Alontae Taylor’s Twitter post on December 13th as he makes public is commitment to Tennessee football
Quoting a scripture from the Book of Jeremiah, Coffee County CHS football alum Alontae Taylor announced his commitment to play football at the University of Tennessee on Twitter on Wednesday. Taylor had reopened his recruitment after an unofficial visit to Knoxville in September. After the firing of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones, Taylor agreed to take an official visit to Knoxville this past weekend. On that visit, Taylor became the first commitment to new Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Coach Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee athletic director Phil Fulmer were in Manchester on Wednesday to speak with Alontae and his family. An informal meet and greet session took place for about an hour as more than 75 local folks attended the event held at the Coffee County football field house. Thunder Radio was able to talk to Alontae following their visit.
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 CCMS tennis teams. Playing on the newly remodeled courts at the Raider Academy, the Raiders and Lady Raiders NEARLY finished with perfect seasons. The Raider team had a record of 10-0-1 while the Lady Raiders forged a 10 and 1 record.
Thunder Radio reported on their final match of the year as Coffee County split with Lewisburg in the following story we published on May 3rd.
Tyler Rigney of CCMS tennis
The Coffee County Middle School tennis teams hosted Lewisburg on Tuesday in their final match of the year. The Raiders and Lady Raiders were each looking to finish out the season with an undefeated record. The Red Raiders won by a final score of 5 to 2. The Lady Raiders lost 5 to 4.
The Red Raiders got wins in singles play from Jaden Talley(6-3), Luke Irwin(7-5), Landon Booth(6-4) and Tyler Rigney(6-3). The doubles team of Rigney and Booth won their doubles match 6 love. The Red Raiders finished the season with a final record of 10-0-1.
The Lady Raiders struggled in singles play only capturing 2 wins out of 6 matches. Jayda Wright(6 to 3) and Wren Lawson(6 to 4) had the wins for Coffee Middle. The teams of Sydney Bell/ Lucy Riddle(6 to 6/7 – 4 in tiebreaker) and Wren Lawson/Paige Meadows(7-5) got doubles wins. The Lady Raiders finish the season with a record of 10 and 1 on the year.
Coffee County Middle School tennis is coached by Tiffany McCormick.
P.K. Subban scored twice and the Nashville Predators blasted the Vancouver Canucks by a 7-1 final on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena. The victory gives the Preds points in five consecutive games and 14 wins in their last 18 tries.
It was the perfect start to a three-game Western Canadian swing, as Nashville started strong and finished even stronger to complete one of their best efforts of the season, something that was built over the past three days with some time away from game action.
“They say you play how you practice,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought our guys practiced hard for two days, they came here and just continued on. Even the skate this morning was sharp. I thought the guys were ready to play. The last time we played Vancouver, I didn’t think the execution was great and we lost some of the energy. Tonight, it was great to have energy and execution from start to finish.”
It took Subban less than two minutes to get his first of the night to go, a floating shot that eluded goaltender Anders Nilsson for a 1-0 advantage. Viktor Arvidsson gave the Preds a two-goal lead when he finished off a shorthanded, 2-on-0 break by depositing Ryan Johansen’s feed into the cage. It appeared the Canucks had cut the lead in half in the last minute of the opening frame, but Nashville successfully challenged the play for offside to keep Vancouver off the board.
As the second stanza opened, it was Subban again, this time converting on a blast from center ice that fooled Nilsson, and right after the Canucks got on the board, Filip Forsberg’s pass deflected off of a Vancouver defender and over the line for a power-play tally and a 4-1 Nashville lead after 40 minutes.
A team that has had their share of third-period mishaps this season, including against these same Canucks on Nov. 30 in Nashville, the Predators weren’t about to let their opponent back into the contest.
Nashville tallied three more times in the final frame, with Craig Smith, Kevin Fiala and Calle Jarnkrok all finding the twine.
