Category: Sports

Coffee County Middle School Girls’ Basketball Team Grabs Runner-Up Finish in Rockvale Tournament

The CCMS Lady Raiders with their runner-up trophy of the Rockvale Tip-Off Tournament following Saturday’s final. [Photo provided]

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball squared off against Oakland Middle on Saturday in the Rockvale Tip-Off Tournament finals.  A 4th quarter rally came up short by the Lady Raiders came up short against the taller Oakland squad.  Coffee County suffered their 1st loss of the year as they fell by a final score of 38 to 32. 

Olivia Vinson of the CCMS Lady Raiders with her All-Tournament team medallion from the Rockvale Tip-Off Tournament following Saturday’s final. [Photo provided]

Oakland built a 12 point lead entering the 4th quarter behind strong performances in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  Coffee County rallied in the 4th quarter to cut into the deficit including hitting 6 of 8 free throws before running out of time.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Olivia Vinson who had 17 points.  Taylor Anthony added 8 points while Bella Lawson netted 4.  After the championship, Vinson was named to the All-Tournament team.

Coffee Middle will return to conference play on Monday when they travel to Shelbyville to take on Harris.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM, our live coverage will begin at 5:50. 

Coffee County CHS Red Raiders Sees First Scrimmage Action of the Season

The Coffee County CHS Red Raider basketball team saw their first scrimmage action of the year on Saturday in a scrimmage playday event at Rockvale High School.  The Red Raiders went 1 and 2 on the day as they gained valuable experience in a trio of close games.

The Red Raiders opened up with a 46 to 37 loss to Walker Valley.  Jaxon Vaughn was the leading scorer for Coffee County.  In the second game, Coffee County got a 50 to 45 win over Rockvale as Jaylon Wooten led the team in scoring.   Coffee County closed the day with a hard fought 49 to 46 loss to Stratford.  Kyle Farless was the leading scorer in the finale. 

The Red Raiders will host an open practice on Friday night at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The practice will get underway at 5:30 PM as Coach Williams will be mic’d for the duration of the practice as he leads his team through drills before ending with a controlled scrimmage.  Admission is free and folks are invited to stay after practice to eat with the team. 

Coffee County opens the season on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd as they host a series of Hall of Champions games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.   As expected, Thunder Radio is the exclusive broadcast home for Red Raider basketball as we bring you all the action, home and away, on your Hometown Radio Station. 

Coffee County Youth Basketball League Update

The Coffee County Elementary Basketball League was in action on Saturday with a full slate of games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Four boys’ and four girls’ games field the schedule as the season enters the home stretch.

In girls’ action, Westwood topped New Union 39 to 19 in a battle of unbeatens.  North Coffee pushed past Hillsboro 34 to 23, Hickerson edged Deerfield 8 to 6 and College Street squeaked past East Coffee 11 to 9.

In boys’ action, New Union dumped Westwood 30 to 16, North Coffee doubled up Hillsboro 34 to 17, Deerfield tripped up Hickerson 15 to 12 and College Street rolled up East Coffee 24 to 2. 

Updated Standings(thru November 9th)

PlaceGirlsWinsLosses
1Westwood50
2New Union41
3North Coffee32
3College Street32
5Hillsboro23
5East Coffee23
6Hickerson14
7Deerfield05
PlaceBoysWinsLosses
1College Street50
1North Coffee50
3New Union32
4Hillsboro23
4East Coffee23
4Westwood23
7Deerfield14
8Hickerson05
Schedule for November 16th  GirlsBoys
North CoffeevsEast Coffee9:0010:00
HillsborovsCollege Street11:0012:00
DeerfieldvsWestwood1:002:00
New UnionvsHickerson3:004:00

Titans Pull Out Improbable 35-32 Win Over Chiefs

Ryan Tannehill[Photo by Associated Press]

The Titans pulled out an improbable win on Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Trailing late, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Adam Humphries with 23 seconds left to give the Titans a 35-32 win.

Defensive back Joshua Kalu blocked a would-be game-tying field goal by the Chiefs on the final play of the game and the Titans held on.

Running back Derrick Henry finished the game with 188 yards for the Titans.

The Titans fell down 10-0 early, but they battled back. And they kept battling back all day.

The Titans took a 20-19 lead in the third quarter on a 68-yard touchdown run by Henry, who busted up the middle and outraced defenders into the end zone.

The Chiefs reclaimed the lead 22-20 on a 43-yard field goal by kicker Harrison Butker. Then, the Chiefs jumped ahead 29-20 on a 63-yard completion from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to receiver Mecole Hardiman.

But the Titans didn’t fold. Another touchdown run by Henry, this one from one-yard out, cut the lead to 29-27 with just 6:26 left in the contest. It capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Another field goal by Butler gave the Chiefs a 32-27 lead with 3:14 left in the contest.

