Category: Sports

The Coffee County Middle School tennis teams opened the season on Friday as they traveled to Shelbyville.  Starting off the season just as strong as they finished last year, both the Raiders and Lady Raiders captured wins. The Lady Raiders won 8 to 1 while the Red Raiders captured a 3 to 1 victory.

Playing only singles matches, the Lady Raiders dominated the day in Shelbyville.  Coffee County won eight of the nine matches to capture the team win.  Singles winners were Jayda Wright(by a score of 6 to 2), Marley Perry(6 to 2), Anna Amado(6 to 1), Lucy Riddle(6 to 2), Paige Meadows(6 to 4), Kylie Millaway(6 to 1), Claire Rondolet(4 to 1) and Riley Tucker(4 to 2)

A much smaller Red Raiders team won 2 of their 3 singles matches and the lone doubles match of the day.  Jayden Brown got a 6 to 3 win in singles while Logan Hale won 6 to 1.  In doubles play, Brown teamed up with Leon Mayo for a 6 to 2 doubles win.

The CCMS netters will hit the court again on Tuesday as they travel to Tullahoma.  The first match will get underway at 4 PM.

The Westwood Middle School soccer team traveled to Winchester on Friday to take on North Franklin.  Coming off a conference win on Thursday, the Rockets were attempting to keep the momentum going in the non-conference match.  Westwood did just that as they roared to a 6 to 1 win.

John Martinez kept his hot scoring streak alive as he had 3 goals.  Keiton Sherrill, Louie Frazier and Nico Sanfilipo each netted goals.  Kevon Perigrino had 2 assists and Bodey Todd had a pair of saves in net.

In the JV game, the Rockets won 5 to 0 over the Gators.  Caleb Cargile, Izick Sierra, Landon Lowery, Trevor Bellamy and Isaac Simmons all notched single goals for Westwood.

The Rockets will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Tullahoma. That match will get underway at 6 PM.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club welcomed their South Central Region rivals to Normandy Lake on Saturday for a region tournament.  With 111 boats in the field, a huge crowd was on hand at Barton Springs for the event.  Nine boats of Raider anglers were a part of the largest high school tournament ever held at Normandy.

On their home lake, four boats from the Coffee County team finished in the top 16 for the tournament.  Once again, the team of Garrett Davis and Isaiah Owens led the way for Coffee County as they captured 4^th place overall landing 5 fish totaling 10.68 pounds.  That total was just under a pound out of first place.  The brother tandem of Braeden and Colby Thurmond finished in 8^th place with a 5 fish stringer totaling 10.44 pounds.  Hunter Sanders and Blake Mangrum captured 14^th place with a total catch of 8.31 pounds.  Jacob Garms and Hogan Scott landed 5 fish that tipped the scales at 7.32 pounds to earn 16^th place.

Branson and Dawson Wells finished in 20^th place as they caught 4 fish for a total of 6.44 pounds.  Shannah Frame and Jace Rice came in 26^th place with a total of 4.65 pounds.  Hunter Haley and Garrett Fellers landed 1 keeper of 2.72 pounds to finish in 34^th place and Joe White and Adam Petty caught 1 fish totaling 2.21 pounds to come home in 39^th place.

The Coffee County Bass Club will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Tims Ford for another South Central Tennessee Region tournament.  Blast off will take place at 1^st light.  Weigh-in will begin at 2 PM.

Taking part in the Tullahoma JV baseball tournament this weekend, the Coffee County Middle School 7^th and 8^th graders came home with a record of 1 win, 1 loss and one tie.  The Red Raiders opened up play on Saturday morning with a 2 to 2 tie to Tullahoma.  They came back with a 10 to 0 win over Oakland, before closing out the tournament on Sunday with a 3 to 1 loss to Heritage.

Trailing 2 to 1 entering the bottom of the 5^th inning on Saturday morning, the Red Raiders rallied to push a run across to tie with Tullahoma.  Two walks and a hit batsman with 2 outs in the frame allowed Coffee County to capture the tie.  The Raiders were held to 3 hits in the game as Nolan Jernigan and Kyler Terry each collected a single.   England Bryan had a double for Coffee County.

