Category: Sports

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball teams made the long trip to Jamestown on Monday night to take on Faith Christian.  The Temple JV team was ice cold on offense as they fell 30 to 8.  The varsity Eagles got off to a good start before falling 51 to 34. 

In the JV game, Temple was held to one score in each quarter.  A 3 point basket and a 2 point field goal gave the Eagles 5 points at the half.  In the 2^nd half, Temple’s JV squad was held to a free throw and a field goal.  Issac Stewart led the Eagles in scoring with 3 points.  John Green and Brennan Davis each added 2 points. 

In the varsity game, a cold shooting 2^nd quarter saw the Eagles go from 2 points ahead to 7 points behind by intermission.  Temple never could get their offense untracked in the second half as they dropped the road decision.  Alex Gloden led Temple in scoring with 20 points.  Michael Gloden added 10 points and 7 rebounds along with 5 steals. Nolan Hughes was the leading rebounder as he finished with 8 boards

The Eagles will take off until Thursday, December 12^th when they host the home opener for the season.  The Temple varsity will play host to Dogwood Christian from Tunnel Hill, Georgia.  Opening tip is set for 5 PM.

Juuse Saros made 23 saves through 65 minutes – plus three more in the shootout – and Daniel Carr potted the winner, as the Nashville Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues by a 3-2 final on Monday night.

The result gives the Preds a four-point sweep of their home-and-home set with the Blues, as well as two-straight victories, after putting an end to their six-game winless streak on Saturday night.

Going into a hostile environment in St. Louis on Saturday, the Predators came away with a much-needed win against the top club in the Western Conference, but to do it again on Monday night was even sweeter.

“We played two pretty complete games of great hockey,” Preds forward Ryan Johansen said. “For our team to get back on the winning side of things and to do it against them, it’s great. Now it’s about building off those two wins.”

“It was tight out there, both in St. Louis and here,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “The guys had to compete hard. I thought St. Louis was competitive tonight as well. The game was close, and I thought we were good defensively. We couldn’t seem to cash it in offensively and just get it going in our direction. We had lots of chances and opportunities, some chances that were in tight and some that could have put the game away, but we couldn’t get it done. It was nice to get it done in the shootout.”

Just as they did 48 hours ago, the Preds had an ideal start, and they found themselves up by two after the opening 20 minutes. First, Dante Fabbro lobbed a pass to Rocco Grimaldi in neutral ice, and Grimaldi then fed Nick Bonino, who walked in and sniped home his 10th of the season.

Just a few moments later, Johansen followed up a play at the net and roofed the rebound past Jake Allen to give the Preds a 2-0 advantage.

In the second stanza, it was David Perron, who cut the Nashville lead to one when he beat Juuse Saros on his own rebound, and then with just over six minutes to play in regulation, Brayden Schenn evened the score at two, forcing overtime.

The extra session saw a myriad of chances for the Predators, and after everyone collected their breath following an incredible five minutes of hockey, both clubs settled in for the shootout.

Ryan O’Reilly put the Blues up one on the first shot, but Saros was perfect the rest of the way, and after Filip Forsberg tied it on Nashville’s last chance, Carr, who was recalled from Milwaukee on Monday morning, sent the locals home happy.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Carr said. “One of the coaches [in Milwaukee, Assistant Coach Greg Rallo] said to me after I basically dumped one in my first game in a shootout and he looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you just shoot the puck?’ I’ve been having some success with it, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Even when the Predators were in the midst of their losing streak and it didn’t look promising on the outside, there were elements inside of their game that told them the wins weren’t far off. At the same time, they needed more to end up on the right side of the ledger, and now they’ve done so on consecutive occasions for the first time in a long time.

“We had to find a way to do a little more,” Johansen said. “You’ve got to keep finding ways to handle the little details and the little plays in the game. I think we’ve done that in the last two games now. We’ll look at things again tomorrow and keep finding ways to improve and continue to get better.”

Saturday’s triumph was satisfying, and Monday’s was even better. Now, it’s about getting back to playing Predators hockey and executing at the level the group knows they’re capable of achieving.

The past two outings will certainly help matters.

“We have to string them together now,” Bonino said. “Winning one isn’t enough. You look at the standings and it’s a very tough division. It’s tough, but for them to tie it up and put our back against the wall, I’m just happy we got those two points and just gave them one.”

Notes:

Between the AHL and NHL, Carr now has four goals in the shootout this season, and all of them have been game-winners.

The Preds now have points in eight-straight home games against the Blues.

Kyle Turris and Yannick Weber were scratched for Nashville on Monday.

