Category: Sports

Winning in Foxborough against the Patriots. Check.

Beating the Ravens in Baltimore. Check.

Now, the Titans will be faced with knocking off the Chiefs in Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game.

A day after the Titans beat the Ravens 28-12 in the AFC Divisional playoffs, the Chiefs punched their ticket into Sunday’s showdown with a 51-31 win over the Texans on Sunday. The Chiefs rallied from a 24-0 first half deficit to win going away.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled for 2:05 CT. The winner will advance to Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Sunday, February 2.

“We have to win next week,” Titans cornerback Logan Ryan said in the locker room at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday night. “Nearing the ultimate goal is irrelevant. We were 2-4 to start the year. We had to win at the end of the (regular) season to get into the playoffs. We are faced with a big challenge, and we’re going to have to play well.”

The Titans will be playing in their third AFC Championship Game in the “Titans era,” and their first since the 2002 season.

“It’s all about winning the Super Bowl,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “None of this is going to mean anything unless we go and win the Super Bowl. That is our mentality now, to go and win the Super Bowl. At this point, it’s not about the hype, or the seedings. We understand we are going to have to be road warriors.”

The Titans and Chiefs know each other well.

In Week 10 of the regular season, the Titans rallied for a 35-32 win over the Chiefs at Nissan Stadium.

Running back Derrick Henry ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns in that contest, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 13-of-19 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 36-of-50 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns in that game against the Titans.

“We already played them, we know that they are a tough team, and they are a team that really battles to the end,” Mahomes said of the Titans on the CBS broadcast after Sunday’s win over the Texans. “They are a team that is really hot, playing really good football right now. We know it is going to take our best effort.”

The Titans beat the Chiefs 22-21 in the playoffs during the 2017 season, and they won 19-17 on a last-second field goal by kicker Ryan Succop during the 2016 season. The Titans have posted a 7-3 mark against the Chiefs in the “Titans era.”

The Chiefs finished the regular season with a 12-4 record in 2019, and they won the AFC West.

Vrabel said he has not spent much time motivating his team with the “underdog” role.  “I try to spend the majority of my time preparing the team the best that I can,” Vrabel said. “I think for those of us that have been around this league long enough, I think that’s kind of overrated — the underdog thing. It’s pro football. Everybody gets paid. Everybody has a job to do.  We knew we were going to get on a plane a couple of weeks ago, and as long as we kept winning, we are going to keep getting on that plane. The same thing this week. We’re going to continue to improve and not let complacency set in and not be excited about winning whatever this was. I know we’re playing in the AFC championship game, but we have to continue to improve. You heard me say the teams that do, they keep playing. And the ones that don’t, they make off-season plans.”

The Titans game will be broadcast on the Titans Radio Network with Mike Keith on the call.  You will be able to hear the game on Thunder Radio, the exclusive home of the Titans Radio Network in Coffee County. 

The Coffee County CHS basketball teams traveled to Lawrenceburg on Tuesday for a huge district doubleheader.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, both Raider teams grabbed wins in the doubleheader sweep.  The Lady Raiders won 56 to 34 while the Raiders completed the sweep with a 77 to 53 defeat of the Wildcats.

In a battle of 3 and 0 teams in the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders saw Lawrence County cut the Coffee County lead to 6 points with 6 minutes remaining in the game.  Coffee County closed out the game on a 18 to 2 run to seize the crucial district win.  The Lady Raiders were 7 of 9 at the free throw at the line in the 4^th quarter to take over first place in the district standings.  Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 19 points.  Ellie Graham had five 3 pointers in the first half to finish with 15 points and earn the Stone Fort Mortgage Player of game honors.  Jalie Ruehling added 10 points for Coffee County. 

In the boys’ game, Lawrence County got off to a hot start grabbing an early 5 point lead.  The Red Raiders rallied to tie the game at 20 entering the 2^nd quarter.  In the 2^nd quarter, Coffee County opened the frame on an 11 to 2 run and never trailed again.  Jaxon Vaughn came off the bench to lead the Raiders in scoring as he netted 18 points and earned the Stone Fort Mortgage Player of game honors.  C.J. Anthony added 16 points and Kyle Farless poured in 15.  The win moves the Red Raiders into a first place tie in the district with a record of 3 and 1 in district play. 

Coffee County returns home on Friday as they play host to Lincoln County.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM, our live coverage begins with the Powers Storage Pregame show at 5:50. 

Download the broadcast at: www.ThunderRadio1320.com/downloads

The Coffee County Middle School Red Raider basketball team opened up play in the CTC basketball tournament on Tuesday night.  Seeded as the #2 team in the conference, the Raiders squared off against the Trojans of South Franklin.  Coffee County got their 3^rd win of the year over South with a 40 to 29 victory.

The Red Raiders led throughout the game but could never put away the pesky Trojans from South.  Coffee Middle missed six point blank shots in the 1^st half but still took a 19 to 8 lead into the locker room at intermission.  Leading 29 to 14 going into the 4^th quarter, Coffee County saw South score 15 points in the final frame in a furious rally that came up short.  The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Cooper Reed who finished with 17 points, including a pair of important 3 point plays in the 4^th quarter.  Ethan Hargrove added 12 points and Jackson Shemwell netted 6 for Coffee County.

