Sports – Page 40 – Thunder Radio

Coffee Middle Girls – 33, South – 23

Coffee County was cold from the field but a strong defense and 12 points apiece from Natalie Barnes and Ella Arnold pulled the Lady Raiders through.

Adalyn Clark added 7 points in the win.

Coffee County 13, South 40

Offense just wasn’t available for the CMS Red Raiders against South Monday night. David Lewis’ 4 points were the most of any Red Raider on the night.

Westwood Lady Rockets 47, Cascade 17

The big three for Westwood had big nights Monday in a conference blowout of Cascade.

Audri Patton piled up 16 points – including four 3-pointers. Jules Ferrell added 14 and Reece Finch 12 in the win for the Lady Rockets, who remain unbeaten in conference play.

Raider boys pick up 2nd straight win with Rockvale blowout

There was no letdown for the Coffee County Red Raiders Saturday night after a big win on Friday – three Raiders hit double figures and the offense had a big night in a 62-35 win over visiting Rockvale.

Phineas Rollman set the tone early for the Raiders and ended up with 10 points – he was named Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.

Aidan Abellana and Dayne Crosslin each put up 11 points. Cooper Reed added six and Brady Nugent 8.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY.

The win moves the Raiders to 6-3 on the season. They will travel to Walker Valley Monday for a 6:30 p.m. central start. You can hear that game on Thunder Radio.

Three Lady Raiders hit double digits in Rockvale blowout

Alivia Reel goes to the basket for 2 of her 11 points Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021 — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson.

If there was any question about how the Central High School Lady Raiders would bounce back after a gut-wrenching loss to Blackman on Friday, they have been answered.

Three Lady Raiders hit double figures and CHS ended Rockvale’s six-game winning streak with a 64-34 drubbing Saturday night, Dec. 11, 2021 at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium in Manchester.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.

Junior Alivia Reel played arguably her best game of the year to lead the way for Coffee County – scoring 11 points (9 in the first half) – to go along with five assists and five steals. She was named Thunder Radio Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.

“I could tell when A-Reel walked into the gym that she had a good mindset and was going to have a good night for us,” said Lady Raider head coach Joe Pat Cope. “We know she has that potential every night.”

Freshman Olivia Vinson and Senior Kiya Ferrell joined Reel with double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Vinson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and was 4-of-5 at the free throw line. CHS hit 18 free throws on the night.

Also scoring for CHS were Remi Benjamin with 7, Chloe Gannon with 6, Elli Chumley 6, Channah Gannon 5, Ava McIntosh 3 and Kaylee Suggs 3.

CHS moves to 4-3 on the season with the win.

The Lady Raiders will travel to Walker Valley Monday for a 6 p.m. Eastern Time tip (5 pm central). You can hear the game live on Thunder Radio.

Huge second half powers Raiders past Blackman

Coffee County exploded out of the locker room Friday night at Blackman.

The CHS Red Raiders erased a 23-15 halftime deficit with a 19-3 run to start the second half on their way to a 54-45 win over Blackman Friday night in Murfreesboro.

The win ends a 3-game skid for the Raiders and avenges a loss to the Blaze back on Nov. 29 in Manchester.

Almost everything went right for the Raiders in the second half. CHS smothered the Blaze and pounded the paint with senior post Connor Shemwell, who scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. Shemwell had his way with the Blaze interior all night. The Raiders also got 8 points from Dayne Crosslin and Cooper Reed.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST REPLAY.

The Raiders (5-3) will be back to work Saturday night when they host Rockvale. Girls at 6 p.m. and boys to follow.

Blackman bug bites Lady Raiders in final seconds

It looked for three and a half quarters like the Coffee County Lady Raiders were finally going to shake the Blackman curse.

But it all slipped away in the final two minutes and the Lady Raiders fell to the defending state champion Blackman Blaze 43-42 Friday night in Murfreesboro.

“We have to learn to handle ball pressure better down the stretch, that’s what I take away from this,” said Lady Raider senior Elli Chumley, who led the Lady Raiders with a game high 18 points.

