Category: Sports

5:30 PM – TBCS Basketball at Faith Christian in Jamestown

6:00 PM – CHS Wrestling HOSTS Oakland & Eagleville – Senior Night (alumni get in free)

6:00 PM – CHS Basketball HOSTS Shelbyville – Thunder Radio broadcast

Jenna Garretson of Coffee County CHS basketball

Hosting their first regular season home games since December 8^th, the Coffee County CHS basketball teams welcomed Franklin County to a packed and rowdy Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Friday night.  Both teams entered their game in first place in the district and both teams held onto that spot with a sweep over their rivals from Winchester.  The Lady Raiders cruised to a 61 to 41 win while the Red Raiders got a strong finish to hold on for a 50 to 46 win.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to a 15 to 2 lead before Franklin County rallied to tie the game at 17 with 4:26 left in the first half.  Coffee County closed out the half on a 15 to 3 run and never let the lead slide below 10 points in the 2^nd half.  The Lady Raiders stretched the lead to 25 points early in the 4^th quarter to bury the Rebelttes with whom they entered the game tied at the top of the district standing.  With the win, Coffee County improved to 19 and 3 on the year and 5 and 0 in district play.

Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 19 points.  Jacey Vaughn continued her hot 2019 as she dumped in 13.  Jenna Garretson added 11 points and Ellie Graham finished with 9.  Garretson was a force on the offensive and defensive glass as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.

Shawn Anderson of Coffee County CHS basketball

The Red Raiders got off to a fast start leading 10 to 3 before Franklin County mounted a first quarter comeback.  The Rebels tied the game in the 2^nd period before Darius Rozier hit a 28 foot 1^st National Bank 3 pointer just ahead of the halftime horn to give Coffee County a 25 to 22 halftime lead.  After a back and forth 3^rd quarter, Coffee County built a 6 point lead with under 3 minutes to play.  Made free throws down the stretch gave the Red Raiders the huge win as they improved to 4 and 1 in district play and in a first place tie with Lincoln County.

Rozier led the Raiders in scoring as he finished with 15 points.  Kyle Farless and Shaun Anderson each netted 9 points while Harley Hinshaw finished with 7 points and Andrew Mahaffey added 6.  Anderson got all of his points in the 2^nd half, including 2 clutch free throws in the final minutes, to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game honor.

The Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams will be back at home on Tuesday when they host a district doubleheader with Shelbyville.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.   Tip-off for the girls’ game is et for 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you live coverage beginning with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50.

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

Taking part in their final meet before the region championships, the Coffee County CHS swim team traveled to Sewanee for their biggest meet of the year.  Taking on squads from Nashville, Chattanooga and all over middle Tennessee, the Raider swimmers saw some of their best competition at the University of the South Natatorium.  The Raiders teams finished in 9^th place out of 20 teams in the combined team score.

The Red Raiders grabbed a 7^th place team finish in the boys’ division.  Leading the charge for the Raiders was Jack Beachboard who won the100 IM with a time of 57.72.   Beachboard also finished in 2^nd place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 27.71 and 4^th place in the 50 butterfly with a time 26.27.  The Red Raiders 200 medley relay team also added a 9^th place finish with a time of 2:01.04.

Other high finishers for the Raiders were:

Jase Rice – 3^rd place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 31.48 and 6^th place in the 100 IM with a time of 1:02.34.

William Tobitt – 17^th place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.67 and 25^th place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.95.

Gavin Benson – 73^rd place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:23.13 and 78^th place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 33.70.

The Lady Raiders finished with a 10^th place team finish.  The top finisher was Kaylee Williams who won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.23.  Williams also finished in 5^th place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:01.45 and in 12^th place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 28.49.  The Lady Raiders 200 medley relay team also added an 8^th place finish with a time of 2:19.51

Other high finishers for the Lady Raiders were:

Anna O’Connor – 4^th place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 34.50 10^th place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:24.66 and 12^th place in the 50 butterfly with a time of 32.54

Lindsey Cauble – 17^th place in the 100 IM with a time of 1:28.79; 21^st place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 41.82 and 27^th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:08.60

Ali Marlow – 20^th place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 41.71, 53^rd place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:22.83 and 61^st in the 50 freestyle with a time of 34.31.

