Category: Sports

Abby Morgan of CHS basketball

The Coffee County Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams welcomed Warren County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Tuesday night as they opened the 2018 portion of their season.  Both teams were looking to avenge losses from December 5^th in McMinnville to Warren County.  The Lady Raiders avenged their only loss of the season in a 49 to 31 win while the Red Raiders came up short in a 62 to 53 loss.

After falling behind early in the first matchup, Coffee County raced out to a 17 to 4 first quarter lead as they throttled the Lady Pioneers.  The Lady Raider defense forced more than 20 turnovers as Coffee County improved to 14 and 1 on the year.  Jenna Garretson was the leading scorer for Coffee County as she had 13 points.   Abby Morgan added 12 points, with 10 of those coming in the first quarter.  Bella Vinson, Jacey Vaughn and Ashley Starks each added 8 points.  Morgan and Garretson were named the Crazy Daisies Co-Players of the Game.

In a back and forth boys’ game, Coffee County and Warren County were tied at 39 with 3:19 remaining in the 3^rd quarter.  From that point, Warren County went on a 9 to 0 run as they dominated the final 11 minutes in the win.   Darius Rozier led the Raiders in scoring with 21 points as he was named the Crazy Daisies Player of the Game.  DeAaron Rozier added 9 points while Garrett Booth and Andrew Mahaffey each chipped in 6.  The loss drops Coffee County to 9 and 4 on the season.

Coffee County will be back at home on Friday night when they welcome district foe Lincoln County.  The girls’ game will get underway at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you all the action beginning with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50 PM.

Download the game broadcasts at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider basketball team.  The highlight of the year 2017 came in February as the Red Raiders captured their 20^th win of last season over Grundy County.  This was the first Red Raider basketball team to notch 20 wins since 1977.

Thunder Radio reported on the milestone win in a story we published on February 8^th

DeAaron Rozier of CHS basketball [Photo by Demarco Moore of the Manchester Times]

The Lady Raiders held the Lady Jackets without a field goal in the first period as they used 7 turnovers to build a 13 point lead.  Grundy County could not get the margin any closer in the blowout win.  The win improves the Lady Raiders record to 18 and 6 on the season and is the first 18 win season for Coffee County since 20111.

The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Alliyah Williams and Abby Morgan who each netted 10 points as 14 different Lady Raiders scored on the night.  Aerial Williams added 9 points and Jacey Vaughn finished with 8.  Alliyah Williams was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.

In the boys’ game, a hot shooting Yellow Jackets team raced out to a 12 to 5 lead in the first quarter before Coffee County could get their offense on track.  Coffee County closed out the first half on a 14 to 6 run to take an 8 point lead into the second half.  In the second half, the Raiders dominated the pace of play to capture the 25 point win.  The win improves the Red Raiders record to 20 and 7 on the season which marks the first 20 win season for Coffee County basketball since 1977.

The Red Raiders were led in scoring by De’Aaron Rozier and Tyrese McGee who each put up 12 points.  Grant Sadler and Garrett Eldridge added 11 points apiece as 4 Red Raiders finished in double figures.  De’Aaron Rozier was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.

Coffee County concludes the regular season on Friday night when they welcome Tullahoma to The Patch.  Friday night will also be Senior Night as the senior basketball players, cheerleaders and dance team members will be honored.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as the girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM; we begin our broadcast with the Powers Storage pregame show at 5:50.

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider basketball team.  The highlight of the year 2017 may well have been their performance at the Whitwell Christmas Tournament last week as the Lady Raiders went 3 and 0 and captured the tournament title.

Thunder Radio reported on their championship win over Red Bank in a story we published on December 30^th

A pair of great defensive plays and a huge Ellie Graham three point basket midway through the 1st quarter sparked a 7 point rally that gave Coffee County a lead they would not surrender on Saturday night.  The Lady Raiders parlayed that 5 point lead into a 19 point advantage at the half as Coffee County won the championship of the Whitwell Christmas Tournament.  Coffee County outlasted a big and physical Red Bank team 60 to 50 to run their record to 13 and 1 on the season.

A trio of sophomores had strong 1st halves as Graham, Jenna Garretson and Ashley Starks all had clutch performances in the half as Coffee County played their 2nd straight game without injured senior post player Alliyah Williams.  Junior Jacey Vaughn was also pressed into service in the post and performed well against the tall and physical Lady Lions.

