MANCHESTER — There are instant classics. Then there is what happened at The Patch Thursday night.
The Coffee County Central Red Raiders erased a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and came out on top of Walker Valley 51-46 in double overtime of the Region 3-4A Championship game. The first region title for the program since the 1970s.
The Mustangs of Walker Valley had beaten the Raiders by double digits twice earlier this season.
“I’m just so proud of this team, so proud of these guys and what they have accomplished for our school,” said and emotional Coffee County Head Coach Andrew Taylor after the win.
“This community loves basketball and … I’ve been around it a lot and this scene tonight,” added Taylor, talking about the crowd and the atmosphere, “It really reminds me a lot of the girls in 1993.”
The win means the Raiders will host Stewarts Creek in the state sectional at 7 p.m. Monday night. The winner of that game will go to the TSSAA State Tournament.
Thursday night in Manchester, the Raiders got off the mat in the fourth quarter when things looked bleak – erasing a 10 point deficit in just 5 minutes of game play. Red Raider junior Dayne Crosslin nailed a 3 with 5:40 to play to eat into the Mustangs lead, then Crosslin buried another one with 4:49 to play to cut the deficit to 2.
Senior Aidan Abellana found some room in the paint and knocked down an inside shot to complete the comeback at 44-44 with 2:57 to play.
“We talked in the locker room about how we were a fourth quarter team,” explained Taylor. “And when we went into the fourth quarter down 10 there was no panic on our bench, no concern with our guys. That was an excellent finish.”
The Mustangs actually held the ball for the final 2:57 of regulation and put up a final shot at the buzzer that was no good.
The Raiders took a 46-44 lead in the first overtime on a pair of free throws from Phineas Rollman with 33 seconds to play. But Walker Valley’s Hobert Brabson was fouled on his way to the bucket with just 3.7 seconds on the clock and the guard was able to knock down both free throws under immense pressure to tie the game.
The Raiders actually got a long inbound pass ahead and Abellana had a legitimate look at a 3 to win the game but it hit back iron – forcing double overtime.
The Raiders took the lead in the second overtime and never gave it up.
Rollman hit a free throw with 3:43 to play and Brady Nugent got to the basket with 1:14 to play to put CHS up 49-46. With 15 seconds to play, the Raiders got an outlet ahead to Crosslin who dropped it in the bucket in the final seconds to set the final.
Counting both overtimes, the Raider defense held Walker Valley to to 2 points over the final 11 minutes of game time. The Mustangs only scored 8 points in the final 16 minutes (including both overtimes).
Crosslin finished with 20 points for the Raiders – following up his 25 point night Tuesday night against Franklin County. Shemwell had 16 points and Nugent 6.
The Raiders will now host Stewarts Creek at 7 p.m. Monday at The Patch. The winner advances to the state tournament, the loser’s season will end. That game will be broadcast on Thunder Radio.
Region Champions! 
Andrew Taylor 
Jackson Shemwell, Phineas Rollman, Connor Shemwell and John Dobson 
Aidan Abellana 
All Region Tournament MVP Dayne Crosslin, and all-region Raiders Brady Nugent, Phineas Rollman and Connor Shemwell.
SPRING SCOREBOARD: Results from Wednesday, March 2
BASEBALL
Coffee County Middle 10, Warren County 3
Coffee County completed the series sweep of Warren County with a 10-3 win in the Raiders’ home opener Wednesday afternoon.
Six different Red Raiders scored runs on the night and the Raiders got two multi-hit performances – from AJ Schuster and Jase Cashion. Austin Gipson picked up the win on the mound – striking out 9 and walking 4 over four and one-third innings of work. He allowed one earned run.
CMS is set to host Grundy County Thursday.
SOFTBALL
Coffee County Middle 6, Warren County 5
The Lady Raiders flipped the score on the Pioneers from the previous night to split the season series 1-1.
Coffee County got a run in the first, two in the second and two more in the third and then held on.
Ella Arnold led the way at the plate with three singles for CMS. She also scored a run.
CMS will return to action against Harris on Monday, March 7.
SOCCER
Coffee Middle 3, Liberty 1 (March 1)
Coffee County opened the season with a 3-1 win over Liberty behind goals from Patrick Brown, Trey Caron and Luke Campbell.
Pete Rose returning to Manchester March 16
Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader is making a return visit to Manchester.
Pete Rose will be at Al White Ford Lincoln from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. Everyone is welcome to stop by and visit with Rose – there is no charge. There will be hotdogs, chips and drinks available. Thunder Radio will be on site, as well.
There will be no autographs signed during this time.
Al White Ford Lincoln is located at 2002 Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester.
Rose came to Manchester back in the fall for a fundraiser dinner for the CHS baseball team.
First two series of MLB season cancelled with no CBA in place
Tuesday’s deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement passed without a deal between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, as the players voted to reject the league’s final proposal before 5 p.m. ET.