Coffee County led 33-25 after three quarters. In fact, the Lady Raiders took an early lead and never trailed until late – leading 18-9 after one quarter and 20-16 at the half.

But Blackman closed the gap and finally took the lead 41-40 with 1:30 to play on a 3-pointer by Emily Monson.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY.

Chumley responded immediately, getting into the paint and picking up a bucket of her own to put CHS back in front 42-41. But Monson went right back to work, hitting a difficult shot while running down the lane with 30 second to play to hit the final score. Chumley had a tough 3 at the buzzer but it was through difficult traffic.

“Take the defending state champions to the wire, there is a lot to like, but we have to learn to finish in games like this,” said Lady Raider head coach Joe Pat Cope. “Games like this get us ready for later in the season.

It was the 4th straight loss to the Lady Blaze for Coffee County – dating back to the region quarter finals in the spring of 2020. CHS lost to Blackman last year at home and twice this year – once by 9 and once by 1.

Chumley was named Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.

Freshman Olivia Vinson scored 9 points for CHS and Chloe Gannon added 7.

In her first real significant floor time since returning from ACL surgery, junior Jalie Ruehling added 4 points – all on free throws.

Coffee County (3-3) will get back to work Saturday night, Dec. 11, when Rockvale comes to town. Tip is at 6 p.m. and you can hear all the action on Thunder Radio.

Blackman improves to 6-0 with the win.

Lady Rockets rebound for win; Rockets fall

There was no hangover for the Westwood Lady Rockets after their first loss of the season.

The Lady Rockets hit the court with a vengeance and Thurman Francis was on the wrong end Thursday, as the Lady Rockets cruised to a 51-6 win at Joel Vinson Gymnasium (a game you heard live on Thunder Radio).

Westwood was paced by seventh grader Jules Ferrell, who racked up 25 points on the night. Reece Finch pitched in 9 and Audri Patton 8.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.

The Lady Rockets smothered Thurman Francis in the second half – allowing just 1 point over the final two quarters.

The win improves WMS to 15-1 overall, 9-0 in conference play. Westwood will travel to Cascade for a conference game on Monday, Dec. 13.

POOR FOURTH QUARTER COSTLY FOR ROCKETS

A comfortable 9 point lead entering the fourth quarter dissipated as Westwood was outscored 15-3 in the final 6 minutes, falling to Thurman Francis 41-38.

The bad last quarter ended a night that saw Westwood maintain a lead most of the way. The Rockets led at the end of every quarter and slowly built up to a 35-26 lead after three periods.

Kaysey Lowery led the Rockets with 12 points. Lane Fann added 9. The loss drops WMS to 6-9 overall, 6-3 in conference play.

Lady Raiders struggle on the road, drop first conference game

Coffee County Middle may have been running a little low on energy Thursday after an emotional two-overtime victory on Tuesday. And it showed.

The Coffee Middle School Lady Raiders were sluggish, got into foul trouble in the first half and couldn’t get shots to fall in a 35-33 road loss to the North Gatorettes Thursday night.

“The girls were upset,” said CMS head coach David Vinson. “There is a lot of pressure on them. I think this may help in the long run.”

The Lady Raiders had to deal with foul trouble early- with two starters picking up 3 fouls in the first quarter, including leading scorer Natalie Barnes. It is the first conference loss of the year for the Lady Raiders, who fall to 12-2 overall with the loss (6-1 in CTC play).

Natalie Barnes led the Lady Raiders with 18 points. Kaysen Morgan added 7 and Ella Arnold 5.

The Lady Raiders return home Monday to host South Franklin. Tip at 6 p.m.

Raider offense struggles

The Raider offense could not get in gear Thursday, failing to score double digit points in any single quarter and getting completely shutout in the 4th in a 46-11 road loss to North.

Only 3 Raiders scored field goals – Tallan Crosslin, Levi Rollman and Brody Sizemore – all finishing with 2 points. Luke Campbell led the Raiders with 3 points, all on free-throws.

The loss drops the CMS boys to 3-9 overall and 1-6 in CTC play.

