The Westwood Middle School soccer team welcomed St. Andrews-Sewanee to Dyer-Bouldin Field on Thursday afternoon. The Rockets looked to keep their perfect record in tact against the visitors from the mountain in a conference matchup. Westwood improved to 3 and 0 with a 3 to 0 win over the Mountain Lions.
The Rockets dominated the middle of the field as they were able to press the attack all night long. Despite that control, Westwood could manage only 1 first half goal by John Martinez in the 18th minute. In the second half, Martinez added a goal in the 34th minute before Louie Frazier made in 3 to 0 in the 41st minute. Tucker Brown had an assist for Westwood and Bodey Todd finished with 2 saves.
The Rockets will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Winchester to take on North Franklin. That match will get underway at 5:30 PM.
The Coffee County Middle School baseball team hit the road on Thursday for a non-conference game in Fayetteville. Taking on a talented Lincoln County squad in the first of a 2 game series, the Raider bats struggled. Lincoln County dropped Coffee County by a final score of 7 to 3.
Tied at 1 entering the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Falcons erupted for 4 runs on 2 walks, a hit batter and 2 hits. Coffee County pushed across single runs in the 5th and 6th innings but could not stop the home standing Falcons.
John McKelvey and Remington Banks each had a double for Coffee County. McKelvey finished the night with 2 RBI. Connor Shemwell got the start for the Raiders as he took the loss. Jacob Sherrill pitched 4 innings of relief striking out 8 batters.
The Red Raiders will play host to Lincoln County on Friday night in Game #2 of this non-conference series. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
Nashville’s top line combined for six points as the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a 4-2 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The victory extends Nashville’s franchise-record win streak to 10 games and gives them a three-game sweep in their season series with their California rival.
The Predators jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and although the Ducks had a push in the third period, Viktor Arvidsson sealed it with less than two minutes to play in regulation. It was a perfect result on a night that was a celebration from start to finish, with Predators General Manager David Poile honored prior to puck drop for becoming the NHL’s all-time winningest GM.
And then the Preds went to work, coming up with another win by the night’s end.
“Whoever we put in there, whatever the lineup is, whatever the lines are, they roll over the boards and they work hard,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s been really good. Tonight, wasn’t perfect, like I said. In the third period, it looked like maybe the schedule caught up with us, or just the amount of games or whatever. I thought we were a little flat in the third… But, if you work, you can win; if you win, you can gain some confidence. It all starts with work ethic.”
Just over five minutes into the opening frame, it was Craig Smith who potted his 21st of the season to give his club a 1-0 lead, and then with less than five minutes remaining in the first, Filip Forsberg laid a perfect pass on the tape of Ryan Johansen and the centerman tapped in his 10th of the campaign for a 2-0 advantage after one.
Most of the middle stanza went scoreless, but after a shorthanded breakaway opportunity for Colton Sissons was stopped by John Gibson, Austin Watson poked in the loose puck to put the Preds up by three after 40 minutes.
Rickard Rakell scored twice in the final frame to pull Anaheim to within one, but Arvidsson and the top line iced it, giving the Preds their 44th win of the season, 37 of those belonging to goaltender Pekka Rinne, now an incredible 18-1-1 in his last 20 starts.
To extend the win streak is satisfying enough, but to do it against an opponent that is arguably Nashville’s fiercest rival in the League?
“The amount of times we’ve played them and what’s been at stake, we always know it’s going to be a physical game,” Laviolette said. “We always know that we have to play tough in the battles. We talk about those things. I think our guys did a really great job.”
“There has been a lot of emotion within these games lately,” Johansen said. “We’ll get some much-needed rest tomorrow and heal up the bodies a little bit, and then come back Saturday. All that matters is that we got the two points.”
Gordie and Joey:
The Gordie Howe Hat Trick is named after one of the all-time greats, known equally for his toughness as he was for his offensive capability. A goal, assist and a fight in the same game earns a player the recognition, and Nashville’s top centerman hit the mark on Thursday.
