Category: Sports

Taking on 2 of the top teams in the region, the Coffee County wrestling team visited Smyrna to tangle with Stewarts Creek and Blackman on Thursday night.  The Red Raiders came up short to Blackman 47 to 24.  The Red Raiders got a come from behind win over Stewarts Creek 39 to 38.  The Lady Raider grapplers blanked Blackman 18 to 0.

The Lady Raiders won all 3 of their matches by pinfall wins.  Andrea Hickman(fighting in the 112 class), Mary Anne Walker(125) and Lyra Leftwich(132) all pinned their Lady Blaze opponent to gain the shutout win.

The Red Raiders fought gamely against the number 9 ranked team in the state in Blackman.  The Blaze picked up wins in the 5 largest weight classes to come from behind to hold off the Raiders.  Coffee County captured pinfall wins from Brett Francis(120), Hunter Waring(132) and Jesse Smith(145).   The Raiders also nabbed decision wins from Devin Judge(152) and Dakota Chalker(160) as they fell 47 to 24.

Against Stewarts Creek, the Raiders found themselves in a 27 to 6 hole after the first 7 matches to the Red Hawks.  But the Coffee County big men redeemed themselves winning 5 of the last 6 matches to grab the 39 to 38 team win.  Brett Francis(126), Dakota Chalker(160), Reynaldo Reyes(182), Nick Martinez(195), Christopher Speagle(220) and Cardin Stump(285) all captured important pinfall wins.  Jonathan Cable added a 4 to 3 decision win in the 138 pound weight class.

The Raider grapplers are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Tullahoma to take part in the Tullahoma Invitational.  All the action will take place at the Tullahoma High School gym.  Matches are set to begin at 10 AM.

Ending the regular season in Huntland, the Westwood basketball teams hit the road on Thursday night.  With tournament seeding still undecided, the Rockets and Lady Rockets were hoping to improve their match ups for the upcoming Duck River Valley Conference Tournament to be held in Eagleville.  Both Westwood teams came up short as the Lady Rockets fell 29 to 17 and the Rockets lost a 47 to 23 decision.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Rockets were ice cold in the 2^nd half as they were held to 2 points in each quarter.  The Lady Rockets, who only trailed by 7 at the half, held Huntland to 9 second half points but could not muster the come-from-behind win.  Anna Johnson led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 9 points.  Leonor Moreno added 4 points for Westwood.

In the boys’ contest, the Hornets held the Rockets to single digits in each quarter in the Westwood loss.   Andrew Thompson and Konor Heaton were the leading scorers for Westwood as each netted 5 points.  Cayden Trail added 4 free throws and Jayden Carter also finished with 4 points.

The Duck River Valley Conference tournament is set to begin on Saturday in Eagleville.  First round matchups for the Rockets and Lady Rockets were announced on Friday.  The Rockets are set to open up tournament play on Saturday at 5:45 taking on Community. The Lady Rockets open tournament play on Monday at 5:30 PM against MTCS. All tournament games will be held at Eagleville.

Derrick Henry put on a show on Thursday night at Nissan Stadium.

And the Titans got another important win – 30-9 over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Henry broke the franchise record for most rushing yards in a game (238) while turning in one of the best individual performances in the stadium’s history. The Titans running back also ran for four touchdowns on just 17 carries. He electrified the crowd with stiff-arms and speed, while wreaking havoc on the Jaguars.

Chris Johnson previously held the single-game total with 228 yards in a game against the Jaguars during the 2009 season.

“I’d probably put this at No.1,” Henry said of his top performances. “But it’s not really about me – it’s about those guys blocking. So credit to them.”

Henry scored on runs of three, 16, 54 and 99 yards as the Titans pulled away in an AFC South battle. The Titans improved to 7-6 with the win. They’ll return to action on December 16 at the New York Giants.

“I’m speechless, man,” Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said of Henry. “I had a front row seat to it, and it was pretty awesome.”

The game featured one of the most memorable plays in team history — a 99-yard touchdown run by Henry in the first half.

Henry exploded up the middle on the carry, and then he put his powerful stiff-arm to use. In space, Henry stiff-armed Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye, before racing downfield, where he threw Jaguars linebacker Leon Jacobs off of him and to the ground. Further downfield he squared off with Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack, and stiff-armed him away as well before running into the end zone.

“They didn’t want to tackle him – they’re scared of him,” fellow running back Dion Lewis said of Henry, and the Jaguars. “They didn’t want nothing to do with him today. He was on fire. They didn’t want to tackle him, and he was running hard, aggressive, and physical. It was fun to be a part of history.”

The 99-yard touchdown run was only the second in NFL history.

The other: Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard run for the Cowboys back in 1983.

