Category: Sports

The Central High School Lady Raider basketball game scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 2 has been cancelled. South Pittsburgh – the scheduled opponent – is out of school for the day and could not make the trip.

It was scheduled to be senior night.

The Lady Raiders will next play at home on Friday, Feb. 5 when they host Shelbyville. It will be a girls only contest with a 6 p.m. tip.

The girls now have senior night on Monday, Feb. 8 against Lincoln County, along with the Red Raider boys, cheerleaders and dance team.

Storylines to watch for as the Lady Raiders embark on the final two weeks of the regular season: Senior Bella Vinson is 9 points shy of 2,000 career points as a Lady Raider. Also, CHS is now ranked no. 3 in the Associated Press State Rankings.

Meanwhile, the Raider boys will next be in action Friday, Feb. 5, when they travel to Lawrence County for a 6 p.m. tip. The Raider boys will also travel to Franklin County on Saturday, Feb. 6 for a COVID-19 makeup game.

Tickets for upcoming home games can be purchased at www.gofan.co. The general public can attend games, however, gym capacity at CHS is at 1/3 capacity, or about 1,000 tickets.

Warren County tried to slow the pace to keep the score close against the Coffee County Lady Raiders Monday night in McMinnville.

The pace of play kept the score low, but eventually the Lady Raiders pulled away for a 45-29 non-district win.

Warren County played a box-and-one defense in an attempt to stop Bella Vinson, but the senior still finished with 19 points, including a perfect night at the free throw line.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and that really helped us out,” explained Vinson, who is now just 9 points shy of 2,000 career points as a Lady Raider.

In the first half, Coffee County relied heavily on Chloe Gannon in the post. The sophomore finished with 10 points, 8 coming in the first half. Elli Chumley scored 6 points, Jalie Ruehling 5 and Emma Fulks 4 behind a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line. Alivia Reel added 1 point.

The defense was key in the second half. The Lady Raiders held the Lady Pioneers to just one offensive field goal over the final 16 minutes of the game, coming with 2 minutes to play when Kam Nowlin knocked down a 10-foot jumper. Warren County’s other 8 points in the second half all came at the free throw line.

“We switched to a man defense in the second half and that worked,” said Vinson.

The win improves Coffee County to 21-1 overall on the season. After the game, the Lady Raiders got good news: with the release of the new Associated Press Top 10 poll the Lady Raiders are now no. 3 in the state of Tennessee.

Up next

The Lady Raiders will host South Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Feb. 2 for senior night. It will be a girls only contest. Bella Vinson is the lone senior for the Lady Raiders, and she will likely cross the 2,000 career-point mark.

“We really hope people come out and pack the gym for her. She deserves that,” said CHS head coach Joe Pat Cope.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the gym can’t be packed. But it can be at one-third capacity. Ticket availability is expected to sell out. There will be no tickets at the gate. Tickets must be purchased by going to gofan.co or clicking here.

Jaxon Vaughn got a look at the basket to tie the game at the buzzer Monday night (Feb. 1). But the senior’s 3-point basket was just short as time expired and the Central High School Red Raiders fell just short to the Pioneers, 62-59.

Vaughn appeared to draw contact during his shot, but no foul was called.

It was an impressive comeback for the Raiders nonetheless, having to fight uphill against a red hot CJ Taylor, who dropped 38 points behind eight 3-pointers for the Pioneers. Taylor scored 26 in the first half to help the Pioneers build a 40-30 halftime lead.

But Coffee County started the second half on a 12-2 run and eventually tied the game at 42-42 on a bucket from junior Connor Shemwell. The Pioneers pulled back away to take a 48-44 lead after three quarters.

CHS senior Kyle Farless pulled the Raiders to within one point at 52-51 midway through the fourth quarter and Shemwell got CHS to 56-55 with 1:35 to play, but the Raiders could never take the lead.

