The Dream for Weave Foundation and Thunder Radio will be hosting the first ever “Thundie Sports Awards” for the Coffee County community on Saturday, May 21.
The inaugural sports awards will honor the best athletes, coaches and teams of Coffee County Central High School, Westwood Middle School and Coffee Middle School. Doors for the red carpet event will open at 5:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church Gymnasium (1006 Hillsboro Blvd). Middle Tennessee State University head softball coach and the pioneer of the CHS Lady Raider softball program, Jeff Breeden, will deliver the keynote address.
Dinner will begin at 6 p.m. with awards to follow. Event tickets are now on sale for $50 ($400 per table). To purchase tickets, contact Josh Peterson at 931-409-2215 or josh.peterson.wmsr@gmail.com or Holly Peterson at 931-409-2173.
“This is the type of event that Holly, myself and the foundation board envisioned when the Dream for Weave Foundation launched back in late 2020, it has just taken us some time to get there,” said Josh Peterson, vice president of Thunder Radio and treasurer of the Dream for Weave Foundation.
“We put a great emphasis on local sports coverage at Thunder Radio with our broadcasts, our daily sports coverage, photos, Thunder The Magazine and our weekly coaches show,” added Peterson. “As everyone saw last spring when the Lady Raider softball team made a deep run in the state tournament and just recently when the Red Raider basketball team reached the state tournament – athletics are very important to our community. This event is perfect to recognize and honor them, and to raise funds for a foundation that gives back to them directly.”
The Thundie Sports Awards are driven by Al White Ford Lincoln — the presenting sponsor.
Sponsor Peoples Bank & Trust is providing meals and t-shirts for winning athletes, and Unity Medical Center is providing dessert and admission for award-winning athletes. All athletes who are set to be honored will be contacted and invited to the event free of charge thanks to these generous sponsors. Families, friends and fans can purchase tickets to the event to join in on the fun by contacting Josh Peterson at 931-409-2215 or josh.peterson.wmsr@gmail.com, or Holly Peterson at 931-409-2173. Awards will be decided based on decisions of the awards committee.
In addition to awards, the Weave Foundation annual scholarships will be presented at the Thundies. In its first year of operation, the Dream for Weave Foundation presented $3,500 in scholarship funding to athletes departing CHS. The foundation has also purchased and provided athletic gear and apparel for athletes in need.
“There are multiple people who are putting in so much of their time to make this event possible for our athletes and if not for them and our great sponsors, it simply would not be possible,” said Rob Clutter, president of the Dream for Weave Foundation.
Any businesses that would like to contribute – the event is still accepting “scholarship sponsors” for $250. This includes 4 event tickets and inclusion on in-event materials and promotions. The Dream for Weave Foundation is a 501c3 organization and all contributions are tax deductible.
All funds raised from the event tickets and sponsorships will be re-invested into athletes in need and scholarship funding.
“We will be honoring the best athletes from our schools and as many sports as possible – from football to fishing,” explained Peterson. “We want everyone dressed in their best and ready to have a good time.”
Dream for Weave Foundation
The foundation was formed in October of 2020, just 3 months after the sudden passing of Thunder Radio sports director Dennis Weaver after complications from a routine operation.
Beloved by all, Weave as the play-by-play voice for Coffee County athletics and one of the key contributors to the rise of the CHS softball program in the 90s. He was a graduate of Central High School.
His love for sports and the athletes who played them led to the formation of the foundation, which aims to ensure all children who want to play sports have the means and equipment necessary to play. The foundation also strives to provide scholarship funding to athletes departing CHS and pursuing higher education – whether in the college or technical fields.
About Keynote Speaker Jeff Breeden
Jeff Breeden is currently coaching his 10th season as Head Softball Coach at Middle Tennessee in 2022 and has seen improvement in his team in each of the nine previous years.
MT finished at 26-22 overall in 2021, including an 11-8 mark in Conference USA play, leading the Blue Raiders to their first winning record in league play since 2007.
Breeden is a high school state championship softball coach in Tennessee with over 700 career wins. He is largely credited with helping to build the Coffee County Central Lady Raider softball program, which had 1 win before his arrival. Breeden coached with Weaver for many years and together the two helped to build the softball complex where the Lady Raiders now play. He earned 341 wins as Lady Raider head coach from 1990-2003, and made two state tournament appearances before leaving for Riverdale.
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Historic Raider season comes to an end
MURFREESBORO — The run had to come to an end sometime.
A magical, Cinderella run to the state tournament that will forever cement the 2021-22 Coffee County Central Red Raider Basketball team in the history books came to a close Wednesday in a 66-52 loss to Dobyns-Bennett High School in the quarter-finals of the TSSAA State Basketball Championships.