The Red Raiders will advance to Thursday’s semifinals.  Coffee Middle will tangle with the winner of the Wednesday night’s game between Warren County and North Franklin.  Thursday’s game will tip off at 7:30 PM at Warren County High School.  The Lady Raiders will also be in action on Thursday night.  The girls’ game will precede the Red Raiders’ game and get underway at 6:15 PM at Warren County High School. 

The Temple Baptist Christian School varsity basketball team traveled to Tunnel Hill, Georgia on Tuesday night to battle Dogwood Christian Academy.  The Eagles entered the 4^th quarter with a 4 point lead only to see Dogwood rally for the win.  Temple fell by a final score of 33 to 32. 

Temple built a 3 point lead at the half and added to the lead in the 3^rd quarter only to see Dogwood erupt for 14 points in the final frame to grab the win.  Temple’s offense was hampered by only shooting 3 free throws in the 2^nd half.  Sam Floyd had the biggest night of his Eagles’ career as he finished with a game high 16 points.  Alex Gloden added 12 points while Mich Gloden chipped in 4.   

Temple will be back in action on Tuesday as they welcome Philadelphia Christian to the E.C. Bailey Gym for a varsity/JV doubleheader.  The doubleheader is set to get underway at 6 PM. 

The Westwood 6^th grade basketball teams traveled to Morrison on Tuesday night.  The Lady Rockets came up short 27 to 20.  The Rockets fell by a final score of 25 to 17. 

In the girls’ game, Westwood was held scoreless in the 1^st quarter but managed to rebound for a 1 point halftime lead.  In the 2^nd half, Morrison netted 10 points in the 4^th quarter to pull away for the win.  Maddie Meacham and Audri Patton tied for the team lead in scoring for the Lady Rockets as each finished with 10 points. 

In the boys’ game, the Rockets were held to 1 point in the 3^rd quarter as they fell to the Tigers.  Matt Moore was the leading scorer for Westwood as he tallied 8 points, including a pair of 3 pointers.  Lane Fann added 4 points and Neyland Grant finished with 3 points.   

The doubleheader wraps up the season for the 6^th grade teams. 

The road sweep was not meant to be.

The Nashville Predators piled up wins in their first two stops in a three-game road trip, but a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the finale stymied the visitors from climbing the standings once again. Filip Forsberg’s lacrosse-style, wraparound goal in the first period would have been the highlight of the week if his club had been able to prevail in the contest.

Instead, Josh Archibald broke a 2-2 tie in the second and the Predators were unable to find the equalizer before the Oilers sealed the win with an empty-netter.

“It’s a tough loss for sure,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “We gave a good effort at the end and tried to get it tied up, but it didn’t happen. At 5-on-5, we were pretty even, but special teams, I feel like that’s an area that we have to win that battle, and I think things are going to start turning for us… It was a good game, but you play for results. All these points are so important for us right now, so just a little disappointed.”

Edmonton got things started in the first period, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins beat Pekka Rinne right off a faceoff, but less than two minutes after that, Filip Forsberg went to work.

“It’s a pretty high-skilled play,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “You don’t see those come around too often. Fil’s a pretty skilled player, so it’s pretty impressive.”

After Matt Duchene won a draw in the Oilers zone, Forsberg carried the puck behind the Edmonton net, and in one continuous movement, picked the puck up on the front end of his stick blade, brought his twig up off the ice lacrosse-style and threw the biscuit off of Mike Smith and into the twine to even the score at 1-1.

“It was unbelievable,” Rinne said of Forsberg’s goal. “One of the nicest goals I’ve seen live. Just an unbelievably skilled individual, and he pulls that out in the game. It’s so impressive.”

“It was great [to be able to do it],” Forsberg said of his goal. “At the time, it was a big goal too… It’s something that I’ve tried a couple of times, and it’s cool that it went in, but at the same time, it would have been a lot sweeter if we were to win.”

Five minutes later, Colin Blackwell potted his second goal in three games to give the visitors their first lead of the night, but Leon Draisaitl scored on a power play to even the score at 2-2 after 20 minutes.

“Tonight was a tough one,” Blackwell said. “It was a fast game, and Peks kept us in that game, so it’s disappointing that we didn’t come out on top. I thought we had a good first period, but obviously they had a couple of timely goals, and I think that’s kind of the story of the game.”

Connor McDavid found Archibald in front midway through the second for the only goal of the middle period. Nashville’s best chance to tie the game came in the final five minutes of the frame with extended time in the offensive zone, but Smith kept Nashville at bay.

Edmonton’s tally into the empty net late in the game read as a power-play goal, giving the Oilers two on the night. On the contrary, Nashville went 0-for-3 on the man advantage, a sticking point at the end of the evening.

