Nate Luttrell of CCMS football
The Coffee County Middle School football traveled to Sparta on Thursday night for a makeup of Tuesday’s game with White County. The Red Raiders saw their season come to an end in a 40 to 8 defeat to the Warriors. Coffee County got their lone score when Nate Luttrell scored on a 65 yard fumble return. Elijah Clemmons added the 2 point conversion.
The Coffee County Middle School volleyball opened up play in the CTC tournament on Thursday night taking on top ranked Warren County. The Lady Raiders fell to the Lady Pioneers in straight sets by set scores of 11-25 and 10-25. The loss ends the season for Coffee County.
The City of Nashville and the Nashville Sounds have been named home of the best minor league baseball town in America, according to SmartAsset.
“This is a tremendous honor for the City of Nashville and our fans,” said Sounds General Manager Adam Nuse. “We strive to represent the organization positively inside and outside of First Tennessee Park, and we believe this confirms that commitment.”
Based in New York City, SmartAsset is a business that helps people make smart financial decisions. SmartAsset looks at nine metrics when formulating scores for each minor league city and team. The following metrics are broken down into two sections to create a score.
Game Day Experience Factors
Quality of Life Factors
Using a 0-100 scale, SmartAsset calculated Nashville’s “Game Day Experience Score” as 89.08 and “Quality of Life Score” at 71.76 to bring Nashville’s overall score to 80.42. Nashville was the only city with a minor league team to have a score of above 80.
In an online article released Wednesday, SmartAsset said “Nashville took the top spot once again. Residents of Nashville love attending Sounds’ games. According to our data, the Nashville Sounds is one of the teams whose games are most well-attended. Our research shows that the average Nashville Sounds game attracts nearly 8,700 people, filling roughly 87% of seats. This team also boasts a fairly good record and plays in Triple-A, meaning the quality of play on offer to fans is just one step below the major leagues.”
The 2018 ranking is SmartAsset’s fifth annual of America’s best minor league baseball towns. Nashville has finished first in each of the last two seasons after debuting on the list in third place in 2016.
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.
Austin Farris with his 3rd place medal on Wednesday[Photo provided]
As a team, the Raiders fired a 1st day score of 309. The Raiders finished behind 1st place Science Hill who fired a 291 and Farragut who shot a 304. The Red Raiders finish their historic season with a record of 80 and 7. The 3rd place team and 3rd place individual finishes are the best in Red Raider golf history for the state tournament.
Individually, senior Austin Farris had 2 birdies on Tuesday as he finished with an even par score of 72. Fellow senior Samuel Prater also had a pair of birdies as he carded a 76 to finish in 16th place individually. Senior Matthew Hale finished his round with 2 birdies and a score of 78 as he came in 26th place. Senior Josh Perry shot an 83 and freshman Logan Hale finished with a 95 to round out the Raiders scoring.
You can find a link to stats and scoring for the state tournament at: http://golf.tssaa.org/teamplayers.cfm?id=20181202
Coach Mike Ray and members of the Coffee County golf team will be featured on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday morning from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln in Manchester. The Coffee Coaches Show can be heard from 10 to 11 AM here on Thunder Radio.
Lexi Bryan of CHS volleyball
The Coffee County volleyball team continued to build their momentum on Wednesday night as they closed out their district regular season at home against Shelbyville. The Lady Raiders will enter next week’s district tournament on a 2 game district winning streak after sweeping the Eaglettes at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Coffee County won by set scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-15.
The Lady Raiders had an astounding 35 kills in the match to go with 13 aces as they completely dominated Shelbyville. Lexi Bryan had a big night at the net as she led Coffee County in kills with 11 and added a block. Keri Munn led the team in service aces with 5 and added 7 kills. Keelie Hillis, Amanda Mukai and Kiya Ferrell all added 5 kills. Abigail Layne led the team in assists with 15 while Mukai added 8. Hillis was the team leader in digs with 6.
Coffee County closes out the regular season on the road on Thursday when they travel to Sparta to take on White County. Coach Andrew Taylor will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season and give us an update on the district tournament which will be held in Shelbyville. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard each Saturday from 10 to 11 AM here on Thunder Radio. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.
Grace Butler of Temple Baptist Christian School volleyball
The Temple Baptist Christian School volleyball team traveled to Tunnel Hill, Georgia on Tuesday for a doubleheader. The Lady Eagles squared off against the host Dogwood Christian and Philadelphia Christian Academy of Calhoun, Georgia. The Lady Eagles came home with a pair of straight set wins on the night.
