Category: Sports

Anna Johnson of Westwood volleyball serves during Saturday’s match with South Franklin

Hosting their 2^nd straight home game, the Westwood volleyball team welcomed North Franklin on Thursday to the Joel Vinson Gym.  The Lady Rocket varsity fell in straight sets 22-25 and 16-25.  The JV team won their match in a 2 set nail-biter by set scores of 26-24 and 26-24.

For the varsity Lady Rockets,  Anna Johnson led the way as she had a block and 3 kills.  Maddie Sullivan had 4 assists and Kelsey Vandenbossche had the team lead in aces with 4.    For the JV, Lilee Scott served up 8 aces on the match while Katie Lawrence was right behind her with 6 aces.

Westwood is back at home on Tuesday when they host their crosstown rival Coffee County Middle.  First serve is set for 4:30 PM.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota traded his helmet in for a baseball cap on Thursday night, and so did the rest of the Titans starters.

Preseason game No.4 was reserved for the reserves for both the Titans and Vikings at Nissan Stadium.

The Titans lost 13-3 to the Vikings to wrap up the preseason.

Quarterback Luke Falk started the game for the Titans. He finished the contest 13-of-24 for 114 yards, and was sacked four times.

“I think he’s done a great job in and out of the huddle, controlling it and getting us in the right play,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Falk at the half. “We have to execute better. We can’t give up pressure. We can’t let these guys inside the pocket. We can’t jump offsides.”

The Titans took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 24-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop, which capped a 16-play, 69-yard drive that took 9:31 off the clock.

The Titans defense, led by reserves, held the Vikings to just eight yards and no first downs in the first quarter. The Vikings scored their first point late in the first half on a 39-yard field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson, which tied the game at 3-3. The Vikings extended the lead to 6-3 on a 22-yard field goal by Carlson in the third quarter.

The Vikings stretched the lead to 13-3 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Sloter to receiver Brandon Zylstra in the fourth quarter.

Next up for the Titans is business, and then the regular season.

The Titans must trim the roster from 90 to 53 players by 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The Nashville Sounds wrapped up the road portion of their 2018 schedule in heart-breaking fashion Thursday night as they fell to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 5-4 in 10 innings. Chris Bostick’s two-out single in the 10^th secured the victory for New Orleans.

Metairie native Jeremy Bleich pitched the 10^th inning for the Sounds and took the loss as he allowed a walk and a base hit in the final frame. Bleich induced a fielder’s choice, which retired the designated runner trying to advance to third base to begin the game. He then walked Christian Adames and two batters later surrendered the game-ending base hit to Bostick.

After being shut out Wednesday night, the Sounds lit up the scoreboard early Thursday night. After Beau Taylor reached with a bunt single in the first inning and moved to second on a wild pitch from Sandy Alcantara, Steve Lombardozzi stepped up to the plate. Nashville’s first baseman pulled a base hit to right field to score Taylor from second.

The Baby Cakes scored in three straight innings. They tied the game in the fourth inning when Peter O’Brien took Sounds starter James Naile deep. A lead off walk came back to haunt Naile in the fifth inning. Braxton Lee the stole second base and two batters later scored on a Peter Mooney base hit. Two runs scored in the sixth inning highlighted by O’Brien’s RBI double.

The Sounds briefly took the lead in the sixth inning as they sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs, two on an RBI single from Matt Joyce and one from BJ Boyd.

In his first start since returning from Double-A Midland, Naile issued a career-high four free passes and yielded four runs on seven hits.

The Sounds threatened to take the lead in the seventh, eighth, and 10^th innings as they put a runner on third base with less than two outs. On all three occasions the New Orleans bullpen was able to wiggle their way out of the jam.

The Sounds return home for the final series of the season. Game one of their four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds is Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Chris Bassitt (5-5, 4.35) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Austin Warner (1-1, 3.73) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 5-4 loss, the Sounds dropped to 70-66 on the season.
• Nashville is now 9-6 in extra-inning games this season.
• The Sounds finish the 2018 season with a 31-39 road record.
• Boog Powell extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single in the fifth inning.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Hosting the highly regarded Golden Classic on Wednesday, the Coffee County CHS golf team welcomed 15 other teams from across the state to Willowbrook.  The field featured teams from 10 other boys’ high schools from across the state along with many probable state tournament qualifiers.  The Red Raiders matched their Monday score of 314 for the 18 hole round which was good enough for 3^rd place.

Signal Mountain won the team championship with a score of 306.  Cookeville came in 2^nd at 308.  Wednesday’s result gives Coffee County a record of 48 and 4 on the season.  Seniors Josh Perry and Austin Farris led the way for Coffee County as each shot a 76. Samuel Prater shot a 78 while the brother tandem of Matthew and Logan Hale shot matching 84’s.