The score got slightly lopsided in the end, but didn’t reflect the game.
The Raiders led 15-14 after a quarter and took a 25-22 lead into the locker room. At one point the Raiders led by 8 in the first half at 25-17 on a Brady Nugent breakaway layup. But the Indians hit a a 5-0 run to close the half and quickly seized the lead in the third – going in front 28-27 just 45 seconds into the third quarter.
Dobyns-Bennett went on to outscored the Raiders 21-12 in the third and the Raiders were unable to recover as the Indians were solid at the free throw line, hitting 17-of-22 (14-18 in the final two periods).
Coffee County was led in scoring by senior guard Aidan Abellana with 11 points. He was 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 at the stripe and was Thunder Radio’s Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY
Dayne Crosslin and Nugent each joined Abellana in double-figures with 10 apiece. Phineas Rollman added 8 points and four offensive rebounds. Connor Shemwell added 7 points, Cooper Reed 4 and Jackson Shemwell 2.
The Raiders knew they would have to deal with a potent Indian offense and it was hard to stop a team with 5 players averaging in double-figures. The Raiders held Jack Browder 5 points under his season average and Malachi Hale, who averages 15 points per game, didn’t hit a single field goal. But Brady Stump more than filled in the void with 27 points. The senior was 5-for-7 from the three-point line.
Season ends
The loss ends a historic season for the Raiders with a 24-10 record.
Coffee County won the postseason district tournament for the first time since 1979, then went on to win the region tournament for the first time since 1977 with a 10-point fourth quarter comeback and a double overtime win over Walker Valley. The Raiders then went on to beat Stewarts Creek in the substate to reach the state tournament for the first time since 1965.
Brady Nugent 
Connor Shemwell 
Connor Shemwell Student Section 
Aidan Abellana 
Brady Nugent 
Andrew Taylor 
Phineas Rollman 
Cooper Reed 
Dayne Crosslin 
Dayne Crosslin 
Jackson Shemwell 
Treyton Williams 
Team timeout
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Raiders take on Dobyns-Bennett Wednesday in Murfreesboro
The community is invited and encouraged to send off the CHS Red Raider basketball team on its way to the state tournament Wednesday morning (March 16, 2022).
The Raiders will be leaving Coffee County High School from the bus loading zone and get a police escort down McMinnville Highway (State Hwy. 55), past Raider Academy to Interstate-24 Westbound.
The team will leave the high school at 11 a.m.
“Businesses and the public are encouraged to line the side of Highway 55 from the high school to Raider Academy in support of these young men,” said the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.
Coffee County (24-9 overall) will open the tournament at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 against the Indians of Dobyns-Bennett High School (30-6) out of Kingsport. The game will be played at MTSU’s Murphy Center.
Tickets will be available at the gate but can also be purchased in advance through gofan.co. Reserved seating is available for $25 and general admission is available for $12 per seat (on gofan, $15 at the gate). Click here to purchase tickets for Wednesday, March 16.
The tournament is single elimination. If the Raiders beat Dobyns-Bennett, they will play the winner of Bartlett and Beech at 1:15 p.m. Friday. The winner of that game will play for a state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 19th.
If you can’t make the trip, you can listen to the games on your home for all Red Raider athletics – Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, streaming on the Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.
PREP SCOREBOARD: March 15, 2022
AREA SCORES FROM TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
WMS Baseball 8, Moore County 3
Westwood picked up a sweep of Moore County with an 8-3 win in Manchester Tuesday night.
The Rockets got 3 hits and 3 RBIs from Davis McKenzie in the win. The Rockets also got 3 hits from Carter Bell.
Kaysen Lowery earned the win on the mound for the Rockets. Lowery allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 hits over 4 1/3 innings while striking out 5.
CMS SOFTBALL 9, Franklin County Middle 7
Coffee County bounced back from a tough Monday night loss and handled Franklin County 9-7 on Tuesday on the road.
CMS got 2 hits, 3 RBIs and a run scored from 7th grader Cara Newlin. Hayleigh Skipper and Dani Hillis also had RBIs on teh night.
Kaylee Buckley earned the win in the circle. She allowed 7 runs (6 earned) over 6 innings of work. Newlin tossed a scoreless inning.
CHS BASEBALL 8, NOLENSVILLE 17
A nightmare top of the sixth inning that saw Nolensville’s Knights push 8 runs across the plate cost the CHS Red Raiders Tuesday afternoon in Smyrna.
Coffee County fell 17-8 and dropped to 1-1 on the season with the loss.
