Category: Sports

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team hit the road on Tuesday traveling to Winchester to take on South Franklin.  Looking for their first win of the season, the Lady Raiders fell behind in the first half.  After enduring a rain delay, Coffee County got a pair of 2^nd half goals to claim the 2 to 1 conference win.

It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Lady Raiders as South took an early lead and a rain delay sent both teams off the pitch in the first 30 minutes.  But Coffee County rallied putting 3 shots on frame as Andrea Lopez converted 2 of those found the back of the net.  Sydney Gilley stopped 9 shots, including every South shot in the 2^nd half, to give Lady Raider coach Tiffany McCormick her first career win.

The Lady Raiders are back at home on Thursday as they welcome White County to CCMS.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you that broadcast as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Opening kick is set for 4:45 PM; we will be on the air at 4:30.

Voted as one of the top rivalries in the state of Tennessee and nationally, 94^th renewal of the Coffee Pot rivalry on the gridiron between Tullahoma and Coffee County is coming up on Friday.  Additionally, the Great American Rivalry Series will once again highlight the game and will be in attendance to present a trophy to the winning squad.   Tickets for the Coffee Pot Game are on sale through Friday at the Coffee County Central High School main office.  A capacity crowd is expected to be on hand and purchasing your ticket early is highly recommended.  Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students.  Tickets are on sale at the CHS office from 8 AM to 3 PM on Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday from 8 AM to noon.

Befitting the iconic rivalry, an old bronze pot on a wooden pedestal awaits the winner of Friday night’s Coffee Pot game at Carden-Jarrell Field in Manchester.  Originally conceived in 1937 to be awarded to the winner, the Coffee Pot symbolizes bragging rights for the winning team, fans and community for a calendar year.

In spite of the fact that Tullahoma has dominated the series in the last 32 years(winning 26 of the last 32 meetings); the Red Raiders have won 2 of the last 4 contests.  Tullahoma has won 2 straight after rallying from a 28 to 7 halftime deficit in 2017 and running away with the 2018 decision.

Friday night’s game will be heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio beginning at 6 PM with the Friday Night Thunder Pregame Show, maintained by Premier Lawn Care.  Josh Peterson and Brannon Reynolds will set you up for all the action before sending the action to the stadium at 6:30.  Dennis Weaver, Dustin Murray and Jonathan Oliver will bring you all the action from Carden-Jarrell Field.  Gates will open at 5:30 PM and kickoff is set for 7 PM.

A four-run first inning by the Omaha Storm Chasers helped them to an 8-5 win over the Nashville Sounds Tuesday night at Werner Park. The Storm Chasers collected five hits – including three triples – off Nashville starter Tim Dillard in the opening inning.

Adalberto Mondesi, Chase d’Arnaud and Erich Weiss had triples and Rudy Martin added a double as the Storm Chasers opened an early 4-0 lead.

Nashville got a run back in the second and trimmed the deficit to 4-1 when Jett Bandy lined a two-out single to right-center to score Matt Davidson.

As they did all night, Omaha had an answer to Nashville’s rally. Jorge Bonifacio started the bottom of the third with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Weiss to extend their lead to 5-1.

Dillard eventually settled in and tossed 5 2/3 innings, but the offense couldn’t erase the early deficit. Davidson’s huge night at the plate continued in the fifth when he knocked in Andy Ibanez to make it a 5-2 game.

Omaha’s lead was extended to 6-2 before Davidson clubbed his 30th home run of the season in the top of the eighth. He finished the night 3-for-3 with 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and 2 walks.

Trailing 8-3 going to the top of the ninth, the Sounds made it interesting by bringing the tying run to the plate. Ronald Guzman and Davidson drove in runs to make it a three-run game, but Omaha reliever Andres Machado got out of the jam by getting Patrick Wisdom to ground out sharply to third to end the game.

Dillard was charged with the loss, his ninth of the season. He allowed six runs on nine hits and struck out five in the setback.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night in Omaha. Left-hander Wes Benjamin (6-6, 5.72) starts for Nashville. Omaha has not named a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With Tuesday’s 8-5 loss, the Sounds dropped to 61-71 in 2019.

– Matt Davidson drilled his 30th home run of the season on Tuesday. He is the eighth player in Nashville Sounds history to hit at least 30 homers in a single season.

– Davidson drove in three runs to bring his season RBI total to 91. He is now tied with Anthony Garcia (2018) and Dan Pasqua (1984) for the 10th-most RBI in Nashville Sounds single-season history.

– The Sounds have lost back-to-back games for the first time since July 23 and 24 vs. Oklahoma City.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Tuesday Prep Schedule

4:30 PM – WMS Volleyball HOSTS Warren County

5:30 PM – CCMS Girls’ Soccer at South Franklin

5:30 PM – WMS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Fayetteville – 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast on Thunder Radio

6:30 PM – CCMS Football HOSTS Harris

6:30 PM – CHS Volleyball at Columbia

Nate Luttrell of CHS football

The Coffee County Central High School JV and freshmen football teams welcomed Franklin County to Carden-Jarrell Field on Monday night.  After a day of wet weather, the rain held off long enough to get in the doubleheader.  The JV team lost 6 to 0 while the freshmen fell 27 to 7.

In the JV game, the Rebels took the opening drive down the field and scored the only touchdown of the contest.  The Raider defense gave a strong showing and got a huge stop late in the game.