Playing the Ducks tends to bring out the best in the Preds, particularly for Ryan Johansen on this occasion. Not only did Johansen tally the game’s second goal and assist on Arvidsson’s crushing blow, he also fought with Ducks center Ryan Kesler, a noted rivalry that developed during last spring’s Western Conference Final.
“He had a great game,” Laviolette said of Johansen. “What did he have – a fight, a goal, an assist? That’s old school. That’s old school.”
Although Johansen may not have fared particularly well in the scrap – “I’m not sure Gordie would’ve been very proud of that fight,” he joked – what mattered at the end of the night was the score, a number Johansen boosted twice with his excellent play that continues to reach playoff levels.
“He’s been playing great,” Smith said of Johansen. “He’s been a big, hard shot here. Tonight, he stepped it up and played a big role against a pretty good line. I thought he dealt with it great. The skill and the toughness that he brings to the game is huge.”
“This is a really special game for him,” Forsberg said of Johansen. “We all know the history that’s been going on. He just keeps showing everyone how good he is.”
Thank You, GMDP:
Prior to Thursday’s game, the Predators honored General Manager David Poile with a pregame ceremony for recently becoming the NHL’s all-time winningest GM with 1,320 victories.
Now sitting at 1,324 wins after the result against the Ducks, Poile was joined on the ice and in the crowd by a number of special guests, including his wife, Elizabeth, Predators Chairman Governor and Owner Tom Cigarran and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Watch the video tribute below and stay tuned to NashvillePredators.com in the coming days for much more on Poile’s astounding accomplishment.
Notes:
Per Fox Sports Tennessee, Preds forward Craig Smith is tied with Patric Hornqvist for the most 20-goal seasons in Nashville franchise history (4).
Austin Watson is now tied for second in the NHL with three shorthanded goals this season.
Nashville has now won five consecutive home games against Anaheim and has earned at least one point in six of their last seven overall versus Anaheim.
Now halfway through their four-game home stand, the Predators will host New Jersey on Saturday night before finishing up with Winnipeg on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
4:30 PM – WMS Boys’ Soccer HOSTS St. Andrews-Sewanee
4:45 PM – CCMS Boys’ Soccer at South Franklin
5:00 PM – CCMS Baseball at Lincoln Co
5:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS Community
WMS Softball at Riverside Christian – PPD, Makeup is TBD
Individual award winners for the Coffee County high school Swim team. [Photo by Rob Clutter]
The Coffee County Swim teams held their annual end of the year awards banquet on Monday night. Coming off the most successful season in program history, Coaches Lana and Mike Ray celebrated the accomplishments of all their athletes. Additionally, several individual awards were presented.
For the middle school swimmers, Emily Williams earned the team MVP award. William Tobitt was named the Male Swimmer of the Year while Kennedy Norman-Young earned the Female Swimmer of the Year honor. Taylor Wall was presented the Coaches Award and Aly Hutchings was named the Most Improved swimmer.
Individual award winners for the Coffee County middle school Swim team. [Photo by Rob Clutter]
For the high school swimmers, Jack Beachboard was crowned the team MVP and the Male Swimmer of the Year. Kaylee Williams was named the Female Swimmer of the Year. Anna O’Connor was honored with the Best Teammate Award. The Coaches Award went to Allison Talley and Lindsey Cauble. Ali Marlow was named the Most Improved swimmer and Jase Rice captured the Rookie of the Year award.
The Coffee County Middle School JV baseball team hosted Grundy County on Monday night at CCMS. The Red Raiders scored in 4 of the 5 innings against the visiting Yellow Jackets. Coffee Middle needed a single run in the bottom of the 5th to earn the mercy rule victory 11 to 1.
Coffee County plated a pair of runs in the 1st inning as Hayden Garr drilled an RBI double and scored on an error by the 3rd baseman on a steal attempt to set the rout in motion. Brady Daughtery had a 2 RBI single as part of a 4 run 2nd inning and Garr hit a 2 RBI inside the park home run in a 4 run 6th inning.