Red Bank cut the Raider lead to 5 before Graham hit a three point basket in the closing seconds of the 3rd quarter and another to open the 4th quarter.  An Abby Morgan runner with 4:57 remaining stretched the lead back to 6 points and effectively ended Red Bank’s 2nd half rally.  Coffee County hit their free throws down the stretch to claim the tournament title.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Bella Vinson who finished with 22 points.  Garretson added 12 points, Graham finished with 10, Morgan had 9 points and Starks tallied 7 points.

The Lady Raiders and Red Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they welcome Warren County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM with the boys to follow.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast beginning with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves and the Nashville Predators fell to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. The result in Nashville’s first game of 2018 sees it remain at the 51-point mark, five behind the Golden Knights for tops in the Western Conference.

Vegas used their speed throughout the night and showed why they’re at the top of the West standings, capitalizing twice in the second period and holding the Preds off the scoresheet.

“I think at times in the game we played really well, and other times not so much,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We need to continue to get better inside of our own game, being more responsible, and that goes for everyone.”

“They’re fast; there’s a reason for them to be that high up in the standings,” Captain Roman Josi said. “They’re fast, they got a lot of speed and they’re a real complete team, definitely one of the fastest teams.”

After 32 minutes of just about the most exciting, scoreless hockey possible, Vegas tallied twice within 90 seconds to carry a 2-0 advantage into the second intermission. Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore each beat Pekka Rinne, while the Predators were unable to convert on their opportunities in the middle frame, Nashville’s best period of the game.

“The second period, I thought we played a pretty good period, with the exception of a four-minute span,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “The second period wasn’t bad, with the exception of those four minutes. Inside of those four minutes, we made too many mistakes and that cost us the game.”

Tuesday brought about the return of Ellis to the Nashville lineup, after the defenseman missed the first 38 games of the season recovering from offseason knee surgery. After leading the team with 7:37 of ice time after one period, Ellis finished with 18:27 to his credit, fourth among Preds defensemen.

“First period, I think I was a little rusty,” Ellis said. “As the game went on, I kind of found my legs and felt better and better and more comfortable out there.”

“I thought he was great,” Josi said of Ellis. “I thought he played really well. It’s not easy coming back after such a long time, and he looked like he didn’t miss a beat. I thought he was really good.”

Notes:

Ellis skated alongside Roman Josi in his return to the lineup, with P.K. Subban and Alexei Emelin remaining together and Mattias Ekholm and Anthony Bitetto making up the third pairing.

Yannick Weber, Matt Irwin and Pontus Aberg were scratched for Nashville against Vegas.

The Golden Knights extended their winning streak to eight games and their point streak (12-0-1) to 13 with the victory – the longest such runs by a team in its inaugural season in NHL history.

Nashville’s three-game trip to start 2018 continues on Thursday with a meeting against the Coyotes before finishing on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team.  While the Lady Raiders are currently in the middle of the season, the highlight for the calendar year came last January.  The Lady Raiders completed a 3 game stretch in 3 days culminating in a 5 overtime loss to Blackman in the TMSAA Sub-Sectional game at CCMS.

Thunder Radio reported on the final hectic weekend in a story we published on January 29^th

The CCMS Lady Raiders with their CTC runner-up trophy.

A three point basket by Blackman with 2 seconds remaining in the 5th overtime period brought the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team’s season to a stunning finish on Sunday afternoon.  Blackman hit five 3 pointers in the five overtime thriller but the final one gave the visitors a 46 to 43 win in the TMSAA Sub-Sectional game at CCMS.  The Sunday loss came in the Lady Raiders 3rd game in 3 days.

The Lady Raiders needed a three pointer at the end of the 4th overtime from Bella Vinson to force a 5th overtime.  Vinson finished with 28 points.  Marley Perry finished with 7 points before fouling out with 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter.  Kiya Ferrell finished 6 points on 2 crucial 3 pointers.  The first came in the 2nd quarter to tie the game and the 2nd one came gave Coffee County the lead with 1:17 left in the 4th quarter.  The loss ended the season for Coffee County with a record of 16 and 6 and a runner-up finish in the CTC conference.  The Lady Raiders fell in the CTC conference final on Saturday.