Raiders wrestling swept by Oakland, Stewarts Creek

Coffee County High School (Girls) @ Oakland (Girls) on 12/07/2021.

Oakland (Girls) (OAKG) 12.0 Coffee County High School (Girls) (COFG) 6.0

138: Marissa Gauns (OAKG) over Elizabeth Garner (COFG) (Fall 0:00) 138: Jade Lenhart (COFG) over Katelyn Wence (OAKG) (Fall 0:00) 145: Lyra Leftwich (COFG) over Bryel Ward (OAKG) (Fall 0:00) 165: Alexa Powers (OAKG) over Sara Crosslin (COFG) (Fall 0:00)

Stewarts Creek vs. Coffee County @ Coffee Co, Stewarts Creek @ Oakland on 12/07/2021.

Stewarts Creek (STCR) 40.0 Coffee County (COFF) 33.0

106: Double Forfeit 113: Justin Rezkalla (STCR) over (COFF) (For.) 120: Jeremiah Monk (STCR) over (COFF) (For.) 126: Patrick Richardson (STCR) over (COFF) (For.) 132: Jeremiah Wardell (COFF) over Logan Potts (STCR) (Fall 0:00) 138: Jamie Norris (COFF) over (STCR) (For.) 145: Blaise Meeks (STCR) over (COFF) (For.) 152: Aron Tenpenny (STCR) over Joshua Bowland (COFF) (MD 13-1) 160: Gavin Prater (COFF) over Karim Yanni (STCR) (Fall 0:00) 170: Jacob Barlow (COFF) over Caleb Liko (STCR) (Dec 3-0) 182: Nick Mendicino (STCR) over Chris Hollis (COFF) (Fall 0:00) 195: Kasey Garrett (STCR) over Kendall James (COFF) (Fall 0:00) 220: Ian Walker (COFF) over Jonathan Waller (STCR) (Fall 0:00) 285: Blayne Myers (COFF) over Caleb Taylor (STCR) (Fall 0:00)

Oakland vs. Coffee County @ Coffee Co, Stewarts Creek @ Oakland on 12/07/2021.

Oakland (OAKL) 57.0 Coffee County (COFF) 15.0

106: Jon Hall (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 113: DeShawn Miller (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 120: Brayden Bouma (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 126: Landon Beasley (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 132: Jeremiah Wardell (COFF) over Sam Harvat (OAKL) (Fall 1:10) 138: Sonny Morales-Nunez (OAKL) over Jamie Norris (COFF) (Fall 4:07) 145: Joseph Watson (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 152: Jaxsen Nicuwimer (OAKL) over Joshua Bowland (COFF) (Fall 0:16) 160: Gavin Prater (COFF) over Adam Tibitoski (OAKL) (SV-1 7-5) 170: Jacob Barlow (COFF) over Owen Kates (OAKL) (Dec 4-2) 182: Evan Harris (OAKL) over Chris Hollis (COFF) (Fall 1:12) 195: Nicholas Jenkins (OAKL) over Ian Walker (COFF) (Dec 9-4) 220: Joshua Tobin (OAKL) over (COFF) (For.) 285: Blayne Myers (COFF) over David Wells (OAKL) (Dec 4-3)

Thunder Radio, Atlanta Braves renew radio contract

The defending World Series Champions are returning to Thunder Radio. m

Thunder Radio Vice President Josh Peterson has announced that Thunder Radio WMSR (Coffee County Broadcasting) has reached a contract agreement to continue broadcasting as an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network for the 2022 baseball season.

“So much about radio is entertaining and I obviously enjoy all of our programming at Thunder Radio,” explained Peterson, “but there is just something about listening to a baseball game on the radio that feels right. We are proud to continue to bring that to our listeners next year.”

Thunder Radio was a radio affiliate of the Braves Network last season and that proved to be an excellent season. The Braves went on to win the World Series in a six-game series with the Houston Astros. You heard it all on Thunder Radio.

Catch Atlanta Braves baseball on Thunder Radio at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM and 1320 AM.

