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 3^rd consecutive year.  Coffee County used a pair of goals early in the 2^nd 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 37^th minute to give the Raiders a 1 to 0 lead.  In the second half, Chase Harper netted goals in the 51^st and 55^th minutes off a pair of assists from Breyer Taylor.  Tullahoma netted a penalty kick in the 56^th minute, but Miguel Mendoza found the back of the net in the 63^rd minute to give Coffee County their 7^th 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 2^nd 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.

The Coffee County CHS softball team opened play in the Coffee County Classic on Thursday evening with a split against Cascade and Gibbs at Terry Floyd Field.  The Lady Raiders also celebrated Senior Night as they honored seniors Tori Bell, Haley Hinshaw, Kaylee Skipper and Ashlynn Morton prior to the Cascade game.  In a pair of games decided in the final half inning, Coffee County beat Cascade 3 to 2 before losing to Gibbs 8 to 6.

In the opener, the Lady Raiders bounced back from a one hit, shut out loss a week ago to the Lady Champions early.   Coffee County plated a run in the first inning on 3 hits.  Tori Bell got the 1^st inning RBI on a sacrifice bunt.  Tied at 2 entering the bottom of the 8^th inning, it was the experience of a pair of seniors that lifted Coffee County to the win.  After Bell led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, Hinshaw advanced her to 2^nd with a sacrifice bunt.  Cascade misplayed the ball allowing Bell to go to 3^rd.  With the ball still in play, Hinshaw attempted to advance to second and succeeded in getting in a rundown long enough for Bell to slide into home with the winning run.  Hinshaw finished with a pair of singles.   Senior Kaylee Skipper tossed a 5 hitter with 6 strikeouts to get the win.  The 4 seniors were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.

In the nightcap, Gibbs drilled home runs in the first and last innings to hand Coffee County an 8 to 6 defeat.  Gibbs jumped out to a 4 to 0 lead in the first inning, but Coffee County rallied to tie the game in the 3^rd inning.  After each team swapped single runs, Coffee County took a 6 to 5 lead into the 5^th inning as the time limit was expiring.  Gibbs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 5^th to grab the win.  Coffee County was led in hitting by Haley Richardson who had 3 hits.  Haley Hinshaw added a solo home run and Katie Rutledge had a pair of singles.  Richardson was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.

Coffee County will be back in action on Friday when they will host a pair of games at Terry Floyd Field in the Coffee County Classic.  At 4 PM, the Lady Raiders will take on Forrest.  At 8 PM, the Lady Raiders will tangle with Covington.  The game with Forrest will be broadcast on Thunder Radio beginning with the pregame show at 3:50.

You can download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

 

Attempting to exercise the demons of an extra inning loss at the hands of Tullahoma on Wednesday, the Central High School baseball traveled to Lewisburg to take on Marshall County.   The Red Raiders were held to 2 hits on the game as they fell 7 to 1 to the Tigers in the non-district game.

Marshall County jumped on Coffee County in the first inning using a walk, an error and 2 hits to score the game’s first 2 runs.  Coffee County rallied in the 3^rd to score a run as Jacob Duncan led off the inning by reaching n an error.  Noah Anderson brought Duncan home with a single to make it a 2 to 1 game.  But Marshall County exploded for 5 runs in the bottom of the 3^rd to put the game out of reach.

Grant Sadler and Anderson had the 2 hits for Coffee County.  Hayden Skipper got the start for Coffee County on the mound and was saddled with the loss.

The Red Raiders will hit the road again on Friday when they take on White County in Sparta.  First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM.

The Coffee County Middle School tennis traveled to Sewanee on Thursday to tangle with St. Andrew’s. Both teams were looking to keep their unbeaten records in tact as they crossed rackets with the Mountain Lions. Both Raider teams not only got wins in the match, but both came home with sweeps.
The Lady Raiders won their match 7 to 0 winning 6 singles matches and a doubles match. In singles play Coffee County got wins from Sydney Bell(6-2), Jayda Wright(6-3), Marley Perry(6-0), Anna Amado(6-0), Lucy Riddle(6-0) and Wren Lawson(6-1). Coffee County also won the lone doubles match as Bell & Riddle captured the win in doubles play.
The Red Raiders also got a 7 to 0 win as they captured 5 singles wins and a pair of doubles wins. Winning in singles for Coffee County were Jaden Talley(6-2), Luke Irwin(6-2), Landon Booth(6-0), Tyler Rigney(6-1) and Loren Hansen(6-2) . The Raider doubles teams of Talley/Irwin(6-3) and Booth/Rigney(6-0) captured the doubles wins.
Coffee County will return home on Friday to take on Westwood. First serve is set for 4 PM at the Raider Academy.