Against Philadelphia Christian, Temple won by set scores of 25-22 and 25-17. The Lady Eagles captured the last 2 points of the 1st set to prevail in the nip and tuck affair. In the second set, Rachel Butler served for a 5 point rally to close out the mach and hold off a late charge by Philadelphia.
The Lady Eagles had a little easier time with Dogwood Christian wining by set scores of 25-11 and 25 to 6. In the first set, Temple roared out to a 6 to 2 lead early to take control of the match. Grace Butler then served Temple through a 5 point rally to take the win. The Lady Eagles kept that momentum alive in the 2nd set as they did not allow Dogwood to score a single point in their service game.
The Lady Eagles will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Alabama to take part in a tournament at Madison Baptist Academy. Temple will play pool games at 2:10, 3:30, 5:30 and 7:30 on Friday night before entering the double elimination tournament on Saturday. Temple returns home on Monday when they play host to Victory Baptist Academy of Shelbyville. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series. First serve will be at 5:30 PM.
Motlow freshman Emily Vallejo had three goals and one assist as the Lady Bucks won three games during the past week, all on the road. Vallejo, from McGavock High School in Nashville, leads Motlow on the season with six goals and 14 total points.
The Motlow State Community College women’s soccer team is on a roll, winning three consecutive road games and not suffering a loss in their previous six contests. Motlow will return to action Saturday with a trip to TCCAA rival Dyersburg State for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Lady Bucks (2-0, 6-2-2) traveled to Meridian, Miss., last weekend, beating the host team Meridian Community College 2-1 Friday, then handing Hinds Community College a 3-0 loss in Meridian Saturday. Motlow followed that with a trip to Pulaski Tuesday, where they downed the Martin Methodist College JV team 4-2.
This is the first season of soccer competition for Dyersburg State, and the Lady Eagles have struggled out of the gate with an 0-6 record, including a 5-1 loss to Meridian and a 5-0 defeat to Columbia State, both teams that Motlow has beaten this season.
Although Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between Motlow and Dyersburg State in women’s soccer, the two teams should be very familiar with each other by next weekend. Following Saturday’s contest in Dyersburg, the Lady Bucks and Lady Eagles will play again Friday, Oct. 5, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Smyrna High School.
Motlow and Meridian both struggled offensively in the first half Friday, with neither team able to garner a goal. The home team took the lead with a goal at the 67-minute mark before the Lady Bucks stormed back. Tyler Feaster scored with an assist from Kristen Heath at 76 minutes, then three minutes later Bailee Walls scored the game winner with an assist from Feaster.
Alexandra Rouse led the Lady Bucks with four shots on the day, while Keely Smith had three. Emily Bryant played 68 minutes in goal and had one save, before Ashley Woods took over and shut out Meridian the rest of the way while notching four saves. Motlow led 16-12 in total shots and 6-2 in corner kicks, and overcame nine fouls by Meridian including two yellow cards.
The following day against Hinds, the Lady Bucks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by Emily Vallejo at the 28-minute mark with the assist from Paige Loveless. Motlow continued to press the action after intermission, scoring at 51 minutes on a goal by Vallejo and an assist from Bethany Porter, then capping off the scoring with a goal by Walls on the assist from Vallejo at 78 minutes.
Motlow had 19 shots on the day, with Heath and Tyler Feaster leading the way with four each, including three on goal by Feaster. Woods went the distance as keeper and was outstanding, saving nine shots on goal by Hinds.
Vallejo, a freshman from McGavock High School in Nashville, continued her outstanding season by opening the scoring against Martin Methodist College JV with a goal at the nine-minute mark on an assist from Megan Blumhoefer. The Lady Bucks increased their lead to 2-0 with a Heath goal on the assist from April Gillespie at 39 minutes.
Motlow’s lead increased to 3-0 at 52 minutes, with Loveless scoring an unassisted goal. Keely Smith wrapped up the scoring with a goal at 78 minutes. Bryant played the first 72 minutes as keeper and Woods finished up the final 18. Bryant had three saves and allowed one score, while Woods gave up a goal and had two saves.
Motlow once again out-shot the competition 13-5 and led in corner kicks 2-0.
With 10 games of their 17-game regular season now complete, Vallejo leads the team in total points with 14, including a team-high six goals and two assists. Gillespie, Walls, Heath and Feaster each have 10 points, with Gillespie leading the squad in assists with six. Woods has been the top keeper with a 2-0-1 record, a 1.09 goals-against average, and 23 saves on the season.
Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.
Ropapa Mensah of Nashville SC
Nashville SC earned its first road win in almost four months, defeating Atlanta United 2 on Wednesday night at Coolray Field for the regular season sweep. SC’s 2-0 victory earned it three valuable points to catapult them into playoff position.