“We knew coming into the game that special teams were going to be really important, so that’s something we have to continue to work at here,” Hynes said. “We didn’t get a power-play goal; they got one and then they got the one with the empty net. That was a key to the game that we have to do a little bit better job of. I thought we showed some good signs, and there were some good things we did, but there’s some inconsistency in our play, and that’s something that we’ve got to be mentally engaged in and play the right way – play to the identity that we need to play with to be able to have success on a more consistent basis.”

The Predators will now head home to Nashville for two games before a midseason hiatus with the bye week and All-Star Weekend looming, and they’d prefer to go into that break feeling good about their place in the standings.

“That was a hard-fought game… and obviously we lost tonight, but we’re back at it again shortly, so we’ve got to close the gap,” Blackwell said. “[We need to] finish on a strong note before the break.”

Notes:

Preds defenseman Dante Fabbro returned to the Nashville lineup after missing the previous five games with an upper-body injury.

Jarred Tinordi, Austin Watson and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Predators on Tuesday.

With their three-game road trip now complete, the Predators will return home for two games prior to their bye week and NHL All-Star Weekend. Nashville will host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night (at 7 p.m. CT) at Bridgestone Arena before sporting their NHL Winter Classic uniforms on Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres for a special White Out game.

The Westwood Middle School basketball teams welcomed Boyd Christian to the Joel Vinson Gym on Monday for their final home games of the season.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Rockets and Lady Rockets rolled to a doubleheader sweep.  The Lady Rockets won 44 to 0 and the Rockets completed the sweep with a 37 to 12 defeat of the Broncos.

In the girls’ game, fourteen different Lady Rockets scored in a game that saw the starters play less than 4 minutes.  Westwood jumped out to a 22 to 0 lead in the first quarter after forcing 8 turnovers.  Princess Penaloza led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 6 points.  Audri Patton, Keena Seivers, Allie Sullivan, Kailee Rossman and Maggie Bri all finished with 4 points each. 

In the boys’ game, illness forced coach Will Pannell to dress only 12 players including student manager Stevie Boles.  All 12 played in the game including Boles who scored his first career 2 points on a 3^rd quarter basket.  Westwood built a 27 to 2 lead at the half before playing 6^th graders in the 2^nd half.  Jayden Carter led Westwood in scoring with 14 points, all of those coming in the 1^st half.  Caiden Warren added 9 points while Matt Moore chipped in 4 points. 

Westwood travels to Warren County on Thursday night for a pair of games at Centertown.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM; our live coverage begins with the pregame show at 5:50. 

Download the broadcast at: www.ThunderRadio1320.com/downloads

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team opened up play in the CTC basketball tournament on Monday night.  Seeded as the #2 team in the conference, the Lady Raiders squared off against the Lady Bobcats of West Tullahoma.  Coffee County got their 3^rd win of the year over West with a 34 to 11 victory.

The Lady Raiders dominated the 2^nd half as they rolled to their 16^th win of the year.  Leading 13 to 7 at the half, Coffee County held West to 4 points in the 2^nd half for the dominant win.  Olivia Vinson was the leading scorer for Coffee County as she had 14 points.  Channah Gannon added 6 points and Sophie McInturff finished with 4 points. 

The Lady Raiders will advance to Thursday’s semifinals.  Coffee Middle will tangle with Warren County in the semifinals.  That game will tip off at 6:15 PM at Warren County Middle School.  The Red Raiders will open up play in the CTC tournament on Tuesday night as they take on South Franklin.  That game gets underway at 7:30 PM at Warren County High School. 

The Coffee County CHS wrestling team welcomed Stewarts Creek to their home dojo on Monday night for a dual meet with the Red Hawks.  Coffee County struggled against the more experienced Red Hawks as they fell 57 to 21. 

Coffee County got 3 pinfall wins and a decision win on the evening.  Russell Ralph(fighting at 182 pounds) captured an 11 to 7 decision win.  Grabbing pinfall wins were Chris Speegle(220), Cardin Stump(285) and Jeremiah Wardell(106).  Stump captured his pin in 28 seconds while Wardell grabbed his pin in 43 seconds. 

The Raider grapplers will be back at home on Thursday as they welcome Riverdale and St. Andrews-Sewanee to the Coffee County Raider Academy for a tri-match.  First match is set for 6 PM. 

The Coffee County Central High School swim team competed in the Snowball Invitational on Saturday at the University of the South in Sewanee. The Raider swimmers came home with a 5th place team finish out of 14 teams from Middle and East Tennessee.

The Lady Raiders 200 Medley relay team of Lindsey Cauble, Kaylee Williams, Emily Williams and Kennedy Norman-Young captured a 3rd place finish with a time of 2:12.11.

Raider swimmers with Top 5 individual finishes were:
Kaylee Williams – 1st place, 500 freestyle; 4th place, 100 freestyle;
Nick Bogle – 2nd place, 200 freestyle; 4th place – 100 freestyle; 4th place, 50 butterfly;
Kennedy Norman-Young – 4th place, 100 butterfly; 4th place – 50 freestyle;
Emily Williams – 5th place, 100 breaststroke;

The swimmers return to the water on January 24th when they head to Nashville for the Region Meet. That meet will take place at the Tracy Caulkins Aquatic Center at Centennial SportsPlex.