With no deal in place, MLB announced that each team’s first two series of the regular season will not be played, meaning that the regular season will begin no earlier than April 7, while Spring Training games will begin no earlier than March 12.
Thunder Radio is your official radio home of the Atlanta Braves as a long-time member of the Braves Radio Network. The Braves went on to win the World Series in a six-game series with the Houston Astros last season.
Whenever the season does start, catch Atlanta Braves baseball on Thunder Radio at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM and 1320 AM.
SPRING SCOREBOARD: Results from Tuesday, March 1
Middle school spring sports are in full swing after a few games got underway Tuesday night, March 1.
BASEBALL
Westwood Rockets 6, Grundy County 4
Westwood got two RBIs from Keller Hatfield and one apiece from Ayden Van Winkle, Kaysen Lowery and Elijah Vernon in a 6-4 win over Grundy County Tuesday afternoon in Manchester to start the season 1-0.
Matt Moore and Kaysen Lowery combined to go 5 innings on the mound in the win. Moore allowed 3 earned runs on a pair of hits while striking out 5. Lowery struck out 4 batters and allowed 1 run on two hits and three walks over two innings.
CMS Raiders 13, Warren County 2
SOFTBALL
Coffee County 5, Warren County 6
A Warren County walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th cost the Lady Raiders a loss in the season opener Tuesday night in McMinnville. Bella Hennessee reached based twice and scored a pair of runs for CMS in the loss.
The Lady Raiders host Warren County Wednesday.
TITLE BOUND: Crosslin drops 25 points to lead Raiders to region championship game
There are 16 high school basketball teams remaining in the state of Tennessee.
Coffee County’s Red Raider boys are among them.
Dayne Crosslin played arguably the best game of his career Tuesday night (March 1, 2022), dropping a game-high 25 points to lead the Red Raiders to a 64-47 win over Franklin County in the Region 3-4A semi-finals. (a game you heard live on Thunder Radio).
With the win, Coffee County moves to the Region 3-4A championship, which will be against Walker Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday in Manchester. Franklin County is eliminated from postseason play with the loss.
Coffee County only led by 4 at the end of the third quarter. It was a 2-point lead at the close of the third before Jahlin Osbourne ripped a rebound and put it back for points as time expired.
But the Raiders absolutely dominated in the fourth. CHS took off on a 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter and led 55-36 with 2:03 to play as CHS completely stymied the Rebels ability to score. The Raiders outrebounded the Rebels 14-5 in the second half.
Most of the Raider offense was generated by Crosslin. The junior guard lit up the Rebels for 17 points in the first half alone, starting off 5-for-5 behind the arc. He finished with 25 points and added 4 rebounds and a steal.
Jackson Shemwell came off the bench for big minutes for the Raiders. He dropped 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Brady Nugent added 9 points for the Raiders. The senior guard also had 4 assists, 5 defensive rebounds and a pair of steals. Connor Shemwell added 7 points and 6 rebounds. Phineas Rollman had 7 points for the Raiders and Aidan Abellana 4.
The Raiders were solid at the free-throw line late, squashing any chance of a Rebel rally. CHS was 13-of-16 at the stripe. The Raiders led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Rebels finally stopped the hot run.
The Raiders will host Walker Valley in the Region 3-4A Championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium. Tickets are available at the gate and the game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.
If Coffee County beats Walker Valley, the Raiders will host the loser of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday night (March 7). If the Raiders lose to Walker Valley, they will travel to the winner of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST REPLAY.
Cooper Reed 
Brady Nugent 
Connor Shemwell 
Dayne Crosslin 
Andrew Taylor 
Dayne Crosslin
Thunder Radio photos by Holly Peterson
HS BASKETBALL: Lady Raider season comes to abrupt end with OT loss to McMinn County
After Monday night, only 16 girls basketball teams remain in the state of Tennessee.
Unfortunately, Coffee County isn’t one of them.
Second half turnovers hurt Coffee County Monday night (Feb. 28, 2022) in Manchester and the Lady Raiders fell to visiting McMinn County 53-51 in overtime of the Region 3-4A semi-finals.
McMinn County advances to play Bradley Central in the in the region championship and earns a berth in the state sectional. The Lady Raider season comes to a close.
Coffee County led 30-23 at the half behind hot shooting from Olivia Vinson and solid post play from Chloe Gannon. But the Lady Cherokees took off on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter and close the gap. Coffee County led 36-33 after three quarters before McMinn County finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and actually pulled ahead by 5 before Vinson nailed a 3-pointer (she finished with 14 points).
Lady Raider post Chloe Gannon tied the game later at 41-41. Then the Lady Cherokees held the ball for the final 2 minutes of regulation for a final shot – an attempt that was thwarted by the Lady Raider interior defense.
