Category: Sports

Hosting Tullahoma on Senior Night, the Coffee County Red Raider soccer team closed out their regular season.  Competing for the Coffee Cup trophy sponsored by First Vision Bank, the Red Raiders came out and dominated possession in the physical contest.  The Raiders reclaimed the Coffee Cup with a 1 to 0 win.

Coffee County got on the board early when Clinton Ferrell drove home a rebounded shot off the foot of Felix Salinas in the 15^th minute.  The Raiders held that 1 – 0 advantage at the half.   Three yellow cards in the 2^nd half marred the flow of the action in the second half as defense took center stage.  Raider keeper Kix Ferrell turned away several Tullahoma shots as he finished with the clean slate.  Senior Drake Medina was also dominant on the defensive end.  After the match, Clinton Ferrell was named the offensive player of the game and Medina was tabbed the defensive player of the game.

The Raiders will open up district tournament play on Saturday when they take on Franklin County at the Raider Soccer Field.  Opening kick is set for 10 AM.

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The Coffee County CHS boys’ tennis team opened up team district tournament action on Tuesday at home.  Playing in 5 singles matches and a pair of doubles matches, the first team to 4 wins would advance to the district finals.  After a hard fought 4 to 3 decision in the regular season, Coffee County captured the first 4 singles matches to claim the win.

As dominant as the sweep appears, it was a come-from-behind tiebreaker win by Jonathan Welch that clinched the team win.  Welch opened up trailing 3 love before rallying to take the match 9 to 8.  Welch also trailed in the tiebreaker before scoring 4 of the last 5 points to earn the 7 to 5 victory.  Welch capped off the win with a booming shout of “Let’s Gooooooo.”

Jaden Talley shook off some bad shots in the middle of the match and rallied to win his match 8 to 5. Talley’s fire and enthusiasm seemed to spark his teammates down the stretch.  Benedict Edinger played solid tennis in capturing an 8 to 4 win.  Jonah Rollman was in control of his match from the opening serve as he rolled to an 8 to 2 win.  In the 5^th singles’ match, Landon Booth was leading in his match when Welch clinched the team win.  Shelbyville conceded and the 2 teams waived the doubles matches.

With the win, the Red Raiders will host the district championship on Thursday at the Raider Tennis Courts at the Coffee County Raider Academy.  Opening serve is set for 4 PM as the top-seeded Raiders will play host to second-seeded Marshall County.  The win also guarantees Coffee County a spot in the Region Team tournament later in May.

The Coffee County CHS baseball team hit the road on Tuesday for a battle with sectional foe Cookeville.  One night after stunning Riverdale, the Red Raider bats fell silent.  The Red Raiders fell by a final score of 11 to 1.

The Raiders got on the board first in the top of the 1^st inning as Hayden Skipper pulled the 3^rd pitch of the game over the right field fence.  Cookeville tied the game in the bottom of the 1^st inning with a home run of their own.   The Cavaliers added runs in each of the 5 innings as they closed out the game with an RBI on a bases loaded walk.

The Red Raiders were held to 3 hits on the night as skipper finished with a homer and a single.  Griffin Meeker added the other hit via a single.  Gage Edwards was stuck with the loss on the mound for Coffee County.

The Red Raiders will open up District tournament play on Wednesday when they travel to Tullahoma to take on the Wildcats.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.  First pitch will be at 6 PM, Thunder Radio will begin live coverage with the pregame show at 5:50.

The Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School tennis teams squared off in a rivalry match on Tuesday at Fred Deadman Park.  In the girls’ match, the Lady Rockets dominated at the top of the lineup but Coffee Middle won 3 of the singles’ matches and the 2^nd doubles match to grab a 4 to 3 win.  In boys’ action, the Red Raiders won all but one of the matches as they won 6 to 1.

In girls’ play, Westwood’s Rylea McNamara(6 to 2)  and Anna Johnson(6-4) won their singles matches and teamed up for a 6 love doubles win.  Coffee Middle got singles wins from Morgan Tinsley(6-2), Lauren ogan(6-0) and Kyra Sherrill(6-1).  Tinsley and Hogan captured a doubles win by a final score of 6 to 2.