“It’s so crazy, because before we went in the huddle, it was like: You have to go break a 99-yarder,” Henry said with a smile. “My main focus was to get positive yards. When I had the ball, I hit it and my stiff-arms worked. But it started up front with (the offensive line). … Everybody was going crazy. It was a crazy play.”

It was demoralizing for the Jaguars, who dropped to 4-9.

“I’ve never been a part of a guy running like that,” Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson Jr. said. “I mean, it was like little league out there. Every time he touched the ball, he was scoring, it felt like. … He could have run for 300 on us today, if we’re being honest.

“If I was his coach, I would have let him break the (NFL) record.”

Henry’s run gave the Titans a 13-2 lead, and it followed a big goal-line stand by the Titans, who got a big stop from linebacker Rashaan Evans on Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette on a fourth-and-goal from the one.

The run was a sign of more to come for Henry, who owned the night.

On their first possession, the Titans capped a six-play, 73-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Henry, which made it 7-0. The Titans came out flying on defense, too, as safety Kevin Byard ended Jacksonville’s first possession with a sack.

The Titans appeared to be on the verge of adding more points, but Mariota was intercepted when a throw sailed over intended target Tajae Sharpe, and into the arms of Jaguars safety Ronnie Harrison.

Later, disaster struck when return man Cameron Batson muffed a punt, and then was tackled into the end zone for a safety, making it 7-2.

But the game swung back to the Titans on the goal-line stop, and the Henry run that followed.

The Titans added a 33-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop to make it 16-2 at the half.

In the third quarter, Henry exploded for a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 23-2.

Henry then busted off a 54-yard touchdown run, which gave the Titans a 30-2 lead and sent Nissan Stadium into a frenzy. The Jaguars scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.

The Titans will watch results unfold over the weekend before returning to work next week.

The race for a playoff spot continues. There’s work to be done.

“We have to keep stringing these things together, and winning games to give yourself a chance,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think there’s a bunch of teams bunched up and hopefully this week there’s some movement.

“But if not, we understand we have to win games. You can’t sit there and hope for a whole bunch of help when there’s five or six teams all bunched together.”

The Nashville Predators couldn’t erase a four-goal Vancouver lead and fell, 5-3, to the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. The loss snaps Nashville’s two-game winning streak and sees them move to 0-4-1 in their last five outings away from home.

From the start of Thursday’s contest, the Canucks were faster than their opponents, with the Preds saying they didn’t match Vancouver’s speed or intensity in the first 30 minutes.

“We just gave them way too many chances,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We turned the puck over too much, especially in the first two periods. We have to play a lot better defensively.”

“Their fast game appeared even faster because of our puck decisions,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We gave up way too much in the first period and the first half of the game.”

The Canucks seized a 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play thanks to a power-play goal from Alexander Edler and a tally at 19:33 from Bo Horvat.

Preds winger Ryan Hartman cut the deficit to one when he redirected a Yannick Weber shot past Jacob Markstrom at the 7:21 mark of the second stanza. However, Jake Virtanen got it back moments later, and Elias Pettersson beat Pekka Rinne on a penalty shot late in the period to give Vancouver a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes.

Juuse Saros entered the game for the Preds in the third period, and the visitors battled back and had a number of chances. Nashville scored the last two goals of the contest to make the final mark closer, with British Columbia natives Colton Sissons and Matt Irwin converting.

“We pushed back in the second half of the game, but it was too late,” Laviolette said. “The start wasn’t good, and it ended up costing us the game.”

“It’s been happening too much as of late,” Josi said. “We’re not playing well defensively and not making the right decisions, so we have to look at it and correct it.”

Up next, Nashville will face Calgary for the second time this season. The Preds claimed a 5-3 victory at Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 19 – and the visitors would certainly like to erase the memory of Thursday’s performance with a bounce back against the Flames.

“It’s tough, but we’ll bounce back,” Sissons said. “We’ll be just fine.”

Notes:

Anthony Bitetto and Zac Rinaldo were scratched for the Predators on Monday.

Juuse Saros saw his first action since his last start on Nov. 23 in St. Louis.

Nashville’s two-game trip concludes on Saturday night in Calgary with a meeting against the Flames. The Predators then return for a three-game homestand next week, beginning on Tuesday against Ottawa.

The swim teams of Coffee County Central High School, Westwood Middle School and Coffee County Middle School traveled to Tullahoma on Tuesday night for a meet featuring 12 high school teams and 4 middle school programs.  The Central High School swimmers finished with a team record of 10 and 1 as the boys were 10 and 1 and the girls were 11 and 0.  The Westwood swimmers were 1 and 2 for the meet with the Rockets going 0 and 3 and the Lady Rockets going 1 and 2.  The Coffee County Middle School teams finished with a record of 2 and 1 as the Lady Raiders were 3 and 0 and the Red Raiders were 2 and 1.

