Category: Sports

Motlow State sophomore Jasmine Williams powers the ball towards the basket during the Lady Bucks’ 68-64 win over Roane State at Copperweld Arena Friday night. Williams, from Irvington, NJ, scored 18 points, including six in the fourth quarter, and added seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the win. [Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]

The Lady Bucks (4-16, 1-11) followed that up with an 84-50 loss to Walters State on Saturday. The Lady Senators entered the game ranked No. 20 in the nation by the NJCAA. Motlow will travel to Dyersburg State Wednesday, then head to Memphis to face Southwest Tennessee on Saturday. The next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 21, with Jackson State visiting for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

Friday night the Lady Bucks enjoyed one of their best starts of the season, jumping out to an 18-10 advantage after one quarter and a 22-10 lead one minute into the second quarter. Motlow had the size advantage and got the ball into the paint to build the lead, led by Jasmine Williams and Janna Lewis. However, the visitors began to hit shots and went on a 17-11 run to end the half, closing the gap to 33-27.

Roane State continued to press the action and outscored the Lady Bucks 17-11 in the third quarter, which ended with Motlow on top 45-44. In the final 10 minutes is was Williams who had six straight fourth-quarter points and helped the Lady Bucks hold of the Lady Raiders’ challenge. She finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

Janna Lewis led Motlow in scoring with 22 points and added six rebounds and two assists, Tajah Clark barely missed a double-double with nine points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals; and Lynshawn Ebron had eight points, three assists, two steals and three rebounds. Joy Porter added five points, Miranda Boutwell had four, and Jewel Ledbetter scored two.

Saturday was a different story as powerful Walters State dominated the action from start to finish. The Lady Senators built a 45-20 halftime lead and emptied the bench after leading 67-35 after three quarters.

Clark led Motlow with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals, and Williams continued her solid play with nine points and 11 rebounds. Lewis and Ledbetter each scored eight, Briana Jones had five, and Ebron and Porter each scored two points.

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.

Grey Riddle of CHS basketball[Photo by Demarco Moore, Manchester Times]

In the boys’ game, despite leading by 8 points in the 3^rd quarter, the Red Raiders could never put away the tenacious Rebels.  Franklin County held leads entering the 2^nd and 4^th quarters, but never had a lead of more than 3 points.  Coffee County took their first lead of the 4^th quarter on a De’Aaron Rozier layup at the 7 minute mark, but Franklin County tied the game with 2:15 left.  Coffee County ran their most patient offensive set of the night as they milked over a minute and a half off the clock, culminating in a Grey Riddle basket with 36 seconds remaining to make the score 34 to 32.  Franklin County had one last chance to tie the game in the final 2 seconds but missed a free throw giving the Raiders the 1 point win.

The Raiders were led in scoring by De’Aaron Rozier who finished with 9 points.  Darius Rozier had 8 points and Grey Riddle added 6 points, including the game winning basket to earn the Crazy Daisies’ player of the game honor.

After being tied at 14 at the end of the 4^th quarter, the Lady Raiders trailed at the buzzer of the remaining 3 periods in their 1^st loss since January 15^th.  Coffee County’s last lead came at the 1:55 mark of the 1^st quarter 10 to 9.  Franklin County hit just enough shots over the Lady Raider zone defense to build their biggest lead of the game with 4:26 remaining 54 to 47.  Coffee County was able to close the gap to 2 with 14 seconds remaining, but a game tying jump shot would not fall for the Lady Raiders.

Abby Morgan led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 15 points as she was tabbed as the Crazy Daisies’ player of the game.  Bella Vinson added 14 points and Alliyah Williams tacked on 11.  Jacey Vaughn just missed double figures as she finished with 9 points as Coffee County will close out the regular season with a record of 23 and 3 overall and 10 and 2 in district games.

Coffee County will now wait until Monday to get the official matchups and game times for the District 8AAA tournament coming up this week. The Raiders and Lady Raiders, by benefit of their seeding, will not have to hit the floor until Saturday’s semifinal round.  Thunder Radio will bring you the game times and copies of the bracket on Tuesday.

