Category: Sports

The Red Raider basketball team of Coffee County CHS opened up play in the Red Raider Christmas Classic on Thursday night.  After a scheduling dispute, the Red Raiders ended up playing a pair of games on the night.  Taking on Knowledge Academy of Nashville in the opener, the Raiders claimed a 71 to 38 win.  In the nightcap, Coffee County fell to Glencliff by a final score of 72 to 68. 

In the opener, the Red Raiders started strong as they built a 37 to 15 halftime lead.  Coach Micah Williams used all 11 of his available players on the night and all 11 scored in the game.  Jaylen Wooten was the leading scorer as he finished with 12 points.  Hayden Hullett added 11 points and Jaxon Vaughn finished with 8 points. 

Against Glencliff, the Red Raiders led by 3 entering the 4^th quarter before the visiting Colts rallied for the win.  Glencliff rolled up 24 points in the 4^th quarter, thanks in part to a trio of 3 point baskets.  Coffee County was 6 for 12 at the free throw line in the 4^th quarter and 11 of 20 in the game in the heartbreaking loss.  Jaxon Vaughn was the leading scorer for the Red Raiders as he had 21 points.  Jaylon Wooten added 14 points and C.J. Anthony chipped in 12. 

Coach Micah Williams was attempting to rework the schedule at press time. 

Revised schedule for the Red Raider Christmas Classic:

Friday 12/20:
3:30 Glencliff vs. Knowledge Academy
4:45 Smyrna vs. Knowledge Academy

THERE WILL BE NO GAMES ON SATURDAY!!

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams welcomed White County to the CCMS gym on Thursday night for a conference doubleheader.  The Lady Raiders closed out a contentious 4^th quarter to get a 45 to 34 win.  The Red Raiders held off a late Warrior rally to grab a 38 to 31 win. 

Leading by 1 point with 4 minutes to play, the Lady Raiders closed out the game on a 16 to 6 run to grab a crucial conference win and avenge a loss to the Warriorettes in Sparta in November.  Olivia Vinson led Coffee County in scoring as she had 17 points including 13 made free throws in the 4^th quarter.  Taylor Anthony added 13 points.  The win gives the Lady Raiders a record of 12 and 4 overall and 9 and 3 in conference play going into the holiday break. 

The Red Raiders held a 5 point lead going into the 4^th quarter before White County rallied to cut the lead to 1 point.  Coffee County held off the charge and pulled away late to gain a season sweep over the Warriors.  Cooper Reed led the Red Raiders in scoring with 15 points.  Ethan Hargrove added 12 points and Jackson Shemwell finished with 6 points.  The Red Raiders will go into the holiday break with an overall record of 11 and 3 and 10 and 2 in conference play.   

The Raider teams will return to action on January 2^nd when they travel to Woodbury to take on Cannon County.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Tipoff is set for 6 PM, Josh Peterson will have the pregame show beginning at 5:50

Marcus Hogberg won his NHL first game when Anthony Duclair scored 2:40 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Duclair one-timed a pass from Thomas Chabot on the power play for his 20th goal of the season, tying his NHL career high set in 201-16 with the Arizona Coyotes.

Rocco Grimaldi, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi each scored in the third period, and Juuse Saros made 19 saves for the Predators (16-12-6).

Craig Smith scored with a backhand to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 11:16 of the first.

Tkachuk scored a power-play goal with a wrist shot off the right post to make it 4-1 at 1:20 of the third. Grimaldi got the Predators within 4-2 15 seconds later at 1:35.

Ryan Ellis’ pass deflected in off Johansen’s skate on the power play at 9:39. Josi went end-to-end, deked Senators defenseman Cody Goloubef and beat Hogberg with a backhand to tie it 4-4 at 13:07.

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team will host their annual Red Raider Christmas Tournament beginning on Thursday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. The Red Raiders will welcome 4 teams for the 3 day tournament which begins on Thursday night. Seven games will take place over the 3 day tournament. Coffee County will play a pair of games beginning on Thursday night at 6:30 PM as they take on Knowledge Academy. They finish the tournament on Saturday taking on Providence Christian Academy at 1:30 PM. Saturday’s game will be broadcast here on Thunder Radio. We will begin live pregame coverage at 1:20 on Saturday with the tip-off at 1:30.

The Titans have signed kicker Greg Joseph to the team’s 53-man roster while placing veteran Ryan Succop on Injured Reserve, ending his 2019 season.

Joseph, who had been on the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers, played in 14 games with the Cleveland Browns last season and he hit 17-of-20 field goal attempts, including 11 for 11 inside of 40 yards and one from plus-50 yards. He also hit 25-of-29 extra point attempts. Joseph also had 47 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs.

Succop finished the season 1-of-6 on his field goal attempts, and he had a kick blocked in the team’s game against the Texans on Sunday. Succop made 24 of his 25 extra point attempts this season.

