Category: Sports

Katie Cotten of CHS soccer

The Coffee CHS soccer team visited district rival Franklin County on Thursday night.  Coming off an emotional win on Tuesday, the Lady Raiders were looking to put themselves in a good position in the district standings early in the year.  A pair of goals in the final 15 minutes lifted the Lady Raiders to a 2 to 1 win.

After a scoreless 1^st half, Coffee County got on the board first in the 66^th minute when Katie Cotton buried an Anna Amado assist to put the Lady Raiders up 1 nil.  2 minutes later, Franklin County leveled the match on a penalty kick with 12 minutes left in the contest.  Cotton got her 2^nd goal of the night in the 71^st minute as she converted the deflection of a Jenna Garretson free kick for the game winner.  The JV team fell 2 to 1 to Franklin County.

The Lady Raiders are back in action this weekend when they travel to Tullahoma to take part in SMT Tournament.  Coffee County opens tournament play on Friday when they take on LaVergne at 7:30 PM at Tullahoma’s Johnson Lane Soccer Park.

The Coffee Middle School volleyball team welcomed North Franklin to Manchester on Thursday for a conference doubleheader.  Looking to get back on the winning track after a tough loss at Warren County on Tuesday, the Lady Raiders captured a pair of varsity and a pair of JV wins on the night.

The varsity squad won both of their matches in straight sets.  The JV team won their first match in straight sets but had to play 3 sets in the 2^nd match to claim the win.

The Lady Raiders will hit the road on Monday when they travel to Sparta to take on conference rival White County.  The first serve is set for 5 PM.

Brayden Dixon of Westwood football

The Westwood Middle School football team hit the road on Thursday for their 3^rd game in 8 days.  With Forrest picked as one of the conference favorites this season, the Westwood squad knew they would have their hands full in this battle of Rockets.  Despite a strong defensive effort in the 2^nd half, the Rockets fell 30 to 6 to Forrest.

Westwood got a 2^nd quarter touchdown from Brayden Dixon from 35 yards out but trailed 22 to 6 at the half.  In the second half, the Rockets clamped down on the defensive pressure but could not overcome the Forrest lead.

Westwood is back in action next Thursday when they welcome perennial conference power Fayetteville to Dyer-Bouldin Field.  Opening kick is set for 6:30 PM.

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team hit the road for the 1^st time this season as they traveled to McMinnville.  The young Lady Raiders took on the always tough Lady Pioneers on their home pitch.  Warren County used 3 goals in the 2^nd half to blow open a close match and grab the 4 to 0 win.

After holding Warren County to one goal in the first half, the Lady Raiders saw the deeper and more experienced Lady Pioneers pull away in the 2^nd half.  Sydney Gilley had 12 saves in goal for Coffee County but the Lady Raiders were held to 2 shots.  The JV team lost 2 to 1 as Jasmine Norris had the lone goal for Coffee Middle.

The Lady Raiders are back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Winchester to take on South Franklin.  That match is set to kick off at 5:30 PM.

Thursday’s game between the Nashville Sounds and Oklahoma City was cancelled due to inclement weather at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. This was the final series of the season between both teams, with the Sounds finishing 9-6 against the Dodgers in 2019.

It’s the second consecutive year Nashville beat Oklahoma City in the season series. Last year, the Sounds beat the Dodgers 9-7. It’s the fifth season series taken by Nashville, along with Memphis, Las Vegas, Sacramento and Tacoma

The Sounds head to Des Moines, Iowa for a quick three-game series against the Cubs. In game one tomorrow, left-hander Wes Benjamin (6-6, 5.93) is the current probable for the Sounds against Cubs’ probable Adbert Alzolay (2-4, 4.92). First pitch at 7:08 p.m.

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.

Thursday Prep Schedule
5:00 PM – CCMS Volleyball HOSTS North Franklin(DH)
5:30 PM – CCMS Girls’ Soccer at Warren County
5:30 PM – WMS Girls’ Soccer HOSTS Cascade – 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast on Thunder Radio
6:30 PM – WMS Football at Forrest
7:00 PM – CHS Girls’ Soccer at Franklin County

Kiya Ferrell of CHS volleyball

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team hit the road for the first time this season as they visited Whitwell.  The Lady Raiders captured their 3^rd straight match win with a straight set sweep of the Tigers.  Coffee County won by set scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-20.  The Lady Raiders have not dropped a set in their 3 matches this season.