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

The Coffee County Lady Raiders celebrate with Coach Joe Pat Cope following the win as they sewed up the 1st regular season district title since 1996. [Photo provided by Amy Morgan]

The Lady Raiders played another close, nail-biter with the Eaglettes.  After a series of scoring runs by each team in the first half, Coffee County took a 4 point lead into the dressing room at halftime.  The Lady Raiders built the lead to 8 points with 2 minutes left in the 3^rd period only to see Shelbyville rally to take a 2 point lead with 3 minutes left in the game.   The Lady Raiders cranked up the defense and captured the 2 point lead with 20 seconds left on a basket from Alliyah Williams.  Williams also got a steal with 3 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Williams, a senior, finished with 14 points leading the Lady Raiders as she earned the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  The Lady Raiders improved to 23 and 2 overall and 10 and 1 in district play.

The Red Raiders got off to another lightning fast start as they opened up a 16 to 3 lead in the first quarter.  Coffee County pushed that lead to 23 at the half and 30 in the 4^th quarter before substituting out the seniors to a thunderous ovation.

Garrett Booth led the Raiders in scoring with 21 points including four 3 pointers to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game honor.   De’Aaron Rozier had 14 points and Grey Riddle had 9 points as 9 different Red Raiders scored on the night.

Coffee County will hit the road on Saturday night as they travel to Winchester to take on Franklin County in the regular season finale.  The Red Raiders will need a win to sew up 3^rd place in the district and an automatic region berth.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.  Thunder Radio begins live coverage with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50.

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

2018 Basketball/Cheer and Dance Seniors on Senior Night. [Photo by Angela Payne – Manchester Times]

The Red Raider wrestling team traveled to Blackman on Friday and Saturday to take part in the Region 5 Individual Wrestling Tournament.   Ten different Red Raiders competed in the 2 day event attempting to advance to the state tournament which will be held this coming weekend in Franklin.  Despite some good individual performances, no Red Raider wrestlers were able to advance to the Final 4 thereby ending their season.

Evan Jaynes(in the 145 pound class) had the strongest performance of the day.  After winning his opening round match via a pinfall over Gunner Johnson of Siegel,  Jaynes was edged 1 to 0 in a decision loss to Josh Bonee of Tullahoma.  Jaynes won his next 2 matches, by pinfall and decision respectively, before getting pinned by Daniel Derryberry of Smyrna.  Jaynes was one win away from advancing to the state as he finished with a record of 3 and 2.

Dakota Chalker(160) lost a thrilling overtime decision in the 3^rd round of the consolation bracket to end his season.  Chalker was 2 and 2 on the weekend with a win via a pin and a win via a forfeit.  Both of Chalker’s losses came via decisions as he was not pinned in the tournament.

Christopher Speegle(220) finished with a record of 2 and 2.  Speegle got a forfeit win and a pinfall win as he advanced to the 3^rd round of the consolation bracket.

Hunter Massey(106) was 1 and 2 for the tournament getting a forfeit win.  Mary Anne Walker was 0 and 2 on the weekend; Josh Fourier(152) was 1 and 2 for the tournament getting a forfeit win;  Andrew Lawson(170) was 0 and 2; Nick Martinez(195) was 1 and 2 for the weekend getting a forfeit win as was Tyler Loren who wrestled in the heavyweight class.

Coffee County Alicean Stottlemyer will be the lone CHS wrestler advancing to this week’s state tournament.  Stottlemyer advanced to the girls’ state tournament on Saturday, January 27^th with a 4^th place finish in the TSSAA West Region Individual Tournament at Nolensville.  The girls’ state individual tournament will held on Friday and Saturday, February 16th and 17th.  Weigh-in will take place at 9 AM on Friday with 1^st round action set to begin at 11 AM.  The championship match is scheduled for 9 AM on Saturday morning.   The state wrestling tournament is held at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin.

Cody Swayze of the Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team

The Temple Baptist Christian School welcomed Philadelphia Christian School to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Friday night.  The Eagles hosted their visitors from Calhoun, Georgia in the final regular season games of the year.  The JV team captured a 31 to 29 victory while the varsity Eagles fell 75 to 58.