Despite rainy conditions, Nashville’s offense found a way to continually test Atlanta’s back line, peppering 13 shots, putting four on frame while its defense earned the squad’s 14th clean sheet of the season.
90 in a Nutshell
Nashville was the aggressor early, coming out with an urgency to earn points on the road with just a few games left in the regular season. SC wasted no time getting on the board when midfielder Ish Jome rocketed a shot in the 7’ minute that forced Atlanta’s keeper to lay out and punch the ball away. Forward Ropapa Mensah then one-touched the rebound and found the back of the net putting SC up 1-0.
The back and forth play continued until SC tacked on an insurance goal. In the 64’ minute, Mensah found some space on the left side and took a strike from 20-yards out, forcing the ATL UTD 2 keeper to come off his line and make a save. Meanwhile, forward Tucker Hume came streaking up the middle and was there to knock the rebound past the Atlanta keeper and a host of defenders to put Nashville up 2-0.
Even though Atlanta continued to push on its offensive end, Nashville’s defense held strong for the remainder of the match, securing three crucial road points.
GOALS
7’ NSH- Ropapa Mensah (unassisted)
64’- Tucker Hume (unassisted)
Quotable
Forward Ropapa Mensah
“It was really good to get back on the scoresheet once again because this stretch has been very frustrating for me. I’m really excited to get things going again.”
Key Stat
Wednesday night’s victory marked Nashville’s third road victory of the season and the first in 119 days. SC’s last road win came on May 30th with a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Highmark Stadium.
Eastern Conference Update
With the win, Nashville now has 43 points in the Eastern Conference Standings. SC jumped from 11th place to 8th place, putting itself in playoff position heading into the final four games of the regular season. Nashville sits just one point behind seventh place Ottawa Fury FC and two points behind Bethlehem Steel FC who is currently in sixth place.
Up Next
Nashville SC returns to First Tennessee Park for a critical match against New York Red Bulls II on Saturday, September 29, 2018. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT.
Austin Farris tees off on the 10th tee to begin the TSSAA State Tournament on Tuesday
The rains held off on Tuesday as the Red Raider golf team opened play in the TSSAA State Tournament at Willowbrook. After starting on the always tough back 9, the Red Raiders charged up the leaderboard on the front nine to climb to a 3rd place finish after the first day of play. Individually, Austin Farris fired an even par 72 to end the day in a 3rd place tie.
As a team, the Raiders fired a 1st day score of 309. The Raiders trail 1st place Science Hill who fired a 291. Farragut is in second place, 5 strokes ahead of Coffee County.
Individually, Austin Farris had 2 birdies on the round as he finished with a 72. Samuel Prater also had a pair of birdies has he carded a 76. Matthew Hale finished his round with 2 birdies and a score of 78. Josh Perry shot an 83 and Logan Hale finished with a 95 to round out the Raiders scoring.
The Red Raiders will tee off in 5 straight foursomes beginning on the 1st tee on Wednesday. Freshman Logan Hale will tee off first for the Raiders as opens play at 8 AM. Josh Perry will go off at 8:10 while senior Matthew Hale follows him at 8:20. Senior Samuel Prater is in the 4th group that will tee off at 8:30 while senior Austin Farris starts his round at 8:40 AM.
Spectators are welcome to attend the state tournament at Willowbrook and admission each round is $8 per person. A select number of golf carts will be available to rent for spectators who meet ADA requirements with prior approval. You can find a link to live scoring for the event at: http://golf.tssaa.org/teamplayers.cfm?id=20181202
Coffee County CHS volleyball seniors Brianna Gawrys(left) and Abigail Layne(right)
Hosting district foe Franklin County for Senior Night, the Coffee County volleyball needed a win to gain some momentum going into the final week of the regular season. The Lady Raiders honored seniors Abigail Layne and Brianna Gawrys before the match as the 2 Lady Raider seniors. Then Coffee County commenced to putting away Franklin County in straight sets, 25-22, 25-10 and 25-19.
Keri Munn led the Lady Raiders in kills with 10 and Lexi Bryan added 8 kills. Keelie Hillis led the Lady Raiders in aces with 5. Munn and Amanda Mukai added 4 aces as Coffee County finished with 18. Senior Abigail Layne led Coffee County with 16 assists. Mukai and Hillis each finished with 3 digs.
Coffee County is back at home on Wednesday night when they play host to Shelbyville. First serve is set for 6:30 PM. Coffee County closes out the regular season on the road on Thursday when they travel to Sparta to take on White County. Coach Andrew Taylor will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season and give us an update on the district tournament which will be held in Shelbyville.