Succop handled field goals and extra points for the Titans since being activated from Injured Reserve before the team’s November 3 contest against the Panthers. The Titans waived kicker Ryan Santoso, who handled kickoffs for the team in games against the Raiders, Colts and Texans, on Tuesday.

Joseph will handle field goals and kickoffs for the Titans.

Also on Wednesday, the Titans signed linebacker Nigel Harris to the team’s active roster. The Titans also added receiver Trevion Thompson to their practice squad.

The 6-foot, 210-pound Joseph, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, initially signed as an undrafted free agent with Miami (5/11/18), but was waived by the Dolphins on 9/1/18. He signed as a free agent with Cleveland a few weeks later before eventually being waived by Cleveland this past August. He was signed to Carolina’s practice squad on 11/25/19.

In college, Joseph spent four seasons at Florida Atlantic, and he finished his career hitting 165-of-170 extra point attempts (97.1 percent) and 57-of-82 field goal attempts (69.5 percent). He attended American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Florida.

Harris (6-2, 225) joined the Titans practice squad last season and was added to the active roster for the final two games. This year Harris again was added to the practice squad in October. In 2017, the University of South Florida product saw action in eight total games as a rookie (with Chargers, Giants and Buccaneers) and totaled nine tackles and three special teams stops.

Thompson (6-2, 205) signed with the Los Angeles Chargers following this year’s NFL Draft. He was injured during offseason workouts and was waived-injured by the Chargers. He spent time on the Buccaneers practice squad earlier this year. In 57 games at Clemson, Thompson recorded 53 receptions for 506 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans face the Saints on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

The Coffee County CHS wrestling team welcomed region foe Shelbyville to the Coffee County Raider Academy on Tuesday night.  Originally scheduled for a tri-match, Lawrence County pulled out of the competition at the last minute.  The crowd that was on hand saw a tight back and forth matchup won by the Red Raiders 48 to 36.

With the Raiders leading by 6 points and one match remaining, Gavin Prater(wrestling at 145 pounds) got a pinfall win in under 90 seconds to clinch the win for Coffee County.  Also grabbing pinfall wins for Coffee County were Zach Speagle(170), Russell Ralph(182), Chris Speagle(220), Jeremiah Wardell(106), and Gabe Westbrook(120).  The Raiders gained forfeit wins from Dalton Long(126) and Hunter Massey(132). 

In exhibition matches, the Raiders got wins from Connor Smith and Jeremiah Wardell via the pin.  In the only girls’ match of the night, Lyra Leftrich won her match for the Lady Raiders with a pinfall win. 

The Raider grapplers are back at home on Thursday night as they join forces with the Coffee County Youth wrestlers to welcome Cascade and the Cascade Youth wrestlers to the Raider Academy.   Action will take place on 2 mats simultaneously.  Opening matches are set to get underway at 6 PM. 

The Westwood Middle School 6^th grade basketball teams traveled to southern Warren County on Tuesday night for a doubleheader against Irving College.   The 6^th grade teams faced a hostile crowd but fought their way to a pair of wins.  The Lady Rockets rolled to a 36 to 5 triumph.  The Rockets got a come from behind 36 to 24 win. 

In the girls’ game, the Lady Rockets held the Lady Tigers scoreless in 3 of the 4 quarters to grab the win.  Irving College got all 5 of their points in the 2^nd quarter after Westwood led 12 to 0 entering the stanza.  All 6 Westwood players that dressed out scored on the night led by Maddie Meacham who had 12 points.  Audri Patton added 10 points and Maggie Brei chipped in 6 points. 

In the boys’ game, the Rockets fell behind early to the home standing Tigers.  Trailing 19 to 13 at the half, Westwood exploded for 14 points in the 3^rd quarter while holding Irving College to 3 points.  Matt Moore led the Rockets in scoring as he had 18 points, 15 of those coming in the 2^nd half rally.  Kylan Jones added 8 points and Blake Cummins chipped in 6 points.

The 6^th grade teams will play their final 6^th grade game of the year on Tuesday, January 14^th when they travel to Morrison.  The girls’ game tips off at 6.

The varsity Rockets and Lady Rockets return to the court on Thursday night when they host Irving College at the Joel Vinson Gym.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The girls’ game tips off at 6 PM, our pregame coverage begins at 5:50. 

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball teams welcomed Victory Baptist to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Tuesday night.  Taking on the rival Patriots from Shelbyville, the Eagles had no answers for the talented visitors.  The JV(middle school ages) team lost 35 to 18.  The varsity(high school) Eagles fell to Victory 58 to 18. 