Trenton Scrivnor led the Raiders with 16 tough points in the paint – including another impressive dunk. Shemwell finished with 12 points, Jaxon Vaughn 10, Farless 10, CJ Anthony added 8 and Hayden Hullett 3.

The loss drops the Raiders to 9-8 overall. CHS will travel to Lawrence County for a 6 p.m. tip Friday, Feb. 5.

After stumbling out of the gate and trailing by 1 after the first quarter, the Coffee Middle School Lady Raiders woke up and cruised to a 36-18 win over Rock Springs in the opening round of the TMSAA AAA Girls Basketball Tournament at Stewarts Creek Middle School.

Eighth grader Oliva Vinson did most of the offensive damage for CMS. Vinson tacked up 17 points, including an impressive 10-point third quarter. She finished 6-of-8 at the free-throw line.

Post Channah Gannon added 9 points, Natalie Barnes 4, Sophie McInturff 2, Ella Arnold 2 and Kaylee Mason 2.

The win moves CMS to the second round where they will play Oakland or North Franklin. That game will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Stewarts Creek Middle School.

The Raider boys will take on Oakland Middle School in their opening round at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, Feb. 2.

Coffee County Central High School wrestling had two grapplers to qualify for the TSSAA state meet with their finish at the Girls West Region.

MaryAnne Walker qualified for the state meet in the 125 pound division with a third place finish. Meanwhile, Mary Wolfrum took fourth in the 132 pound division to qualify for the state meet.

Paryss DeShane took sixth place in the 119 pound division.

Also wrestling for the Lady Raiders were Lyra Leftwich, Sara Crosslin and AJ Rue.

Meanwhile, Red Raider wrestler Kolby McCormick placed third overall in the 285 pound division of the state junior varsity tournament on Saturday.

On Friday, Coffee County Central High School administration announced that Sarah Beth Elam has been named the school’s track & field coach.

“We are excited to announce the hiring of Sarah Beth Elam as the track and field coach at CHS,” said athletic director Rebecca Koger. “Coach Elam brings experience as an athlete and a coach. We are very happy she has chosen to join the Athletic Department. She will be an asset to our student-athletes.”

Elam is a graduate of Central High School and former Lady Raider basketball player and track & field athlete. She played collegiate basketball at Motlow State.

Below is this week’s prep sports schedule and details:

MONDAY, FEB. 1

5:30 p.m. – CMS Lady Raiders vs. Rock Springs (Stewarts Creek Middle School)

6 p.m. – CHS Lady Raiders & Red Raiders AT Warren County *

TUESDAY, FEB. 2

6 p.m. – CHS Lady Raiders HOST South Pittsburgh (Senior night. Broadcast live on Thunder Radio 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, Manchester Go app, thunder1320.com. Tickets on sale to the general public available here https://gofan.co/app/school/TN8582

7 p.m. – CMS vs. Oakland (Stewarts Creek Middle School)

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3

6 p.m. – Coffee County High School Basketball Coaches Show live at Praters BBQ*

FRIDAY, FEB. 5

6 p.m. – CHS Lady Raiders HOST Shelbyville * (Broadcast LIVE on Thunder Radio. 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, Manchester Go app, thunder1320.com)

6 p.m. – CHS Red Raiders AT Lawrence County

SATURDAY, FEB. 6

6 p.m. – CHS Red Raiders AT Franklin County *(Broadcast LIVE on Thunder Radio. 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, Manchester Go app, thunder1320.com)

Mathieu Olivier scored his first NHL goal, and Nashville put up a fight in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as the Predators started their four-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. The result evens Nashville’s record at 4-4-0 and concludes their two-game winning streak.

The Preds had a lead after 20 minutes for the first time this season, but Nashville surrendered four goals to the Lightning in the second period, a stanza Preds Head Coach John Hynes said led to the loss. 

Nashville mounted a comeback in the third, but it wasn’t meant to be in their first of eight meetings this season against the defending Stanley Cup champions. 

