Category: Sports

Members of the Manchester Grunt at this weekend’s Battle in Rocky Top

The Manchester Grunt 13U football team closed out their trip to the Battle in Rocky Top on Sunday with a shutout win over a team from Blackman.  After taking a pair of losses on Saturday, the Grunt blew away Blackman 40 to 0.  The Grunt finished the tournament with a record of 1 and 2.

The Coffee County team was comprised of players from both Coffee County Middle and Westwood Middle.  The team was made up of mostly 8th grades who plan to be a part of next year’s Coffee County CHS freshman team.  Additionally, the team includes a couple 7th graders who will be go to be the eighth graders for one of the two middle school programs.

The team was put together by J.D. Felice (Head Coach) with help from Wesley Colwell.  Felice was assisted by Colwell, Jon Helms, Danny Strickland and Tyler Luttrell.   J.D., Wesley, Jon and Danny are all board members with the Manchester Youth Football League and Tyler is a senior at Coffee County who just finished his last season as a Red Raider.

The team came up with their own name to represent their team personality; a team of workers, grinders and battlers.  The team opened up tournament play on Saturday when they were matched up with a team who has been a 3 time Rock Top champion.  The Grunt fell in that morning contest before tangling with an undefeated team from Chicago.  Improvement by the Manchester squad was evident as they battled the bigger and more experienced squad for the Chicago Southside.  In the game versus Chicago, the Grunt had 4 different series where they made goal line stands.  They ended up falling 24 to 7.

Members of the Coffee County Bass Club competed on Saturday at Tims Ford in 2018 Captain’s Open Team Tournament.  The tournament served as a fundraising tournament benefitting the Tennessee Junior Division State Championship Tournament to be held in May of 2019 and to fund scholarships for the Tennessee High School Region championship.  Six boats wearing the uniforms for the Coffee County Bass Club entered the tournament.

The top Raider team was captained by Brent Sain with prep anglers Kaden Freeze and Briley Sain.  Team Sain finished in 5^th place with a 3 fish total catch weighing 6.55 pounds.  Coming in 7^th place was the boat captained by Steven Mantooth which contained prep anglers Kylan Mantooth and Lance Marcum.  They had a big fish tipping the scales at 4.34 pounds with a total catch of 2 fish weighing 4.43 pounds.  The team of John and Jason Smith finished in 9^th place with a 2 fish total of 5.1 pounds.  The boat of Phillip Petty, Adam Petty and Jayden Yates came in 10^th place with a pair of fish weighing 4.98 pounds.  Team Petty had a big fish weighing in at 3.05 pounds.  Phillip Davis captained a boat with Garrett Davis and Isaiah Owens that came in 12^th place with a stringer weighing in at 4.45 pounds.  Casey Myers captained a boat with Branson and Dawson Wells to a 13^th place finish with a total weight of 4.09 pounds.

The Coffee County Bass Club is back on the water on Saturday, December 1^st when they have the option to compete in the state trail series at Norris Lake.  The tournament will have registration and weigh-in at Lonus Young Park in LaFollette.

Daniel Rios(left) and Nashville MLS CEO Ian Ayre(right)

Nashville’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team announced the signing of forward Daniel Ríos, from Club Deportivo Guadalajara of Liga MX in Mexico as its first MLS player.

“Signing Daniel as our first MLS player shows our commitment to put a talented, diverse and exciting team on the field from day one of this franchise,” said Nashville MLS CEO Ian Ayre. “We look forward to welcoming him to the club and to seeing him play his part in our Major League Soccer ambitions.”

A native of Mexico, Rios, 23, had been with CD Guadalajara, more commonly known as “Chivas,” since 2015, when he made his club debut with two appearances in the Apertura Copa MX. Most recently, Ríos spent the 2018 season in the U.S., his first abroad, on loan with North Carolina FC in the United Soccer League (USL).