Nashville’s two-game homestand concludes on Thanksgiving eve when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at Bridgestone Arena (at 7 p.m. CT). The Preds will then head on the road for meetings in Carolina and Florida on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Coffee County CHS basketball teams closed out the season opening Hall of Champions Classic on Saturday with 4 impressive performances.  The Lady Raiders grabbed wins over Baylor and Huntland.  The Red Raiders improved to 3 and 0 on the season after Saturday wins over Cannon County and Huntland. 

The Lady Raiders opened up play on Saturday morning taking on a highly regarded Baylor team.  The Lady Raiders used a strong 2^nd half to roll to a 51 to 23 win.  After leading by 9 at the half, Coffee County outscored Baylor 31 to 12 in the second half to get the win.  Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in points with 11 points.  Kiya Ferrell added 8 points and Jenna Garretson and Jalie Ruehling each finished with 7 points as Coffee County improved to 3 and 0 on the season. 

In their final game of the night, the Lady Raiders got points from all 13 players dressed out as they pasted Huntland 83 to 19.  Coffee County jumped out to a 25 to 3 lead in the first quarter to put the game on ice early.  Vinson again led Coffee County in scoring with 18 points.  Chloe Gannon added 10 points.  Garretson and Ruehling each scored 9 points as the Lady Raiders finished the weekend with a record of 4 and 0. 

The Red Raiders opened up on Saturday afternoon taking on a tenacious Cannon County team.  The Red Raiders did well enough at the free throw line down the stretch to get a 50 to 45 win.  Leading 38 to 31 entering the 4^th quarter, Coffee County hit 5 of their 9 free throws in the 4^th quarter to grab the win.  Kyle Farless led Coffee County in scoring with 11 points.  Jaylon Wooten finished with 10 points and Jaxon Vaughn added 8 points. 

The Red Raiders closed out the night taking on Huntland.  Coffee County jumped on the Hornets early as they built a 35 point halftime lead on the way to an 87 to 33 win.  The Red Raiders hit 7 three pointers in the first half, including 6 in the 2^nd quarter to open the season with a 3 to 0 record.  Hayden Hullett and Trenton Scrivnor came off the bench to lead Coffee County in scoring as each dropped 18 points.  Farless added 11 points in the impressive win for the Red Raiders. 

Coffee County is back at home on Monday when they welcome While County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The teams will also welcome the basketball teams of Deerfield Elementary and Hickerson Elementary as their special guests.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM; we will begin our live coverage with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50 PM. 

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball teams hit the road on Friday for a pair of games in Calhoun, Georgia.  Taking on Philadelphia Baptist, the varsity and JV Eagles each dropped the road contest.  The middle school age(JV) team fell 28 to 19, the varsity dropped a 42 to 32 decision.

In the middle school game, the Eagles held Philadelphia scoreless in the 1^st quarter and built a 9 to 4 halftime lead.  Philadelphia rallied for 24 points in the 2^nd half to grab the win.  Sam Floyd and Isaac Stewart led the Eagles in scoring as each netted 6 points.  David Tran chipped in 5 points for Temple.

In the varsity game, Temple had a strong 2^nd quarter to build a 2 point halftime lead.  Philadelphia pulled away in the 2^nd half to grab the win.  Alex Gloden led Temple in scoring as he finished with 14 points.  Mich Gloden added 6 points and led the team in steals with 7.  Sam Floyd also added 6 points and led Temple in rebounds with 7.

The Eagles hit the road again on Monday night as they travel to Jamestown for a JV/varsity doubleheader at Faith Christian.  Tip-off is set for 5 PM. 

The Coffee County Central High School basketball teams opened their season at home on Friday night.  Hosting the first of 2 days of Hall of Champions Classic games, the Lady Raiders got a pair of wins while the Red Raiders captured a win in their only contest.  All 3 wins by the home teams involved Coffee County invoking the Mercy Rule on their way to victories.

The Lady Raiders opened the night with a 103 to 14 win over Valor Collegiate Academy.  The Lady Raiders jumped out to a 27 point lead after 1 quarter and held a 53 to 5 lead at the half.  Twelve different Lady Raiders scored in the contest as Coffee County finished with 13 made 3 point baskets.  Bella Vinson led Coffee County in scoring as she had 29 points.  Chloe Gannon added 20 points and Jalie Ruehling chipped in 13 points. 