“We are of course disappointed with our finish” said coach Mike Ray after the match.    He went on to add “all the boys agreed that this was not our best effort but we will get back together in practice and work on a few things.  I’m sure they will be ready to go next Tuesday.”

The CHS golfers return to the links on Tuesday when they travel to McMinnville Country Club to take part in the Keith Maxwell Invitational.  That 18 hole tournament tees off at 9 AM.

The Motlow Lady Bucks opened the 2018 soccer season with a two-game road trip and returned after earning a convincing 3-0 win over TCCAA opponent Southwest Tennessee in Memphis Sunday afternoon.

Motlow (1-0, 1-1) opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Northwest Mississippi in Senatobia, Miss., Friday afternoon. The Lady Bucks will travel to Oxford, Ga., this weekend for matches against South Georgia Tech Sunday and Oxford College on Monday.

After spending last season as the lone Division 1 community college soccer team in Tennessee, the Lady Bucks have been joined this year by Southwest Tennessee, Dyersburg State and Columbia State. Games against TCCAA opponents will determine seeding for the conference tournament in late October. Motlow posted an 8-7-1 record last year, including two wins over Southwest Tennessee, which played at the Division III level in 2017.

Sophomore Tyler Feaster, the top returning scorer from last season, got Motlow on the scoreboard first with a goal at the 32:20 mark with an assist from Bailee Walls. Sophomore Megan Blumhoefer scored at the 44:50 mark with an assist from Keely Smith, and freshman Emily Vallejo wrapped up the scoring at the 76:12 mark on an assist from fellow freshman April Gillespie.

Walls led the Lady Bucks with nine total shots, including six on goal. Feaster had six shots with two on goal, and Vallejo shot four times, all on goal.

Freshman Annie Kate Gibson played the entire contest as goal keeper and stopped all three shots that Southwest Tennessee attempted. Motlow out-shot the Lady Saluqis 16-6 and led in corner kicks 5-1. Southwest had four fouls during the game, with the Lady Bucks logging three.

Friday against Northwest Mississippi the Lady Bucks were unable to get their offense untracked in the first half. Northwest scored its first goal three minutes into the contest and extended its lead to 2-0 with a goal at the 10-minute mark. Motlow’s defense stiffened and the score remained 2-0 at the intermission.

Vallejo got the Lady Bucks on the scoreboard at the 80:56 mark with an assist from redshirt-freshman Kristen Heath. Northwest wrapped up the scoring with its final goal in the final second of the game. Walls had five shots, with four on goal, while Feaster had five shots and two on goal. Gibson played the full 90 minutes as keeper, notching four saves on seven Northwest shots.

Motlow led in total shots 20-10 and the two teams were even with five corner kicks each. Northwest committed nine total fouls while the Lady Bucks had six.

The Tennessee Titans (0-3) conclude their preseason schedule this week against the reigning NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings (2-1). Kickoff at Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,143) is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Aug. 30.

THE BROADCAST

The game will be broadcast on the radio on the Titans Radio Network, including Thunder Radio here in Manchester.  Play-by-play announcer “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, gameday host Jonathan Hutton and sideline reporter Amie Wells.

This year, for the first time ever, fans in the Nashville viewing area are able to stream Titans preseason games at the team’s website, TitansOnline.com. Fans outside the Nashville viewing area can stream live preseason games and replays of every game by subscribing to NFL Game Pass.

FINAL TUNEUP BEFORE MIAMI

The contest with the Vikings is the Titans’ fourth and final preseason contest before kicking off the regular season. They open in South Florida on Sept. 9 against the Miami Dolphins.

Less than 48 hours after their matchup with the Vikings, the Titans must make significant roster reductions. Per NFL rules, the current 90-man roster must be trimmed to 53 players by 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 1. Players on reserve lists such as injured reserve and reserve/physically unable to perform do not count towards the 53-player limit. Teams are permitted to form a 10-man practice squad beginning Sunday, Sept. 2.

Last week the Titans traveled to Pittsburgh for their third preseason game and fell to the Steelers by a final score of 16-6. With Titans starters on both sides of the ball playing into the second quarter, the Steelers took the lead with a touchdown on their second series. The score remained 7-0 until late in the first half, when the hosts added a field goal.

The Titans’ lone score at Pittsburgh came at the end of an 11-play, 82-yard drive. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert found first-year tight end Anthony Firkser for a three-yard touchdown after the pair connected earlier in the drive on a 33-yard completion.

THE VIKINGS

The Vikings won a division title last season for the second time under head coach Mike Zimmer, who was hired in 2014 and led the team to the NFC North crown a year later.