In boys’ action, Westwood’s Jonathan Nelson got the Rockets lone win by a score of 6 to 1.  The Red Raiders got singles wins from Liam Brown(6-0), Xander Blomquist(6-0), Nolan Sussen(6-0) and Matthew Blomquist(6-0).  In doubles’ play, the Raider teams of Brown/Krish Patel(7 to 5) and Sussen/Xander Blomquist(6-3).

The match ends the season for the Coffee County Middle School tennis teams.  Both the Lady Raiders and Red Raiders finish the year with identical 7 and 1 record.  The Westwood tennis teams will finish the season on the road on Friday when they travel to Columbia.  That match will get underway at 4 PM.

The Coffee County CHS baseball team hit the road on Monday for a battle with region foe Riverdale.  A huge 4^th inning by Coffee County lifted the Raiders to the win.  Coffee County won by a final score of 6 to 4.

Trailing 2 to nothing entering the 4^th inning, Coffee County sent 11 batters to the plate scoring 6 runs to take control of the contest.  The Raiders pieced together 5 hits, a pair of walks and a Riverdale error in the frame highlighted by a Harley Hinshaw double and a 2 RBI single from Owen Neel.   Coffee County outhit Riverdale 10 to 7 in the game led by Griffin Meeker who had 3 singles and 2 RBI.  Zach Milan pitched 4 innings to get the victory, Meeker and Braden Brown finished up as Brown got the save.

The Red Raiders close out the regular season on Tuesday when they travel to Cookeville to take on the Cavaliers.  First pitch is set for 6 PM.  The Red Raiders will open up District tournament play on Wednesday when they travel to Tullahoma to take on the Wildcats.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.  First pitch will be at 6 PM, Lucky Knott will begin live coverage with the pregame show at 5:50.

The quest for a CTC title came up one game short for the Coffee County Middle School baseball team on Monday.  Needing a pair of wins to force a winner-take-all final on Tuesday, the Red Raiders could only manage a split.  The Red Raiders raced past North Franklin in the semifinals 10 to 0 before falling to Tullahoma in the finals by a score of 6 to 2.

In the semifinal matchup, the Red Raiders got the benefit of 10 walks including 4 in the first inning as the Raiders built a 3 to 0 lead.  Nolan Jernigan had a 2 RBI double in the pivotal first inning as Coffee Middle staked themselves to a lead they would not surrender.  Dayne Crosslin, Cole Pippenger, Jacob Holder also had doubles for the Red Raiders.  England Bryan pitched 5 2/3 innings to get the win striking out 7 and surrendering only 2 hits.

Tullahoma pushed across 2 runs in the top of the 1^st inning and pushed that margin to 4 to 0 before the Raiders could push across a run.  After leaving the bases loaded in the 2^nd and 3^rd inning, Coffee Middle finally pushed across a pair of runs in the 5^th inning to cut the deficit to 2.  Tullahoma added a pair of unearned runs in the 7^th inning to seal the championship.

Coffee County was led in hitting by Cole Pippenger who had a single and a double and drove in a runs.  Nolan Jernigan added a 2 singles while Hayden Garr had a double and walked twice.  The Red Raiders finished the season with a record of 17 and 3.  Coffee County also finished as the regular season Central Tennessee Conference champions.

 

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The Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School golf teams squared off in a rivalry match on Monday at Willowbrook.  Competing head to head in 4 matches scored on the Junior PGA flag scoring system, each team was battled for 3 flags per 9 hole round.  At the end of the day, the Raiders dropped the Rockets 9 to 3.

The Raider team of Zach Tidwell and Austin Dockery captured all 3 flags against the Rocket team of Araya Hughes and Marli Miller.  The Westwood team of Leah Kate Sullivan and Lyndsey Paschal split their match with the Coffee Middle team of Kolby McCormick, Kira Jarrell and Avery Hill as each team gained 1 ½ flags.  The Coffee Middle team of Cadie Prater, Maggie Crouch and Liza Freeze swept all 3 flags from the Rocket team of Danny Hawkins and Evan Eldson.  The two teams each split the 3 flags of the 4^th match.

Up next for the prep golfers is the beginning of the conference tournament next week.  First round pairings, locations and start times will be announced later this week.