After trailing all game, the Raiders rallied with 4 runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a brief 8-7 lead. But that quickly fell apart when Nolensville added 8 in the sixth and 3 more in the seventh. The Raiders committed 4 errors in the loss and managed just six hits.
Jacob Sherrill had another big night at the plate – he had two hits, a run scored and a pair of RBIs
John McKelvey was hit with the loss for CHS. He allowed 6 runs (3 earned) on three hits over 1/3 inning of work.
HS SOFTBALL: Timely big hits lead Lady Raiders to 4-3 win over Rockvale in season opener
Senior Olivia Evans kept hitting the ball hard, but couldn’t get any good luck. Until the bottom of the sixth inning.
The senior center fielder dropped a double in the left-centerfield gap to push Chesnie Cox across the plate with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and the Coffee County Lady Raider softball team went on to open the season with a 4-3 win over Rockvale Tuesday night, March 15, 2022 in Manchester.
Evans’ double capped a night that included two hard hit balls for her that went right to defenders.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY.
The Lady Raiders (1-0) got plenty of other big hits on the night, too. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Cheyenne Vickers blasted a home run over the center-field fence to tie the game. Then a 2-out hit by Cox set the stage for Evans.
In the fourth inning Emily Schuster also launched a home run – a line drive over the right-center field fence that tied the game at 2-2 at the time.
The Lady Raiders’ other run came in the first when Kiya Ferrell reached on an infield single and later scored on a throwing error.
CHS outhit Rockvale 10-4 in the night.
The Lady Raiders did have some issues with errors – committing 4 in the season’s first game that were costly.
Coffee County’s Channah Gannon picked up the win in relief – allowing no runs over two innings of work while only giving up 1 hit.
Gannon hit Rockvale’s Jessie Condren to leadoff top of the 7th, but got out of trouble when Alivia Reel snagged a line drive at third and doubled off Condren at first base.
Kaitlyn Davis pitched the first 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits and 3 strikeouts. She got a no decision.
Coffee County will return to action Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Tullahoma.
Kiya Ferrell 
Cheyenne Vickers 
Kiya Ferrell 
Kaitlyn Davis 
Chesnie Cox 
Emily Schuster 
Jada Bowen
Alivia Reel 
Madison Pruitt 
Haidyn Campbell
PREP SCOREBOARD: March 14, 2022
AREA SCORES FROM MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022
WMS Softball 5, Moore County 1
Westwood pitcher Lily Norman tossed a no-hitter to help lead the Lady Rockets to a 5-1 win over Moore County in Manchester – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.
Norman struck out 13 Raiderette batters in the win. She also went 2-for-4 at the plate.
CMS BASEBALL 12, North Middle 2
The Coffee Middle Red Raiders added another notch to their unbeaten CTC record with a 12-2 runaway win over North Monday in Manchester.
AJ Schuster had a big night at the plate for the Raiders, picking up 4 RBIs on a pair of hits and two runs scored. He also worked a walk.
Westwood Baseball 11, Moore County 3
The Rockets got multiple RBI nights from Kaysen Lowery, Davis McKenzie, Keller Hatfield and Ayden VanWinkle in an 11-3 beating of Moore County in Lynchburg Monday night to improve to 2-1.
Lowery and Hatfield ripped three hits apiece in the win, including a triple from Hatfield.
On the mound, McKenzie and Carter Bell combined to work 7 innings – McKenzie earned the win with 7 strikeouts and 2 hits allowed. Bell struck out 5 and only walked 2 while surrendering one run in 3 2/3 innings of work.
CHS soccer 0, Soddy Daisy 2.
HS BASEBALL: Raiders open season with 3-2 road win over Riverdale
A solid effort on the mound from Jacob Holder and a big fly from Jacob Sherrill were enough to power the Coffee County Central Red Raider baseball team past Riverdale in the season opener Monday in Murfreesboro.
The Raiders (1-0 overall / 0-0 District 6-4A) took a lead in the first and never looked back behind a strong effort on the mound from junior right-hander Jacob Holder.
Holder worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing a pair of runs on four hits. He struck out 7 and walked one. He made an attempt at the complete game but exited in the bottom of the seventh after the Warriors pushed a run across to make the score 3-2 and had the potential winning run at the plate. Junior Aiden Robertson slammed the door for the save, getting a flyout to end the game.
The decisive offensive blow for the Raiders came in the top of the second inning when Sherrill lifted a home run into center that scored Carter McKenzie. Andrew Dawson also picked up an RBI.
The Raider offense scattered seven hits in the win.
CHS is set to play Nolensville at Smyrna on Tuesday before their home opener at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Rockvale – that game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Community encouraged to line highway for Raider escort March 16
The community is invited and encouraged to send off the CHS Red Raider basketball team on its way to the state tournament Wednesday morning (March 16, 2022).