“Daniel is the first of many players we will bring to the MLS roster,” said Nashville MLS GM Mike Jacobs. “He has real potential, and we are looking forward to continuing his development over the next 12 months ahead of our entry into Major League Soccer. He is exactly the type of young, exciting talent we have in mind, scoring 20 goals with North Carolina FC and a successful career as a Mexican youth international.”

Ríos has played in 48 games for Mexico at the youth level, appearing in U-18, U-20 and U-21 for the Mexican National Team. The striker was a starter on the U-20 Mexico team that beat the MLS Homegrown squad in the summer of 2016.

Until Nashville MLS takes the field, Ríos will be loaned to Nashville SC of the USL.

Alivia Reel of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams played their last games before the Thanksgiving break on Monday at East Tullahoma.  Taking on the rival Panthers in a pre-Thanksgiving doubleheader, the Raiders and Lady Raiders claimed a pair of conference wins.  The Lady Raiders won 33 to 27 while the Red Raiders captured a 53 to 24 victory.

Leading by 2 points entering the 4^th quarter, the Lady Raiders hit 9 of 19 free throws in the final frame to capture the win.  Alivia Reel had 5 of those made free throws in the final period to finish with a team high 14 points.  Olivia Vinson finished with 9 points and Maggie Crouch added 6 points.

Ethan Hargrove of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders roared out to an 11 point lead in the 1^st quarter and the Panthers could not get the margin below double digits the rest of the night.  Ethan Hargrove finished the game with 17 points including a trio of three point baskets.  Jacob Holder added 9 points while Dayne Crosslin and Cooper Reed finished with 7 points each.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be in action on Monday when they play host to North Franklin at the CCMS gym.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM for the girls’ game.

Trace Woodard of the Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team

The Eagles of Temple Baptist Christian School welcomed Faith Christian of Jamestown to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Monday night.  The Eagles rallied from a halftime deficit to claim a 59 to 49 win.

Trailing by 2 at the half, the Eagles stormed out of intermission to outscore Faith by 10 in the 3^rd quarter.  An 8 point 4^th quarter from Trace Woodard helped Temple hold off Faith for the win.  Cody Swayze led Temple in scoring with 33 points.  Woodard finished with 10 points and Mich Gloden chipped in 8.

Temple returns to the court on Tuesday, November 27^th when they visit Philadelphia Baptist in Calhoun, Georgia.  That game will get underway at 6 PM Eastern time.

Nashville center Ryan Johansen

In arguably their toughest test through 20 games this season, the Preds placed in their top percentile.

Ryan Johansen posted a goal and an assist, as the Nashville Predators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 3-2 final on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result is Nashville’s second consecutive victory overall, and it gives them a season sweep over the team with the second-best record in the League.

It was also career victory No. 319 for Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne, a mark that tied him with Miikka Kiprusoff for the most wins by a Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history.

Overall, not bad for a Monday.

“We were really good early on in the game, and for the most part controlled the events on the ice,” Rinne said. “They had a big push back in the third… but whenever you play a top team like that, they’re going to get some chances and I thought we measured up against them really well.”

After Victor Hedman gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead in the opening period, Kyle Turris tallied his second power-play goal in as many games to even the score after 20 minutes of play.

Then, it was Filip Forsberg who sniped home his 13th of the season to give the Preds their first lead of the night, and four minutes later, Johansen put forth a masterful display of hand-eye coordination as he tipped a Craig Smith shot past goaltender Louis Domingue to give Nashville a two-goal advantage after two.

“It’s been good,” Forsberg said of his line’s play. “We want to contribute every night on the score sheet. We had a couple good looks last game, but it didn’t go our way. We had two big goals in the second there to get the team going and that’s what we are here for.”

Nikita Kucherov ensured there would be furious finish in the third when he pulled the Bolts to within one with over 16 minutes to play, but Rinne was up for the challenge, turning aside 12 Lightning shots in the final frame.

And, for good measure, defenseman Mattias Ekholm pulled a loose puck off the goal line with 10 seconds left to clinch the 15th triumph for the Predators in just 20 tries this season.

