Category: Sports

The Coffee County Claybusters traveled to Christiana on Saturday for their final shoot of the 2019 portion of their schedule.  With 4 teams competing, the Claybusters captured 3 team championships and 5 individual titles and 3 individual runner-up finishes. 

The Claybusters Team #1 the Junior Division, A & B Class with the High Overall score of 469.  Team members were: Hayden Jacobs(who shot 96 clays out of a possible 100), Landon Meadows(94), Logan Meadows(94), Turcker Carlton(93) and Victoria Majors(92).

Team #2 came in 2^nd place in the Junior Division, C Class with a score of 417 which was 19 targets behind Riverdale.  Team members were:  Cody Warren(98), Braden Davenport(98), Maddux Sain(88), Emily Deford(73) and Hallie Jacobs(60).

Team #3 won the Sub-Junior Division, C & D Class with a score of 393.  Team members were: Aubrey Payne(91), Braden Davidson(88), James Goldston(87), Reagan Hershman(89) and Forrest Smith(44).

Team #4 won the Sub-Junior Division, A & B Class with the High Overall score of 455.  Team members were: Jonah Wyatt(98), Garrett Taylor(96), Riley Bellomy(90), Dylan Hickerson(89) and Jacob Anderson(82). 

Individually, Landon Meadows was the Junior Class A champion.  Hayden Jacobs was runner-up on a tiebreaker in the Junior Class B.  Cody Warren was the overall Junior champion defeating teammate Braden Davenport in a tiebreaker.  Jonah Wyatt was the Sub-Junior champion.  Teammate Garrett Taylor was the Sub-junior runner-up.  Taylor captured the championships in the Doubles and Handicap competition as well. 

The Claybusters return to the Big Springs on Saturday, January 4^th.  Opening rounds will begin around 10 AM. 

A playoff-like atmosphere brought the best out of the Predators.

Juuse Saros was stellar, and Ryan Johansen tallied what proved to be the game-winner on the power play, as Nashville defeated the San Jose Sharks by a 3-1 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds five out of a possible six points to conclude both their current homestand and their season series against the Sharks.

“It was a playoff game out there, it had that feel to it,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was hard fought, but not an up-and-down game that had a lot of chances, especially early on. I was really happy with the way we stuck to it and got back to it in the third. There was physicality, there was not a lot of room and it had that playoff feel to it.”

Even better, Nashville has points in seven of their last eight outings, and while the group still has work to do in the standings, the most recent stretch is helping them with the climb.

“It’s something we talked about,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We are obviously not happy with where we are in the standings, and we need to put together some wins. We’ve done a good job lately.”

The game’s opening 40-plus minutes flew right by without a single goal, but less than five minutes into the third, Bonino took a beautiful feed from Mikael Granlund and wristed home his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Midway through the final frame, Saros stoned Barclay Goodrow on a penalty shot, and then minutes later, he robbed Timo Meier on another breakaway.

“The third was our best period,” Josi said. “We kept pushing, kept going forward and Bonino with a huge goal and then a huge power-play goal after. Things didn’t go the way we wanted the whole game, but you see how important a power-play goal is.”

The Sharks got one late when Meier broke the shutout, but Calle Jarnkrok iced it with an empty-netter to give the Preds a 2-0-1 record to finish the season series with the Sharks.

“It was a bit of a weird game for a goalie – there wasn’t a lot of work in the first period, yet he had to make some really big saves in the second period to keep things even,” Laviolette said of Saros. “We were doing a pretty good job in the third period, then he found himself with a breakaway, a penalty shot and a partial breakaway, and then he made four really big saves just to keep them at bay. He seemed like he was in control the entire game.”

In the waning minutes of the second stanza, a low-event game to that point turned rather feisty, including a scrap that saw Austin Watson and Evander Kane go at it with two seconds to play in the period. That turn of events seemed to rally the Preds, and they came out flying in the third, getting one and then two goals.

“It got a little intense there,” Bonino said. “Watty stepped up and had a huge fight and got us going. We came out in the third, and I thought we played really well.”

“It’s two teams that are fighting to put some wins in the column and both of our groups are looking at the standings trying to make up some ground,” Johansen said. “It got a little intense. I guess for that reason.”

Those goals, coupled with a few bouts of larceny from Saros, sent the home crowd into a frenzy as the Predators to locked it down late to earn one of the more satisfying victories of the season – and their 800th overall in franchise history.

“It’s a great team win,” Johansen said. “They had their chances, Juice made some huge saves and we had a couple in the third and found a way to get some goals and close out the win.”

Notes:

Mikael Granlund returned to the Nashville lineup on Tuesday after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

Yakov Trenin and Yannick Weber were scratched for the Preds against San Jose.

