The Coffee County wrestling team traveled to Columbia on Tuesday for a three way duals match with Oakland and Columbia.  Coffee County got a 48 to 24 win over Columbia.  The Raiders fell to a strong Oakland team 72 to 12.

Against Columbia, the Raiders got all 48 points via forfeit wins.  Credited with wins were: Josh Fournier(at 145 pounds), Tristan Phillips(152), Dakota Chalker(160), Nicolas Martinez(182), Reynaldo Reyes(195), Hunter Massey(106), Mary Wolfrun(120) and Mary Anne Walker(126).

Against Oakland, Coffee County captured a pair of pinfall wins for their 12 points.  Josh Fournier(145) pinned his Patriot opponent in 2:45 for the victory.   At 160 pounds, Dakota Chalker pinned his Oakland combatant in 4:18.

The Raider grapplers will travel to Oakland on Thursday for the Oakland Day of Duals. The duals tournament will get underway at 1 PM and will be held at Oakland High School.

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 CHS soccer team.  A district tournament loss to Tullahoma took some of the sting out of a great season that saw the Raiders claim a regular season district title.

Thunder Radio reported on the regular season victory over Tullahoma which clinched a perfect record in district play in a story we published on April 28^th

The Red Raider soccer team welcomed old rival Tullahoma to the Raider Soccer Field on Thursday night.  Coffee County entered the game having locked up the regular season district title, but wanted to finish the season with a perfect district record.  The Raiders were also looking to retain the Coffee Cup trophy for the 3rd consecutive year.  Coffee County used a pair of goals early in the 2nd half to pull away for the 4 to 1 win.

Coffee County jumped out to a 1 goal lead in the John Parigger netted an unassisted goal in the 37th minute to give the Raiders a 1 to 0 lead.  In the second half, Chase Harper netted goals in the 51st and 55th minutes off a pair of assists from Breyer Taylor.  Tullahoma netted a penalty kick in the 56th minute, but Miguel Mendoza found the back of the net in the 63rd minute to give Coffee County their 7th consecutive victory this season and a 6 and 0 district record.

Following the game, the Coffee Cup Trophy sponsored by First Vision Bank, was presented to Coffee County.  Breyer Taylor was named the most outstanding player of the game for Coffee County for the 2nd consecutive year.  Michael Duncan of Tullahoma was recognized as the game MVP for the Wildcats.

The Red Raiders will be back at home on Friday night when they play host to Smyrna in a non-district friendly.  That match will kick off at 7 PM.

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 Middle School baseball team.  Despite falling in the opening round of the conference tournament, the Red Raiders enjoyed success throughout the season, highlighted by an extra innings shutout of Tullahoma in Tullahoma.

Thunder Radio reported on that win in a story we published on April 26^th

Braden Brown of CCMS baseball

The Coffee County Middle School baseball opened up the final regular season series of the year on Tuesday in Tullahoma.  The Red Raiders squared off against their rivals from Tullahoma at Waggoner Park.  In a game that saw no runs scored in the first 7 innings, Coffee Middle exploded for 4 runs in the 8th inning to grab a 4 to 0 rivalry win.

Coffee County had been held to 3 hits in the game entering the top of the 8th inning with the top of the order coming to bat.  Kyle Farless led off with a hit and came around to score the first of 4 Raider runs as Tullahoma committed 3 errors and walked a pair of Coffee County batters.  Braden Brown retired Tullahoma on 5 pitches in the bottom of the 8th to get the 8 inning, complete game shutout.   Farless, Griffin Meeker, Lane Spry and Todd Watkins had the hits for Coffee Middle.

The Red Raiders will conclude their season series, and the regular season, on Wednesday night at home.  Coffee County will play host to Tullahoma on 8th Grade Night.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.

DeAaron Rozier of Coffee County basketball

Trying to bounce back from their worst loss of the season on Monday night, the Coffee County CHS boys’ basketball team took on Glencliff on Tuesday in the 4^th Annual Red Raider Invitational.  Coffee County struggled at times to generate a consistent flow to their offense, but managed to pull away in the second half to beat the Colts 57 to 41.

The Red Raiders jumped out to an early 13 to 4 lead, thanks in large part to 3 first half 3 point baskets from Darius Rozier.  Glencliff battled back to make it a one point game midway through the second period as they had a pair of big 3 pointers.  Coffee County managed to turn up the defensive pressure to stretch the lead to 8 by halftime and Glencliff could never get any closer.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Darius Rozier who had 24 points.  DeAaron Rozier added 13 points and Grey Riddle chipped in 6 points.   Coffee County will not play in the final day of the tournament after York Institute pulled out of the tournament on Monday.  The tournament will conclude on Wednesday with 3 games beginning at 4:30 PM.  At 4:30, Franklin County will take on Glencliff.  At 6 PM, the consolation game will feature Shelbyville taking on Smyrna.  The championship is scheduled for 7:30 PM as Lebanon will take on University School of Jackson.

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 track teams at Coffee Central High School.  For the 26^th consecutive year, members of the CHS track team took part in the TSSAA State Track Championships.  Sarah Pearson qualified for the pentathlon for the 3^rd straight year plus the 300M hurdles.  Karson Young qualified in 4 events, the long jump, high jump, 100M hurdles and the triple jump.

Thunder Radio reported on the Lady Raiders’ performance on the final day of the TSSAA state track meet in a story we published on May 26^th

Karson Young holding her medal for the triple jump

Karson Young captured a pair of medals on Thursday to highlight Coffee County’s final day of competition in the TSSAA State Track Meet in Murfreesboro.  Young finished the day with a pair of medals in the 4 events in which she competed.  Sarah Pearson finished up her busy week with a 10th place finish in the 300M hurdles.