In Saturday’s CTC conference final, the Lady Raiders took the heavily favored White County Wariorettes to the wire before falling 42 to 36.  Six turnovers in the 3rd quarter turned a 6 point lead for Coffee County into a 3 point deficit entering the 4th quarter.  The Lady Raiders cut the deficit to 2 points with 19 seconds remaining, but White County got a basket and a turnover to gain the championship.

Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 25 points.  Kaylee Smartt added 5 points with all of those points coming in the 4th quarter.  The Lady Raiders advanced to Saturday’s final with a semifinal win over North Franklin.  Following the conference finals, 4 Lady Raiders and 2 Red Raiders were named to the CTC All-Conference teams.  Bella Vinson, Marley Perry, Kiya Ferrell and Kylie Phillips were named to the CTC girls’ all-conference team.  Hayden Hullett and Jaxon Vaughn were named to the CTC boys’ all-conference team.

Looking toward their 3rd consecutive CTC title, the Lady Raiders advanced to Saturday’s finals with a 47 to 34 win over North Franklin on Friday night.  The win sets up a finals matchup with the regular season conference champion Warriorettes of White County.  That matchup will take place at 5 PM on Saturday at Tullahoma High School.

The Lady Raiders jumped on North early with a 14 point outburst in the 1st quarter to take a 14 to 2 lead they would never relinquish.  The Lady Gators fought back to cut the deficit to 6 points at the half, but Coffee County only allowed North to get to the free throw 3 times in the 2nd half to keep the clock moving.

Bella Vinson led Coffee County in scoring with 29 points.  Kylie Phillips finished with 8 points including a pair of 3 pointers.  Kaylee Smartt added 6 points as the Lady Raiders improved to 16 and 4 on the season.

The Lady Raiders will be guests on an upcoming Coffee Coaches Show to review their season.  The Coffee Coaches Show airs at 10 AM each Saturday and is broadcast live from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Central High School wrestling team.  While the Raider grapplers are currently in the middle of the season, the highlight for the calendar year came last January when 3 Coffee County wrestlers medaled at the Goodpasture Invitational Tournament, including a pair of gold medals by Rein Bozich and Owen Teague.

Thunder Radio reported on their tournament sucess  in a story we published on January 15^th

CHS wrestler Owen Teague (on top)

A pair of gold medals was the reward on Saturday for members of the CHS wrestling team after competing in the Goodpasture Invitational tournament. The individual tournament featured wrestlers from 21 different schools in the double elimination format tournament. While not a team event, Coffee County’s strong performance was good enough to rank 6th out of the 21 teams in team points.

Individual Results were as follows:

CHS Wrestler Rein Bozich

Rein Bozich was 4 and 0 on the day to win the 138 pound bracket.  Bozich also won best match award.

Owen Teague was 4 and 0 on the day to win the 145 pound bracket,

Joseph White was 3 and 2 on the day to finish in 4th place at 132 pounds,

Reid Lawrence was 2 and 2 on the day to finish in 5th place at 160 pounds,

Zack Adams was 1 and 2 on the day to finish in 7th place in the heavyweight bracket.

Dustin Duke finished in 7th place in the 106 pound bracket,

and Noah O’Shields finished in 9th place in the 126 pound bracket.

CHS wrestlers(left to right) Rein Bozich, Joseph White and Owen Teague with their medals from Saturday’s Goodpasture tournament. [Photo provided]

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team.  While the Red Raiders are currently in the middle of the season, the highlight for the calendar year came last January as the Red Raiders closed out the regular season with a 4 game winning streak ending with a solid win over Harris in Shelbyville.

Thunder Radio reported on their win at Harris in a story we published on January 19^th

Trevor Horne(#52) of CCMS goes up for a shot over a Harris defender

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams ended the regular season in Shelbyville taking on Harris Middle School on the Eagle’s homecoming on Thursday.  In a pair of games that that saw each team rally from 1st quarter deficits, the Raiders and Lady Raiders split the conference contests.  The Lady Raiders fell 20 to 19 while Red Raiders won 32 to 27.

