Category: Sports

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 Westwood football team.  The Rockets closed the season winning 2 of their last 4 games including a 40 to 0 shutout of Cannon County to end the season.

Thunder Radio reported on the win at Woodbury in a story we published on September 19^th

Will Partin of Westwood football

The Westwood football team closed out their season on Tuesday when they traveled to Woodbury to take on Cannon County.  The Rockets ended the season on a high note as they walloped the Lions 40 to 0.

Will Partin got the scoring started in the first quarter on a quarterback sneak.  Konor Heaton got Westwood’s 2nd touchdown with 30 seconds left in the half.  Trenton Thompson added the 2 point conversions after both scores to give Westwood a 16 to 0 halftime lead.

Westwood opened the 2nd half by recovering an onside kick.  Thompson scored 70 seconds later and Blake Hale added the conversion to put the Rockets up 24 to 0.  Thompson added his second touchdown on the night with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter when he returned a fumble 75 yards for a score.  Xavier Garcia added the last touchdown and 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter.  The win gives Westwood 2 wins on the season as they close out the year with a 2 and 2 record in their final 4 games.

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 football team.  The Raiders ended the season with a pair of wins including a big road win at Sparta in the final game of the season.

Thunder Radio reported on that win at White County  in a story we published on September 26^th

Kelby Walker of CCMS football [Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]

Coffee County got off to a fast start as Kelby Walker scored on the first play from scrimmage.  Lined up as the quarterback in the Wildcat formation, Walker ripped off a 69 yard touchdown run to give Coffee County all the momentum they would need.  The Raiders also got touchdowns from Ethan Baker and Conner Shemwell.  White County scored on a pair of kickoff returns and a 1 yard touchdown run as time expired.

The Titans are headed to the playoffs.

The Titans made good on their “Win and We’re In” predicament with a 15-10 win over the Jaguars, punching their ticket into the postseason for the first time since 2008.

The Titans finished the regular season with a 9-7 record. Due to Cincinnati’s upset victory over Baltimore, the fifth-seeded Titans will travel to Kansas City to face the AFC West champion Kansas City chiefs on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 3:35 p.m., CT.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 12-of-21 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown in the game. Mariota’s biggest play of the game came late on a third-and-five run, when he stiff-armed a defender and got the first down on a 15-yard run in the closing minutes.

The defense forced turnovers and made plays throughout for the Titans.

Temperature at kickoff was 23 degrees, with a wind chill of 16 degrees. The kickoff temperature set the record for the coldest game in Nissan Stadium history, breaking the previous record of 25 degrees for the Titans-Steelers game in 2014.

The Titans took a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 66-yard pass from Mariota to running back Derrick Henry. On the play, Henry caught a screen pass, and picked up blocks from offensive linemen Quinton Spain and Ben Jones before racing into the open field, where he outraced Jaguars defenders to the end zone. But the extra point was blocked.

The Jaguars cut the lead to 6-3 on a 41-yard field goal by kicker Josh Lambo with 10:14 left in the second quarter.

The Titans took the lead 9-3 on a 25-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop. The play was set up by tight end Phillip Supernaw’s fumble recovery on a muffed punt by the Jaguars.

The Titans then stretched the lead to 12-3 on Succop’s 39-yard field goal. It was set up by rookie Adoree’ Jackson’s forced fumble, which was recovered by rookie linebacker Jayon Brown.

In the third quarter, the Titans extended their lead to 15-3 on a 38-yard field goal by Succop.

Disaster struck early in the fourth quarter when Mariota and Henry collided in the backfield, and the ball popped loose. Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue picked up the loose ball and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown, and suddenly it was 15-10.

But the Titans held on, and will play the Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday.

Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators

Juuse Saros stopped all 29 shots he faced, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Minnesota Wild by a 3-0 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena.

The result gives the Preds a victory in the second half of the home-and-home set – after falling to Minnesota on Friday night – with a three-goal third period on Saturday and a quality effort to close out 2017 and retake first place in the Central Division with 51 points.

“It was another good game,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was a tight game, but we were much more competitive start to finish. We were much better in the tight area around our net. In front of [Saros], I thought we did a good job. We knew, even going out into the third period, that it was a matter of staying mentally in it, and physically in it and look for a break.”