“I thought we did a really good job of getting pucks deep and wanting to attack the game,” Subban said. “I felt the last time we played against them, we sat back too much and took our foot off the pedal. We’re the type of team that when we attack we’re really tough to defend against. We saw some of the skill as the game went on. We have some really skilled players on this team that can make plays and we saw that.”
The return of Johansen and Scott Hartnell from injury enabled the Preds to roll four lines throughout the night, exactly what they were hoping for with the forward reinforcements.
“It gave really good balance,” Laviolette said. “We kept the Turris line intact, and I told you that I liked the Aberg-Jarnkrok-Forsberg line after last game, I just thought they played really well… It was just a solid night. Especially in a back-to-back situation, you like a game like that where you can roll the bench a little bit and try to control the minutes. Sometimes they get a little out of hand and you have to go play the next night. It sets up where the guys were in control of the minutes tonight.”
Member’s Bounce(s):
The first one was odd – a shot that P.K. Subban didn’t get nearly enough of, but nevertheless, it floated through the atmosphere and over the shoulder of the goaltender. Those happen from time to time.
But a slap shot from center ice? The oddsmakers wouldn’t take that bet nearly as often.
It didn’t matter on Wednesday night in Vancouver, however, as Subban blasted one from just in front of the red line, a shot that goaltender Anders Nilsson simply failed to corral with the glove. The tally gave the Nashville blueliner his first multi-goal outing of the season and the fifth of his career.
“The first one, I kind of saw what happened,” Subban said. “I just tried to put it back toward the net and their player had kind of – as soon as the puck went – he just skated right by, so I think that’s why the goalie didn’t see it. And then on the second one, I just tried to shoot as hard as I could on net and sometimes when you do that, the pucks are just tough to handle. It was a fortunate bounce. I can think of a couple times this year on more of an honest play were the puck should have gone in and it didn’t, so I’ll take it.”
“They say, ‘put the puck at the net,'” Laviolette grinned. “I don’t know who says it, but they say, ‘put the puck at the net.’ The first one was kind of funny, it just got lost for a second and floated up and the second one was tough. I think it got directed and hit [the goaltender’s] glove funny. It’s one of those things. I think that’s why everyone says it: ‘just keep shooting.'”
Shorthanded Stunner:
The Predators were just trying to kill off a penalty, but all of a sudden, Ryan Johansen found himself with the puck and Viktor Arvidsson to his left – a 2-on-0 break while shorthanded.
Say what, now?
Johansen, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury, was so surprised at the situation that he almost didn’t get a handle on the puck in time. But players with his skill usually find a way, and the Vancouver native found Arvidsson just in time for the Swede to slam the biscuit home for his sixth shorthanded tally in the past two seasons, tops in the League.
“No, I did not expect to be on a 2-on-0,” Johansen laughed. “But the way Arvi skates, I guess I should expect it.”
Notes:
Ryan Johansen and fellow forward Scott Hartnell both returned to the lineup on Wednesday night after being activated from Injured Reserve.
Nashville has scored at least four goals in 13 of their 30 games this season and have recorded at least three goals in 17 of their last 18 outings.
The Predators will now travel to Edmonton for a date with the Oilers on Thursday night (at 8 p.m. CT) before finishing their Western Canada swing on Saturday night in Calgary.
Abby Morgan of Lady Raider basketball[File Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
he Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams welcomed Fayetteville to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader. In the final regular season home games before Christmas, Coffee County came away with a split with the visiting Tigers. The Lady Raiders beat Fayetteville 69 to 26 and the Red Raiders dropped a tough 50 to 47 decision.
The Lady Raiders had an easy time with the young Lady Tigers as they raced out to a 41 to 16 lead at the half. The Lady Raiders built the lead to 64 to 26 with 4:24 to go in the game to spend the last 4 minutes with a running clock. Abby Morgan led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 13 points. Jade Arnold came off the bench to score 9 points in the 4th quarter to be named the Crazy Daisies Player of the Game. Jacey Vaughn added 9 points and Alliyah Williams finished with 8.