In the second game, the Lady Raiders fell behind early before rolling over the Siegel Stars 68 to 27.  Coffee County fell behind 12 to 6 before Vinson hit a 3 pointer to eclipse the 1,000 point mark for her career.  That made 3 pointer keyed a Lady Raider run that saw them close out the half on a 31 to 6 run.  That cushion was pushed to a 35 point lead heading into the 4^th quarter as Coffee County against emptied the bench in the 4^th quarter.  Tem different Lady Raiders scored in the game led by Vinson who had 15.  Gannon chipped in another 12 while Jenna Garretson and Alivia Reel each added 8 points. 

The Red Raiders jumped out to a 6 to 0 lead over Valor Collegiate and never trailed in a  75 to 34 win.  A scrappy Wildcat squad from Nashville cut the deficit to 2 points before Coffee County went on a 10 point run.  Valor could never get that lead below double figures the rest of the game.   Kyle Farless was the leading scorer for Coffee County as he had 15 points.  Roderic Brinkley was beast on the offensive boards as he added 12 points.  Tyler Taylor knocked down 10 points for Coffee County. 

Coffee County will host a full day of Hall of Champion games on Saturday at CHS and the Coffee County Middle School.  Both the Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will play a pair of games at Coffee County’s Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The Lady Raiders will play Baylor at 11:30 AM and Huntland at 5:45.  The Red Raiders will take on Cannon County at 2 PM and Huntland at 7 PM.    

You can download a recording of our broadcast at: www.thunder1320.com/downloads

Story by Jim Wyatt, TitansOnline.com

The Titans turned a tight game vs the Jaguars into a blowout on Sunday with an offensive explosion to start the second half.

And I do mean an offensive explosion.

The Titans scored three touchdowns in less than five minutes to start the second half and rolled to a 42-20 win over the Jaguars at Nissan Stadium.

The touchdowns came at a fast and furious pace, in every way imaginable.

They came on a day when Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 14-of-18 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

They came on a day when Titans running back Derrick Henry once again electrified the crowd, running for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

They came on a day when receiver A.J. Brown caught four passes for 159 yards, including a 65-yard catch.

And they came on a day when the Titans improved to 6-5 while moving to within one game of the Houston Texans (7-4) for first place in the AFC South.

In the third quarter, Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith went digging into his pile of tricks as the Titans racked up 248 yards and four touchdowns.

On the first possession of the third quarter, after a halfback pass from Henry to tight end Jonnu Smith drew a defensive pass interference penalty, the Titans had the ball at the one-yard line. That’s when Tannehill completed a one-yard touchdown pass to tackle-eligible Dennis Kelly, who spun the ball before celebrating with his teammates as the Titans took a 14-3 lead with 13:13 left in the third.

Less than three minutes later, Henry took off and scored a 74-yard touchdown run that included another batch of stiff-armed, reminiscent of his 99-yard touchdown run against the Jaguars in December of 2018. Henry ended up in the end zone, and that made it 21-3 with 10:40 left in the third.

After linebacker Daren Bates forced a fumble – and recovered it – on the ensuing kickoff, Henry scored again, this time on a seven-yard run, which made it 28-3 with 10:24 remaining.

The three touchdowns came in a span of 4:36.

But the Titans weren’t finished. A few minutes later, Tannehill connected with Brown for the 65-yard touchdown, which made it 35-3 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.

The Jaguars scored on a pair of one-yard touchdown runs by Leonard Fournette to cut the lead to 35-17 before Tannehill scored again on another touchdown run, which made it 42-17 with 9:47 left. The Jaguars kicked a field goal with 4:48 left to make it 42-20.

The second half scene at Nissan Stadium was a wild one, as chants chanted “Henry, Henry, Henry” on multiple occasions while celebrating one score after the next.

The first half lacked scoring, but it didn’t lack some excitement.

The Titans took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on another highlight-reel play from Tannehill.

One a second-and-nine from the Jacksonville 21-yard line, Tannehill took off to his right before cutting to his left and in the direction of the endzone. Tannehill collided with Jacksonville defender Tre Herndon at the goal-line, and after gong airborne, he landed on his back in the endzone for a touchdown.

The Jaguars cut the lead to 7-3 at halftime on a 49-yard field goal by kicker Josh Lambo, but that only set the stage for a crazy final 30 minutes.

The Titans travel to Indianapolis next Sunday to face the Colts.

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to McMinnville on Thursday night for a conference doubleheader at Warren County.  The Lady Raiders came up short 42 to 33.  The Red Raiders got a basket in the waning seconds to capture a 40 to 39 win. 