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 3^rd 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 5^th 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 2^nd straight year of improvement for Westwood baseball.  The Rockets are coached by Dusty Hereford and Herb Nugent.

Looking for their 2^nd straight wins, the Westwood Middle and Coffee County Middle School golf team traveled to Bear Trace on Thursday to take on North and South respectively.  The Coffee County team was able to scratch out a 6 ½ to 2 ½ win over South.  The Westwood linksters fell to North by a score of 5 to 4.

Coffee County got a sweep from the team of Chance Hancock, Bennett Williams and Olivia Lewis which is good for 3 points.  The team of Caleb Jarrell, Keegan Grubbs & Natalie Shawl earned 2 ½ points.  The team of Logan Hale and David O’Connor captured one point.

For Westwood, the teams of Christopher Robinson/Blake Perry & Elizabeth Brown/Brayden Gray/Cara Bell each earned 2 points in the losing effort.

The middle school golf teams are back in action on Monday when welcome Fayetteville to Willowbrook.  That match will tee off at 4 PM.

Landing at LaGuardia Airport this week with a six-game losing streak in tow, the Braves needed something to jolt them out of their recent malaise — and quickly.

The Mets gave it to them in the form of their own miserable week, which included a pair of defeats and the losses of their two biggest stars. Starting in place of injured pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey gave up a season-high six runs — including a game-breaking three-run homer to Kurt Suzuki — in Atlanta’s 7-5 win over the Mets.
Superstar Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes also departed in the fourth inning with a hamstring injury, further crippling a Mets club that has lost six straight games, and 10 of 11. The Braves have swept the Mets at Citi Field three times in the last 10 months.
Suzuki’s homer was the biggest blow, knocking Harvey out of the game after only 4 1/3 innings. But the Braves also took advantage of a career-high-tying five walks from Harvey, who did not learn until around 10 a.m. Thursday that he would be starting.
“I wasn’t really physically prepared for starting today,” Harvey said, noting that he took part in a heavy weightlifting session one day prior. “Having those workouts that I did yesterday and the throwing that I did yesterday, I just definitely wasn’t prepared.”
The Mets stayed in the game until late thanks to a two-run rally off R.A. Dickey in the fourth inning, and a Jose Reyes homer in the fifth, but were unable to do enough damage against a quartet of Braves relievers. Dickey — pitching at Citi Field for the first time since the Mets traded him to the Blue Jays in December 2012, which brough Syndergaard to New York — departed after only five innings and 67 pitches due to a left quad spasm.
“I’ve got to be honest, it was pretty anticlimactic,” Dickey said. “No Syndergaard. All the storylines that were built up weren’t there. But this win was really fun, such a community win.”
Visibly upset after allowing a game-tying passed ball in the bottom of the fourth, Suzuki came to bat in the fifth with two men on base and a chip on his shoulder — particularly after Harvey intentionally walked Nick Markakis to face him instead. Suzuki then launched an 88-mph Harvey slider over the left-field fence, giving the Braves a 6-2 lead.
“It’s great,” Dickey said. “I felt like that was some poetry. The guy scored to tie the game. The first chance [Suzuki] gets, he absolves that.”
Harvey’s velocity dipped notably in the second inning, bottoming out at 91 mph on both his two- and four-seam fastballs. Worse, Harvey couldn’t deliver those pitches over the plate with any consistency. He walked three batters in the second inning, allowing the first two to score on a Jace Peterson RBI single and a Dickey run-scoring groundout. Harvey finished with five walks, his most in a game since July 2015.
“All of the sudden the command was gone, the velocity was down, the sharpness was down,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Harvey generated just five swings and misses in 86 pitches, resulting in a 5.8 whiff percentage that ranked second-lowest of any single game in his five-year career. Coming into Thursday, Harvey’s 9.8-percent season whiff rate was also the lowest of his career.
The Braves will have right-hander Bartolo Colon (1-2, 4.50 ERA) on the mound and hope to have second baseman Brandon Phillips back in their lineup for Friday night’s 7:10 p.m. CT game against the Brewers at Miller Park. Right-hander Chase Anderson (2-0, 1.13 ERA) starts for the Brewers.

With needs at defensive back and wide receiver, the Tennessee Titans drafted to their needs in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night in Philadelphia.  Here is a first round recap from TitansOnline’s Jim Wyatt

Titans select Western Michigan WR Corey Davis in first round (5th overall) of 2017 NFL Draft.

Corey Davis hoped the Titans would pick him in the NFL Draft.

Even before Thursday, the Western Michigan receiver declared Marcus Mariota his favorite quarterback in the league. He said his pre-draft visit to the Titans earlier this month felt like home.