Zimmer’s defense ranked first in the NFL in 2017, allowing opponents an average of only 275.9 yards per game. The Vikings ranked second in the league in both rushing defense (83.6) and passing defense (192.4).

During the 2018 offseason, the Vikings signed one of the NFL’s prized free agents, reaching a deal with quarterback Kirk Cousins. The seventh-year veteran spent his first six seasons in Washington, where he became the Redskins’ all-time career leader in completion percentage (65.5%) and passer rating (93.7).

Keri Munn of CHS volleyball

The Lady Raider volleyball team welcomed district rival Columbia to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Tuesday.  Coffee County scuffled through a set and a half before the chair official became ill and had to be attended to by CHS trainer Jason Sanders.  After a 45 minute delay, in which the official was transported to the hospital, the match resumed.  Coffee County seemed to awake from their malaise to reel off 3 sets in a row and capture the district match.  Coffee County won by set scores of 21-25, 25-22, 25-15 and 25-18.

After a back and forth battle in the 2^nd set, Coffee County got a kill on set point from Keelie Hillis to close out the set.  That seemed to give the Lady Raiders the momentum to spring them to fast starts in the next 2 sets to get the win.  Coffee County finished with an astonishing 39 kills and 18 service aces.  Abigail Layne served 6 aces while Keri Munn and Kiya Ferrell each had 3.  Munn led the team in kills with 15 while Ferrell had 8 and Lexi Bryan finished with 5.  Munn and Bryan each had 3 blocks while Hillis added 2.  Amanda Mukai led the team in assists with 18 while Sarah West had 13 digs followed by Shannah Frame who added 12.

Coffee County returns to district play on Thursday when they travel to Winchester to take on Franklin County.  That district contest will get underway at 6:30 PM.

Elijah Clemmons of CCMS football

The Coffee County Middle School football team traveled to Shelbyville on Tuesday night for a conference battle with Harris.  After coming close in their first 3 contests, the Red Raiders were looking for a breakthrough performance.  Coffee County got that performance on Tuesday from their defense as they shut out Harris 28 to 0.

The Raiders built a 14 to 0 halftime lead and added a pair of insurance touchdowns in the second half.  Elijah Clemons scored a pair of touchdowns for Coffee Middle.  Jacob Barlow and Travis Martin each added a touchdown.  Brendan Sheppard added a pair of 2 point coversions as the Raiders evened their conference record at 1 and 1.

The Red Raiders will hit the road again next Tuesday when they travel to Winchester to take on South Franklin.  That game will kick off at 6:30 PM.

Torea Greenwell of Westwood volleyball

Hosting the first varsity volleyball match ever at Westwood Middle School, the Lady Rockets welcomed Warren County to the Joel Vison Gym on Tuesday.  In a match you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Rockets had few answers for the strong service game of the Lady Pioneers.  Westwood fell in straight sets 11-25 and 8-25.

Warren County finished the match with 16 aces in addition to several bad 1^st passes from Westwood.  Westwood finished with 1 ace by Torea Greenwell as she was the most consistent server in the match for the Rockets.  Kelsey Vandenbossche and Anna Johnson each finished with 2 kills as Emma Kidder, Kaylynn Waterman and Brooklyn Blake each scored a kill.

The JV Lady Rockets got off to a hot start in their first set leading 12 to 3 before dropping fight back to tie the first set at 19.  Warren County strung together several rallies to take the first set and use that momentum to win the match.  Westwood fell by set scores of 21-25 and 10-25.  The JV Rockets did have 9 aces as Ivet Ontiveros had 6 and Katie Lawrence added 3.

The Lady Rockets will once again be in action at home coming up on Thursday.  Westwood will play host to North Franklin.  First serve is set for 5 PM.

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

The Westwood cross country team opened their season on Tuesday in Bell Buckle as they took part in a meet at Webb.  Coach Jim Dodson’s team was hit hard by graduation yet still managed to have a respectable showing.

For the Rockets, Aidan Smith was the top finisher as he ran the 2 mile course in 12:41 to finish in 11^th place.  Timothy Henderson was 50^th with a time of 14:57. Hunter Crosslin ran a 15:57 to finish in 66^th place while Ethan Miles posted a time of 19:58.

For the Lady Rockets, Rylea McNamara was the top finisher as she posted the 14^th place time of 15:07.  Mattalyn Goney finished in 42^nd place with a time of 18:39.  Raygan Dubler was 46^th at 19:25 followed by teammate Brooklyn George in 47^th with a time of 19:29.  Samantha Wilder ran a time of 24:00 minutes.

The Westwood harriers are back in action on September 6^th when they compete in a meet at St. Andrews-Sewanee.   That meet will get underway at 4 PM.