Category: Sports

The newly developed Elementary Cross Country Race League had their first meet of the season on Thursday at the Manchester Soccer Park.  137 boys and 123 girls from 10 elementary schools in Coffee County took part in the event in the first meet of the season.  In team results, New Union won the girls’ division while Westwood captured 1st place in the boys’ division.  The league will have its 2nd race of the year on Wednesday, September 11th at a location to be announced later.  Thunder Radio will keep you updated on the schedule.

Team Results – Girls
1st Place — New Union
2nd Place – College Street
3rd Place – Westwood
4th Place – North Coffee
5th Place – East Coffee

Team Results – Boys
1st Place — Westwood
2nd Place – College Street
3rd Place – New Union
4th Place – North Coffee
5th Place – Farrar

Top 10 Individual Finishers – Girls
1. Lizzy Sharpton – Farrar
2. Jada Nagel – College Street
3. Jaydee Nogodula – New Union
4. Riley Howell – Hillsboro
5. Reece Finch –Westwood
6. Bella VanZandbergen – Westwood
7. Hayleigh Harris – New Union
8. Chloe Hensiek – New Union
9. Mia Ahlijah – College Street
10. Zallona Dilliard – College Street

Top 10 Individual Finishers – Boys
1. Ricardo Solorio – Westwood
2. Ty Deaton – College Street
3. Jonah Rathjen Valley – Farrar
4. Brady Christian – Westwood
5. Trey Sullivan – College Street
6. Ethan Reed – East Coffee
7. Aidan Walker – Westwood
8. Payton Behrendorff – Farrar
9. Myles McIntosh – New Union
10. Joan Deanda – Westwood

Despite 108 receiving yards and a touchdown on a career-high seven catches by senior Jauan Jennings, a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers cost Tennessee, as the Vols fell to Georgia State, 38-23, in their season-opener at Neyland Stadium Saturday.

The Vols now prepare to host BYU next Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN).

After UT took a 23-21 lead on a 31-yard field goal from Brett Cimaglia with 12:05 to go in the game, GSU tallied 17 unanswered points over a 10-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

UT outgained GSU in both total yards (404-352) and passing yards (311-139), however two trips to the red zone that ended in field goals instead of touchdowns proved to be pivotal to the final outcome.

Junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano’s 311-yard passing performance marked the second time he has eclipsed 300 yards in his UT career.

Senior tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson finished with a career-high 79 receiving yards on three receptions, highlighted by a 54-yard pitch-and-catch from Guarantano early in the fourth quarter to put the Vols in position to score.

Freshman linebacker Henry To’o To’o began his career on Rocky Top with an impressive seven total tackles, which tied for the team lead. He had four solo tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

Georgia State opened the day’s scoring on a four-yard rush from Seth Paige, following an opening-series fumble.

The Big Orange responded with a 16-play, 78-yard drive, capped off with a six-yard, back-shoulder fade from Guarantano to wide receiver Marquez Callaway. The drive ate 7:42 off the clock and knotted the score at 7-7. The 16-play drive was the longest drive for the Vols since their first scoring drive in last season’s opener against West Virginia.

UT took control late in the first quarter when Chandler scampered for 31 yards through the Panther defense and into the end zone to give Tennessee a 14-7 advantage.

Georgia State tied things back up at 14-14 with a 16-play drive of its own late in the second quarter.

As time in the first half expired, the first of Cimaglia’s three field goals gave UT a 17-14 lead as both teams headed to the locker rooms.

Georgia State came out of the break with a well-orchestrated, nine-play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead at 21-17.

Two field goals from Cimaglia that bridged the third and fourth quarters gave UT a slim 23-21 lead before GSU pieced together three consecutive scoring drives, two of which came off Vols turnovers, to take a 38-23 lead in the game’s waning minutes.

Jennings hauled in an 18-yard scoring strike from Guarantano with 53 seconds remaining, and Cimaglia’s PAT provided the final score.

A brilliant one-touch half volley goal in the 79’ minute from forward Kharlton Belmar gave Nashville SC a massive 2-1 road win at Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday evening in St. Petersburg, Fla. The win moves Nashville to second place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference at the end of the night.

A lofted through ball from defender Bradley Bourgeois sprung Belmar free. The forward took just one touch and fired it inside the far post on the fly. The goal was Belmar’s third of the season and came after he head coach Gary Smith had inserted him into the match as a substitute less than 10 minutes earlier in the 71’ minute.

The win over Tampa Bay was the first for Nashville SC in the club’s brief two-year history following two losses and a draw in the three previous meetings. Nashville SC leapfrogged Tampa in the standings with the victory, taking sole possession of second place in the East with seven matches left in the season.

Nashville opened the scoring just before halftime in the 44’ minute when Cameron Lancaster won a free kick just outside the Rowdies 18-yard box. Lancaster took the free kick low and forced a save from Tampa keeper John McCarthy. The rebound from McCarthy found an on-rushing Lebo Moloto who immediately sent the ball into the net to give Nashville the lead.