Against Oakland, the Red Raiders plated 6 runs in the 1^st inning and 3 more in the 2^nd to power to the win over the Patriots.  Jack Anderson had a pair of hits for Coffee Middle.  Dayne Crosslin drove in a pair of runs.  Jayden Fellers and England Bryan combined to toss the shut-out for the Raiders.

Coming back on Sunday afternoon against Heritage Middle, Coffee County gave up a pair of 1^st inning runs and could not catch the Hornets.  The Raiders pushed across a run in the 5^th inning but stranded runners at 3^rd base 3 times in the defeat.  Luke Keele walked and scored on an RBI single from Hayden Garr for Coffee Middle’s lone run in the 5^th inning.   Tyler Craig and Nolan Jernigan also added singles for the JV Raiders.

The Coffee County CHS soccer team hit the road on Friday for their final scrimmage game of the preseason.  Traveling to Murfreesboro, the Red Raiders took on Riverdale at Tom Nolan Field.  After a strong defensive battle, the home standing Warriors were able to push across a goal in the 70^th minute to capture the 1 to 0 scrimmage win over Coffee County.

The Red Raiders will open the regular season on Tuesday when they play host to Warren County.  That match is set to get underway at 7 PM at the Raider Soccer Field.  The Raider Soccer Field is located behind the Coffee County Raider Academy.

The Predators found a way once more to tie the game late, but Nashville ultimately fell to the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The loss snaps Nashville’s franchise record 10-game win streak, but still gives them points in 11 consecutive contests.

Nashville went almost 58 minutes between goals in regulation time, but puck luck prevented the Preds from running up the score as they hit the post on a number of occasions on the night, an 11th consecutive win not meant to be.

“It didn’t go our way on the scoreboard, but the guys played hard,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think we hit the post six times – it just didn’t bounce our way tonight. You hit the post six times, and you’re wondering if it’s going to be your night. It was tough.”

“I thought we played well for the last 30 minutes,” Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We had chances and it seemed like the puck was dancing on the goal line a couple of times down there. But, we get a point and we move on.”

It was Ekholm who struck just 1:17 into the contest, streaking down the right side and beating Keith Kinkaid for his 10th of the season and a 1-0 lead. However, Sami Vatanen evened the contest before the period was out, and then Brian Boyle deflected a shot past Juuse Saros in the middle frame to give New Jersey a 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes.

With 1:06 remaining on the clock, Ryan Johansen banged home a rebound to tie the score and send the Bridgestone Arena crowd into a frenzy as the Preds earned their 98th point in the standings on the season.

After a back-and-forth overtime session, it was Boyle who eventually ended it in the shootout to keep Nashville from attaining the League’s longest win streak of the season.

“We have to be sharp,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We have to really tune into our system – tune into what kind of team we want to be in the playoffs. We have 14 games left to put it all together and be ready for the playoffs.”

Sure, the Predators are proud of rattling off 10 straight wins, but ultimately, as Johansen explained, it’s about the process and continuing to play the game the right way, no matter the result. And even though Nashville fell short on Saturday, with a couple of items they’d like to improve before Tuesday, there was still a lot to like against a club that is fighting for the playoff lives.

“Tonight was a really hard-fought game,” Laviolette said. “New Jersey came in here – they’re on the bubble – you can tell they’re trying to solidify their spot and punch their ticket because they played the game extremely hard. There wasn’t a lot of time. There wasn’t a lot of space. I thought our guys did a good job. We knew it was going to be a tough game. In the end, it came down to breakaways.”

While it might not matter in the moment, this club still made their mark on the franchise record books with the streak in what they hope will be just one of many rewrites as the postseason looms.

“It speaks for the team,” Josi said. “[To win 10 in a row], it shows a lot of consistency and that’s what you want toward the playoffs, you want to play with a lot of consistency. We’ve been playing really well lately, and we’re hoping to keep in going.”