“I could have lived without the last one,” Ekholm joked. “I was just trying to keep it out of the net, and it worked out. I was a good night for us; we played a fast-paced game. It was two great teams going at it, and we got the last punch. We were battling hard all night.”

Battle of the Best:

Twice this month, the Predators and Lightning have faced one another with the two best records in the NHL.

And on both occasions, those residing in Nashville have been victorious.

“They’re a really good hockey team over there,” Forsberg said. “They have some fire power over there, and they can hurt you. But we battled through it; guys worked hard and did an unbelievable job at the end. Pekka tonight saved us. This game was 3-2, but I think it was a better game than the one we played against them earlier.”

Indeed, a glance at the score from that first meeting on Nov. 1, a 4-1 Nashville win in Tampa Bay, might lead one to believe that win was just as satisfying. However, Laviolette stated after Monday’s effort that initial outing was not indicative of how he wants his team to play.

On the second try, the bench boss liked what he saw.

“We played a much better game than we did down in Tampa even though we got the win,” Laviolette said. “When that game was over, we met the next day as a group to talk about the standard of play we want here and that first game was not it. We relied way too much on our goaltender and chances were lopsided in Tampa’s favor. We wanted to play a better game than we played down there and we know they’re one of the top teams in the League. It was a good game and a good match up.”

No matter the juncture of the season, an opportunity for their Preds to test themselves against another member of the League’s upper echelon is always appreciated.

“We have 82 games in the year and obviously all of those won’t be as special,” Ekholm said. “But, when it’s [No. 1] versus [No. 2] or we’re playing a really good opponent, I feel like everybody is bringing their A-game… It was just two good teams going at it, and it was huge for us to get the win.”

Notes:

With two helpers on Monday night, Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm recorded his 100th career assist in the NHL.

Pekka Rinne is now 9-0-1 in his career against Tampa Bay.

Nashville’s 74.1 face-off win percentage (40-of-54) was the second-highest in franchise history.

Overall, the Preds have earned a point in 11 straight (9-0-2) and 14 of their last 15 games (12-1-2) against the Lightning. Nashville has picked up a point in nine consecutive home games against Tampa Bay (7-0-2).

Nashville’s three-game homestand concludes on Wednesday night as they host the Blues before heading to St. Louis for another meeting 48 hours later to conclude Thanksgiving week.

Pete Weber’s call on Ryan Johansen’s goal

Jacey Vaughn of CHS Basketball

Four of a kind was in the cards for the Coffee County CHS basketball teams on Saturday.  With both the boys and girls playing doubleheaders, each team rolled to a 2 and 0 record with wins in the Hall of Champions contests.   The Lady Raiders dumped Marshall County 71 to 37 and Huntland 78 to 51.  The Red Raiders beat Huntland 78 to 43 and Moore County 67 to 58.

Thanks to 6 three point baskets in the 1^st half against Marshall County, the Lady Raiders took a 34 to 25 lead into intermission.  In the second half, Coffee County ramped up the defensive pressure outscoring the Lady Tigers 37 to 12 in the final 16 minutes.  The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Jacey Vaughn and Abby Morgan who each had 18 points.  Bella Vinson chipped in 11.

Against Huntland, the Lady Raiders were not able to trap the Lady Hornets and force the back court turnovers.  Coffee County started the 4^th quarter on a 10 to 3 run to take a 22 point lead into the final 4 minutes and get the win.  Abby Morgan led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 23 points as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Bella Vinson added 15 points and Jenna Garretson and Kiya Ferrell each finished with 8 points.

Josh Perry CHS basketball

The Red Raiders built a 15 point lead in the first quarter after a 7 to 0 start.  From that point forward, Huntland could get no closer the rest of the game.  Twelve different Red Raiders scored in the contest led by Kyle Farless with 13 points.  Josh Perry added 11 points off the bench.  Farless and Perry were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.  Gonzalo Munoz and Darius Rozier each chipped in 9 points.