Laura Fletcher – 22^nd place in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 59.36 and 70^th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 38.40

Emelia Walker – 25^th place in the 50 backstroke with a time of 45.60, 57^th place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:28.76 and 68^th place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 37.64

Next up for the Raider swimmers will be the MTHSSA Region championships to be held on Friday, January 25^th.  The Westwood Middle and Coffee County Middle swimmers will take part in the Middle Tennessee region championships on Saturday, January 26^th.  Both meets will be hosted by Nashville Aquatic Club and held at Centennial Sportsplex.

Sebastian Aho scored a hat trick to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win against the Nashville Predators in Raleigh on Sunday.

Micheal Ferland and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists, and Petr Mrazek made 20 saves for the Hurricanes (22-18-5), who are 7-1-0 in their past eight games.

Aho has five goals in his past two games.

Filip Forsberg had two goals and Roman Josi had two assists for the Predators (27-16-4), whose seven-game point streak (5-0-2) ended.

Aho made it 1-0 at 15:44 of the first period when he scored on a breakaway after Josi fell in the neutral zone.

Justin Faulk set up Saku Maenalanen in the slot for a top-shelf score with 1:45 remaining for a 2-0 lead.

Colton Sissons scored his 10th goal of the season at 2:48 of the second period to make it 2-1. He finished on a pass after Josi’s end-to-end rush.

Aho answered 20 seconds later on the power play after a no-look backhand pass from Ferland to make it 3-1 at 3:08. The goal was the 20th of the season for Aho.

Lucas Wallmark pushed the lead to 4-1 with a wrist shot over the blocker at 8:35, and Justin Williams scored on the power play to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games at 10:11.

Juuse Saros relieved Pekka Rinne, who finished with 15 saves, in the second period.

Nashville cut Carolina’s lead to 5-2 at 14:39 when Josi set up Forsberg alone at the right post for a shorthanded goal.

Forsberg scored on a rebound at the net at 13:33 of the third period to make it 5-3.

Aho made it 6-3 with a shorthanded empty-net goal with 3:01 remaining in the third period.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Coffee County Middle School 8th grade basketball players and cheerleaders.

Hosting old rival East Tullahoma, the Coffee County Middle School basketball teams celebrated 8^th Grade Night on Thursday night.  In a pair of game you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Raiders and Lady Raiders finished their home season schedule with a conference sweep.  The Lady Raiders won 30 to 22 while the Red Raiders captured a 41 to 22 win.

In a tight girls’ game, Coffee County needed a late rally to get the season sweep over the Lady Panthers.  After Coffee Middle built an 8 point lead 30 seconds into the 4^th quarter, East rallied to cut it to 2 points with 2:24 remaining.   The Lady Raiders buckled down and closed out the game on a 6 to 0 run to capture the season sweep.  Chloe Gannon was the leading scorer for Coffee Middle as she finished with 12 points to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Alivia Reel added 6 points and Maggie Crouch finished with 4.

The Red Raiders never trailed in the boys’ game as they also captured a season sweep over East.  After the Panthers cut the Raiders lead to 4 points after a 3 point play with just under than 5 minutes remaining in the first half, Coffee County dominated the game.  The Raiders outscored the Panthers 24 to 9 in the last 17 minutes of the game to get the runaway win.  Hayden Garr led the Raiders in scoring with 13 points.  Dayne Crosslin added 10 points and Cooper Reed added 8 points, all in the 3^rd quarter, to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game honor.

The Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams will travel to Decherd on Monday night for a conference doubleheader with North Franklin.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.   Tip-off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you live coverage beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.

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

Pekka Rinne was supposed to be off work Thursday.

But Juuse Saros called in sick and Troy Grosenick was called up from Milwaukee as an emergency backup. That meant Rinne was called on to play in his 600th career game, which turned out to be a Predators’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

For the 32nd time in his career, the 36-year-old Rinne started both games of back-to-backs, most of which came early during his career.

The reigning Vezina Trophy winner stopped 28 shots during a 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday against the Blackhawks in Chicago and made 30 saves Thursday.

“I used to play all the time in back-to-backs,” Rinne said Thursday morning before the team fell to 5-0-2 in its last seven games. “Nothing really changes. It’s been a policy the last I-don’t-know how many years (to not do that). It’s a good chance to take a rest and play the other guy.

“It’s automatic we split those games. I’m excited. Physically it’s a little bit different, but other than that nothing really.”

Rinne — and four shots off the post — helped keep the Predators in the game until the third period, when Artemi Panarin and Boone Jenner scored nine seconds apart for a two-goal lead. Panarin returned to score the winner in overtime.

The Predators answered with two goals in 38 seconds — one from Viktor Arvidsson and one from Mattias Ekholm — to tie it 3-all with 4:15 left.