The Chiefs had a chance to add to the lead, but botched a field goal try with 1:21 left.

The Titans improved to 5-5 with the win.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce. The Chiefs extended their lead to 10-0 on a 30-yard field goal by Butker.

But the Titans cut the lead to 10-7 on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to tight end Anthony Firkser, which capped off a four-play, 73-yard drive. The score was set up by a 52-yard bomb from Tannehill to receiver Kalif Raymond.

Then, the Titans took the lead on a 53-yard fumble return for a touchdown by linebacker Rashaan Evans, who picked up the loose ball and outraced everyone for a score. The fumble was caused by rookie linebacker David Long. The big play gave the Titans a 13-10 lead (kicker Ryan Succop missed the extra point).

The Chiefs tied the game on a 41-yard kick by Butker, and it was 13-13 at the half.

The Chiefs reclaimed the lead 19-13 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to receiver Tyreek Hill with 6:54 left in the third quarter, and that set up the back-and-forth finish.

The Titans have a bye next weekend before returning to action on November 24 against the Jaguars.

Preds Fall to Sharks in Shootout

The polarizing judge that is the shootout determined the Predators contest in San Jose on Saturday, as Nashville fell in the seventh round of the extra-time decider for a 2-1 final score.

Preds goaltender Juuse Saros extended the shootout on four separate occasions as he denied multiple attempts to end the game and helped keep the event scoreless. But eventually, Timo Meier’s wrister ended the contest. The extra time loss gives Nashville a point in the standings, but puts their current road trip mark to a 1-1-1.

“It was tight, really tight out there, both ways,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Saturday’s game. “There wasn’t a lot of room to make plays for us. Speaking for us offensively, we’re trying to press, trying to get pucks to the net, there were a lot of blocked shots and nothing was really clean. There weren’t a lot of pretty looks, and we just had to fight for everything out there tonight.”

Filip Forsberg scored a highlight-reel goal in the second period, but the Sharks tallied 5:22 into the third to force overtime. The Preds had a 4-on-3 power-play chance late in OT, but couldn’t find the winning shot.

“It was two good teams working hard, and for us, it was a lot better effort than last game,” Forsberg said. “[Saros] played great, and then we had chances that we should have should have put in and should have won.”

Goaltender Martin Jones and the Sharks deserve penalty of credit for their spotless penalty kill and stout defensive efforts, but so do the Predators and Saros. A couple nights after a forgettable effort in Denver, the Preds held the Sharks to a single goal across 65 minutes.

“The one thing you always want and look for is just a good, working effort,” Laviolette said. “Lead with work ethic, and I thought the guys did that tonight. Their goalie played pretty well too. It just wasn’t a lot of room, so we had to compete for the space we needed out there. They were working hard, San Jose, and our guys were working hard. That’s what made it a low score and low-event game.”

Still, as aspiring Stanley Cup contenders, the Predators aren’t in the business of collecting moral victories. Their four-game road trip wraps up on Tuesday in Vancouver (9 p.m. CT), one more chance to collect a win before heading home.

“It was a better effort today than Thursday, but we had chances and should have capitalized,” Forsberg said.

Notes:

Preds defenseman Dante Fabbro left the game late in the second period after taking a puck up high in the face. Fabbro returned to action midway through the third period sporting a full cage, just as he did while skating for Boston University last season.

Miikka Salomaki and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Saturday night.

Nashville now heads to Vancouver in advanace of a date with the Canucks on Tuesday night.

Coffee County Middle School Basketball Teams Grab Wins in Rockvale Tournament on Thursday

Ethan Hargrove of CCMS basketball[file photo]

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to Rutherford County on Thursday night for their 2nd night of competition in the Rockvale Tip-Off Tournament.  The Red Raiders got a win against Jim Satterfield of Trousdale County by a score of 42 to 25.  The Lady Raiders took care of business at the free throw line in a 34 to 24 win over Rockvale.

In the boys’ game, the Red Raiders built a 12 point lead in the 1st half and rolled to the big win.  Jackson Shemwell and Ethan Hargrove finished as the leading scorers for Coffee Middle as each netted 13 points.  Cooper Reed added 7 points.

Samantha Kirby of CCMS basketball

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders hit 15 of 22 free throws in the game to hold off the host Ravens.  After being held to 2 points in the 3rd quarter, the Lady Raiders closed out the game with 11 points in the 4th quarter to grab the win.  Channah Gannon led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 12 points.  Addi Sartain and Samantha Kirby each netted 6 points. 

The Lady Raiders will return to Rockvale on Saturday for the championship game.  The title game is set to tip off at 4 PM at Rockvale Middle School.  Coffee Middle will take on the winner of the other semifinal between Oakland and Whitworth-Buchanan.