Playing in their final game of the year, the JV team won their 3^rd straight game and their 4^th in their last 7 contests.  Holding a 13 to 6 halftime lead, Temple JV Eagles held off a 2^nd half rally from the Georgia Eagles to capture the win.  Alex Gloden led Temple in scoring with 15 points.  Alex’s brother Mich Gloden added 11 points, with 10 of those coming in the second half.

The varsity Eagles could not keep pace with the offense from their counterparts from Calhoun.  Trailing 35 to 33 at the half, Philadelphia got 22 points from Luke Southerland in the 3^rd quarter to take a 10 point lead into the final frame.  Cody Swayze led Temple in scoring as he poured in 40 points on the night.  Alex Gloden chipped in 8 for Temple.

The varsity Eagles will be back at home on Friday and Saturday as they will host their annual Eagle Invitational basketball tournament to close out the season.  Temple will welcome 5 other school to the E.C. Bailey Gym in the 2 day tournament.  Action will begin on Friday afternoon as Temple will play at 1:00 and 4:45 PM in the round robin format.  The double elimination tournament begins on Saturday morning.  Thunder Radio will post the full schedule later in the week.

Ryan Ellis

Ryan Ellis scored the only goal in the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Scott Hartnell and Kevin Fiala scored in regulation for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne finished with 47 saves – including 10 in the 5-minute, 3-on-3 overtime.

Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin scored for the Canadiens, and Carey Price stopped 30 shots.

Fiala gave the Predators a 2-1 lead with his 18th with 7:41 left in the third period. After the Canadiens pulled Price for an extra skater, Drouin tied it with his eighth with 1:14 remaining.

The Bell Centre crowd reacted with some boos but mostly cheers each time Nashville’s P. K. Subban had the puck. Subban remains highly popular in Montreal after his trade to the Predators two summers ago for Shea Weber, who has been out since mid-December with a foot injury.

Subban and Gallagher went hard at each other in the first period, and the Canadiens’ forward was shaken up while trying to lay a big hit on his former teammate.

But 8:35 into the second, Arturri Lehkonen stripped the puck from Filip Forsberg at the Nashville line. Gallagher grabbed it and saw his first shot blocked by Subban, but picked up the rebound and beat Rinne from close range for his 20th.

A bouncing puck in front of the Montreal net went to Nick Bonino, who slipped it to Hartnell for the tying score with 3:38 remaining in the middle period.

After a sprawled Price made a glove save at the side of the net on Ryan Johansen, the Nashville center slipped the rebound back to uncovered Fiala for a backhander into an open side.

NOTES: Forsberg returned after serving a three-game suspension for a high hit on Jimmy Vesey of the New York Rangers. … Half of the Predators’ defense are former Canadiens – Subban, Alexei Emelin and Yannick Weber. … Emelin took a penalty for an open-ice hit that was a knee-on-knee contact that left Nikita Scherbak limping in the first period.

UP NEXT – The Predators host St. Louis on Tuesday night to start a four-game homestand.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Family and coaches surround Keishaun Creel as he signs a football scholarship to Mesa Community College. Front Row(left to right) Hunner Creel, sister; Shasta Creel, mother; Keishaun Creel; Keith Baker, father; Wayne Creel, grandfather. Back Row(left to right) Matt Mueller, CHS defensive coordinator; Ryan Sulkowski, CHS head coach; Brandon McWhorter, CHS offensive coordinator

Looking for the opportunity to develop his skill set and give himself the best opportunity to earn a Division 1 football scholarship, Keishaun Creel signed a football scholarship to attend Mesa Community College in Arizona on Thursday.  Creel signed his letter of intent surrounded by family, coaches and teammates at a ceremony at Coffee County Central High School.  Creel becomes the 2^nd Red Raider of the Class of 2018 to sign a football scholarship.

Creel was impressed by the success that the Thunderbird program has been able to achieve advancing football players to the next level.  In 2016, 40 former Mesa players were signed to play football with 26 of those being to NCAA Division 1 schools.  Mesa finished the 2017 season with a record of 6 and 5 culminating in a loss in the Valley of the Sun Bowl.  Mesa is coached by Ryan Felker and plays in the Arizona Community College Athletic Association.  Creel will be the second Tennessee player on the Thunderbird roster joining Andrew Banks of Chattanooga’s Notre Dame High School.