With their three-game homestand now complete, the Predators will head to Buffalo for a single game (at 6 p.m. CT) before returning to Bridgestone Arena to host the Dallas Stars (at 7 p.m.) for the only meeting between the two clubs prior to the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

Quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers), Ryan Tannehill (Titans) and Philip Rivers (Chargers), and running backs Aaron Jones (Packers), Derrick Henry (Titans) and Nick Chubb (Browns) are the nominees for FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for Week 14, the NFL announced today.

FedEx gives fans the opportunity to recognize top-performing quarterbacks and running backs through the FedEx Air & Ground Awards. Voting for this week’s nominees is open until Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET at NFL.com/FedEx. Fans can also vote on Twitter using the NFL published polls.

As part of FedEx’s continued commitment to deliver support to service members and their families, FedEx will donate $2,000 to the USO on behalf of each winner through FedEx Cares. The $4,000 donation will support USO Pathfinder, which provides resources and personalized services to assist service members and military spouses in their transition back to civilian life.

RYAN TANNEHILL GAME NOTES

· Won for the sixth time in seven games as a starter for the Titans in 2019.

· Completed 21 of 27 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. His passer rating of 140.4 was the second-best single-game mark of his career in a contest in which he attempted at least 20 passes. He added 19 yards on four rushing attempts against the Raiders.

· With a 77.8 percent completion percentage and a 140.4 passer rating, he joined Aaron Rodgers (three games in 2011) as the only players in NFL history to complete at least 75 percent of their passes with a passer rating of 130 or higher (min. 10 attempts) in three consecutive games in a single season.

· Joined Russell Wilson (five games in 2015) as the only players with four consecutive games with at least two passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 125 or higher in NFL history.

· His three touchdown passes included strikes to wide receiver A.J. Brown of 91 yards and 16 yards in the second quarter and a 17-yarder to tight end Jonnu Smith in the fourth quarter.

· His 91-yard touchdown pass was the longest pass of his career. The longest previous pass of his career was an 80-yard touchdown at Arizona on Sept. 30, 2012 as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

· His 91-yard touchdown pass was the fourth-longest touchdown pass in franchise history and the longest since 1965. The only longer touchdown passes in team annals were a 98-yard strike from Jacky Lee to Willard Dewveall against the San Diego Chargers on Nov. 25, 1962; a 95-yard touchdown pass from George Blanda to Dick Compton against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 5, 1965; and a 92-yarder from Lee to Bill Groman on Nov. 20, 1960.

· His 391 passing yards amounted to the third-highest total of his career. His 391 passing yards ranked sixth for the team in the “Titans era” (since 1999) and were the most by a Titans player since Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 402-yard passing day against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 15, 2013.

· Recorded his 19th career 300-yard passing game and his third 300-yard game of 2019.

· Registered his fourth consecutive game with at least two touchdown passes.

· With 263 passing yards in the first half, he recorded the highest total by a Titans passer in the first half since Billy Volek’s 282 yards at Oakland on Dec. 19, 2004.

DERRICK HENRY GAME NOTES

Totaled 103 yards and two touchdowns on 18 rushing attempts.

· Improved his season totals to 1,243 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 250 rushing attempts (5.0 avg.). He has set career highs in all three categories. He also has 18 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

· Scored a pair of touchdowns—first on a 12-yard run in the first quarter and then on a 10-yard run in the third quarter. It marked his seventh career game with at least two rushing touchdowns and his third game of the season with two rushing touchdowns—all three coming within the last four contests.

· Passed Steve McNair (3,439 career rushing yards) for sixth place on the team’s all-time rushing list and later passed Hoyle Granger (3,514) for fifth place on the team’s all-time rushing list. Henry now has 3,536 career rushing yards.

· Became the second player in franchise history to record consecutive seasons with 12 or more rushing touchdowns, joining Earl Campbell (1978–1980).

· On a four-yard run in the third quarter, he moved past 1,200 yards on the season. He joined Chris Johnson (2009), Earl Campbell (1978–1980, 1983) and Eddie George (2000) as the only players in franchise history with 1,200 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in a season.

· Went over 100 rushing yards on a 24-yard carry in the third quarter. He notched his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, his fifth 100-yard rushing game of 2019 and his 10th career 100-yard rushing game, including playoffs. He is the first Titans player with four consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Chris Johnson (12) from 2009-10.

· In passing 750 career rushing attempts, he reached the minimum number of carries to qualify for franchise and NFL career rushing average records. With his current career rushing average of 4.71 yards per carry (3,536 yards on 751 attempts), he took over first place in franchise history (Chris Johnson, 4.57) and first place among all active NFL running backs (Adrian Peterson, 4.69).

· Tied for fifth in franchise history with 13 rushing touchdowns in a single season.

· Tied for fifth in franchise history with 15 scrimmage touchdowns in a single season.