“It’s a good response and a big win for us,” Saros said. “It shows good character from us.”

It was a goaltending duel through the game’s first 40 minutes with Saros and Alex Stalock making 18 and 19 saves, respectively, but less than three minutes into the third period, Scott Hartnell converted on a wraparound for his fifth tally of the season and a 1-0 Nashville lead.

Then, P.K. Subban’s blast on the power play changed direction and found its way into the cage to give him his 11th point in his last nine outings and his ninth tally of the season to lead all Preds defensemen.

Viktor Arvidsson iced it with an empty-netter and Saros continued to shut the door the rest of the way to post his second shutout of the season.

“He’s a terrific young goalie, and I think you’re starting to see that now,” Laviolette said of Saros.

After being a healthy scratch on Friday in Minnesota, Hartnell returned to make an immediate impact in his return to the lineup, scoring a goal around the net that Laviolette called “his bread and butter.” It was exactly the type of play the Preds hope to receive from the veteran forward.

“He’s trying hard out there,” Laviolette said of Hartnell. “I thought how that play unfolded – his awareness to get that puck up there and bring it around… If you can put him 10 feet in front of the net, that’s where he needs to be and that’s where he’s at his best.”

The Predators were adamant after Friday’s loss they would learn from their mistakes and be better on Saturday. They were, and as the calendar prepares to flip from the year that was the most successful in franchise history, a small but meaningful win such as this became just the latest installment of what the Predators hope will be an even better 2018.

“It’s a lot about our leadership group – Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen, Scott Hartnell – those guys do a good job of keeping the temperature of the room at the right temperature and making sure that guys are focused on the right things,” Subban said. “That’s just the next shift, the next play. Whether we make mistakes or not, we’re such a tight group.”

The Juice Is Loose:

After an 0-3-0 start to the campaign for Juuse Saros, Nashville sent their backup netminder to the American Hockey League on a few occasions to get some more work and fine tune his game.

Mission accomplished.

Saros is now 4-0-2 in his last six starts and has posted shutouts in two of his last three outings to give the Preds a formidable one-two punch in net alongside fellow Finn Pekka Rinne.

Saturday’s effort against Minnesota was just the latest installment in the career of the young netminder to prove he has what it takes to find success at the NHL level and give his club a chance to win every time he gets the call.

“He was awesome,” Subban said of Saros. “Both [Saros and Rinne] have been just stellar for us. I think we felt really bad letting Pekka down yesterday. He kept us in the game making [16] saves in the first period. We wanted to make sure we came out with a better effort today, and I felt we did that.”

“He’s really confident right now,” Laviolette said of Saros. “He’s playing really well. I thought our guys did a much better job around him, but there’s still big saves that needed to be made and he made them. He’s got some confidence. His last six outings have been terrific.”

Notes:

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators placed forward Filip Forsberg on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury, with Head Coach Peter Laviolette adding that there is no timetable yet for Forsberg’s return to the lineup. The Preds also recalled forward Frederick Gaudreau from AHL Milwaukee.

With a goal and assist tonight, P.K. Subban continued his run offensively with his 11th point in his last nine games.

With the Nashville’s 2017 portion of the schedule now complete, they’ll begin the new year out west with a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 2, followed by meetings with the Coyotes and Kings next week.

Bella Vinson of CHS basketball

Just like on Thursday, Coffee County got off to a red hot start in the Whitwell Christmas Tournament on Friday afternoon.   Just like on Thursday, the Lady Raiders captured a win which advances them to Saturday’s finals.  What was different was the fact that Coffee County built a 35 point lead in the 4^th quarter to coast to a 62 to 32 win over Fairview Christian.

After swapping baskets with the Lady Falcons of Fairview, Coffee County went on an 18 to 0 run to build a lead that never got below 15 points the rest of the game.  The Lady Raiders completely dominated the paint on both ends of the floor holding Fairview to 16 points through the 3^rd quarter.  Coffee County built the lead to 35 points with 5:55 left in the game on a short jumper by Byanka Woods to invoke the running clock.

Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 22 points.  Abby Morgan and Journey Arnold each finished with 7 points and Jenna Garretson added 6.  The win moves the Lady Raiders’ record to 12 and 1 on the season.

The win advances the Lady Raiders to Saturday’s finals where they will take on Red Bank at 6 PM at Whitwell High School.

Mikael Granlund notched a hat trick as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Nashville Predators, 4-2, on Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center to start a home-and-home series between the two clubs.

Despite registering 43 shots – their-third highest total of the season – the Predators were only able to beat goaltender Devan Dubnyk twice, as their comeback bid fell short. It’s the fourth loss in five games for the Preds, and their first regulation road loss since they fell on Nov. 16, also at Minnesota.

Nashville’s play in the final 40 minutes of the contest was almost enough to get them a win, but it was their start that was lacking, something the Preds say led to Friday’s result.

“When you enter a game, mentally and physically, you have to be ready for the wars and the battles and we were slow to get out of the hole tonight,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “They were first everywhere, so there’s no excuse for it. It’s got to be better. We’re not going to win games if we’re giving away first periods, and it wasn’t good enough.”

The shots came fast and furious off the sticks of the Wild to open Friday’s contest. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne turned aside 16 shots in the first 20 minutes, but two goals from Mikael Granlund gave the Wild leads of 1-0 and 2-1.

P.K. Subban fluttered a puck past Devan Dubnyk at 10:16 of the first to salvage Nashville’s slow start, but a Matt Dumba strike in the second stanza gave the Wild a 3-1 advantage after two periods.

Nashville continued to push, and a power-play opportunity early in the third saw Kyle Turris deposit his eighth goal of the season to bring Nashville back to within one, but in the dying minutes and with the Preds’ net empty, Granlund deposited his third of the evening to seal the win for the home club.

“We’re disappointed in ourselves tonight because we worked our butts off the last 40 minutes and did a lot of good things, but it was kind of a waste because we weren’t ready at the start of the game,” Nashville center Ryan Johansen said. “We’ll learn from it tonight. The great thing is we play the same guys tomorrow, so we’ll be ready to go, and we’re excited to get back out there on the ice. We wish it was right now.”

As Johansen stated, the Predators won’t have to wait long for a shot at redemption – less than 24 hours from now at Bridgestone Arena – and they figure a quick start will go a long way in helping them to be successful in collecting two points for a chance to get back atop the Central Division.

“We were not playing to our capability at all in the first period, and its frustrating because we were right there,” forward Colton Sissons said. “I think if we take that third period mindset and that effort and desire and passion right from the get-go, we’ll be looking good tomorrow night.”

Notes:

Forward Filip Forsberg left Friday’s game in the third period with what Laviolette called “a problem” and did not return, with no further update available on Forsberg’s status following the contest.

Miikka Salomaki played his first game since Dec. 21, while Scott Hartnell exited the lineup as a healthy scratch.

Craig Smith fired 11 shots on goal during the contest, a career high for the Nashville winger.

Part two of the Predators and Wild’s home-and-home series comes Saturday night in Nashville at 7 p.m.

Jacey Vaughn of CHS basketball

Opening up a 15 to 1 lead over Ringgold, Georgia, it appeared that the Lady Raider basketball team was going to coast to an easy first round win in the Whitwell Christmas Tournament on Thursday afternoon.  But as Coffee County soon realized, the Lady Tigers of Ringgold showed the moxie of a team that finished in the Top 16 in Class AAA last season in the Georgia state tournament.  Ringgold chased down Coffee County and forced the game into overtime where Coffee County clawed their way to a 70 to 65 win.

With Coffee County leading 25 to 9 with 6:19 left in the half, the Georgia Tigers closed the half on a 14 to 2 run to make the game a 4 point difference in the half.  The Lady Raiders built the lead back to 9 points entering the 4^th quarter, but missed free throws by the Lady Raiders allowed Ringgold to take a 2 point lead with 19 seconds left in regulation.  Jacey Vaughn stepped to the free throw line and calmly sank 2 free throws with 2 seconds on the clock to force the game to overtime tied at 60.