The Rowdies bounced right back immediately in the second half when Sebastian Guenzatti equalized on a cross through the box. However, deft substitutions from Smith, bringing on Belmar and fellow winger Alan Winn, spun the match back in Nashville’s favor late in the match.

Here are three takeaways from the big Nashville SC win.

1) Road Warriors Yet Again

The win was Nashville SC’s ninth on the road, more than double its total away from home last season (4). Coming against Tampa Bay, a team that has spent the majority of the season on top of the Eastern Conference standings, makes it even more impressive. Nashville SC had to weather Tampa Bay’s attack, which pressed all match behind its home fans. The nine road wins, and 30 road points, are the most for any team in the East. With just two road matches left on its schedule, Nashville could win 11 of 17 road matches in 2019, an impressive possibility.

2) Defense Stands Tall

Pickens and the Nashville SC defense put in a monumental performance on the road in a tough environment. Tampa Bay took 20 shots, including eight on target, and Nashville SC allowed just the one goal. The 20 shots and eight shots on target both tie the most against Pickens and Nashville in the club’s two-year history. The seven saves are a Nashville SC record for Pickens who made several point-blank stops despite taking numerous hits inside the box. One of those hits forced Pickens into a jersey change in stoppage time, but the keeper held just as firm in an 84 jersey as he did in his usual number 18.

3) Bourgeois and Belmar Combine for Winner

Both Bradley Bourgeois and Kharlton Belmar have found themselves on the outside looking in at a starting spot for stretches during the 2019 season, but the pair combined for one of the biggest goals of the season to secure three points for Nashville SC. Bourgeois lofted a ball over the top and led Belmar on a break who one-touched it past McCarthy into the net. For Bourgeois, it was the second consecutive start after no starts in the previous seven matches, and his first assist of the season. It was the third goal for Belmar, and the second in the last three weeks following a road goal against Charlotte Independence.

Up Next

Nashville SC will have its penultimate road match of the season next Saturday night when it takes on Saint Louis FC in the St. Louis suburbs on September 7. Saint Louis beat Nashville earlier this season 1-0 at First Tennessee Park, but has since fallen outside of the playoff picture, winning once in its last 15 matches. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast on MyTV30.

The Sounds were leading the San Antonio Missions into the seventh inning, but allowed a three-run home run to lose the lead. The Missions added two more insurance runs in the eighth, defeating the Sounds 9-5 on Saturday night.

The first run for the Sounds came in the bottom of the first inning. Andy Ibanez hit a solo home run to left-center field, giving Nashville the early 1-0 lead.

San Antonio responded right away with a three-run second inning. Blake Allemand took the lead with one swing of the bat, hitting a bases loaded double that scored two runners. Corey Ray hit in the third run on a ground out, giving the Missions a 3-1 lead.

Matt Davidson launched a home run in the bottom of the third inning. The homer gave him his first three RBI of the game and took the lead for the Sounds 4-3. That brought Davidson to 99 RBI on the season.

The Missions responded right away in the top of the fourth inning. Troy Stokes hit a solo home run on a full count, tying the game at four runs apiece.

Nashville retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Davidson hit a sacrifice fly to give him his 100th RBI and Nashville the lead, 5-4.

A three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning gave the Missions the 7-5 lead. With Nate Orf and Lucas Erceg on base, Jacob Nottingham launched the go-ahead home run. They added two more runs in the top of the eighth inning on a two-run homer by Orf. That would be all the runs San Antonio would need as they beat Nashville 9-5.

Game three of the series will be played a 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, where right-hander Tim Dillard (8-9, 4.80) will pitch for the Sounds against right-hander Bubba Derby (7-7, 4.77).

Post-Game Notes

– With Saturday’s 9-5 loss, the Sounds dropped to 64-72 in 2019.

– Matt Davidson continued climbing the single-season franchise leaderboards in home runs and RBI. He is one home run shy of tying the franchise record, trailing Steve Balboni (1980) and Brian Dayett (1982). He is the fourth hitter in Sounds history to reach 100 RBI and trails Drew Denson who hit 103 RBI in 1993 and 1994. Steve Balboni owns the single-season RBI record with 122 in 1980.

– Andy Ibanez’ home run was his 19th of the season. That extends his single-season career-high.

– Zack Granite led all Nashville hitters with three hits. It was his eighth three-hit game of the season, tying the lead among Nashville hitters with Ibanez.

Patrick Wisdom drilled a go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 6-5 win over the San Antonio Missions in front of a sellout crowd of 10,632 fans Friday night at First Tennessee Park.

Wisdom’s mammoth homer to left-center was his 30th of the season. The 30 home runs are tied for the eighth-most by a Sounds player in single-season team history.

David Carpenter came in for the top of the ninth and faced the minimum to earn his 21st save of the season. The 21 saves for Carpenter is the seventh-most in single-season team history.

Nashville nearly wasted a 4-0 lead after plating four runs in the opening inning. Preston Beck’s RBI single gave Nashville a 2-0 lead and Christian Lopes’ two-run double extended the Sounds lead to 4-0.

San Antonio cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Nashville answered immediately in the home half of the second when Andy Ibanez cranked his 18th home run of the season to give the Sounds a 5-2 lead.