Garr finished the game with 2 hits and 3 RBI to lead the Raider attack. Trey Turner had a single, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored for Coffee County. Daughtery scored twice to go with his single and 2 RBI. Aiden Robertson got the start on the mound and pitched 3 and 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win. Jack Anderson came on in relief for Coffee Middle and notched 3 strikeouts in an inning and 1/3.
The Motlow State Bucks celebrate their TCCAA/Region VII Tournament men’s basketball championship Tuesday afternoon following a 78-61 win over Southwest Tennessee at Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga. It is the second consecutive championship for the Bucks, and earns them a spot in the upcoming NJCAA national tournament, which begins March 19 in Hutchinson, Kansas.[Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]
For the first time in school history, a Motlow athletic team claimed back-to-back state championships when the Motlow Bucks beat the Southwest Tennessee Saluqis 78-61 Tuesday afternoon in Chattanooga to win the TCCAA/Region VII Basketball Tournament title.
The Bucks (22-7) will now advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. The tournament opens March 19, with the NJCAA announcing tournament seeding and brackets on March 12 at 11:30 a.m. on www.njcaatv.com.
Motlow entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, while Southwest was No. 1. The Bucks opened tournament play by beating No. 7 Columbia State 92-61 on Saturday, then got past Cleveland State 62-52 in Monday’s semifinal.
The tournament championship is the College’s sixth in men’s basketball and the third in the past six years. Motlow also won titles in 1973, 1982, 1984, 2013 and 2017. This year will be Motlow’s third NJCAA tournament appearance, having gone 1-1 in 2013 and 2-1 last year, when they reached the final eight for the first time.
First-year Head Coach Arthur Latham has kept the Bucks on track despite multiple obstacles throughout the year, including losing two of his top players early in the season. Returning sophomore Javion Hamlet, a second team All-American last year, sat out the season with an injury, while 6-11 post player Nick Marshall, a transfer from the University of Memphis, played only four games before injuries suffered in an automobile accident ended his season.
But Latham, along with assistant coaches Zach Holt and Nick Porter, held the squad together around a nucleus of seven players; five sophomores and two redshirt freshmen, who experienced last year’s championship and brought that experience to the locker room and to the playing floor this season.
Isaiah Hart, who was named TCCAA/Region VII Tournament MVP, along with regular season TCCAA Player of the Year Rashawn Fredericks, second team All-Conference selection Kevonte Corley, Dillon Smith and Chad Emmons all played critical roles in last year’s title. Leo Castillo and Kin Webster were redshirts last year and became key ingredients in Latham’s rotation this year.
Transfer sophomore David Fraser stepped into the starting post position when Marshall went down and has been a solid contributor all season. Freshmen Derrick Rayford, Anthony Yarbrough, Zaire Swaby, Hayden Edmondson and Justin Hill have each played critical minutes and successfully filled their roles, an important ingredient on any championship team.
The Bucks were never seriously threatened in any of their three wins during the TCCAA/Region VII Tournament. Their dismantling of Columbia State on Saturday saw Motlow hit 14-32 three pointers and force the Chargers into 19 turnovers. Hart had 21 points and four assists, Corley scored 16 with 11 rebounds, Fredericks had 10 points, five boards and four assists, and Yarbrough hit 7-7 free throws and scored 11.
Monday’s win over Cleveland was somewhat methodical, with the Bucks holding a slight advantage for most of the game before extending their lead to double digits at the end. Motlow didn’t shoot exceptionally well, only 43 percent from the field, although the Bucks hit 7-19 three pointers. Once again the defense was tenacious, forcing the Cougars into 16 turnovers.
Fredericks led the way with 17 points, while Hart scored 16 and added six rebounds and four steals. Corley notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Castillo hit a pair of three pointers and scored 10 points.
Tuesday’s championship game saw the Bucks come out of the gate fast and never let up. Motlow hit four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes to grab a 21-14 lead. A 9-2 run increased the lead to 30-16 with 8:25 remaining in the first half. The Saluqis, who entered the game ranked No. 18 in the nation, gathered themselves and cut the Motlow lead to 39-30 at intermission.