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY HERE.

Thunder Radio is your home for Predators hockey all season long. Listen at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM.

Trenton Scrivnor put on an aerial display and the Red Raiders used their size and athleticism in the paint to drop visiting Shelbyville 65-49 Friday night.

After being tied 13-13 after one quarter, the Raider pressure defense and transition offense wore down Shelbyville. The Raiders led 37-26 at the half and 58-35 after three quarters.

Scrivnor used his length to force Shelbyville into backcourt turnovers. The senior was able to take advantage of some good passes, stuffing home two dunks and then finishing an alley-oop thanks to a perfect lob from Phineas Rollman. Scrivnor finished with 15 points.

Raider junior Connor Shemwell was steady all night for the Raiders. Shemwell rarely missed around the basket – putting in 16 points in the paint and stepping out to knock down a 3-pointer to lead all scorers with 19 points.

Raider seniors Hayden Hullett and Kyle Farless also got into double digits with 10 points apiece. Hullett sacrificed his body and drew two Shelbyville charges.

Jaxon Vaughn and Dayne Crosslin each added four points for the Raiders, Brady Nugent 2 and Brady Vaughn 1.

Jeremiah Jones led the Eagles with 12 points.

The win makes the Raiders 9-7 on the year and 5-3 in District 8-AAA play. The Raiders play Warren County in a non-district game Monday, Feb. 1 in McMinnville. Girls tip at 6 p.m. and the boys to follow. Both games can be heard live on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com

As Thunder Radio sports announced yesterday, there are several changes in the Central High School Basketball sports calendar ahead.

Now add one more change to that list.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, Coffee County was scheduled to host Grundy County in a girls-boys double header. That will now be a girls only contest after the Grundy County boys backed out of the game. The Lady Raiders will host Grundy County at 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio, beginning with pregame at 5:45 p.m. The Lady Raiders will celebrate senior night.

Meanwhile, the boys basketball team, cheerleaders and dance team members will celebrate senior night on Monday, Feb. 8 when Lincoln County’s girls and boys travel to Manchester. As always, those games will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.

See other schedule changes below from a story published by Thunder Radio on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Coffee County’s basketball schedule has another shakeup coming due to COVID-19 changes and shifts with other district teams.

This upcoming Friday, Jan. 29, both Lady Raider and Red Raiders were scheduled to host Shelbyville. Instead, it will be a boys only contest. The junior varsity will play at 4 p.m. with the varsity set to hit the floor at 6 p.m. at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium. You can hear the varsity Red Raider game live on Thunder Radio.

Both teams will travel to Warren County Monday, Feb. 1 in a regularly scheduled contest with tip off at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, both teams were supposed to host Grundy County beginning at 6 p.m. for senior night. However, that will now be a girls only contest beginning at 6 p.m. and you can hear it live on Thunder Radio.

Next Friday, February 5, the Raider boys will be traveling to Lawrence County to take on the Wildcats as scheduled. However, the Lady Raiders will stay home and host Shelbyville in a makeup from Jan. 29. Both of those games will be at 6 p.m. You can hear the Lady Raider game live on Thunder Radio.

Saturday, Feb. 6, the Raider boys will travel to Franklin County to take on the Rebels in a makeup game from Tuesday, Jan. 26. Franklin County could not play on schedule due to COVID-19 quarantine within the Rebel team. Tip off for that Saturday game will be at 6 p.m. You can hear that game live on Thunder Radio.

On Friday, Feb. 12, the Lady Raiders are scheduled to play at Lawrence County to makeup for the Feb. 5 postponement. That game will only be played if it effects the district standings. If it is played, it will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.

Thunder Radio is your home for all Coffee County sports. Listen at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go smartphone app and thunder1320.com. Find full coverage of area sports online at thunder1320.com, coffeecountysports.com or coffeecountysportsauthority.com