Young opened the day at 9 AM with the long jump.  In the semifinals, Young had a top jump of 16’ 11 ½” in her 3rd attempt to punch her ticket to the finals.  In the finals, Young tacked on a jump of 17’ 1” to capture 8th place.

Young moved from the long jump awards ceremony directly to the triple jump.  After posting a jump of 35’ 4 ½” in her second jump of the semifinals, Karson passed on her 3rd triple jump attempt having secured a spot in the finals.  In the finals, Young had jumps of 35’, 34’ 8” and 34’ 3”.  Carrying over her semifinal distance, Young finished with a 5th place medal.

For the second straight event, Young went from the medal stand directly to the high jump.  After 3 hours of near continuous competition, Young cleared 4’8” and 4’10”.  At 5’, Young clipped the bar 3 times to bow out in 13th place.

In the evening session, Young failed to advance out of the semifinals of the 100M hurdles as she ran a time of 16.72 to finish in 14th place.   The race ended a hectic day and an amazing track career for the senior.  Young competed in 3 state track meets missing only in her sophomore year due to illness.  When asked about a favorite memory from her years in track at CHS, Young had this to say:

Sarah Pearson competes in the 300M hurdle race at Thursday’s TSSAA state track meet

In the final race of the day, Sarah Pearson competed in the 300M hurdles.  Pearson tied her personal record as she ran the race in 47.77 seconds to claim 10th place.  Pearson clipped the 6th hurdle coming into the front stretch with her front foot but maintained her balance to finish strong.   2017 marks the 26th consecutive year that Coffee County Track was represented at the state meet.

To see full results, you can check out the link at: http://brackets.tssaa.org/trackResults.cfm

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 Middle School boys’ soccer team.  A season of ups and downs saw it’s highlight in April as the Raiders rallied to win the Bronze Cup in the annual Red Raider Invitational hosted the the CHS soccer team.

Thunder Radio reported on the dramatic tournament performance in a story we published on April 17th

Coffee County Middle School Red Raider soccer team – 2017 Red Raider Invitational Bronze Cup winners[Photo by Robert Harper]

Coffee County opened up play on Saturday morning taking on a physical Lincoln County team.  The Raiders got a pair of goals in the first 6 minutes to capture an early lead and Adam Petty was clean in goal as Coffee County won 3 to 0.  Emilio Contrez got a goal in the 4th minute from 30 yards out on a pretty volley over the keeper’s head.  Hayden Hargrove found the back of the net in the 6th minute to give the Raiders a 2 to 0 lead at the half.  In the second half, Isaiah Campbell netted a goal in the final minute.  Petty finished the game with 9 saves.

In the finals, Coffee County was matched up against Upperman and it turned out that the Bees were no match for the Raider offensive onslaught.  Coffee County scored 10 goals in the first 40 minutes of the match to run away with a 10 to 2 win.  The Raiders got goals from Contrez, Hargrove, Dyllan Toledo, Blake Young and Jamie Norris in the title game win.  The win improves the Raiders record to 3 and 4 on the season.   Coffee County is back at home on Tuesday when they welcome White County to the CCMS Pitch.  Opening kick is set for 5 PM.

Brandon Tanev scored the winner with 1:26 to play and the Nashville Predators fell to the Winnipeg Jets by a 6-4 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result ends Nashville’s three-game win streak and seven-game point streak, just their third regulation loss at home this season.

Two of the League’s highest-scoring teams entering the contest, the Preds and Jets lived up to the hype, going back and forth throughout the contest, but it was Winnipeg who took the final lead of the evening.

The third period was Nashville’s best of the night, but it was their effort through the first 40 minutes that left something to be desired when all was said and done.

“I thought we just played OK tonight, especially the first two periods,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said. “Against a good team like that, it’s just not enough.”

“I think we have to play better,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re capable of playing at a different pace with better execution and more of an identity than we did. So, there’s room for improvement there.”

It was Winnipeg who took a 1-0 lead in the first, but in the final minute of the opening period, the Preds struck twice courtesy of goals from Calle Jarnkrok and Kevin Fiala, the second of which extended the goal-scorer’s point streak to eight games.

P.K. Subban potted a power-play goal in the middle stanza, but Winnipeg got three more in the second, including two goals from Nikolaj Ehlers to take a 4-3 lead into the locker room.

However, just 30 seconds into the third period, Yannick Weber blasted home his first of the season and first ever with the Preds at Bridgestone Arena to even the score once more, leading to a slew of chances for Nashville during the rest of regulation. But then a late goal from Tanev sealed it before Blake Wheeler added an empty netter to hand the Preds their first regulation loss in the month of December.

“They’re a skilled team and a fast team,” Weber said. “We knew it was going to be a tough match, but I think we gave them a little bit too much.”

On the right side of the ledger with regularity as of late, the loss provides a different challenge for Nashville as they prepare to host Carolina on Thursday with a chance to correct what went wrong.

“We obviously have to look ourselves in the mirror,” Preds forward Filip Forsberg said. “No team is good enough to only play one period in this League and win. One of the best teams, Winnipeg, they’re good. The third period was good, but the two others could’ve been better.

“It’s unfortunate because it’s a division game against a good opponent that’s right behind everybody for the top of the Western Conference,” Laviolette said. “We’ll try to take something from it and get better.”

Notes:

Filip Forsberg now has a point in each of Nashville’s 16 home games this season.

Kevin Fiala’s eight-game point streak eclipses Forsberg’s streak of seven games (3g-7a-10pts from Nov. 11-24) for the longest point streak by a Nashville player this season.

The Predators host Carolina on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena before facing the Stars in Dallas on Saturday prior to the Christmas break.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report