Nashville relievers Yohander Mendez and James Jones followed starter Phillips Valdez and combined to throw 3 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Trouble started in the seventh when San Antonio’s Troy Stokes Jr.’s RBI double trimmed the Nashville lead to 5-3. The Missions got two more runs in the top of the eighth off Kyle Bird when Tyrone Taylor homered and Tuffy Gosewich knocked in the tying run with a groundout.

It didn’t stay tied for long as Wisdom’s blast started the bottom of the eighth.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Pedro Payano (2-3, 5.70) starts for Nashville against right-hander Zack Brown (3-7, 5.72) for San Antonio. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With Friday’s 6-5 win, the Sounds improved to 64-71 in 2019.

– Ronald Guzman extended his on-base streak to 17 games when he drew a walk in the first inning. He’s hitting .358 (24-for-67) during the streak.

– Patrick Wisdom hit his 30th home run of the season in the eighth inning. The 30 home runs are tied for eighth-most by a Sounds player in single-season team history (Drew Denson, 1994).

– David Carpenter earned his league-leading 21st save of the season. It’s the seventh-most in single-season team history.

– The Sounds improved to 16-5 in Friday games.

Andrea Lopez of CCMS soccer

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team welcomed White County to their home pitch on Thursday.  In a match you heard here on Thunder Radio as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series, the Lady Raiders dominated every aspect of the game.  Four goals in the 1^st half helped Coffee Middle roll to the 5 to 0 win.

Coffee County outshot White County 21 to 1 and had 11 corner kicks to none for the Warriorettes.  Coffee County got on the board in the 7^th minute on a goal from Lindsey Grimes off a pass from Andrea Lopez.  4 minutes later, Grimes found Lopez with a pass to make the score 2 nil.  Emily Pickell added a goal in the 14^th minute and Tia Buchanan scored in the 21^st minute as Jasmine Norris had assists on both goals.  Lopez redirected a deflection of her first shot in the 36^th minute for the unassisted goal to close out the scoring early in the 2^nd half. Sydney Gilley and Lola George combined in goal for the clean sheet.

The Lady Raiders are back in action on Thursday when they welcome Tullahoma to the CCMS field.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you that broadcast as well as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Opening kick is set for 5 PM, we will begin our live coverage at 4:50 PM.

Download the broadcast at: https://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Keri Munn of CHS volleyball

Looking to shake off a tough road loss to Columbia on Tuesday night, the Coffee County CHS volleyball team traveled to Fayetteville to take on Lincoln County.  The two talented teams pushed the match to 5 full sets before the Lady Raiders pulled out the exciting win.  Coffee County won by set scores of 25-19, 26-28, 14-25, 25-17 and 16-14.

The Lady Raiders got a great defensive performance as they recorded 60 digs and 9 blocks in the match.  Kiya Ferrell led Coffee County in digs with 15.  Sarah West returned to the lineup after an illness to scoop up 13 digs.  Lexi Bryan led the Lady Raiders in blocks with 4 while Keri Munn added 3.  Munn led the team in kills with 14 while Bryan scored 11.  Keelie Hillis, Munn and Ferrell each served up 4 aces.

The Lady Raiders will be back on the road on Wednesday as they step out of district action to travel to Eagleville.  Coffee County will take on the Lady Eagles in a match in front of the Eagleville student body.   That match is set to get underway at 1:30 PM at Eagleville High School.

Members of the CCMS girl’s Cross Country team(from left) Sophie McInturuff, Greenlee Woods, Bailey Kitts with coach Jeremy Woods in the back.[Photo provided]

For the first time in school history, the Raiders were able to field a girls’ team. All 5 Coffee County Lady Raider runners finished in the top 15 in the convincing win.  Sophie McInturff finished in 1^st place.  Greenlee Woods came in 2^nd place and Bailey Kitts finished in 5^th place to lead the Lady Raiders.

For the Red Raiders, Lucas Beaty was the top finisher for Coffee County as he came in 3^rd place.  Bradley Escue crossed the tape in 7^th place while Manuel Gonzalez came home in 8^th place.

The Raider cross country team will be back in action next Thursday when they travel to Bell Buckle to compete in a meet at Webb.  The starting gun will go off at 4 PM.

Jayden Carter of Westwood football

The Westwood football team played host to perennial conference power Fayetteville on Thursday night at Dyer-Bouldin Field.  After a hard fought first half, Fayetteville rolls up 3 touchdowns in the second half to win 32 to 7.

It appeared that the Rockets and Tigers would go to the half scoreless before Fayetteville scored with less than 20 seconds on the clock in the 2^nd quarter.  After the 2 point conversion, the Tigers led 8 to 0 at the half.  Fayetteville scored in the first minute of the second half to spark a 24 point rally and stretch the lead to 32 to 0.  Westwood avoided the shutout when Jayden Carter scored a rushing touchdown in the final minute.  Izick Sierra added the point after kick.

Westwood will hit the road next Thursday night as they travel to take on Community.  That game will kick-off at 6:30 PM in Unionville.