But Coffee County instantly fell behind by 4 in overtime within the first minute and the Lady Raiders were never able to tie or regain the lead. A baseline jumper from Lady Raider Kiya Ferrell with 17.9 seconds to play pulled CHS to within 50-48, but McMinn County was too good at the free-throw line and Coffee County could not manage a defensive steal.
Chloe Gannon led the Lady Raiders with 16 points on the night, followed by Vinson with 14. Reel scored 6 off the bench and senior Elli Chumley had 5 before fouling out.
Peytyn Oliver of McMinn County led all scorers with 22.
Turnovers were costly for the Lady Raiders in the second half. CHS turned the ball over just 4 times in the first quarter, but ended up with 9 in the second half for 13 on the night – including some costly ones in the back court and on forced entry passes to the post.
Coffee County falls to 0-3 in Region semi-final games in the past four years – a hump the Lady Raiders have struggled to get over in the postseason.
CHS final record is 29-4 in a season that included a 26-game winning streak (that ended Monday night), a regular season district championship and a district tournament championship.
The loss also marks the end of the high school basketball careers for Ferrell and Chumley.
Jalie Ruehling 
Alivia Reel 
Chloe Gannon
REGION TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Things you need to know about this week’s tournaments in Manchester
With both Coffee County Central boys and girls basketball teams winning in the Region 3-4A quarter-finals Friday and Saturday night, respectively, that sets up a fun week of basketball at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium this week.
The first round of the region tournament was played at the highest-seeded team. Now the remainder of the tournament – semi-finals and finals – moves to Coffee County Central.
MONDAY
Monday night, Feb. 28, will be the girls semi-final games. Bradley Central will take on Warren County at 6 p.m. That will be followed up by Coffee County Central and McMinn County girls at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The two semi-final winners will play in the region championship Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at CHS. The winners will also be guaranteed a spot in the state sectional (a win in the sectional means a trip to the state tournament). The two losing teams in the semi-finals are eliminated from the postseason. (see full bracket at the bottom of this post)
TUESDAY
Tuesday night, March 1, will be the boys semi-final games. Walker Valley and McMinn County boys will play at 6 p.m., followed by Coffee County’s Red Raiders and Franklin County boys at approximately 7:45 p.m.
The two semi-final winners will play in the region championship Thursday night at 7 p.m. at CHS. The winners will also be guaranteed a spot in the state sectional (a win in the sectional means a trip to the state tournament). The two losing teams in the semi-finals are eliminated from the postseason. (see complete bracket at the bottom of this post).
WEDNESDAY
Girls Region 3-4A championship at 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Boys Region 3-4A championship at 7 p.m.
HOW YOU CAN GET TICKETS
Tickets are available at the gate for each night. Cost is $8 per adult and $4 per students. TSSAA sets the prices. Postseason play means season passes and student renaissance cards are not accepted.
HOW YOU CAN LISTEN
All Coffee County games – girls and boys – will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio just as they have all season long. Tune in at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM or listen on your smartphone with the Manchester Go app or thunder1320.com
HOW YOU CAN WATCH
The Coffee County semi-final games on Monday and Tuesday will be broadcast by the Raider TV class at the high school in partnership with Thunder Radio – thanks to sponsor Al White Ford Lincoln. You can watch the semi-final games through Raider TV Youtube Channel by clicking here. You can also watch the video stream on the Thunder Radio Facebook page.
The Coffee County High School audio visual class produces the video broadcast, while plugging into the audio feed from Thunder Radio’s audio broadcast.
CHS football postpones banquet because of basketball
Coffee County football head coach Doug Greene has announced he is postponing the team’s banquet due to the high school basketball team’s playing in the region tournament this week.
The team was originally scheduled to have its banquet celebrating the 2021 season on Tuesday, March 1. But the Red Raider basketball team will be playing in the Region 3-4A semi-finals against Franklin County that night in Manchester, leading Greene to push it back to an undecided date.
“This is a great problem for us to have,” said Greene. “We want our guys out there supporting the basketball team and hopefully cheering them on to a big win.”
The 2021 Red Raider football team went 5-5 in the regular season before losing to Riverdale in the opening round of the playoffs. It was the most wins in a season since 2007 and another stepping stone after a 4-6 season in 2020.
The upcoming 2022 season will be the 100th year of Coffee County football.
You can hear Coffee County football in the fall on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.
WRESTLING: Coffee County’s Barlow takes 3rd in state
Coffee County Central High School sophomore Jacob Barlow placed third in the state 152-pound division with a 6-2 win over Nolensville’s Charles McTorry Saturday morning at the Williamson County Expo Center.
Wrestling in the 152-pound class, Barlow won his first two matches of the tournament and was one win shy of reaching the state title match, but lost 4-3 in a tightly contested bout. He bounced back and won an 8-3 decision over Adam Tibitoski of Oakland to move into the third place match.
Barlow, a sophomore, won the sectional round and went on to have the best finish of all CHS wrestlers at this year’s state championships.
Jacob Roaten of Arlington won the state championship in the weight class.
