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100 YEARS OF FOOTBALL: Red Raider football alumni night set for Sept. 23. Sign up for your free shirt
This fall marks 100 years of football for the Red Raider program, dating back to the days as Manchester High School and then eventually Coffee County Central High School.
Celebrations and recognitions are planned for every home game this season with one of the biggest set for Sept. 23 home game against Spring Hill – Alumni Day.
Coach Doug Greene, the CHS administration and players are inviting all former players back to Carden-Jarrell Field for pregame recognition and to celebrate the rich history of Central High School football. Pregame recognition will be held at approximately 6:30 p.m. with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Any Red Raider football alumni who plan to attend should sign up and provide your graduating class year and your t-shirt size – alumni in attendance will receive a t-shirt.
You can hear the Red Raiders all season long on Thunder Radio – beginning every Friday night with the Friday Night Thunder Pregame show at 6 p.m. and kickoff at 7 p.m. Listen to Thunder Radio at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app or thunder1320.com. Full schedule below.
HIGH SCHOOL FALL SPORTS OPEN PRACTICE (PHOTO GALLERY)
High School Sports across Tennessee officially began practicing on Monday, July 25. Thunder Radio made the rounds to see everyone in action. CHS volleyball started things off with a 9-11 a.m. practice at The Patch. The Lady Raiders will host a playday Saturday, July 30 with matches at 9, 10:30 and noon. They will officially open the season Aug. 16 when Riverdale comes to town. The Lady Raider volleyball team is 3-time defending district champions and winners of 29 consecutive district matches.
Meanwhile, the Raider football team hit the field at 3 Monday afternoon. The Raiders are looking to build off a 5-5 2021 and will do so only having lost 7 seniors. They will travel to La Vergne for a 5:30 p.m. scrimmage on Friday, July 29.
And the Lady Raider soccer team was on the field late Monday, working from 5-7 p.m. They will open on Aug. 16 at Lincoln County.
PHOTOS BELOW. PHOTOS BY HOLLY PETERSON | THUNDER RADIO, THUNDER THE MAGAZINE
Kurry Neel 
Katie Lawrence 
Rylee McInnis 
Abby Clark 
Olivia Moss 
Anna Johnson 
Camry Moss 
Zowee Dillard 
Birthdays – July 25
Thadius Lawson – 5 – Pizza Winner!
Charlie Looper – 2
Dustin Elrod
Birthdays – July 24
Justin Martinez – 33
Luke Baskin – 13 – Pizza Winner!
Pam Grenillo
Birthdays – July 23
Bradley Escue
Terry Neeley Jr. – 36
Audri Patton – 14 – Pizza Winner!
Marty Nellon Davis
Funeral services for Mr. Marty Nellon Davis, age 69 of Manchester, will be conducted on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 3 PM in the Coffee County Funeral Chapel with Bro. Bob Taylor officiating. Burial will follow in Franklin Memorial Gardens cemetery in Winchester. Visitation with the family will be held on Tuesday, July 26, from 5 – 8 PM at the funeral home. Marty passed away suddenly at his home on July 23, 2022.
Marty was born on August 4, 1952, to the late Paul Nellon and Reba Lee Dickerson Davis, in Winchester, TN. He was a retired truck driver for UPS after a 30+ years employment and a member of the N. Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro. Marty was a Mason at the Estill Springs Lodge. He enjoyed fishing, camping, dirt track racing, playing his guitar, piano and singing in church.
In addition to his parents, Marty is preceded in death by his brother, Kendle Davis. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Polly Vernita McKelvey Davis; son, Toby Davis; grandchildren, Kaitlyn Faith and Josie Lynn Davis; sister, Paulette Lawson (Butch); special friends, Charlie and Linda Smith, and David and Tunya Thomas; and Marty’s furry companion, Odin; several extended family members and a host of friends.
Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Davis family.
CMS football opens season next week; Westwood Blue-White game approaching. Check here for complete schedules
Middle school football in Middle Tennessee is fast approaching.
The Coffee Middle Red Raiders and Westwood Rockets kickoff their respective seasons next week – the Raiders with a regular season home game and the Rockets with their annual Blue-White Fundraiser intra squad.
Here are the schedules for each team, including scheduled Thunder Radio broadcasts.
COFFEE MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE. BOLD INDICATES THUNDER RADIO HOMETOWN SPORTS SERIES BROADCAST (107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, thunder1320.com)
| Thursday | 8/4/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS West Wilson | Home |
| Tuesday | 8/9/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS Harris | Away |
| Friday | 8/12/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS Walter J Baird | Home |
| Tuesday | 8/16/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS Tullahoma | Away |
| Tuesday | 8/23/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS Warren County | Home |
| Thursday | 9/8/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS North | Away |
| Tuesday | 9/13/22 | 6:30 p.m. | CMS | Football | VS Harris Middle | Home |
| Thursday | 9/22/22 | 11:30 a.m. | CMS | Football | VS Warren County | Away |
| Saturday | 10/1/22 | TBD | CMS | Football | CTC Title Game | TBD |
WESTWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE. BOLD INDICATES THUNDER RADIO HOMETOWN SPORTS SERIES BROADCAST. (107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, thunder1320.com)
| Thursday | 8/4/22 | TBD | WMS | Football | Blue & White Game | Home |
| Friday | 8/5/22 | TBD | WMS | Football | Jamboree | Cascade |
| Thursday | 8/11/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Cannon County | Away |
| Thursday | 8/18/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Cascade | Away |
| Thursday | 8/25 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Liberty | Home |
| Thursday | 9/1/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Fayetteville City | Away |
| Thursday | 9/8/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Eagleville | Home |
| Thursday | 9/15/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Community | Away |
| Thursday | 9/22/22 | 6:30 p.m. | WMS | Football | VS Forrest | Home |
| Thursday | 9/29/22 | TBD | WMS | Football | DRVC Championship | TBD |
CC Claybusters take third place in state shoot; taking aim at national championship next week
Coffee County Claybuster’s Trap Shooting Team took had two teams to compete in the TN State Shoot at The Nashville Gun Club on June 14 -15, 2022.