The freshman squad fought hard to hold the highly regarded Rebels in check in the first half as they trailed at intermission 7 to 0.  In the second half, Franklin County used several big plays to add 3 scores.  Nate Luttrell had the Raider touchdown on a 2 yard quarterback keeper and Ian Weldon added the point after kick.

Luttrell finished the game with 58 yards passing with 47 of that coming to his favorite receiver Trevor Martin who caught 4 passes for 47 yards.  Tristan Galey was the leading rusher as he rolled up 94 yards on 10 carries.  Konor Heaton had 8 carries for 35 yards before a 1^st half injury forced him to sit out the rest of the game.

The JV and Freshmen teams will travel to Tullahoma on Monday.  The JV game will begin at 5 PM and the freshmen are set to kick off at 7 PM.

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team made the long trip to Sparta on Monday night to take on White County.  The Lady Raiders fell in straight sets to the Warriorettes.  Coffee County fell by set scores of 16-25 and 9-25.

The Lady Raiders open home for to host Tullahoma on Thursday afternoon. The varsity game will get underway at 4:30 PM.

The Sounds struggled to get their offense going in their series opener against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Arnaldo Hernandez held Nashville to just one hit, as the Storm Chasers shut out the Sounds 5-0 on Monday.

That one hit came in the first inning, when Andy Ibanez hit a double. But Hernandez pitched masterfully, retiring the next 11 batters. Hernandez would walk Jett Bandy in the fifth inning before retiring the rest of the batters he faced.

Omaha scored enough to win the game in the first inning. They scored one run when Rudy Martin launched a solo home run to lead off the game for the Storm Chasers.

The Storm Chasers would score three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Erick Mejia hit a two-run double and advanced to third on a fielding error. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Jorge Bonifacio to give Omaha the 4-0 lead.

Former Sound Adam Moore hit a solo home run himself in the bottom of the fourth inning for further insurance. That turned out to be the final score of the inning, giving Omaha the 5-0 win.

Game two of the series starts at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night. Right-handed pitcher Tim Dillard (8-8, 4.61) will start for the Sounds against left-hander Foster Griffin (7-5, 5.35) of Omaha. Griffin was recently named the best left-handed pitcher in the Pacific Coast League.

Post-Game Notes

– With Monday’s 5-0 loss, the Sounds are 61-70 in 2019.

– The one hit matches Nashville’ season-low this season. In game two of a doubleheader on April 21, San Antonio one-hit the Sounds in a seven-inning contest.

– It was the seventh time Nashville was shutout this season. Omaha was the last team to shut out the Sounds back on July 4.

– The Sounds recorded 4.0 shutout innings of relief between Wei-Chieh Huang and Locke St. John. Both didn’t allow a hit. Huang threw 3.0 of the innings, striking out three batters and walking one.

– The Sounds left just one player on base tonight, recording just 28 plate appearances in the game.

Marshall Haney of Coffee County CHS football

The Doug Greene era kicked off for Coffee County football on Friday night in Winchester.  Taking on old rival Franklin County, the Red Raiders played with the deeper and more experienced Rebels for 3 quarters.  But 3 costly turnovers in the 4^th quarter saw Franklin County erase a 1 point deficit to win 42 to 20.

Coffee County got on the board first with 7:54 to go in the 2^nd quarter as Conner Shemwell kept the football on a roll-out and scored from 4 yards out.  Here is Dustin Murray with the call:

Tied at 7 at the half, Franklin County took their first lead 14 to 7 two minutes into the 3^rd quarter.  The Red Raiders got touchdowns from Shemwell and C.J. Anthony to go on top 20 to 14.  But with 2 seconds remaining in the 3^rd quarter, Franklin County backup quarterback Isaiah Sisk scored from 50 yards out on a keeper and that opened the floodgates.  The Rebels added 3 touchdowns in the 4^th quarter to pull away from a stunned Coffee County squad.

Marshall Haney was the leading rusher for Coffee County as he had 78 yards on 20 carries.  Shemwell rushed 5 times for 6 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Shemwell also completed a 6 yard touchdown pass to C.J. Anthony for the other score.

Coffee County will play host to Franklin County on Monday in a JV/Freshman doubleheader at Carden-Jarrell Field.  The JV game will kick off at 5 PM with the freshman game to follow at 6:30.  The varsity Red Raiders will host Tullahoma next Friday night in the 94^th renewal of the Coffee Pot Game.  Kick-off is set for 7 PM, Thunder Radio will begin our exclusive live coverage with the Friday Night Thunder Pregame Show at 6.

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

Reyna Flores of CHS soccer

The Coffee CHS soccer team closed out up play on Saturday in the SMT Tournament in Tullahoma.  The Lady Raiders suffered their first loss of the season but split the day’s 2 matches.  Coffee County finished the tournament with a 2 and 1 record as their season record stands at 4 and 1 on the season.

Coffee County opened up against Stewarts Creek.  The Lady Raiders fell behind early as the Red Hawks jumped ahead 2 nil in the first 9 minutes.  Coffee County got their goal in the first half as Reyna Flores found the back of the net.  Stewarts Creek added a pair of goals in the 2^nd half before the match was ended early due to an injury to Coffee County’s Diana Ramirez.

Coffee County ended the day with a 5 to 0 win over Silverdale Academy.  Coffee County peppered the Silverdale keeper with 38 shots in grabbing the clean sheet win.

The Lady Raiders will take off this week before hosting their home opener.  The Lady Raiders will open their home season on Tuesday, September 3^rd when they welcome Columbia to the Raider Soccer Field.  That match will get underway at 7 PM.