The Coffee County Central High School basketball teams traveled to Grundy County on Monday night.  The Lady Raiders got a runaway bounce back win as they stung Grundy County 66 to 31.  The Red Raiders got their 2^nd straight easy win as they dumped the Yellow Jackets 70 to 35.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early lead as they led 13 to 0 before Grundy County could score and 25 to 6 after 1 quarter.  Coffee County stretched the lead to 36 after 3 quarters to get a running clock for the entire 4^th quarter.  Bella Vinson finished the game with a team high 14 points.  Ellie Graham added 12 points and Jenna Garretson netted 10 points as she earned the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game honor. 

The Red Raiders started out sloppy as they saw Grundy County forge a 5 point lead heading to the 2^nd quarter.  In the 2^nd quarter, Coffee County outscored the Yellow Jackets 22 to 7 effectively ending Grundy’s upset hopes.  Coffee County opened the 2^nd half on a 16 to 0 run and coasted to the Mercy Rule win.  Kyle Farless led the Raiders in scoring with 24 points as he was named the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game.  Rod Brinkley came off the bench to net 12 points.  Jaylon Wooten tallied 10 for Coffee County. 

The Raiders are back in action on Tuesday night when they welcome Columbia to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym for their first district game of the year.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the varsity game.  Out live coverage will begin with the Char-El Apartment and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50.

Download the broadcast at: www.Thunder1320.com/downloads

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to Winchester on Monday to take on South Franklin.  Both Raider teams needed road wins to grab the season sweep of the Trojans.  The Lady Raiders doubled up South 42 to 21 while the Red Raiders battled to a hard fought 35 to 18 win. 

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raider defense held the Lady Trojans to 5 field goals in the 1^st three periods as they built a 31 to 13 lead.  Coffee Middle shot 25 free throws in the tough physical game.  Olivia Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring as she netted 20 points.  Channah Gannon netted 8 points and Taylor Anthony added 5 points as Coffee County won their 3^rd straight contest. 

Leading by 2 at the half, the Red Raiders began to click on offense in the 2^nd half.  Cooper Reed had 10 points in the 2^nd half to finish with 12 points leading the Raiders.  Jackson Shemwell had 8 of his 10 points in the 4^th quarter to help Coffee County pull away for the win.  Ethan Hargrove added 6 points as Coffee Middle improved to 9 and 3 overall and 7 and 2 in conference play. 

Coffee County returns home on Thursday night when North Franklin visits the CCMS gym.  That conference game will get underway at 6 PM. 

The Westwood basketball teams welcomed Dibrell to the Joel Vinson Gym on Monday night.  The Lady Rockets continued their conference dominance with a 43 to 17 win.  The Rockets bounced back from their first conference loss with a 38 to 6 victory.

Despite missing 5 free throws in the first quarter, the Lady Rockets roared out to a 17 to 4 lead after 1 quarter.  Seven different Westwood girls scored in the game as the Lady Rockets improved to 10 and 0 on the season.  Princess Penaloza led the Lady Rockets as she netted 10 points.  Bryleigh Gray and Keena Seivers each added 8 points for Westwood. 

“This was the best we have executed all year long” said Rockets head coach Will Pannell as his Rockets demolished Dibrell.  Westwood held Dibrell to 2 field goals and 2 free throws on the night in the convincing win.  Jayden Carter led the Rockets in scoring as he netted 12 points.  Caiden Warren added 9 points while Blake Cummings came off the bench in the 4^th quarter to drop in 6.  Westwood improves to 8 and 2 on the year and 6 and 1 in conference play. 

Westwood returns to varsity action on Monday when they welcome Eastside to the Joel Vinson Gym.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.  The 6^th grade basketball teams travel to Dibrell on Tuesday night for a doubleheader.  That girls’ game will also tip off at 6. 

Coffee County CHS swimmer Kaylee Williams has made her decision official to compete collegiately at Milligan College.  Williams signed her paperwork on Monday to join the Lady Buffalo swim team in a ceremony at CHS.  Milligan is located in Milligan College, TN between Johnson City and Elizabethton.  Milligan College athletic teams are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. 

Coach Becky Behrendorff of Coffee County praised Kaylee for her strong work ethic and willing leadership.  “Not having an assistant coach, Kaylee has helped me out by serving as a peer coach demonstrating and monitoring different events in practice.”   Behrendorff, herself a former college swimmer, believes that Kaylee has the drive to survive the tough transition to college swimming.  “Her parents have provided her great stability and support that will help her at the college level” added Behrendorff.  She also praised Kaylee for her academic work “Kaylee is very smart and that will really help her in juggling the classwork and swimming” said Behrendorff. 