Southwest Tennessee closed the gap to 50-43 with 11 minutes to play, but it was as close as the Saluqis would get as the Bucks finished the game on a 28-18 run. Hart, who is Motlow’s all-time leader in steals, was the sparkplug as he stole the ball and scored on layups on two straight possessions. Fredericks closed the door on any Southwest comeback hopes with a long three pointer with 3:42 to go, giving Motlow its biggest lead at 73-50.
The Bucks didn’t shoot exceptionally well from the field, connecting on only 38.7 percent of their shots and 9-27 three pointers. However, Motlow was on target at the free throw line, hitting 21-23, including Corley 8-8 and Hart and Fredericks 5-5 each. The Bucks forced the Saluqis into an amazing 31 turnovers.
Hart led five double-digit scorers with 19 points and added five assists and five steals. Fredericks scored 14 with five rebounds and four steals, Corley had 12 points with 10 rebounds and four steals, Castillo scored 11, including 3-4 three pointers, and added five rebounds, and Fraser had 10 points with four rebounds and three steals. Webster added seven points, Smith three and Emmons scored two.
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.
Tuesday Prep Results
> CHS Baseball beat Grundy Co – 11 to 1(scrimmage) – See the story HERE
> CCMS Baseball topped Warren Co – 6 to 3 – See the story HERE
> CCMS Softball lost to Warren Co – 10 to 1 – See the story HERE
> WMS Boys’ Soccer defeated Fayetteville- 9 to 0 – See the story HERE
Playing on Powers Field for the first time in 2018, the Red Raider baseball team of Coffee County Central hosted Grundy County on Tuesday night for a scrimmage. The Raiders and Yellow Jackets squared off in a 10 inning scrimmage contest to close out their preseason preparations. Coffee County stung Grundy County 11 to 1 in the contest.
The Red Raiders jumped on the Yellow Jackets in the 1st inning as they plated 3 unearned runs without recording a hit. Coffee County added 4 more runs in the 3rd before a solo home run from freshman Skylar Bratcher in the 4th inning. The Raiders finished the game with 5 hits, 5 walks and were aided by 5 Grundy County errors.
Nathaniel Tate had a single and a walk and had 5 RBI. Bratcher’s home run was the lone extra base hit for the Raiders. Jacob Langham had a walk and a single and scored 3 runs for Coffee County. Coffee County used 4 pitchers led by Hunter Courtoy and Harley Hinshaw who each went 3 innings. Hinshaw and Zack Milan each struck out 4 batters.
The Red Raiders will now look to their season opener coming up on Monday at home against Columbia. That district matchup will get underway at 5 PM. The Red Raiders will also be at home on Thursday night when they welcome Marshall County to Powers Field. Thunder Radio will be on hand to broadcast Thursday’s contest.
A day after going 9 innings with Warren County in McMinnville, the Coffee County Middle School baseball team welcomed the Pioneers to CCMS on Tuesday. The Red Raiders were looking to bounce back after disappointing loss and capture an important conference win. A 4 run first inning turned out to be all the offense Coffee Middle needed in a 6 to 3 win.
A pair of walks, 2 hits and a Warren County error was enough to stake the Red Raiders to 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Coffee County added 2 more runs in the 3rd inning when the Raiders used 3 hits and a walk to stretch the lead to 6 to 1. The win lifts the Raiders record to 3 and 1 on the season.
Jacob Holder had a single, a double and scored a run to lead the Raider hitting attack. Nolan Jernigan had a single, 2 walks and an RBI and Jacob Sherrill finished with a single and 2 RBI for Coffee County. John McKelvey was the winning pitcher for the Raiders as he gave up 1 earned run over 5 innings of work. Jacob Sherrill pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief with 4 strikeouts to get the save.
Coffee County will step out of conference play on Thursday as they travel to Fayetteville to take on Lincoln County. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
The Westwood Middle School soccer team welcomed St. Andrews-Sewanee to Dyer-Bouldin Field on Thursday afternoon. The Rockets looked to keep their perfect record in tact against the visitors from the mountain in a conference matchup. Westwood improved to 3 and 0 with a 3 to 0 win over the Mountain Lions.