Jenner put the home team ahead 1-0 at 6:26 of the first. Nick Bonino tied it 1-all early in the third.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

The Motlow State Bucks had six players score in double figures and seven players with at least four rebounds as they led wire to wire in an 89-83 win over non-conference opponent Lawson State at Copperweld Arena Saturday afternoon.

Motlow (5-0, 9-6) had not seen action since Dec. 18, when they dropped a 77-71 decision to Wallace State. The win over Lawson was the Bucks’ sixth win in their previous seven games. Motlow will return to TCCAA conference play this weekend, hosting Roane State (2-3, 5-10) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then welcoming Walters State (3-2, 11-5) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Bucks sit alone at the top of the conference standings. Admission is free to all Motlow home athletic events.

The home team jumped out on top from the beginning, but could never pull away from the visitors, who connected on 53 percent of their shots from the field. Motlow led 39-35 at halftime and hit key free throws down the stretch to keep Lawson State from overcoming the lead. The Buck shot 45 percent from the field, including 9-25 three-pointers, and hit 14-19 free throws.

Leo Castillo and Marcus Lacey each scored 12 points, with Lacey adding nine rebounds and Castillo dishing out five assists and pulling down four boards. Darius Harding and Josh Endicott scored 11 points, with Endicott gathering nine rebounds, and Josh Greer and Jayvon Humphrey each scored 10 points. Endicott leads the TCCAA in rebounding, averaging 9.3 per contest.

Eleven Bucks got in the scorebook, with Nic Barstad and Jarius Key adding six points, Bryce McBride scored five, Kin Webster had four, and Jaellan White scored two.

The Motlow State Bucks had six players score in double figures and seven players with at least four rebounds as they led wire to wire in an 89-83 win over non-conference opponent Lawson State at Copperweld Arena Saturday afternoon.

Motlow (5-0, 9-6) had not seen action since Dec. 18, when they dropped a 77-71 decision to Wallace State. The win over Lawson was the Bucks’ sixth win in their previous seven games. Motlow will return to TCCAA conference play this weekend, hosting Roane State (2-3, 5-10) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then welcoming Walters State (3-2, 11-5) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Bucks sit alone at the top of the conference standings. Admission is free to all Motlow home athletic events.

The home team jumped out on top from the beginning, but could never pull away from the visitors, who connected on 53 percent of their shots from the field. Motlow led 39-35 at halftime and hit key free throws down the stretch to keep Lawson State from overcoming the lead. The Buck shot 45 percent from the field, including 9-25 three-pointers, and hit 14-19 free throws.

Leo Castillo and Marcus Lacey each scored 12 points, with Lacey adding nine rebounds and Castillo dishing out five assists and pulling down four boards. Darius Harding and Josh Endicott scored 11 points, with Endicott gathering nine rebounds, and Josh Greer and Jayvon Humphrey each scored 10 points. Endicott leads the TCCAA in rebounding, averaging 9.3 per contest.

Eleven Bucks got in the scorebook, with Nic Barstad and Jarius Key adding six points, Bryce McBride scored five, Kin Webster had four, and Jaellan White scored two.

Jason Wood has been named the manager of the Nashville Sounds as announced today by the Texas Rangers. Wood is the 29th manager in franchise history.

Joining Wood’s staff in Nashville will be hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Brian Shouse, bench coach Geno Petralli, bullpen coach Eric Gagne, athletic trainer Carlos Olivas and strength and conditioning coach Al Sandoval.

Wood, 49, will manage at the Triple-A level for the fifth consecutive season. He was Triple-A Round Rock’s manager from 2015-18 and compiled a 280-283 (.497) record. He led the Express to the 2015 American Southern Division title and a berth in the 2015 Pacific Coast League Championship.

Prior to 2015, Wood managed Double-A Frisco in 2014 and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach from 2011-13. He guided his team to the playoffs in each of those four seasons. In his managerial career, Wood has a 582-536 (.521) mark.

As part of an 18-year professional playing career, Wood played for the Sounds in 2000 and 2001 and becomes the second Sound player to return and manage the Club (Marty Brown, player in 1988-89, manager in 2001-02). With Nashville, the infielder played in 201 games and hit .240 (167-for-695) with 86 runs, 37 doubles, 15 home runs and 83 RBI. Wood played in 153 Major League games with Oakland (1998), Detroit (1998-99) and Florida (2006-08).

The California native attended Fresno State University, where he was named All-American while leading the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 1991.