After playing a double overtime thriller at Fayetteville last month, and a double overtime game on Friday to Columbia, the Red Raiders got outworked by a hungry Fayetteville team on the offensive glass. The Raiders owned 1 lead in the game at 6 to 4 in the first quarter as the Tigers kept the offensive and defensive pressure on Coffee County throughout the game. Garrett Booth led the Raiders in scoring with 14 points as he was named the Crazy Daisies Player of the Game. Darius Rozier finished with 11 points and A.J. Rollman added 10.
Coffee County hits the road on Friday to take on Huntland. The girl’s game will tip off at 6 PM at Huntland High School. Thunder Radio begins live coverage with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show at 5:50
The Westwood Rockets open up Duck River Valley Conference tournament play on Wednesday night when they take on Cascade in the quarterfinal round. That game will take place at Community Middle School and will tip off at 8 PM. The Rockets also earned a 2nd seed for the tournament. A win on Wednesday night will advance Westwood to Thursday’s semifinals. The semifinals will also tip off at 8 PM. The tournament finals are scheduled for Saturday at 1:45 PM and all games will be held at Community Middle School in Unionville.
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 CHS tennis teams. The girls’ team featured a young squad that was rebuilding after a 3 year run at the top of the district standings. The season was highlighted by a record breaking season for the boys’ team which advanced to the district finals in team competition. The team of Reid Lawrence and Grey Riddle won the district doubles title and advanced to the region doubles tournament. Freshman Joseph Sadler was runner-up in the district singles tournament and also advanced to the region singles tournament.
Thunder Radio reported on the district singles and doubles tournament with the following story we published on April 30th
District 8AAA doubles tennis champions Reid Lawrence(left) and Grey Riddle(right) show off their medals with CHS tennis coach Mike Ray
The best season for Red Raider tennis thus far, added a doubles district title to their resume on Saturday. The doubles team of Grey Riddle and Reid Lawrence marched through the doubles bracket to claim a district title. Joseph Sadler finished as a runner up in singles play. Kara Roper and Shlip Patel fell in the semifinals.
Riddle and Lawrence entered the tournament as the number 1 seed and lived up to that billing. The junior duo got wins in the semifinals to guarantee a region tournament berth before claiming the district title in the finals. Freshman Joseph Sadler battled back after losing the first set in the semifinals to advance to the finals. Sadler fell in the finals to claim a runner up finish and a berth in the region tournament.
District 8AAA singles tennis runner-up Joseph Sadler (right) shows off his medal with CHS tennis coach Mike Ray
The Red Raider tennis team has advanced to the team tennis title which will take place on Tuesday. We will keep you updated on the time and locati
Westwood Lady Rocket coach Angela Houck draws up a play during a timeout on Monday night
The Westwood Lady Rockets basketball team opened play on Monday night in the Duck River Valley Conference postseason tournament at Community. The Lady Rockets took on another set of Lady Rockets, this group from Forrest. Avenging an earlier season loss to Forrest, Westwood grabbed a 32 to 22 win to advance to the semifinals.
Trailing 6 to 2 early, Westwood went on an 11 to 0 run in the first half to build a 17 to 10 lead. Forrest scored the last 7 points of the first half, including a bucket just before the halftime horn sounded, to tie the game at 17 at the half. Westwood scored the first 4 points of the second half and held Forrest to one made field goal in the final 12 minutes to capture their 10th win on the season. Westwood was 9 of 14 at the free throw line in the game, including 7 of 11 in the 4th quarter.
Alex Nelson was the leading scorer for Westwood as she finished with 13 points. Haidyn Campbell finished with 9 points and Kennedy Young added 6. The Lady Rockets advance to Thursday night’s semifinals where they will match up against Cascade. The game will get underway at 5:30 PM on Thursday night at Community. A win on Thursday will advance Westwood to their 2nd title game appearance in 3 years.