A game winning shot at the buzzer rimmed out for the Lady Raiders in a defensive struggle in the girls’  game.  Harris took the lead with 8 seconds remaining and after a Coffee County time out, Bella Vinson got an open look for a 25 footer at the buzzer that rimmed out as the final horn sounded.  Coffee County held Harris to 10 points in the final 3 quarters after falling behind 10 to 2 in a turnover filled first period.

The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Kylie Phillips who finished with 5 points.  Vinson and Kiya Ferrell each finished with 4 points.   The Lady Raiders will end the regular season with a record of 14 and 4 overall and 10 and 4 in conference play.

The Red Raiders rallied from a 4 point deficit in the 1st quarter as they held Harris to 2 points in the 2nd quarter.  Coffee County tied the game with a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter on a Jaxon Vaughn 3 pointer before dominating the 4th quarter.  Trevor Horne contested every Eagle shot in the paint and finished with 9 blocked shots.

The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Vaughn who had 11 points, Horne and Trenton Scrivnor each finished with 6 points for Coffee County who improved to 11 and 7 on the season and 7 and 7 in conference play.

Coffee County is back in action next week as they enter play in the Central Tennessee Conference postseason tournament.   The CTC tournament will begin on Monday as the Lady Raiders will take on Warren County at  6:30 PM at Tullahoma High School.  The Red Raiders open play on Tuesday at 8 PM against North Franklin also at Tullahoma High School.  The conference tournament will conclude on Saturday.

A pair of great defensive plays and a huge Ellie Graham three point basket midway through the 1^st quarter sparked a 7 point rally that gave Coffee County a lead they would not surrender on Saturday night.  The Lady Raiders parlayed that 5 point lead into a 19 point advantage at the half as Coffee County won the championship of the Whitwell Christmas Tournament.  Coffee County outlasted a big and physical Red Bank team 60 to 50 to run their record to 13 and 1 on the season.

A trio of sophomores had strong 1^st halves as Graham, Jenna Garretson and Ashley Starks all had clutch performances in the half as Coffee County played their 2^nd straight game without injured senior post player Alliyah Williams.  Junior Jacey Vaughn was also pressed into service in the post and performed well  against the tall and physical Lady Lions.

Red Bank cut the Raider lead to 5 before Graham hit a three point basket in the closing seconds of the 3^rd quarter and another to open the 4^th quarter.  An Abby Morgan runner with 4:57 remaining stretched the lead back to 6 points and effectively ended Red Bank’s 2^nd half rally.  Coffee County hit their free throws down the stretch to claim the tournament title.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Bella Vinson who finished with 22 points.  Garretson added 12 points, Graham finished with 10, Morgan had 9 points and Starks tallied 7 points.

The Lady Raiders and Red Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they welcome Warren County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM with the boys to follow.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast beginning with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50.

As 2017 has drawn to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County CHS football team.  In a year that saw their Coffee Pot streak come to an end, the Red Raiders rallied late in the year to capture a pair of wins in their final four games.

Thunder Radio reported on their HUGE season ending victory over White County in a story we published on October 27th

Alontae Taylor

Ending the season on a high note, the Coffee County Red Raider football team crushed White County on Friday night in Sparta.  Coffee County rolled up 455 yards of total offense in the 63 to 6 win. The win gives the Red Raiders a final record of 3 and 7.

Coffee County wasted no time in jumping on White County as Hayden Skipper intercepted a White County pass on the second play from scrimmage and returned it to the 1 yard line.  Alontae Taylor scored on the next play on a quarterback keeper to make the score 6 to 0 with 53 seconds elapsed in the game.  After White County tied the game, Coffee County scored the next 57 points for the dominating win.  Taylor, a senior playing his final high school game, ended the night with 6 rushing touchdowns and returned the opening kick of the 2nd half back for a score for a 7 touchdown performance on the game.  Cameron West and Matthew Pittman also had touchdowns for the Red Raiders.

Taylor finished the night with 302 yards rushing on 13 carries to go with his 6 rushing scores as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Taylor had touchdown runs of 1, 53, 55, 35, 67 and 16 yards.  West finished the night with 51 yards on 6 carries.  Andrew Mahaffey had 43 yards on 5 carries and Deaaron Rozier finished with 34 yards on 2 carries.  Rozier also had the only pass reception for 10 yards.

Download a copy of the broadcast of this game, and all the 2017 games, at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/