The Raiders will be leaving Coffee County High School from the bus loading zone and get a police escort down McMinnville Highway (State Hwy. 55), past Raider Academy to Interstate-24 Westbound.
The team will leave the high school at 11 a.m.
“Businesses and the public are encouraged to line the side of Highway 55 from the high school to Raider Academy in support of these young men,” said the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.
Coffee County (24-9 overall) will open the tournament at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 against the Indians of Dobyns-Bennett High School (30-6) out of Kingsport. The game will be played at MTSU’s Murphy Center.
Tickets will be available at the gate but can also be purchased in advance through gofan.co. Reserved seating is available for $25 and general admission is available for $12 per seat. Click here to purchase tickets for Wednesday, March 16.
The tournament is single elimination. If the Raiders beat Dobyns-Bennett, they will play the winner of Bartlett and Beech at 1:15 p.m. Friday. The winner of that game will play for a state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 19th.
If you can’t make the trip, you can listen to the games on your home for all Red Raider athletics – Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, streaming on the Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.
Raider state tournament t-shirt pickup is Tuesday
If you ordered a CHS basketball statebound t-shirt through the school – reminder that pickup is Tuesday, March 15.
Pickup starts at 3:05 p.m. from the bus loading zone area (parking lot by the baseball field). You pay for your shirt when you pickup.
PREP SCHEDULE: High school spring sports starts this week
The Friday night snow has melted and high school spring sports are officially underway beginning Monday, March 14.
Middle School spring sports have been fired up for a couple of weeks now, and high schools across the state will follow suit this week. Thunder Radio will be on hand for multiple broadcasts.
Below is this week’s schedule with Thunder Radio broadcast noted with an asterixis (**). Thunder Radio Middle School coverage financed by Peoples Bank & Trust. High School spring sports is driven by Al White Ford Lincoln.
Game times and broadcasts subject to change based on weather and broadcast team availability.
| DATE | TIME | SCHOOL | SPORT | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 3/14/22 | 6:00 PM | CHS | Baseball | Riverdale | Away |
| 3/14/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Baseball | North | Home |
| 3/14/22 | 5:30 PM | WMS | Baseball | Moore County | Away |
| 3/14/22 | 6 p.m. | CHS | Soccer | Soddy Daisy | Home |
| 3/14/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Softball | N & S Franklin | Home |
| **3/14/22 | 6:00 PM | WMS | Softball | Moore County | Home |
| 3/15/22 | 6:00 PM | CHS | Baseball | Nolensville | Smyrna HS |
| 3/15/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Baseball | North | Away |
| 3/15/22 | 5:30 PM | WMS | Baseball | Moore County | Home |
| 3/15/22 | 6 p.m. CT | CHS | Soccer | Ooltewah | Away |
| **3/15/22 | 7:00 PM | CHS | Softball | Rockvale | Home |
| 3/15/22 | 5:30 PM | WMS | Softball | Cannon County | Away |
| 3/15/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Softball | N & S Franklin | Away |
| 3/15/22 | 4:00 PM | CHS | Tennis | Marshall County | Home |
| **3/16/22 | 1:15 PM | CHS | Basketball | Dobyns-Bennett | MTSU |
| **3/16/22 | 6:30 PM | CHS | Baseball | Rockvale | Home |
| 3/16/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Baseball | Siegel | Home |
| 3/16/22 | 5:30 PM | WMS | Soccer | Community | Away |
| 3/16/22 | 6:30 PM | CHS | Softball | Tullahoma | Away |
| 3/17/22 | 5:00 PM | CHS | Baseball | Columbia | Away |
| 3/17/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Baseball | Westwood | Home |
| 3/17/22 | 5:00 PM | WMS | Baseball | Coffee Middle | Away |
| **3/17/22 | 5:00 PM | CMS | Softball | Lincoln County | Home |
| 3/17/22 | 4 p.m. | CHS | Tennis | Moore County | Home |
| 3/18/22 | TBD | CHS | Soccer | Red Raider Kickoff Classic | Home |
| **3/18/22 | 7:00 PM | WMS | Soccer | Coffee County | Home |
| 3/18/22 | TBD | CHS | Softball | Spring kick off | TBD |
| 3/19/22 | noon | CHS | Baseball | Siegel | Away |
| 3/19/22 | 5:00 PM | CHS | Baseball | Oakland | Away |
| 3/19/22 | TBD | CHS | Soccer | Red Raider Kickoff Classic | Home |
| 3/19/22 | TBD | CHS | Softball | Spring kick off | TBD |