts of the game we were [the better team], for parts of the game they were, and that’s not what we’re looking to do,” Predators forward Austin Watson said. “They take advantage of what we give them. The second period, a couple turnovers in the neutral zone, if we take that out of the game, I think we’re going to like the results a bit more.”

It took less than a minute into the contest for Alexei Emelin to tally his first as a member of the Preds to give his club a 1-0 advantage, before Calle Jarnkrok’s shorthanded snipe bumped the lead to two.

But Dallas roared back to score three unanswered – one in the first and two more in the second – to take their first lead of the evening into the intermission.

“We have a stranglehold on that game at 2-0 and we talked about it all year,” Watson said of the penalties. “Whether we like the calls or not, we’re the most penalized team in the League. You’re not going to like every call, but at some point, you have to look in the mirror. We have been, but it’s going to take a harder look, I think, because we’re spending too much time in the box. It kills the flow at the beginning of the game.”

A Nashville power play in the third brought a Ryan Johansen strike to tie the game at three and force overtime, but after two empty power-play chances for Nashville in extra time, two goals from the home team in the shootout kept the Preds at just one point in their last three outings.

“We have that long of time to play 4-on-3 and 5-on-3, we just have to find a way to score,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “When there’s that much time, you have to put the game away.”

The Preds will now head back home to Nashville for the three-day Christmas Break, a respite that comes at a time when the club could use some time to recharge before returning to three games in four days next week.

“We have to be confident,” Josi said. “Every team goes through these phases. The last three games, we didn’t play the way we wanted, but we’re a confident group. We’re a pretty honest group, and I think everybody knows we can play a lot better.

“But for now, just enjoy Christmas, forget about hockey for a little bit, and I’m sure everybody is going to come back hungry. We all know we have to be better, but we have to stay confident and come back positive with a lot of energy.”

Preds Captain Roman Josi challenged the coaching staff to take a holiday-themed bet for the team’s three-game trip to Western Canada earlier this month. The Preds went 3-0-0 and so Laviolette and his staff had to wear holiday suits behind the bench for Saturday’s game in Dallas.

They did so, and with plenty of holiday cheer to spare.

Redemption for Emelin:

On Tuesday, Alexei Emelin was in a position he rarely finds himself: at center ice, with his arms in the air celebrating a goal.

The only problem was his third-period shot, that would have given Nashville a 5-4 lead over the Winnipeg Jets, had hit the crossbar and gone down into the crease, not the net. So after the contest he joked he’d just have to get one next time.

A bold prediction to say the least, considering the defensive-minded blueliner was the only remaining player on the active roster without a goal.

It wasn’t the very next game, but later in the week, Emelin found open ice in the first period against the Dallas Stars and wired a wrister past Ben Bishop only 34 seconds into the game to pot his first goal with the Predators and first since Jan. 14, 2017, versus the New York Rangers, while playing for the Montreal Canadiens.

Notes:

Craig Smith returned to action after missing Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. Pontus Aberg, Miikka Salomaki and Matt Irwin were scratched.

P.K. Subban’s assist on Ryan Johansen’s goal extended his point streak to six games.

Juuse Saros allowed his first goal in more than 120 minutes of game action when Tyler Seguin scored in the first period.

Nashville now enters the mandatory three-day Christmas break and will next play on Dec. 27 in St. Louis against the Blues before a home-and-home set with the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 29 and 30.

The Titans walked off the Nissan Stadium field disappointed on Sunday — another close game had escaped their grasp.

When coach Mike Mularkey met with players in the locker room after the 27-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, his message was simple: Be prepared to fight for survival next week.

So we’ve come to this: A win next week against the Jaguars, and the Titans will be playoff bound.

“It’s a very tough, disappointing loss,” defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. “But all that matters now is we still have a fighting chance, and … that’s why we are not sweating it right now. We have a chance. These last three games have been a bummer, but once you get in the playoffs everybody is going to love us.”

Tight end Delanie Walkersaid the Titans better come out fighting.