In the JV game, the Eagles got off to a slow start as they were held to 2 points in the 1^st quarter and fell behind 15 to 2.  The Eagles were able to match scores with the Patriots in the 2^nd half but could not overcome the first half deficit.  David Tran led the Eagles in scoring as he had 8 points.  Sam Floyd added 4 points.

In the varsity game, Victory exploded for 41 first half points to coast to the big win.  Temple was held to single digits in each quarter but did rally for 9 points in the 4^th quarter.  Isaac Stewart and Alex Gloden led Temple in scoring with 5 points each.  Mich Gloden added 4 points. 

Temple will now be off 3 weeks for the Christmas holidays.  The Eagles will return to the court on Friday, January 10^th when they host Faith Christian of Jamestown.  Both varsity and junior varsity teams will be in action.  The JV game will tip off at 5 PM at Temple. 

The Predators rolled out a snowman on the scoreboard on Tuesday night.

Seven unanswered goals turned a 3-1 deficit in the second period into an 8-3 victory for the Preds over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. It’s the second-highest goal total in a single game in franchise history, just the seventh time Nashville has tallied at least eight.

The comeback win bestows four of four available points to the Predators’ visit to New York; up next, their four-game trip will take them north of the border to Ottawa.

“We’re all really happy,” Preds forward Nick Bonino said. “It was a great start. I think they controlled the last bit of the first and early second, and we’ve had trouble battling back from leads. I thought our response when we went down 3-1 was awesome… It’s something we’ve been searching for a lot of this year, and to get that result tonight on the second game of the back to back, we’re very pleased.”

The first frame only featured one goal, and it came off the stick of Craig Smith less than five minutes into the contest to give Nashville the game’s first lead. And then both clubs went wild in the second stanza.

The Preds and Isles combined for seven goals over the next 20 minutes, and the first three belonged to the home team. Brock Nelson, Derek Brassard and Casey Cizikas all tallied for the Islanders, with the Cizikas tally coming shorthanded. Considering they entered the game allowing the NHL’s second-lowest goals against per game at 2.3, scoring three goals is usually all the Islanders need to win. But not on Tuesday.

Twenty-seven seconds after giving up a shorthanded goal, Filip Forsberg started the rally on the very same power play. The winger cut the New York lead to 3-2, and then less than two minutes after that, Smith roofed his second of the night to tie the game.

“It feels good,” Smith said of his two-goal outing. “With that being said, a lot of games I’m right there, we’re in the right spots and I haven’t changed much. I’m just trying to get into those pockets and find in a lane to be able to shoot, but I was able to get a good look.”

The Predators weren’t done yet, and Mattias Ekholm’s point shot deflected off of Bonino and into the twine at 18:24 of the second. Less than a minute after that, Rocco Grimaldi went top shelf for his second goal in as many nights to give the Predators a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes.

“It’s a huge win for us,” Grimaldi said. “It was a great response at the end of the second there, and then we just stuck to our game plan. I know, in the past, we’ve kind of sat back on our heels, and sometimes they start coming at us, but I thought today we just kept going.”

The string of goals kept rolling into the third period as well, as Calle Jarnkrok netted his 12th, Roman Josi notched the team’s second man-advantage marker of the night and Ryan Johansen capped off the scoring with the visitor’s eighth goal of the evening.

The need to play well and collect points on this trip was emphasized by those in the Nashville locker room, especially after a 4-1 loss to Dallas at home last Saturday. Now, the Preds have four points in two nights to start the four-game excursion.

“We need points right now,” Grimaldi said. “That’s what we were talking about before coming on this road trip. That it was a four-game road trip against four good teams. We knew that to have a good road trip, you’ve got to start with the first one, and then after the first one, you’ve got to start the second… We can’t control what other teams do, whether they’re winning or losing or going on streaks. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. You can only control what we can control, and I think we can keep putting together good efforts like tonight and we’re going to start climbing back up the standings.”

The win is arguably the Predators’ most significant victory of the month, and on Thursday they’ll attempt to stretch their winning streak to three for the first time since October. The Predators will face the Senators in the third stop of their trip.

“We talked about this as a big week, a season-defining week, maybe,” Bonino said. “We’d love to get all four, but just to start with two is big. It’s tough not to look at the standings right now. We’ve got some games in hand, so these back-to-backs are always huge, and now we’ll go to Ottawa.”

Notes:

Tonight’s game was just the third time in franchise history the Predators had at least eight different players with at least two points in a single game.

Mikael Granlund (lower-body, day-to-day) and Yannick Weber did not play for the Preds on Tuesday.

With two goals and an assist, Craig Smith recorded his first three-point outing since December of 2017.

The eight goals allowed by the Islanders was the highest total allowed under head coach Barry Trotz.

The four-game trip now halfway complete, the Predators will travel to Ottawa to prepare to face the Senators on Thursday night (at 6:30 p.m. CT) before finishing up on Saturday in Boston.