Against Moore County, Coffee County got off to a slow as the Lynchburg Raiders raced out to a 5 to 0 start.  The 2 teams traded the lead back and forth before the Red Raiders went on an 8 to 0 run late in the first half to take a 9 point lead into the halftime break.  Moore County could not get the lead inside of 3 possessions in the 2^nd half.  The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Darius Rozier who had 17 points.  Rod Brinkey had 14 and Kyle Farless chipped in 10.

The Lady Raiders will be back in action on Friday and Saturday in Nashville at the LEAD Academy Classic.  Coffee County returns home on Tuesday, November 27^th when they play host to Nashville Central Christian.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM, Thunder Radio begins live coverage with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50 as Lucky Knott will have the call.

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

Joining Samuel Prater for his scholarship signing at Boskey’s are Front row(left to right) Lee Prater, dad, Samuel Prater, Tammie Prater, mom and Jacob Prater, brother. Back Row(left to right) Tony Wallingford, Milligan golf coach, Mike Ray, CHS golf coach and Lucky Knott, CHS assistant golf coach.

On Sunday, Samuel Prater became the 17^th golfer in the last 11 years to sign a collegiate golf scholarship from Coffee County Central High School.  Before family, friends, coaches and teammates, Prater signed to play golf for Milligan College at Boskey’s Restaurant.  Milligan College is located in Elizabethton, Tennessee and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.  The Buffalos are coached by Tony Wallingford who is in his 27th season at the helm of Milligan Golf. Wallingford’s men’s teams have captured seven Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships, two NAIA Regional titles, and made two NAIA National Championship appearances.

When asked what drew him to Milligan, Prater said that he “got that feeling” on his official visit and knew Milligan was the school for him.  Samuel loved the campus, facilities and the opportunity to “make a difference” for the golf team immediately.  Prater plans to major in engineering in college.

Coach Wallingford began recruiting Prater in August and fell in love with Samuel as a player and a person.  “We needed a special individual, a man with character and a great golfer.  Samuel fills both of those qualities and we expect great things from him right away.”

Coach Mike Ray also expects Prater to make an immediate impact at Milligan because of his “drive to be perfect.”  “Samuel is never satisfied and wants to work on everything with his game” said Ray.  “Samuel was such a great influence on the younger players on our team.  He is a great student and he takes no shortcuts to getting better” added Ray.

The Coffee County high school and middle school swimmers traveled to Winchester on Thursday night for a meet with Franklin County.  The High School swimmers split their team matches with Huntland and Franklin County.  High School swimmers posted 7 regional qualifying times and 3 state meet qualifying times.  The Coffee County Middle School swimmers posted 8 regional qualifying times while the Westwood swimmers posted 3 regional qualifying times.

For the high school swimmers, the Lady Raiders’ Kaylee Williams posted a state qualifying time of 2:27.23 in the 200 IM.  Other Lady Raiders who posted region qualifying times were Anna O’Connor in the 100 butterfly (with a time of  1:11.76) and the 100 backstroke (1:15.30), Kaylee Williams in the 100 butterfly(1:09.56) and Kennedy Norman-Young in the 100 free(1:05.19)

The Red Raiders’ Jack Beachboard posted a state and regional qualifying time in the 200 freestyle(1:55.89) and the 100 butterfly(57.99).   Posting regional qualifying times for the Red Raiders were: Jase Rice in the 100 free(56.75) and 100 backstroke(1:06.40) and William Tobitt in the 50 free(25.73).

For the Coffee County Middle School swimmers, Elli Masters, Clancy Sand and Emily Williams each posted region qualifying times in a pair of events.  Masters qualified in the 200 free(2:45.90) and the 100 backstroke(1:26.46).  Sand qualified in the 100 free(1:10.21) and the 100 backstroke (1:12.57).  Williams qualified in the 200 IM(2:45.83) and the 100 butterfly(1:12.52).  Also qualifying was Taylor Wall in the 100 breaststroke(1:39.92).  The Red Raider’s Riley Bellomy qualified in the 50 free(36.21).

For the Westwood Middle School swimmers, Lady Rocket swimmers Abby Gilday and Elsie Lazalier posted region qualifying times.  Gilday qualified in the 200 IM(2:58.53) and the 100 buttefly(1:31.84).  Lazalier qualified the 100 breast(1:39.63).