“I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I am disappointed,” Walker said. “To lose three games (in a row) like this. We keep saying we can get this W. Well, (we) better have a fight and come and be ready to go.

“We have our backs against the wall. We can only fight our way out.”

The Titans showed plenty of fight on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough against the Rams.

Not when the team wasted opportunities in the red zone, and failed to produce big plays with the game on the line. The team also had trouble slowing down Rams running back Todd Gurley, who racked up 276 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns.

Sunday’s loss, which came on the heels of back-to-back losses at Arizona and San Francisco, helped the Jaguars clinch the AFC South. But the Titans, as a result of Buffalo’s loss at New England on Sunday, can still clinch a playoff spot next Sunday at Nissan Stadium with a win. It would improve the team’s record to 9-7, and the Titans would win playoff tiebreakers with other teams.

“From what I understand, all the scenarios, we have to win next week to be in,” Mularkey said after the game. “We have to get to work. We have another good football team coming into our place.”

On Christmas Eve, it’s keeping the Titans afloat right now.

“I ain’t going to lie – that is the only thing keeping our spirits up that we can still be a playoff team,” safety Kevin Byardsaid. “We can still get in the party and make a run. And that is the only thing we can focus on now. We have to turn it up another notch.”

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 22-of-39 passes for 275 yards, with an interception, in Sunday’s game. But he was unable to finish off a late drive that ended in Los Angeles territory. On this day, too many times the Titans had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.

The Rams (11-4) clinched the NFC West with the win.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff completed 22-of-38 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the contest. Gurley ran for 118 yards on 22 carries, and he also caught 10 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

The two teams exchanged punches all day.

The Rams took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter on a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Goff to Gurley before the Titans cut the lead to 6-3 on a 25-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop. But the 13-play, 62-yard drive left fans – and the team – hoping for more. The Titans had it first-and-goal at the one-yard line, but a fumble and a sack backed the team up, and they settled for a field goal.

The Titans made a big play on defense when Casey busted into the Rams backfield and hammered Goff before he could hand the ball off to Gurley. When the ball popped loose, linebacker Wesley Woodyard scooped it up and ran it in for a four-yard touchdown to make it 10-6.

The Nissan Stadium crowd exploded in excitement.

But the Rams quickly answered back, scoring on an 80-yard touchdown completion from Goff to Gurley on a screen pass. Gurley caught the ball with plenty of space, and after he veered in the middle of the field he raced to the end zone to make it 13-10 with 4:24 left before the half. The Titans then tied it up just before halftime on a 37-yard field goal by Succop.

The Titans had a chance to take the lead early in the third quarter, but Succop misfired on a 45-yard field goal, and the game remained tied at 13-13.

The Rams took a 20-13 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass from Goff to receiver Sammie Watkins. It followed a controversial fourth-and-1 made conversion for the Rams, who got a 10-yard run from Gurley on a play when replays showed a Rams offensive lineman moving before the snap. A penalty wasn’t called, and the Rams capitalized.

The Titans rallied back, first scoring on a six-yard touchdown run by running back DeMarco Murray, which capped a five-play, 44-yard drive. The short scoring drive was set up by a 57-yard kickoff return by rookie Adoree’ Jackson.

The Titans then took a 23-20 lead on Succop’s 27-yard field goal, with 14:47 remaining, but the Rams kept coming, reclaiming the lead 27-23 on a 14-yard touchdown toss from Goff to receiver Cooper Kupp with 11:51 left.

The Titans had a chance to win in late. But after taking over at their own 20-yard line with 3:25 left and driving across midfield, the drive stalled. An incomplete pass by Mariota on a 4th-and-4 from the Los Angeles 43-yard line was Tennessee’s last hope on this day.

Now, the team turns its attention to next week.

“We just want a chance; we just want an opportunity,” Mariota said. “We let one slip away – we’ve let three in a row slip away. But all you can ever ask for is an opportunity. I am looking forward to getting back to work. … This is our season, and we are looking forward to it.”