Coffee County CHS Lady Raiders Roll Big in Thursday Scrimmage

Alivia Reel of CHS basketball

The Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider basketball team hosted Richard Hardy Memorial of South Pittsburg on Thursday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.   The Hawks accepted the invitation to scrimmage the Lady Raiders after Coffee County’s previous game with Marshall County had to be cancelled on Wednesday.  The Lady Raiders rolled to a 91 to 16 win.

Coffee County scored at least 20 points in each quarter in the lopsided victory.  Thirteen different Lady Raiders scored on the night out of the fourteen who dressed out.   Youth was on display on Thursday for the Lady Raiders as freshman Alivia Reel led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 15 points.  Freshman Chloe Gannon netted 12 points and senior Morgan Jones added 11 points. 

Coffee County will travel to Spring Hill on Saturday, November 16th to participate in a scrimmage play day at Summit.  The Lady Raiders will play East Hickman, Beech and Eagleville. 

Coffee County opens the season on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd as they host a series of Hall of Champions games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  As always, Thunder Radio is the exclusive broadcast home for Red Raider basketball as we bring you all the action, home and away, on your Hometown Radio Station. 

Preds Fall to Avalanche in Colorado

The Colorado Avalanche scored six goals in the second period on their way to a 9-4 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night in Denver. The result moves the Preds to 9-5-2 on the season and 1-1-0 at the halfway point of their four-game road trip.

The Predators trailed the Avalanche by one goal through the game’s first 20 minutes, and the visitors took a 3-2 lead early in the second. But shortly after Nashville tallied twice in the middle frame, Colorado proceeded to score six goals in a span of eight minutes as the game unraveled.

“We obviously didn’t play well at all,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We lost every battle. We didn’t compete. I mean, we got embarrassed out there.”

“It’s embarrassing,” Preds forward Filip Forsberg said. “We’re letting [a team score] nine goals. Doesn’t matter what team we’re playing, nobody should be able to do that. It’s our fault. We have to learn from it and just be ready to bounce back next game.”

Ryan Ellis had the Nashville tally in the opening period, and that was followed in the second with goals from Forsberg and Matt Duchene, the latter of which came on the power play.

But Colorado took over from there, and Juuse Saros replaced Pekka Rinne in net after Colorado’s fifth goal of the night, and the second period ended with an 8-3 score in favor of the Avs.

Craig Smith scored Nashville’s fourth of the night, and the Preds controlled play for a majority of the third period, but Joonas Donskoi scored his third of the night for Colorado to give them goal No. 9 before the final horn.

Nashville’s road trip continues in San Jose on Saturday night (9:30 p.m. CT), and the Predators will be eager to erase the memory of this one as quickly as possible.

“Like every other game you have to learn, you have to learn some things, and probably a lot more from this game,” Josi said. “This is a proud locker room, and we got embarrassed out there tonight. We have to show a reaction next game.”

“We’re a veteran team in here, and we know how to play the game the right way. Tonight wasn’t it,” Duchene said. “We’ll bounce back. We’ll have a short memory… It’s probably a good lesson if you’re going to look for a silver lining. Not a great effort, top to bottom, but we’ll get ready for San Jose.”

Notes:

Forsberg and Roman Josi extended their point streaks to three games apiece.

Miikka Salomaki and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Thursday.

The Predators will face the Sharks in San Jose on Saturday night, before concluding their four-game trip on Tuesday in Vancouver.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Lady Raider Basketball to Host Thursday Scrimmage

The Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider basketball team will host a scrimmage game against Richard Hardy Memorial of South Pittsburg on Thursday.  The game is the first scrimmage action of the fall for the Lady Raiders and the public is encouraged to come and watch the Lady Raiders in action.  The game is set to get underway at 5 PM at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.

Coffee County will travel to Spring Hill on Saturday, November 16th to participate in a scrimmage play day at Summit.  The Lady Raiders will play East Hickman, Beech and Eagleville. 

The Lady Raiders open the season on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd as they host a series of Hall of Champions games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  As always, Thunder Radio is the exclusive broadcast home for Lady Raider basketball as we bring you all the action, home and away, on your Hometown Radio Station. 

Red Raider Basketball Invites Public to Open Practice on November 15

The Coffee County Central High School Red Raider basketball team will host an open practice on Friday night, November 15th, at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The practice will get underway at 5:30 PM as Coach Williams will be “mic’d up” for the duration of the practice as he leads his team through drills before ending with a controlled scrimmage.  Admission is free and folks are invited to stay after practice to eat with the team. 

The Red Raiders will take part in a scrimmage playday on Saturday, November 9th at Rockvale.  The Red Raiders will take on Walker Valley, Jellico and Stratford.  Coffee County opens the season on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd as they host a series of Hall of Champions games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.   As expected, Thunder Radio is the exclusive broadcast home for Red Raider basketball as we bring you all the action, home and away, on your Hometown Radio Station.