For the high school swimmers, the Lady Raider 200 yard medley relay team of Haley Richardson, Kaylee Williams, Anna O’Connor and Kennedy Norman-Young won their relay race with a time of 2:12.3.  The Lady Raider 400 yard freestyle relay team of Kaylee Williams, Ali Marlow, Anna O’Connor and Kennedy Norman-Young won their relay race with a time of 4:30.11.  The Red Raider 200 yard freestyle relay team of Jase Rice, Gavin Benson, William Tobitt and Jack Beachboard won their relay race with a time 1:51.58

Posting state qualifying times for the CHS swimmers were:

• Kaylee Williams – 200 Yard IM(2:20.55) and 500 Yard freestyle(5:42.69)
• Jack Beachboard – 200 Yard IM(2:05.82) and 500 Yard freestyle(4:59.94)

Posting region qualifying times for the CHS swimmers were:

• Kennedy Norman-Young – 200 Yard freestyle(2:28.52); 50 Yard freestyle(28.06)
• Jase Rice – 200 Yard freestyle(2:02.39); 100 Yard backstroke(1:06.17)
• Anna O’Connor – 100 Yard butterfly(1:10.36); 100 Yard backstroke(1:12.49)
• Hannah Richardson – 50 Yard freestyle(34.37)
• Emelia Walker – 50 Yard freestyle(37.75)
• William Tobitt – 100 Yard butterfly(1:08.32)

 

Posting region qualifying times for the Westwood swimmers were:

• Elsie Lazalier – 200 Yard freestyle(2:38.22); 50 Yard freestyle(33.44)
• Nick Bogle – 50 Yard freestyle(25.44); 100 Yard backstroke(1:03.83)
• Abby Gilday – 100 Yard breaststroke(1:38.45)

 

Posting region qualifying times for the Coffee County Middle School swimmers were:

• Elli Masters – 200 Yard freestyle(2:36.59); 100 Yard backstroke(1:25.82)
• Emily Williams – 50 Yard freestyle(28.22); 100 Yard backstroke(1:15.02)
• Clancy Sand – 100 Yard butterfly(1:20.07); 100 Yard backstroke(1:25.51)
• Emily Snider – 50 Yard freestyle(35.72)
• Patience Driggers – 50 Yard freestyle(38.92)
• Riley Bellomy – 50 Yard freestyle(34.63)

The prep swimmers will return to the water again on Friday, December 14^th at Sewanee.  The meet, held at the University of the South, will be the final meet of the calendar year for the Rocket and Raider swimmers.

The Coffee County Youth Basketball League will tip off their postseason tournament on Saturday with quarterfinal action.  Games will begin at 9 AM at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  All 8 boys’ teams will be in action with top seeded College Street playing at 3 PM.  The top seeded girls’ team, North Coffee, received a bye and will automatically proceed to the semifinals.  The girl’s semifinals will be held on Monday night, December 10^th, with games at 6 and 7.  The boys’ semifinal will be played on Thursday night, December 13^th, also at 6 and 7 PM.  The tournament finals and consolation games will take place on Saturday, December 15^th.  All the tournament games will take place at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.

The Coffee County Central High School athletic department has partnered with Jiffy Burger restaurant to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that our student-athletes put into their sports. At the end of each month, each in-season head coach will be able to submit the name of one athlete who had a standout performance and demonstrated excellent leadership during that month. The head coaches and the administration will be given the opportunity to vote for one male and one female athlete to be named athlete of the month.

Last week, the CHS athletic department announced the selection of Austin Farris and Keelie Hillis as the Athletes of the Month for October.  Farris is a senior member of the CHS golf team.  Farris finished in 3^rd place at the 2018 TSSAA State Golf Tournament and was selected as the Co-MVP of the Raider golf team.  Hillis is a junior member of the CHS volleyball and basketball teams.  Hillis was among the team leaders for the Lady Raider volleyball team in kills, aces and assists all season long and was named to the District 8AAA All-District first team.

Congratulations to Austin and Keelie

Coffee County welcomed Highway 55 rival Warren County to the packed Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Tuesday.  In a pair of tough, physical games, the Raiders and Lady Raiders battled their way to a sweep of their closest non-district rival.  The Lady Raiders had their hands full with the Lady Pioneers before grabbing a 65 to 44 win.  The Red Raiders rallied from a 4^th quarter deficit to

gut out a 61 to 55 win in overtime.

After a sluggish start, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Pioneers 20 to 7 in an 8 minute stretch of the first half to open up some breathing room.  After Warren County cut the lead to 12 entering the 4^th quarter, the Lady Raiders pulled away late to get the 21 point win.  Nine different Lady Raiders scored on the night as Abby Morgan led Coffee County in scoring with 20 points to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Bella Vinson added 12 points and Jacey Vaughn chipped in 9.  The Lady Raiders ran their record to 9 and 0 with the win.