Jackson Shemwell hit a 5 foot jumper with 10 seconds remaining to give the Red Raiders a huge win in McMinnville.  Coffee County trailed for most of the game but erased a 4 point deficit in the 4^th quarter to capture a crucial conference win on the road.  Ethan Hargrove led the Red Raiders in scoring with 13 points.  Shemwell added 12 points including 8 in the 2^nd half to key the comeback win.  The win lifts Coffee Middle’s record to 5 and 2 in the conference and 6 and 3 overall. 

The Lady Raiders were held to 2 points in the 1^st quarter as they fell behind by 7 points.  After Warren County brought a 6 point lead into the second half, the Lady Pioneers outscored Coffee Middle 14 to 5 in the 3^rd quarter to roll to the win.  The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Taylor Anthony who had 11 points.  Olivia Vinson notched 10 points in the loss.  Samantha Kirby added 7 points. 

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will take off until after Thanksgiving.  They return to the court on Monday, December 2^nd when they host non-conference foe Cannon County.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM. 

The Coffee County CHS basketball teams will open their season at home on Friday in the Hall of Champions Classic at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of Friday’s final 2 games beginning at 6:20 PM.  We will have the Lady Raiders game with Siegel at 6:30 and at 7:45 PM we will broadcast the Red Raiders game with Valor Collegiate Academy of Nashville. 

2019 kicks off another great year of Coffee County basketball coverage on Thunder Radio.  We will bring you all of the regular season doubleheaders along with selected regular season tournament games and all of the postseason action as your exclusive source for Coffee County sports.  As always, you can hear the broadcasts at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM, AM 1320 and online at WMSRradio.com.  If you miss the games, we keep you updated with Coffee County’s ONLY daily local sports at our website and in our daily sports reports heard here on Thunder Radio.   Additionally, you can download a recording of our broadcast at: www.thunder1320.com/downloads

The Predators registered 48 shots on Thursday night, but it was the Canucks, who scored five times on the power play on their way to a 6-3 victory at Bridgestone Arena. The result pushes Nashville’s winless streak to six games and gives them a 9-9-3 overall record.

Much like they did in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Winnipeg, the Predators had reason to be content with a good portion of their play, but the penalty kill faltered on this occasion and gave them their second loss to the Canucks this season.

“We need to stay out of the penalty box,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We talked about details of the game, and some of the penalties we took I thought were undisciplined and they ended up costing us tonight. From a standpoint of working to play and generate, I thought we did that. I thought we competed right to the end. Again, I thought we gave up too many [power-play] goals.”

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Preds forward Matt Duchene said. “Things aren’t bouncing our way right now, but at the same time we’re not making it easy on ourselves either. Whenever things are tough sledding like right now, you’ve got to do whatever you can to give yourself a chance.”

Nashville scored the game’s first goal, and it was Ryan Johansen, who capitalized on a breakaway to give his club their first lead since Nov. 9. The Canucks scored twice on the man advantage before the opening period was out, but Calle Jarnkrok got a power-play marker to tie the game early in the second.

The second stanza saw three more power-play goals for the Canucks, and after Duchene cut the deficit to two with a deflection in the third, Vancouver added one into the empty net to finish the night off.

Juuse Saros took over for Pekka Rinne in the Nashville net to start the third period. Jacob Markstom made 45 saves for the Canucks on another night when the Predators had plenty of looks at the net but not enough to end up in the win column.

“It’s tough, I feel like we did a lot of good things,” Johansen said. “Usually, you know when you don’t deserve to win and things aren’t going your way if you’re not doing the right things, but I feel like we did a lot of good things tonight. Obviously, the special teams hurt us big time.”

The Predators now turn their attention to a home-and-home set with the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, a formidable pair of tests against division rivals. And for Nashville, the message remains the same – they simply have to find a way to work themselves out of the slump.

“It’s frustrating – everybody wants to win in here,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “It’s frustrating when it’s not going your way, but you’ve got to find a way to get out of it. You’ve got to stick together, put in the work and be desperate the next game. You put in the work; it’s going to come.”

“Right now, is about digging deep,” Duchene said. “We have two huge, really tough games coming up, and there’s no better time to get out of this and now… You don’t want to let this get away from you. There’s lots of games [left in the season], but we have to get out of this.”

Notes:

Viktor Arvidsson recorded an assist on Ryan Johansen’s goal for his 200th career point.

Roman Josi also assisted on Johansen’s goal, and the Preds captain became one of two defensemen in franchise history to average at least one point per game through the team’s first 21 contests in a season (also Shea Weber in 2008-09: 10g-11a-21pts).

Kyle Turris, Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Thursday night against Vancouver.

Nashville now heads to St. Louis to meet the Blues on Saturday night (at 7 p.m. CT) before returning home to host their division rival again on Monday evening.