The Coffee County Central High School track team hosted their annual The Night of Miles meet on Saturday as they welcomed Blackman and Stewarts Creek to Carden-Jarrell Field.  Additionally, the public was invited to compete in an open division running of the iconic mile race.  The Raider runners also honored their seniors with a Senior Night Ceremony.

In the team relays, the Lady Raiders posted a 1^st place finish in the 4×800 relay; a 2^nd place finish in the 4×200 relay and a 3^rd place finish in the 4×100 relay.  The Lady Raiders got individual event wins from: Chloe Haggard in the 100M hurdles(with a time of 18.33) and 300M hurdles(55.02), Macy Tabor in the high jump(5’), Makenzie Webb in the triple jump(26’ 7.5”) and Carlie Barnes in the shot put(32’).

Additionally, the following Lady Raiders got Top 3 finishes:

• Ryan Green – 2^nd place, 100M hurdles; 2^nd place, 300M hurdles;
• Madison Rooker – 2^nd place, long jump; 3^rd place, 1 mile run;
• Patricia Barrera – 2^nd place, 3200M;
• Carlie Barnes – 2^nd place, discus;
• Zoe Mills – 3^rd Place, 800M;
• Chloe Haggard – 3^rd place, high jump; 3^rd place, long jump;
• Chandlar Carter – 3^rd place, 300M hurdles;
• BriAnna Norton – 3^rd place, shot put;

In the boys’ relay races, the Coffee County men got 1^st AND 3^rd place in the 4×400; 1^st place in the 4×800; 3^rd place in the 4×100 and 3^rd in the 4×200 The Red Raiders got event wins from: Trace Bryant in the 300M hurdles(44.23), the long jump(19’ 4.5”) and the high jump(6’), Jacob Rutledge in the mile(4:47.42); Kelvin Verge in the triple jump(37’ 6”) and Ethan Welch in the discus(103’ 11”)

Additionally, the following Red Raiders got Top 3 finishes:

• Michael Pritchett – 2^nd place, triple jump; 3^rd place, long jump;
• Dillon Helms – 2^nd place, high jump;
• Trace Bryant – 2^nd place, shot put;
• Christian Alvarez – 2^nd place, 800M;
• Bodey Todd – 2^nd place, 3200M;
• Landon Kenney – 2^nd place, mile;
• Renato Garcia – 3^rd place, mile;
• Ethan Welch – 3^rd place, high jump;
• Joshua Roberson – 3^rd place, 110M hurdles;
• Ethan Beaty – 3^rd Place, 400M;
• Lee Bieder – 3^rd place, triple jump;

The Red Raiders return to the track on Friday at Tullahoma for the sub-sectional meet.  Field events will get underway at 2 PM.  Top finishers at the sub-sectional will compete in the TSSAA Sectional Meet at Rhea County on Friday, May 10^th.

The Coffee County Claybusters traveled to Jefferson County in east Tennessee on Saturday to compete at the Hog Heaven Gun Club.  As has been the case all season long, the Coffee County shooters proved they are once again the best in the state.  The Claybusters swept all 3 divisions in which they competed and also swept the male and female top shooter awards in all 3 classes.

The varsity team of Hayden Jacobs, Tucker Carlton, Victoria Majors, Colter Smith and Cheyenne Martin won their division shattering 484 clays out of a possible 500 to easily outdistance 2^nd place Jefferson County by 22 clays.  Colter Smith was the high overall male with a score of 99(out of 100).  Victoria Majors was the high overall female with a score of 98.

In the Junior Varsity division, the Claybuster team of Brayden Davenport, Landon Meadows, Xavier Bartley, Logan Meadows and Emma Mathews shot a 455 to cruise past second place Cocke County who finished with 418.  Landon Meadows was the high overall male with 96 while Emma Mathews was the high overall female with a score of 93.

In the Intermediate Advanced division the team of Aubrey Payne, Jonah Wyatt, Riley Bellomy, Dylan Hickerson and Garrett Taylor shattered 458 targets to get past Hamblen County by 30 target.  Jonah Wyatt was high overall male with a score of 94.  Aubrey Payne was the high overall female with a score of 91.

The Claybusters return to the range on May 18^th when they travel to the Nashville Gun Club to compete in an American Trapshooting(ATA) individual tournament.  That event is set to begin around 9 AM.