Sluggish starts in both halves put the Red Raiders in holes but after getting outscored 17 to 2 in the 3^rd quarter, it appeared Coffee County would suffer its first loss of the year.  The Red Raiders erased a 7 point 4^th quarter deficit to force overtime and then dominated in the overtime period.  Coffee County hit 31 free throws in the physical contest but maintained their composure down the stretch to improve to 5 and 0 on the year.  Darius Rozier led the Raiders in scoring with 17 points, including 9 free throws, as he earned the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Harley Hinshaw netted 13 points and Andrew Mahaffey chipped in 11.

Coffee County returns to district action on Friday when they travel to Columbia to take on the Lions.  Tip-off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you live coverage from Columbia Central High School.  We begin our live coverage with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50.

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

The Motlow Bucks had three players with double-digit rebounds and dominated visiting Volunteer State 71-17 on the boards on their way to an 86-58 win over the Pioneers Saturday afternoon at Copperweld Arena.

The Bucks (3-0, 6-5) have now won three consecutive games. Motlow went on the road last week and downed Lawson State 90-76 in Birmingham and Wallace State 70-65 in Hanceville. The Bucks will take their unbeaten TCCAA conference record on the road this weekend, playing at Cleveland State Friday and Chattanooga State Saturday.

Saturday’s win over the Pioneers was never in doubt as the Bucks surged to a 36-18 lead at the half. Neither team shot the ball especially well, with Motlow connecting on 40.7 percent of its shots from the field and Volunteer State 34.4 percent. The Bucks did hit 13-38 three pointers and made 7-10 from the free-throw line.

Josh Endicott led the Bucks with 15 rebounds while adding seven points and a pair of blocked shots. Marcus Lacey had 10 points and 10 boards, Kin Webster secured 10 rebounds with two points and two assists.

Darius Harding scored 11 points, with Jarius Key scoring 10 and adding six rebounds. Leo Castillo scored eight points with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, Josh Greer had nine points, five rebounds and three assists, and Jayvon Humphrey scored nine points with five rebounds and four assists.

In last Wednesday’s win over Wallace State the Bucks had to overcome a 40-34 deficit at halftime. Motlow was led by Harding’s 28 points, including connecting on 6-10 three pointers, and Castillo’s double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bucks also had to come from behind in the final 20 minutes to beat Lawson State last Monday, trailing at the intermission 37-30 before outscoring Lawson 60-39 in the final 20 minutes. Harding led the way with 22 points and Endicott and Lacey had double-doubles, with Endicott scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds and Lacey 10 points and 10 boards.

The Motlow Lady Bucks had four players score in double figures and raised their overall record to 6-2 with an 84-51 win over Volunteer State at Copperweld Arena Saturday afternoon.

Motlow (2-0, 6-2) remains tied with defending champion Walters State at the top of the TCCAA standings. The Lady Bucks’ win over Volunteer came on the heels of last Wednesday’s 76-70 win over non-conference opponent Wallace State in Hanceville, Ala. Motlow will play a pair of road conference games this weekend, visiting Cleveland State Friday and Chattanooga State Saturday.

The Lady Bucks dominated the visitors from Gallatin from the outset Saturday, leading 26-14 after one quarter and 39-27 at the half. Motlow’s defense was on target, holding the Lady Pioneers to 36.4 percent shooting, although they did make 6-7 three pointers. Motlow connected on 50.8 percent of its shots from the floor, including 10-22 three pointers, and outrebounded the visitors 47-35.

Janna Lewis led the balanced scoring attack with 17 points and added nine rebounds and three assists. Katie Thomas hit 5-9 three pointers and scored 16 points along with six rebounds, Tanisia Murphy had 15 points with four rebounds and three steals, and Star Bell-Freeman scored 14 with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Dominique Fields added seven points and six rebounds, Kayla Jackson had five points, Azhane Bacot scored four with nine rebounds, Taylor Holcomb had four points, three rebounds and three assists, and Thandiwie Sims added two points and two rebounds.

The Lady Bucks fought from behind on the road to get their win over Wallace State. Motlow trailed 25-20 after one quarter, 45-34 at the half, and 55-51 after three quarters. Free-throw shooting was a key for the Lady Bucks as they connected on 25-30 attempts.

Lewis was critical to the comeback, scoring 28 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. Murphy scored 17 with five rebounds and four steals, Thomas had nine points, Fields scored eight with four assists, Bell-Freeman had 11 rebounds to go with six points, Holcomb scored five points with four steals, and Bacot had three points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Lewis, a sophomore who was the TCCAA Freshman of the Year last season, has had a strong start to the year, averaging a double-double with 19.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Motlow has four other players averaging double-figure scoring, including Murphy at 15.3 points per game, Fields and Bell-Freeman at 10.9 and Thomas at 10.6.