The Varsity team composed of Riley Bellomy (CCCHS), Landon Meadows(CCCHS), Logan Meadows(CCCHS), Garrett Taylor(CCCHS) and Jonah Wyatt(Homeschooled); competed against 323 other shooters in a 200 target Singles Championship. The varsity squad brought home 3rd place in the state with a 954/1000 targets. With Bellomy and Logan Meadows leading the squad by shooting a 195/200 targets each.
The Claybuster’s are currently using their last 3 team practices to fine tune for the upcoming AIM National Youth Trap Shooting Championships July 31-August 2 held in Sparta, Illinois. The team will have 2 teams (1-varsity team and 1-sub-junior team) competing in the AIM National Championships. Both squads will shoot in the Singles Championship with each team member shooting 200 targets over 2 consecutive days. Some individual team members will also compete in 2 other disciplines shot in the Championship; a 100 target handicap event and a 100 target doubles event. Further more, select team members will go one to compete in the Grand American National Trap Shooting Championships held directly after the AIM National Championships on August 3-13, 2022. This event is the “Super Bowl” of trap shooting drawing shooters of all ages from all over the world.
Coffee County’s Griffin Meeker named to NJCAA All-Academic Team
Student athletes at Motlow State Community College are among the top academic performers in the nation. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced its 2021-22 All-Academic teams in mid-July, and Motlow placed 13 student athletes and one team on the list.
From Manchester’s Coffee County Central High School, Griffin Meeker earned a spot on the All-Academic Third Team. Meeker got plenty of playing time as a freshman for the 31-22 Bucks. Meer was third on the team in appearances, going 2-1 with a 6.59 ERA. He struck out 24 batters and allowed 21 earned runs over 28.2 innings of work.
The women’s soccer team, in addition to competing in its first national tournament on the field, also excelled as a team in the classroom with a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better, earning All- Academic team honors.
Three Motlow student athletes, all freshmen, are All-Academic First-Team honorees after compiling a
perfect 4.0 GPA:
-Brayden Cashion, men’s basketball
-Mataline Snow, women’s soccer
– Braden McFarlin, baseball
Second-Team honorees earned a GPA of between 3.80-3.99. Three soccer stars made the list:
-Madisen Hodges
-Cheyenne Watson (also named Honorable Mention All-American on the field)
-Kaitlynn Wofford
A GPA of 3.60-3.79 earned Third-Team honors for:
-Katelyn Helmick, softball
-Jada Johnson, women’s basketball
-Hannah Burks, softball
– JD Day, baseball
– Shayne King, soccer
– Griffin Meeker, baseball
– Lameisha Parker, softball
Nearly 8 percent of registered voters have cast ballots in Coffee County
This is the final week if you plan to early vote for the upcoming August 4 general election and state / federal primaries. The final day for early voting is Saturday, July 30.
An additional 123 voters went to the polls on Saturday, July 23, bringing the total of early votes cast to 2,764. Of those, 1,192 are rural county voters, 1,008 are Tullahoma voters and 564 are from Manchester. This makes about 7.8 percent of registered voters who have voted early.
Monday, July 18 has been the heaviest day of early voting so far, with 535 total votes cast on that day.
Those interested in voting early still have multiple opportunities to do so.
Early voting in Manchester is at the Coffee County Election Commission, located at 1329 McArthur St. Suite 6. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 to noon on Saturdays through July 30.
Meanwhile, in Tullahoma early voting is at the CD Stamps Center at 810 South Jackson St. Hours are 9a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays through July 30.
If you do not vote early, you may vote at your assigned precinct on August 4.
“Coffee County voters need to be aware that the August ballot is longer than we normally see and will take additional time to complete,” said Coffee County Elections Administrator Andy Farrar. “In this election you’ll have the opportunity to choose which candidates will advance to the general election in November, to retain or replace judges and elect Circuit and General Session Court Judges, District Attorney, Public Defender, County Mayor, County Commissioners, Sheriff, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Trustee, Circuit Court Clerk, Road Superintendent, Road Commissioners, School Board, Constables, Manchester City Mayor, Alderman and School Board, City of Tullahoma Alderman and School Board .”
Coffee County voters are encouraged to review their sample ballot before they head to the polls. Reviewing your ballot and deciding how you will vote can reduce your time at the polls.
“With the longer ballot in this election, I encourage Coffee County voters to make your voice heard during our state’s generous early voting period,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Casting your ballot early and reviewing your ballot before you go can reduce the amount of time it takes to vote.”
CLICK HERE to see a full sample ballot for the Aug. 4 election.