In overtime, Ellie Graham had a huge rebound and sank 3 of her 4 free throw attempts and Abby Morgan had 5 points in the extra period to lift the Lady Raiders to the huge tournament win.   Bella Vinson led Coffee County in scoring with 20 points, Morgan finished with 19 points and Vaughn added 18 points.  Senior post player Alliyah Williams finished with 4 points but went down with a knee injury early in the 2^nd half.  Her availability for the rest of the tournament is undetermined.

The win advances the Lady Raiders to Friday’s semifinals as they will take on Fairview Christian Academy out of Athens at 3 PM at Whitwell High School.  The tournament championship and consolation games will take place on Saturday.

As 2017 draws 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 Lady Raider soccer team.  The Lady Raiders finished as the District 8AAA regular season champions and an overall record of 10-4-2 as they advanced to the Region 4AAA semifinals at Siegel.

Thunder Radio reported on the Lady Raiders region match in a story we published on October 18^th

CHS Soccer seniors(left to right) Vanessa Pedrosa, Maddie Creek, Ashley Woods, Maggie Lashlee and Anadelia Barrera.

The Coffee County soccer season came to a close in Murfreesboro on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Region 4AAA tournament.  Coffee County dropped a 3 to 1 decision to Siegel on the Lady Stars home pitch.  The Lady Stars outshot the Lady Raiders and led in time of possession.  Siegel also was more physical as they dominated the play in the midfield.

Siegel scored 2 goals in the 25th minute to take a 2 nil lead into the half.  The Stars added a goal 4 minutes in the second half to make it 3 to 0.  Coffee County answered in the 56th minute with a goal from Allie Amado to make it 3 to 1 but could not generate any more offense.  The Lady Raiders were held to only 8 shots on frame as Amado had 4 of those.  Jenna Garretson added the assist for Coffee County.   The loss ended the season for the Lady Raiders as they finished as the District 8AAA regular season champions and an overall record of 10-4-2.

Download the broadcast at: www.WMSRradio.com/downloads

As 2017 draws 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 Westwood Lady Rockets soccer team.   After starting the season slow, the Lady Rockets advanced to the Central Tennessee Soccer Conference semifinals before having their season come to an end.

Thunder Radio reported on their final game in a story we published on October 2^nd

Traveling to Huntland on Friday afternoon, the Westwood soccer team squared off with the top-seeded Lady Hornets in the CTSC tournament semifinals.  Entering the game on a 3 game winning streak, the red hot Lady Rockets were looking to avenge a 5 nil loss in August to Huntland.  Instead, Westwood saw their season come to a close with another 5 nil loss.

The Lady Rockets finish the season with a record of 3 and 5 in conference play.  Westwood won 3 of their last 4 games before finishing in 3rd place in the conference.

As 2017 draws 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 Temple Baptist Christian School Lady Eagles volleyball team.  The Lady Eagles had a marvelous season finishing the year with a record of 32 and 7 which included a perfect sweep through their home tournament in September.

Thunder Radio reported on their Lady Eagle Invitational win in a story we published on September 18^th

Temple Baptist Lady Eagles volleyball team celebrates their home tournament championship from earlier in the season[Photo provided]

The Lady Eagles were led in serving in the championship game by Bri Baker and Rachel Butler as they each had 9 good serves.  Grace Butler had an ace.  The Lady Eagles were led in passing by Lauren Davis and Lexie Stewart while Rachel Butler led the team in spikes and Brooke Clark finished with 2 blocks.

After the varsity tournament, Lauren Davis and Rachel Butler were each named to the All-Tournament team as Butler was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.  The JV Lady Eagles were represented on the junior varsity all-tournament team by Grace Butler and Brooke Clark.  Clark was named the JV tournament Most Valuable Player.

The Lady Eagles will travel to Madison, Alabama on Tuesday for a JV/varsity doubleheader with Madison Baptist Academy.  The JV match gets underway at 4:30 PM with the varsity match to follow.  The Lady Eagles will be back at home on September 29th when Madison Baptist visits E.C. Bailey Gym.  Those matches are set to get underway at 4:30 with the JV game followed by the varsity game.

Temple administrator and athletic director Jeff Stewart will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday morning at 10 AM from the showroom of AL White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.