Kiya Ferrell led the Lady Raiders in aces with 4 and tied for the team lead in kills with 7.    Keelie Hillis also had 7 kills as she added 8 assists and 3 digs.  Amanda Mukai led Coffee County in assists with 13 and added 3 digs.  Sarah West was the team leader in digs with 8.  Keri Munn finished the match as the team leader in blocks with 3 while adding 6 kills and a pair of aces.

The Lady Raiders are off until Tuesday when they travel to Columbia to take on their district rival.  That match will get underway at 6:30 PM.  The JV Lady Raiders will take part in a JV tournament this weekend at “The Patch”.  The one-day tournament gets underway at 9 AM on Saturday.

Tim Dillard tossed seven strong innings, and Ronald Guzman went 4-for-4 with three extra-base hits on Wednesday night, as the Nashville Sounds cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Oklahoma City Dodgers at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Sounds improved to 14-5 in August and have won 12 of their last 14 games. The victory gave them a fourth straight winning series.

The Sounds never trailed in the game, taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a three-run homer by Jett Bandy. The Sounds have homered in 22 consecutive games with a total of 42 during the streak. Guzman, who had doubled and singled in his first two at-bats, doubled again in the fifth and later scored on a wild pitch by Logan Bawcom, giving the Sounds a 5-0 lead. Then Guzman belted an opposite-field homer in the seventh, and the Sounds made it 7-2 in the eighth with a pair of unearned runs from four Dodgers errors in the frame.

Dillard’s outing was his sixth quality start in his last seven tries and came with the Sounds’ bullpen overworked from the first two games of the series and a suspended game that was completed Tuesday. He gave up two runs on seven hits over seven innings in the win. Yohander Mendez continued the dominant pitching by striking out the side in order in the eighth, and Reed Garrett worked a scoreless ninth to end it.

The Sounds conclude the series Thursday night at 7:05 CT looking for the sweep. Seth Maness (7-4, 5.69) is scheduled to oppose Daniel Corcino (8-6, 4.56).

Post-Game Notes

Tim Dillard entered Wednesday’s game ranked 4th in the PCL in innings and 7th in ERA
Andy Ibanez drove in a run but snapped a nine-game hitting streak and 20-game on-base streak
The Sounds’ streak of four consecutive winning series is a season-high
Ronald Guzman’s four hits marked his season-high
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.

A second half red card to defender Forrest Lasso turned Nashville SC’s top-of-the-table clash against New York Red Bulls II on its head, resulting in a 2-1 loss for Nashville at First Tennessee Park on Wednesday night. Lasso was shown yellow cards within five minutes of each other midway through the second half, taking off one of Nashville’s best players in its now-ended six match unbeaten streak.

Nashville SC went ahead in the 10’ minute on a corner kick via the head of Ken Tribbett from Lebo Moloto. It was the fourth goal of the season for Tribbett and the ninth assist for Moloto. Much of the rest of the first half was spent defending for Nashville SC and it turned away each New York attack until Red Bulls II finally found a breakthrough just before halftime to equalize.

The sides appeared balanced to start the second half until Lasso was sent off in the 65’ minute. It didn’t take long for Red Bulls II to take advantage, scoring in the 71’ minute off a set piece.

Here are three takeaways from Nashville’s first loss in six weeks.

1) Lasso Loss Stings

Forrest Lasso has been an integral piece to Nashville SC’s backline since his acquisition on loan in late July. His questionable sending off, coupled with head coach Gary Smith’s substitution of Ken Tribbett moments earlier meant that Nashville had to do some reshuffling following the red. New York, the highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference, took immediate advantage by going ahead within five minutes of play restarting following Lasso’s red card.

2) Tribbett Finds the Net Again

Defender turned midfielder Ken Tribbett continued his great offensive play with another goal, giving him four in the USL Championship season. Tribbett notched six last year to lead all defenders, and looks like he could match that offensive output again in 2019. Meanwhile, Moloto’s assist is his ninth of the season to lead the Eastern Conference.

3) Ground to Make Up

With a win, Nashville SC could have moved to first place in the Eastern Conference, jumping New York. Instead, Nashville now sits five points behind first place and is fourth in standings. Nashville still has plenty of opportunities to move up in the standings with matches remaining against second place North Carolina and third place Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Up Next

Nashville SC will be able to wash the bad taste from the loss out of its mouth quickly as it will stay at home for a Saturday night match against the Charleston Battery, presented by Vanderbilt Health. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Wednesday Prep Schedule

5:30 PM – CHS Volleyball at Whitwell