Johnson, 58, will serve as the Sounds’ hitting coach. Johnson had a 14-year big league career and spent time with Detroit (1982-84), New York – NL (1985-93), Colorado (1994) and Chicago – NL (1995). He was a National League All-Star in 1989 and 1991, when he led the National League in home runs (38) and RBI (117).

Following his playing career, Johnson has held several positions including manager, first base coach, hitting coach and scout. Most recently, Johnson was Triple-A Round Rock’s hitting coach in 2018. He managed in the Texas organization in 2016 and 2017 and was named California League Manager of the Year in 2016.

The Nashville resident has held several Major League coaching positions including hitting coach of the Seattle Mariners (2014-15) and first base coach and hitting coach of the New York Mets (2007-10).

Shouse, 50, will serve as the Sounds’ pitching coach. Shouse played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues with Pittsburgh (1993), Boston (1998), Kansas City (2002), Texas (2003-06), Milwaukee (2006-08) and Tampa Bay (2009).

The Illinois native spent the 2018 campaign as the pitching coach for Triple-A Round Rock and carried the same role in 2016 and 2017 with Double-A Frisco. Shouse instructed pitchers with the AZL Rangers from 2012-15.

Petralli, 59, will serve as bench coach for the Sounds. Petralli played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues with Toronto (1982-84) and Texas (1985-93).

The Texas native enters his fifth season coaching for the Rangers’ Triple-A team.

Gagne, 43, will serve as Nashville’s bullpen coach. The 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues with Los Angeles (1999-2006), Texas (2007), Boston (2007) and Milwaukee (2008). He pitched in two games for the Sounds in 2008.

Gagne recorded 187 saves in his career and still holds several major league records for the closer role, including the longest consecutive save streak in major league history (84 straight from 8/28/02 to 7/3/04) and highest career save percentage among pitchers with at least 150 chances (91.7%).

The Montreal native began his professional coaching debut in 2018 as the pitching coach for the Arizona League Rangers. Gagne also had a stint as the pitching coach for Team France during the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in 2012.

Olivas, 41, enters his first season as athletic trainer for the Sounds. The New Mexico native spent the previous three seasons in the same role for Triple-A Round Rock.

Prior to his time in Round Rock, Olivas spent the previous five seasons with Double-A Frisco, where he was named Texas League Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) in 2012 and 2013. Olivas spent eight seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization prior to joining the Texas organization in 2009.

Olivas graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2000 with a B.S. in athletic training.

Sandoval, 33, enters his first season as strength and conditioning coach for the Sounds. The Colorado native spent the 2018 season in the same role with Triple-A Round Rock.

Prior to his one season in Round Rock, Sandoval spent the 2017 season with Advanced-A Down East. Before joining the Texas organization in December 2016, Sandoval spent five seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization, including three seasons (2014-16) as the Club’s minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. Sandoval began his baseball career in the Colorado Rockies organization, working as a strength coach from 2008-11.

Sandoval is a 2008 graduate of Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he was a three-year varsity letter winner for the Thunderwolves baseball team.

The entire 2018 Nashville Sounds field staff led by Manager Fran Riordan will be in Las Vegas, the new home for the Oakland Athletics’ Triple-A team.

The 42nd season of Nashville Sounds baseball begins on Thursday, April 4 when the Nashville Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at First Tennessee Park. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The Coffee County Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams return home on Friday to begin a six game home stand as they welcome Franklin County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  This 6 game district home stand will feature the last regular season home games of the year for the CHS teams.  Special events have been scheduled for each night of the home stand and the public is invited to come out and celebrate with the Raiders.

On Friday night, the basketball teams will recognize members of the North Coffee Elementary and the Coffee County Middle School basketball teams, coaches and cheerleaders.  Each will be a guest at CHS and will receive free admission to the game.

On Tuesday, January 15^th, members of the East Coffee Elementary basketball teams, coaches and cheerleaders will be the guests of honor as Coffee County hosts Shelbyville.

Friday night, January 18^th, has been designated as First Responders Night as Lawrence County visits The Patch.  First responders, along with a guest, will be admitted to the game for free and will be recognized.  Additionally, members of the Westwood Elementary basketball teams, coaches and cheerleaders will be introduced.

Tuesday, January 22^nd Coffee County will host Columbia.  That night will be the CHS/CCRA Club Night as members of CHS and CCRA clubs can get into the game for $1.  Additionally, members of the Hillsboro Elementary basketball teams, coaches and cheerleaders will be introduced.

