Austin Farris of CHS Golf [file photo]

Coffee County’s top 6 golfers all outshot Grundy County’s top scorer as the Red Raiders rolled to a 309 to 424 victory.  Leading the charge for the Raiders was junior Austin Farris who shot a two under par score of 70.  Samuel Prater completed the course in 77 strokes.  Josh Perry got around in 80 strokes while Reid Lawrence rounded out the top 4 with an 82.  Additionally, Matthew Hale carded an 86 and Chase Hancock carded a 98.

Grundy County was led by Grant Dees with a 103.  A.J. Tannebaum shot a 106, Kollin Cooper scored a 107 and Trey Hampton shot a 112.

Coffee County will be back in action on Tuesday, August 1^st when they travel to Cookeville for a match.  Tee time is set for 1 PM.

As the fall sports season gets ready to crank up, Thunder Radio sports concludes our series of previews for the fall prep sports season.  For the last 11 days, we have shown the spotlight on each of the 12 different local prep teams which will compete this fall.  Today, we look at the Coffee County Central High School Red Raider football team.

The Red Raiders donned the pads on Monday morning for their first day of full contact work.  Battling heat and contact restrictions, Coach Ryan Sulkowski begins his 4^th season at the helm of the Red Raider program.  “It was a little sluggish for a Monday, but overall I was pleased with the work of the 1^st and 2^nd groups” said Sulkowski when asked about the first day.   Coach Sulkowski is pleased with the spring and summer workouts and feels that this year’s team is ahead of schedule when compared to his previous teams especially in leadership.  “Not to take away from previous senior classes, but this year’s seniors are coaching the kids (and holding them accountable)” said Sulkowski.  “Physically speaking and athletically, this is our best group in 4 years.”

You can’t begin any discussion of Coffee County without mentioning UT commitment and senior Alontae Taylor.  Taylor is expected to begin the season at the wide receiver position, a position he is projected to play at the college level.  “Obviously Colton Prater(Sr.) is doing a good job for us at the quarterback position” said Sulkowski but he quickly added that Taylor will line up at a variety of positions to year to get more touches and to serve as a decoy as well.

In the backfield, Sulkowski called out the performance of junior running back Byron Sullivan who is “running hard.”  Senior Zach Vaughn has practiced well at the wide receiver position and will complement Taylor’s presence on the outside.  Up front, Sulkowski was pleased with Tyler Luttrell(Soph) who appears to have nailed down the center position.  Sulkowski said that he “likes the competition” amongst the other linemen as he considers their knowledge of the system as the best he has seen in his time at CHS.

Sulkowski and his staff are attempting to platoon this season and limit the number of players having to play on offense and defense  when possible.  On defense, a pair of seniors lead a strong linebacking corp as Cameron West and Deaaron Rozier have shined all summer.  “They are running to the ball and their football acumen and athleticism are special” said Sulkowski.  He went on to add that the defensive secondary is strong anchored by senior cornerback Keishaun Creel and sophomore cornerback Claudius Williams.  He called out their knowledge of the defensive concepts and the ability to run “the system” as well as communicate and work as a team.

One additional benefit of platooning is the opportunity to work more with the freshmen and sophomores.  The underclassmen are getting quality preparation and practice experience.  Sulkowski was effusive in his praise for many of his younger players, especially freshmen who have stepped up this summer.  Sulkowski praised the work of freshmen Bryce Damstra(OL/DL), C.J. Anderson(WR) and Matthew Pittman(QB) for their progress thus far.    “I want our kids to continue to show up and be ready to work hard every day” added Sulkowski.

The Red Raiders open the season on August 18^th when they travel to Winchester to take on Franklin County in a non-region game.  The first home game for the Red Raiders is August 25^th when Tullahoma visits Carden-Jarrell Field for the Coffee Pot Game.  As always, Thunder Radio is the exclusive home of each and every Red Raider football game with Lucky Knott and Dustin Murray on the call.  Additionally, the Ryan Sulkowski Show returns to Thunder Radio again this fall airing at 6 PM on Wednesday nights.

D-backs right-hander Zack Greinke did a little bit of everything Monday night as he tossed eight quality innings and drove in a run, and J.D. Martinez introduced himself to Arizona with a massive home run in a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Chase Field.

The D-backs jumped on Braves starter R.A. Dickey for three runs in the second inning, the first of which came on Greinke’s line-drive double down the left-field line. Dickey (6-7) never seemed to be able to get command of his knuckleball, which he used to easily handle the D-backs 10 days ago, and turned in his shortest outing of the year at 3 2/3 innings.
“Pretty well-scripted day for us and it was all set up by Zack Greinke’s outing,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “Just a really, really nice effort. I think he probably made one, two mistakes and one of them was hit for a two-run home run, but other than that he was in command from start to finish. He gave us a chance to get our feet on the ground offensively.”
The lone damage against Greinke (12-4) came in the fifth when Johan Camargo doubled with two outs and pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez hit his first home run since returning last week from a shoulder surgery that jeopardized his season. Rodriguez’s no-doubt shot traveled a projected 428 feet and had a 109 mph exit velocity per Statcast™.
That was not nearly enough on a night when the D-backs offense got two doubles, a homer and four RBIs from A.J. Pollock, with the recently acquired Martinez adding three RBIs on a homer to center field as part of a 13-hit attack.
“What can you say?” Lovullo said of his offense. “It was just one guy after another.”
Dickey completed at least five innings in his previous 19 starts this season and entered with a 1.80 ERA over his past six starts. But the 42-year-old veteran never got comfortable as he issued five walks and was charged with four wild pitches.
“I was fighting my body a lot tonight and I just didn’t feel great,” Dickey said. “Your body sometimes will choose the path of least resistance. Mechanically, my delivery wasn’t as repeatable as it’s been for the last month and a half.”
Making his second start since being acquired last week from the Tigers, Martinez — who was hit by a pitch on the left hand in his D-backs debut — collected his first hit in an Arizona uniform and it was a big one. Martinez smacked a three-run homer to straightaway center, projected to travel 427 feet by Statcast™, to help the D-backs put the game on ice in the sixth.
“I know that he wants to impress people,” Lovullo said. “That’s just the nature of the game and the nature of the moment. When you move teams you want to do everything you can to help out. Today was a great moment for him.” More >>
Pollock delivers: Following Greinke’s RBI double in the second, Dickey retired David Peralta and it appeared the knuckleballer might wiggle out of the second-and-third jam without any further damage. Pollock, though, came up with a double to left to score both runners and the lead became 3-0 as the D-backs started to roll.
“It’s been an area where we’ve had some concerns,” Lovullo said of hitting with runners in scoring position. “I think it was one of those moments where A.J. said, ‘I’m going to pick up my teammate right here and get the job done.’ It extended the lead and was a big boost to the moment and the dugout was excited. I think the guys started playing after that knowing that hey here we go we’ve got the ball rolling.”
The Braves were charged with six wild pitches, the most recorded by the club in a game since Phil Niekro produced this total himself Aug. 4, 1979, during a loss to the Astros. The four charged to Dickey matched Adam Ottavino and Trevor Cahill for the most in a Major League game this year.
Mike Foltynewicz will take the mound when this three-game series resumes Tuesday at 8:40 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz has posted a 2.95 ERA over his past six starts.