INSTANT CLASSICS: Coffee Middle edges Westwood in pair of overtime games

After a thrilling, double-overtime game that saw Coffee Middle edge past Westood Tuesday night, Dec. 7. The two teams gather midcourt for a prayer. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

After not meeting on the basketball floor in nearly 14 years, Coffee Middle School and Westwood delivered two basketball games Tuesday that may not be forgotten for another 14 years.

WMS Lady Rockets 44, CMS Lady Raiders 50 (Double Overtime)

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY !

Pick whatever cliché’ you’d like. Instant classic. Thriller. Heartstopper. Words simply don’t do justice to the product put on the floor by two good basketball teams Tuesday. In the end, with plenty of back and forth, it was Coffee Middle edging past Westwood 50-44 in double overtime.

Down the stretch it was free-throw shooting that won the game for Coffee Middle and a pair of big shots from unsuspecting heroes.

Down 3 with under a minute to play, Lady Raider Natalie Barnes was fouled on a 3-point attempt. She hit 2 shots, setting CMS up for another shot to tie the game. Barnes got a rebound and was fouled the Westwood offensive end after a missed free throw by the Lady Rockets. Barnes went to the line and buried a pair of free throws to tie the game in the final seconds. Barnes was 4-of-5 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter alone – scoring 8 of her game-high 25 points in the final six minutes of regulation.

Westwood had another shot to win in the first overtime – but Lady Raider Jaydee Nogodula was fouled and went to the line and hit 1-of-2 to tie the game.

By the second overtime, the Lady Raiders didn’t need to come from behind or leave anything to chance.

A pair of big field goals helped CMS- one a 8-foot runner from Kaysen Morgan and another a 12-foot jump shot by sixth grader Hayleigh Harris to put the game out of reach for the Lady Rockets late. Harris didn’t play until overtime – when Ella Arnold fouled out.

Early in the game it was CMS punching first, but Westwood fought back. Westwood fell behind 11-2 early but managed to have the game tied at 21-21 at halftime. The Lady Rockets fought back behind hot shooting – particularly Audri Patton – who knocked down three 3-pointers on the night – including a pair in the fourth quarter that saw the Lady Rockets outscore CMS 13-10 to force the extra periods.

Patton finished with 14, but fouled out late and was not available in overtime. Jules Ferrell also finished with 14 for the Lady Rockets – including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to put the Lady Rockets on top.

Coffee Middle improves to 12-1 on the season with the non-conference win. Meanwhile, the loss is the first of the season for the Lady Rockets, who fall to 14-1.

Westwood will be back in action Thursday, when they host Thurman Francis at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, CMS returns to conference play Thursday at North Franklin.

Westwood – 44

Audri Patton – 14

Ziya Dillard – 4

Jules Ferrell – 14

Reece Finch – 10

Anna Reed – 2

Coffee County – 50

Natalie Barnes – 25

Ella Arnold – 8

Jaydee Nogodula – 1

Kaysen Morgan – 8

Adalyn Clark – 6

Hayleigh Harris – 2

WMS ROCKETS 24, CMS RED RAIDERS 28 (overtime)

Much like the girls – the boys teams needed extra time to decide a winner.

But it was all Coffee Middle in the extra time. Tied at 24 – Red Raider Landon Abellana powered down the lane for a layup late in the overtime period. The Raiders then drew a charge with 6 seconds to play – and an inbound pass the length of the floor connected with David Lewis who hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Raiders the win at home.

The CMS win thwarted what was a strong second half for the Rockets. Westwood got steal by Matthew White and a breakaway layup by Davis McKenzie with 5 seconds in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. That capped a 21-13 second half advantage for the Rockets and erased what had been a CMS lead for most every second of the night.

Kaysen Lowery had 9 points to lead the Rockets. Tallan Crosslin paced the Raiders with 9 – all coming on 3-point shots.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY!

Westwood – 24

Lane Fann – 5

Davis McKenzie – 5

Zeke Jones – 3

Kaysen Lowery – 9

Matthew White – 2

Coffee County – 28

David Lewis – 8

Tallan Crosslin – 9

Levi Rollman – 4