On Tuesday, January 29^th, Lincoln County will visit CHS for another district game.  Members of the Hickerson Hawks basketball team, coaches and cheerleaders will be the honored guests.

The home stand closes out on Friday, February 1^st as Tullahoma visits the Patch for Senior Night.  Special guests for that game will be the Rockets and Lady Rockets of Westwood Middle School.

It all begins this Friday night, tip-off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you live coverage beginning with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50.

Filip Forsberg

You could say Filip Forsberg is back.

The winger shined on Wednesday night in Chicago, scoring twice, including a dazzling individual effort in overtime to win the contest for the Nashville Predators. The 4-3 victory in extra time gives the Preds points in six straight and seven out of a possible eight on their current road trip.

The contest was only Forsberg’s second since returning from an injury that forced him to miss 17 games. No. 9 was nearly a point-per-game player to open the season in his first 27 games and with a goal in the second period and overtime on Wednesday, he quickly jumped back to his original pace.

“Great effort,” Forsberg said of Wednesday’s game. “A tough late goal, and the guys fought back and had a few looks [in overtime], even before we scored the winner. It’s a great win.”

“We ended up kicking up the lead there late in the third, and you have to fight for the point,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I liked everything about the overtime, from the opening faceoff to the way we handled the offensive zone and the line change… Fill got out there fresh and he made just an incredible move, really strong play.”

Colton Sissons got the scoring started in Chicago, beating goaltender Collin Delia less than seven minutes into the contest for his ninth of the season – which ties a career high – and his second in as many games.

Chicago evened the score late in the opening period on the power play, but just eight seconds later, P.K. Subban sprung Viktor Arvidsson in on a partial break, and No. 33 went to the backhand for a slick tally and his fifth in his last eight games.

In the second, it was Forsberg who struck on the power play with one of his oh-so-familiar snipes to the back of the twine for his first since returning from injury. The Blackhawks pulled back to within one late in the frame when Jonathan Toews capitalized while shorthanded.

Both teams had their chances in the final period, but with less than three minutes to play in regulation, it was Artem Anisimov who beat Pekka Rinne five-hole to force overtime.

Things turned out just fine, however, as Nashville controlled the puck for the entirety of the session until Forsberg ended it by picking the top corner on Delia and sending his teammates flying over the boards with jubilation.

“I just tried to fire it off,” Forsberg said of his winner. “Once I got close, it was pretty open short side, so I just tried to lift it.”

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

For a team that suffered a string of road woes for the better part of almost two months, they seem to have found their way again, winners of three straight and four of their last five away from home.

“We’ve been more consistent in our game,” Arvidsson said. “Just playing better defense, not letting as many goals up and protecting our net more… Now, we have almost everyone healthy, so we’ll just keep going from there.”

Scoresberg:

Just moment’s after he walked to the net, picked a top corner and got his team their 27th win of the season, Filip Forsberg admitted he’s still a bit rusty.

That’s understandable, especially given he missed 17 games due to injury. But, if scoring two goals, including the game-winner, is what he looks like rusty, just give it a couple of months.

“There were a couple passes that I missed and stuff like that, but it’s getting better,” Forsberg said. “Just trying to work hard and a lot of things worked today.”

So humble, right?

You wouldn’t expect anything less from the soft-spoken Swede, but in reality, he made a major statement in showing why he’s consistently one of Nashville’s most important pieces night after night.

“He’s a great player,” Arvidsson said of his linemate and friend. “He knows what he’s good at, and he does it to his best of his abilities. You can see it on the ice; he’s really comfortable, and he’s having fun.”

Forsberg, Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen, Nashville’s top trio, certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves on Wednesday night, combining for three of the club’s four goals, 18 shots and a myriad of chances throughout the evening.

And if Arvidsson is the workhorse and Johansen the playmaker, Forsberg established himself as the finisher once more.

“Fil is a huge part of the team,” Laviolette said. “He’s been our top scorer for the past two years, and that line has been very good… Arv and Fil were both out for a long time, so they’re probably going to shake off a little bit of rust, but the more they play, the better they’re going to feel. They had a big impact in the game tonight, all three of them.”

Notes:

Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm extended his point streak to four games and recorded his 150th career point in the process with an assist on Colton Sissons’s goal.

Defenseman P.K. Subban extended his point streak to four games on the night, and Kevin Fiala’s stretched to three.

Nashville will play the fifth contest of their six-game trip on Thursday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets before finishing up on Sunday afternoon in Carolina.

Pete Weaber’s Postgame Report