The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams traveled to Sparta on Monday night for a conference doubleheader with White County. The Lady Raiders battled to a 36 to 24 win. The Red Raiders could not complete the sweep as they fell 38 to 26
Tied at the half at 12, Coffee County outscored the Warriorettes 16 to 4 in the 3rd quarter to earn a season sweep over White County. Marley Perry led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 21 points, including 10 in the 3rd period. Kiya Ferrell chipped in 13 points. The win improves the Lady Raiders to 11 and 2 on the season.
The Red Raiders got off to a sluggish start getting only 2 points in the first quarter and 6 points in the first half. Coffee County picked up the pace in the 2nd half only to see White County get 14 points in the 4th quarter to earn a season split is the series. Connor Shemwell was the leading scorer for the Red Raiders as he had 9 points. Hayden Garr chipped in 5 points and Ethan Baker added 4 points.
Coffee Middle is back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Shelbyville to take on Harris. That will be the final game before the Christmas break for the Raiders and Lady Raiders. Coffee Middle opens the 2018 portion of their schedule on January 4th when they visit McMinnville to take on Warren County.
Darius Rozier of CHS basketball [Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
Coming off a pair of losses on Tuesday night, the CHS basketball teams welcomed district foe Columbia to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. The Lady Raiders crushed the Lady Lions 59 to 22. The Red Raiders won a thrilling double overtime victory over the Lions 46 to 45.
After trailing by as many as 9 in the 3rd quarter, the Red Raiders rallied to tie the boys’ game with 1:45 left in regulation. Each team traded buckets in the last minute to send the game to a first overtime. After a tie at 43 after the first overtime period, Coffee County got a 3 point basket from Darius Rozier with 2:40 remaining in the 2nd overtime. A tenacious Raider defense, including stopping 2 Columbia inbounds plays under the Lions goal in the final 5 seconds, lifted Coffee County to the win and snapped a 13 game losing streak to the Lions. Darius Rozier led the Raiders in scoring with 16 points. Harley Hinshaw and DeAaron Rozier each had 10. Hinshaw and DeAaron were named the Crazy Daisies Co-Players of the Game.
The night started off sluggish for the Lady Raiders as they came out of the 1st quarter leading 16 to 8. Coffee County outscored Columbia 36 to 8 in the 2nd and 3rd periods to invoke the running clock shortly into the 4th quarter. Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 16 points. Jacey Vaughn finished with 10 points as she was named the Crazy Daisies Player of the Game.
Coffee County will be back at home on Tuesday when they welcome Fayetteville to “The Patch”. 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.
Alicean Stottlemyer(3rd from left) with her 2nd place medal at Saturday’s Garner-Dyer Invitational
The Coffee County wrestling team saw 4 wrestlers advance to the medal stand on Saturday at Tullahoma’s Garner-Dyer Invitational. Senior Alicean Stottlemyer was the top finisher for Coffee County. Stottlemyer advanced to the finals of the 170 pound class before falling to Gabby Neal of Cane Ridge in the finals. Mary Wolfrum(119 pound class), Mary Ann Walker(125) and Evan Jaynes(145) all finished in 4th place.
Other Coffee County wrestlers and their records on the day were:
Hunter Massey(106) – 1 and 2
Josh Fourneir(152) – 2 and 2 with a pinfall win
Dakota Chalker(160) – 2 and 2 with a pinfall win
Noah O’Shields(170) – 1 and 2 with a pinfall win
Andrew Lawson(182) – 0 and 2
Reynaldo Reyes(195) – 1 and 2
Christopher Speegle(220) – 0 and 2
Ethan Pike(285) – 1 and 2
Coffee County is now off until Tuesday, December 19th when they travel to Columbia for a tri-match with Columbia and Oakland. The first match will get underway at 6 PM at Columbia Central High School.