Notes:

At home, Nashville has earned a point in seven-straight games against New Jersey (3-0-4).

Preds Captain Roman Josi returned to action on Saturday after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ekholm now has 10 goals on the season, the first time in his career he has reached double digits in the category.

Nashville conduces their four-game home stand on Tuesday night when the Winnipeg Jets come to town. The Preds will then jet off on a three-game trip, beginning in Arizona on Thursday.

Thursday Prep Results
> WMS Softball defeated Riverside Christian 23 to 0 – See the story HERE
> CCMS Boys’ Soccer edged South Franklin 3 to 2 – See the story HERE
> WMS Boys’ Soccer blanked St. Andrews-Sewanee 3 to 0 – See the story HERE
> CCMS Baseball fell to Lincoln County 7 to 3 – See the story HERE
> WMS Baseball edges Community 4 to 3(8 innings)– See the story HERE

Friday Prep Schedule
4:00 PM – CCMS Tennis at Shelbyville
5:00 PM – CCMS Baseball HOSTS Lincoln Co
5:30 PM – WMS Boys’ Soccer at North Franklin
6:30 PM – CHS Boys’ Soccer at Riverdale(scrimmage)

The Westwood Middle School baseball team welcomed Community to Looney Riddle Field on Thursday night.  Battling the cold temperatures, the Rockets needed to get hot in the 7^th inning to force the game into extra innings.  Westwood battled to a 4 to 3 win in 8 innings.

After scoring twice in the 3^rd inning to take a 2 to 0 lead over the visitors from Unionville, Westwood saw Community bounce back for 3 runs in the 4^th.  The score remained 3 to 2 headed to the bottom of the 7^th inning.  Brady Nugent was able to start a 1 out rally as he got a hit and came around to score the tying run.  In the 8^th inning, Preston Shaw got a 2 out single and moved to 2^nd base on a walk.  When Shaw tried to move up to 3^rd on a passed ball, the catcher’s throw went into left field allowing Shaw to score the winning run.

Luke Beachboard led the Rockets in hitting with 3 hits.  Nugent had 2 hits and 2 runs scored.  Kristian Martinez came on in relief in the 8^th inning to get the win on the mound for Westwood.  The Rockets are now 3 and 0 on the season and 2 and 0 in conference play.

Westwood will back at home on Monday when they entertain Huntland at Fred Deadman Park.  First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM.

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team hit the road on Thursday for a conference match with South Franklin.  Looking to get their first conference win of the year, the Raiders fell in an early hole.  Coffee Middle rallied in the 2^nd half to grab the 3 to 2 win.

Trailing 2 to 0 at the half, the Red Raiders rallied for 3 unanswered goals in the second half to get their first conference win of the year.  Javier Rodriquez got the Raiders on the board with a goal early in the 2^nd half.  Rodriquez finished with a pair of goals, including the game winner for Coffee County.  Rueben Alvarez notched the other tally for the Raiders.

The Red Raiders return home on Monday when they play host to Harris.  That match is set to get underway at 5:15 at CCMS.

The Westwood softball team opened their 2018 season in Fayetteville on Thursday night taking on Riverside Christian.  In a game that was originally postponed due flooding at the Fayetteville Park, the Lady Rockets flooded the scoreboard.  Westwood dropped Riverside 23 to 0 in a 3 inning, mercy-rule shortened contest.

After a 9 run top of the 1^st inning, there was little doubt in the final outcome.  The Lady Rockets tacked on 4 runs in the 2^nd before exploding for 10 runs in the 3^rd.  Westwood did all their damage on just 7 hits as they got the benefit of 18 walks. Haidyn Campbell had a home run and 4 walks for the Lady Rockets as she drove in 5 runs.  Haidyn also got the win in the circle going 2 and 2/3 innings and striking out 7.  Paisley Campbell was the only Lady Rocket to have 2 hits for Westwood.

Westwood will host their first home game on Monday when they welcome conference power Cascade to Lady Rocket Field.  First pitch for the conference game is set for 5 PM.