The high school and middle school swimmers will be back in action on Tuesday, December 4^th in Tullahoma.  That meet will get underway at 4:30 PM at the D.W. Wilson Community Center.

It was a disastrous Sunday for the Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The result – a 38-10 loss the Colts – was ugly. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck continued to have his way against the Titans, who didn’t have an answer on either side of the football.

“All the credit goes to Frank (Reich) and his team – they were ready to go,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of the Colts. “They played much better than we did, and they coached much better than we did.”

Players were disgusted with the performance.

“We got our ass kicked,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “I can’t count too many things we did well today. … They beat our tails. It is not surprising – if you play like this, this is going to happen.”

Heading into Sunday’s game, the Titans had won back-to-back games vs. the Cowboys and Patriots.

“Obviously I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated,” Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan said. “But this is part of football, man, and you can’t get too high with the wins and you can’t get too low with the losses, it doesn’t matter if you lose by 30, or you lose by three. Obviously we have to play better.”

But there was also concern from a health standpoint for Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees, and quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Pees left Sunday’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium with a “medical issue.” The Titans released a statement in the first half after Pees left the stadium in a wheelchair.

Vrabel said the plan is for Pees to remain in an Indianapolis hospital overnight for tests, but he sounded encouraged about his prognosis.

“I would say Dean is doing OK,” Vrabel said. “They took him to the hospital, they evaluated him, and they are going to keep him overnight for some tests. But everything that I heard as of now has been very positive, that he should make a full recovery and be fine with whatever he had going on upstairs.”

There was some uncertainty surrounding Mariota.

Mariota left the contest late in the first half with an elbow injury, and was replaced by back-up Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert finished the game for the Titans, while Mariota watched from the sideline in a baseball cap.

Mariota was injured after being hit by Colts defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis. Mariota remained on the field while trainers tended to him. He eventually headed to the locker room before halftime, and did not return to the game. It’s believed to be the same injury that forced Mariota to miss time earlier this season.

“I’ll address the injuries tomorrow when I have some more information,” Vrabel said when asked about Mariota. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get some news with where he’s at.”

Mariota completed 10-of-13 passes in the first half, for 85 yards. He was sacked four times.

Gabbert completed 11-of-16 passes for 118 yards with a touchdown and interception after taking over for Mariota.

“It’s a bummer,” Gabbert said of Mariota’s injury. “Any time you get dinged in this game, it is never fun, the amount of time you put into preparing your mind and body and getting ready to roll. It is hard to have to leave the game. It’s just an unfortunate deal.”

The Titans (5-5) were never really in this one, and their winning streak was snapped at two games.

The Colts took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Marlon Mack, which was set up by a long punt return. The Colts extended the lead to 10-0 on a 22-yard field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri.

The Colts stretched the lead to 24-0 on two second quarter touchdowns – a 68-yard touchdown pass from Luck to receiver T.Y. Hilton, and then an 18-yard run by Jordan Wilkins. Hilton got behind Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson for the score.

The Titans got on the board with a 42-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop on the final play of the first half, which made it 24-3. But the Colts stretched the lead to 31-3 on another Luck-to-Hilton touchdown, this one from 14 yards out.

A seven-yard touchdown pass from Luck to Dontrelle Inman made it 38-3 in the fourth quarter. Luck was replaced by Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter after throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans.

The Titans got a late touchdown on a one-yard touchdown pass from Gabbert to receiver Tajae Sharpe.

The Titans return to action a week from Monday on Monday Night Football against the Texans, in Houston.

“I hate losing, whether you get blown out, or you lose by one point,” Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard said. “It still stings, because when you lose it makes you want to look yourself in the mirror harder. We have to be honest with ourselves.

“We have to come back to practice this week and be ready to go. We have six games left this season, and we definitely didn’t want to be 5 and 5. But we have to fix what we messed up today and attack the week and do our best to be great.”