Despite being so far from home, Creel liked his interactions with the coaches saying “they always kept it real with me.”  Creel was also fond of the large campus and student population as Mesa has an enrollment of 27,000 students.  When asked what he will miss most about his time at Coffee County, Creel was quick to say that besides his family and friends, he will miss “coming out from under the bleachers at and running onto the (Carden-Jarrell) Field.  But my favorite memory will be winning the Coffee Pot during my junior year.”

Coach Ryan Sulkowski expects Keishaun to excel at the college level because “he is driven to succeed.”  He went on the say that “Keishaun is a solid student and has a good head on his shoulders” which Sulkowski is confident will make the transition to college easier for Creel.  Creel, who transferred to Coffee County before his junior year from Decatur, Alabama, played defensive back for the Red Raider football team.  Sulkowski sees the opportunity to play in Arizona as a positive in terms of exposure.  “Keishaun will get the opportunity to experience different coaching and develop in front of a new set of college coaches for the future”

C.J. Anthony of CHS basketball

The Coffee County CHS freshmen boys’ basketball team hosted Warren County on Thursday night in their final game of the season.  Hoping to run their record to 7 and 0, the Red Raiders hosted the Pioneers in a makeup game from January 4^th.  Coffee County captured the thrilling 52 to 50 win

The Red Raiders fell behind early as they trailed 20 to 9 after one period.  Coffee County cranked up the defensive pressure in the second quarter to hold the visiting Pioneers to 4 points in the 2^nd frame.  This allowed the Raiders to take a 30 to 24 lead into wild and exciting 2nd half.

Coffee County was led in scoring by C.J. Anthony who finished with 20 points, including 13 in the critical 2^nd quarter rally.  Kyle Farless tacked on 11 points while Jaxon Vaughn added 9 and Hayden Hullett finished with 8.

P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators [Photo by nhl.com]

The result sees the Preds go 0-0-2 in their back-to-back set in Toronto and Ottawa, with Nashville battling back to salvage at least a point for the third consecutive game after entering the third period down by a goal in both games. The Predators have earned an impressive mark of points in 13 of their last 14 outings.

The Predators tied the game late in regulation on Subban’s second of the night, but the Senators managed to spoil Kyle Turris’s return to Ottawa, including a second period that saw Nashville register just four shots, while giving up two goals to the home team.

“We were average in the first [period], we were way, way, way below average in the second, maybe one of the worst of the year,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “The guys pushed in the third period to try and win a hockey game, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the second period.”

Subban threw a puck at the net and got a friendly bounce just 34 seconds into Thursday’s contest for his 14th of the season and a 1-0 lead, and after Ottawa tied the game, Calle Jarnkrok potted his 13th before the period was out to give Nashville the advantage after 20 minutes.

The second period saw Max McCormick and Magnus Paajarvi give Ottawa their first lead of the night with the Predators unable to generate chances and match the Senators compete level in the frame.

“It was probably the worst period of our year so far,” Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm said of the second. “I felt like we could’ve done a better job, especially in the second and maybe not put ourselves in a position being down going into the third. It’s a big point, but we needed two tonight.”

Nashville rallied in the third, putting 21 shots on goaltender Craig Anderson, and Subban’s shot with 4:18 remaining in regulation found a way to the back of the net, allowing Subban to tie his career-high with his 15th goal of the season.

But in overtime, Mike Hoffman’s speed was too much and he beat Juuse Saros to hand Nashville their second loss past regulation in as many nights.

“We’re not here to get points, we’re here to win hockey games,” Laviolette said. “I think the second period is going to leave a bad taste in everybody’s mouth. They competed really hard in the third period and pushed the gas pedal down to try and get a win, salvage points, but it’s hard to look by the second period. We have to be better than that.”

Notes:

Filip Forsberg served the final game of his three-game suspension on Thursday. Forsberg is eligible to return to the lineup when the Predators face the Canadiens on Saturday.

Nashville’s four-game trip will conclude Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montréal before returning home to host four straight at Bridgestone Arena, beginning on Tuesday night against St. Louis.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report