Kaylee plans to major in Occupational Therapy while at Milligan.  “I loved the campus and the community up there.  It also helped that it is a Christian college” said Williams.  Kaylee likes the coach at Milligan, Spencer Scarth, and the way he communicates with the team.  Williams expects to compete primarily in the breaststroke and individual medley(IM) at Milligan.  Kaylee has already posted qualifying times for the regional and state swim meets which marks an appearance in the state meet for all 4 years of her high school career.  In addition to swimming with the Coffee County High School swim team, Kaylee also competes in the offseason with the Manchester Makos.  While swimming with the Makos, Williams has qualified for regional, state and sectional meets.   Kaylee is the daughter of Phillip and Tera Williams. 

The Red Raider wrestling team competed in their first duals’ tournament of the year on Saturday.  Coffee County finished the day with a record of 1 and 2.  Coffee County got a win over Riverdale in opening round.  The Red Raiders dropped close decisions to Mt. Juliet and Lebanon. 

In their 42 to 36 win over Riverdale, Coffee County got pinfall wins from Gavin Prater(at 145 pounds), Terreance Taylor(160) and Zachary Speagle(170).  Coffee County also got forfeit wins from Dalton Long(126), Jeremiah Wardell(106), Cardin Stump(285) and Christopher Speagle(220).

In the 2^nd round, the Red Raiders ran into the host Bears of Mt. Juliet.  Coffee County fell by a final score of 48 to 30.  Coffee County got a forfeit win from Gabriel Westbrook(120) combined with 4 pinfall wins.  Getting pin for the Red Raiders was Cardin Stump(285), Hunter Massey(132), Jordan Taylor(182) and Gavin Prater(145).

The Red Raiders were eliminated by Lebanon 47 to 24.  Christopher Speagle(220) and Hunter Massey(132) captured forfeit wins.  Jeremiah Wardell(106) and Zachary Speagle(170) earned pinfall wins for Coffee County. 

Coffee County returns to the mat on Tuesday.  The Raider grapplers will travel to Warren County to take on Warren County, Oakland and Franklin County in a 4 team match.  The match will take place in the Warren County football facility.  The first match will begin at 6 PM. 

The Coffee County Elementary League opened up their postseason tournament on Saturday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Four boys’ and 4 girls’ quarterfinal matchups advanced 8 teams to Thursday night’s semifinals.  The championship and consolation games will be held on Saturday. 

In girls’ games on Saturday, East Coffee got a thrilling 15 to 14 double overtime win over College Street; North Coffee raced past Hillsboro 27 to 4; New Union dumped Hickerson 43 to 11 and Westwood shot down Deerfield 36 to 2.

In the boys’ quarterfinals, Westwood bested East Coffee 16 to 9; New Union doubled up Hillsboro 22 to 11; North Coffee rolled over 30 to 5 and College Street clipped Hickerson 34 to 2.

Thursday night’s semifinal schedule(corrected)
5 PM – North Coffee vs. New Union – Girls
6 PM – North Coffee vs. New Union – Boys
7 PM – Westwood vs. East Coffee – Girls
8 PM – College Street vs. Westwood – Boys

The Coffee County Central High School basketball teams made the trek to Sparta on Friday night to tangle with the talented Warrior teams of White County.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, Coffee County was swept in the road doubleheader by White County.  The girls fell on a last-second shot 63 to 62 while turnovers doomed the Red Raiders in a 71 to 55 defeat.

In the girls game, Coffee County fell behind by 10 points with 6:30 to go in the third quarter before battling back to take a three-point lead into the 4^th quarter.  The Lady Raiders were able to stretch the lead to 7 with 4:30 to play but White County went on a run in the final 99 seconds culminated by a three-point basket at the buzzer to get the win.  Bella Vinson led Coffee County in scoring as she had 24 points to be named the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game.  Ellie Chumlee finished with 18 points and Jalie Ruehling added 12.  The loss drops Coffee County to a record of 7 and 2 overall

The Red Raiders took a 4 point lead into the second quarter but White County used 6 Coffee County turnovers in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into the half.  In the third quarter,  White County outscored Coffee County 24 to 5 to seal the outcome.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Shawn Anderson who had 17 points as he was named the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game.  Trenton Scribner added 10 points and Jaylen Wooten finished with seven.  The loss drops Coffee County to 5 and 3 on the season.

The Red Raiders are back in action on Saturday night when they welcome Marshall County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym for a boys only game.  The JV Red Raiders will play at 6 PM while the varsity game will tip off at 7:30.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the varsity contest.  Our live coverage will begin with the Char-El Apartment and Home Rental Pregame Show at 7:20.  Both Raider teams return to the court on Monday when they travel to Coalmont to take on Grundy County.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM; our live coverage will begin with the Powers Storage pregame show at 5:50.

Download the broadcast at: www.Thunder1320.com/downloads