Davis got his wish. The Titans used the fifth overall pick of the draft to select him.

“It just feels right, and it is such a blessing,’’ Davis said just moments after walking across the stage, and shaking hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “I didn’t really expect to be picked at 5, and for it to be the Titans, I am just so happy. It all feels so surreal.

“Now, I am ready to go. I am ready to help the team out. I am going to do everything in my power to help this team. I am hoping to make a big impact, but I know I have to take it one day at a time.”

Davis is an imposing figure, standing nearly 6-3, at 209 pounds, with good speed. Davis caught 97 balls for 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, and his 5,285 career receiving yards is an FBS record. Davis caught 331 footballs and scored 52 touchdowns in his collegiate career.

Davis said he’s thrilled to join the Titans, and play with Mariota.

“That is my favorite quarterback,’’ Davis said of Mariota. “He is smart, he is very accurate and I told you before I like the swagger he has going on. He is very poised, and he is a great leader. Catching passes from him, it is going to be right. He is on his way to being one of the greatest, that’s for sure. Anything I can do to help the team out, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Davis, who also visited the Ravens, Eagles, Browns and Cardinals, was the first receiver taken in the NFL Draft, ahead of Clemson’s Mike Williams (7th to Chargers) and Washington’s John Ross (9th to Bengals).

“Me and the GM, we hit it off,” Davis said of Jon Robinson. “His faith is really strong, my faith is really strong and we were talking about a lot of things, talking about life. When I was there I met with the OC (Terry Robiskie), and he is real cool, real laid-back. The head coach (Mike Mularkey), the GM, they seemed to like me. We kind of hit it off. Overall, it went really well, really smooth.

I am looking forward to going to Tennessee and working.”

Davis said he broke down after hearing his name called. It was the end of a long journey, and also the beginning of a new one.

“I am trying to hold it back right now,” Davis said. “I keep saying it, but it really is a blessing to be here, a blessing from God. I was nervous, anxious, didn’t know what was going to happen coming into the day.

“I am just so happy they called my name. They saw something in me, and they believed in me, and I am thankful for that. I love it, man. I love everything about it.”

Titans Select USC Defensive Back Adoree’ Jackson 18th Overall

Adoree’ Jackson has a winning personality.

As he stood on the “Rocky Steps” here at the NFL Draft, the USC cornerback was grinning ear to ear after being selected with the 18th overall pick in the first round Thursday night. Conversations come easy for the versatile playmaker, he admits.

It’s why he felt so good about all of his pre-draft visits, and his prospects of getting picked early.

“I feel like every time I get a visit a team, (the team) will pick me,” Jackson said with a smile. “I just felt like I’d just be myself and at the end of the day, people would just like me for being me.

“But at the end of the day you don’t pick players for personality, I know that. It’s about needs and wants, and being able to help a team. (The Titans) picked me because they thought I could help the team.”

It’s true.

The Titans snagged Jackson to bring some action.

At USC, he was the 2016 Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top cornerback. He finished the season with 55 tackles, five interceptions and 11 passes defensed while totaling 1,230 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns.

In addition to playing cornerback, the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Jackson also saw time at receiver, kick returner, punt returner and running back.

“I can do more than one thing on the defense — I can play outside, I can play inside. I can also return,” Jackson said of his versatility. “And if I am needed on offense you can throw me out there whenever. I am just thankful the coaches at Tennessee believed in me and picked me up.

“I am fired to go put a helmet on, put a jersey on, strap up the cleats and to go out to practice right now.”

Jackson, who made a pre-draft visit to the Titans earlier this month, should make an immediate impact in the secondary, and beyond.

He was the 2016 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he ranked first in Pac-12 history in career kickoff-return touchdowns (four), and fourth all-time in career punt-return scores (four). He was a two-time finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, given annually to the most versatile player in major college football.

“When they were up on the board I was hoping they would pick me, and when they did it just felt right,” Jackson said of the Titans. “The coaches liked me and I liked the coaches, so it is just a blessing to hear my name.”

Jackson, who grew up in Illinois but moved to California before his sophomore year in high school, said the Titans made him feel comfortable during his visit. And it continued with the phone call he received from Titans GM Jon Robinson on Thursday night.

“He was like, Are you ready to be a Titan?,” Jackson said with a smile. “I talked to him, the head coach, and I went to the lady at the front desk. It was cool, and they all had that southern hospitality that I love and like. I felt welcome right away from the phone call.

“And it was just a great feeling when I came to visit. It felt like the coaches were warm-hearted, it felt like a family, the organization. I get that southern hospitality vibe. So I’m happy how things worked out. Now, I’m ready to get to work.”