Category: Sports

Coffee County senior football player Alontae Taylor has been selected to participate in the 2017 Toyota East-West All-Star game. The game features the best high school seniors from across Tennessee competing against one another. The game will take place in Clarksville at Austin Peay State University’s Fortera Stadium on Saturday, December 8, 2017.
Taylor was selected to the East squad as a wide receiver. Matt Williams of Smyrna will serve as head coach for the East squad. In advance of the game, athletes will arrive in Clarksville on Tuesday, December 5 for daily practices. These are free and open to both the public and media. The All-Star Classic is organized by the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association (TACA) and is made up of the state’s top 88 senior football players who are selected from more than 400 nominations. Members of two Fort Campbell units will serve as honorary coaches and help call plays during the first quarter.
General admission tickets are $10 each for ages 3 and up, and are free with a military ID. Ticket sales are cash only. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. central time, and game will be broadcast live on ESPN-3. Pregame festivities will include skydivers carrying the United States, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Toyota flags.

The 2017 Toyota East-West All-Star game rosters:
East all-stars are:
QB Parker McKinney 6-4 204 Coalfield
QB Jack Sompayrac 6-2 195 Knoxville Catholic
RB Aaron Dykes 5-11 185 Hardin Valley Acad.
RB Savion Davis 5-11 210 Riverdale
RB Isaiah Cobb 6-1 210 Maryville
RB Coy Cashion 5-11 180 Moore Co.
WR Alontae Taylor 6-2 195 Coffee Co.
WR Shermar King 6-4 180 Smith Co.
WR Coryean Davis 6-2 181 Fulton
WR Caleb Martin 6-2 190 Oak Ridge
WR Avery Brown 5-10 180 Shelbyville
WR Zeke Westfield 6-4 195 Walker Valley
TE Jacob Warren 6-6 215 Farragut
TE Blake Watson 6-3 215 Maryville
OT Sam Stovall 6-5 285 Notre Dame
OT Ben Arnold 6-5 260 Knoxville Grace
OT Christopher Cash 6-4 285 Bradley Central
OG Ollie Lane 6-5 290 Gibbs
OG Dawson Pierson 6-3 260 Dobyns Bennett
OG Logan Stephens 6-4 300 Oneida
C Trey Gasteiger 6-3 268 Science Hill
C Dalton Widner 6-4 280 Gibbs
S Aidan Raines 6-2 195 Mt. Juliet
S Kohl Henke 6-2 196 Boyd Buchanan
S Gabe Tabor 6-0 200 Jefferson Co.
CB Kolby McGowan 5-10 180 Notre Dame
CB Amauri Burks 5-8 180 Tullahoma
CB Lennon Harris 5-8 160 Smyrna
CB Jaylan Adams 5-11 160 Science Hill
OLB Tony Thompson 6-3 220 Mt. Juliet
OLB Morgan Ernst 6-0 195 Webb
ILB Jawan Martin 5-11 230 Meigs Co.
ILB Jake Mahoney 6-0 220 Knoxville Catholic
ILB Colby Long 5-10 210 Jackson Co.
ILB Jack Warwick 6-1 215 Alcoa
DE Ben Kalu 6-2 245 Blackman
DE Jay Person 6-3 215 Bradley Central
DE Jamel Davis 6-4 265 Red Bank
DE Cameron Coleman 6-2 290 Elizabethton
DT Caman Cody 6-3 265 Jefferson Co.
DT Blake Spencer 6-0 320 Oakland
DT Zach Stokes 6-0 330 Knoxville West
DT Cade Hoppe 6-2 295 Mt. Juliet
K/P Gabe Boring 5-10 165 Bledsoe Co.

HEAD COACH: Matt Williams (Smyrna).
ASSISTANT COACHES: OC – Greg Ryan (Greenback); DC – Jeremy Jenkins (Daniel Boone); Jason Dobbs (Moore Co.); Charles Fant (Notre Dame); Wes Jones (Hardin Valley Academy); Sean Loftis (Jackson Co.); Mark Williams (Galla¬tin

West all-stars are:
Ath. Tillman McRae 6-2 190 Haywood
QB John Bachus 6-2 205 Giles Co.
QB Drew Martin 6-2 200 B.G.A.
RB Jeremy Banks 6-2 210 Cordova
RB Darius James 5-11 195 Fairview
RB Anthony Hughes 6-1 200 Hendersonville
RB Dontae Smith 5-10 180 Spring Hill
WR Michael Archie 6-2 175 Brentwood Academy
WR Gus Antoine Jr. 5-8 160 Clarksville NE
WR Kenyon Garlington 5-9 170 Brentwood Academy
WR Jacolby Hewitt 6-2 195 Cordova
WR Jared McCray 6-1 185 Cane Ridge
WR Jimmyrious Parker 5-8 160 Pearl Cohn
TE Ryan Miller 6-2 205 U.S.J.
OT Max Martini 6-6 275 Germantown
OT Dave Roberts 6-3 310 Marshall Co.
OT Joe More 6-5 275 C.P.A.
OG Trey Smith 6-2 315 Hillsboro
OG Jerome Carvin 6-5 325 Cordova
OG Joseph Pegues 6-5 345 Whitehaven
C Dalton Bennett 6-0 245 Columbia Academy
C Jordan McCoy 6-1 256 Brentwood Academy
S Seth Carlisle 6-1 205 Macon Co.
S Curtis Lake 6-0 170 Adamsville
S Jarad McCray 6-1 190 Cane Ridge
S Brian Thompson 6-1 175 East Nashville
CB Blake Kleinke 6-1 175 Columbia Academy
CB Trey Dickerson 6-2 180 Hillsboro
CB Dre McAllister 5-9 160 South Gibson
CB Jaylin Williams 6-0 175 Germantown
OLB Cam Jones 6-3 215 St. Benedict
OLB Kade Pearson 6-0 215 Huntingdon
OLB Tristan Taylor 6-0 190 Haywood
ILB Tracy Williams 6-0 215 Cordova
ILB Marquis Traylor 6-2 210 Whitehaven
DE Jordan Branch 6-1 280 Crockett Co.
DE Khance Hill 6-6 230 Peabody
DE Tavi McLean 6-2 265 Marshall Co.
DE Marcus Webb 6-3 230 Munford
DT Davonte Murphy 6-6 310 Giles Co.
DT Chaldon Page 6-4 300 Pearl Cohn
DT David Hylick 5-11 295 Mt. Juliet Christian
DT Airin Spell 6-3 295 Brentwood Academy
K Noah Holsinger 5-11 192 Trinity Christian

HEAD COACH: Brandon Gray (Adamsville).
ASSISTANT COACHES: OC – Matt McConnell (Waverly); DC – Scott Stidham (South Gibson); Steve Hookfin (Haywood); Anthony Jones Jr. (Cordova); Charlie Lansdell (Columbia Academy); Brian Waite (East Nashville); Dustin Wilson (Springfield).

 

The CHS basketball teams hosted old rival Grundy County on Monday night in their first home game of the season.  Once again using a strong defensive performance, each Raider team got victories in front of a pre-holiday crowd at the Joe Frank Patch Gym.  The Lady Raiders came away with a 53 to 46 victory while the Red Raiders prevailed 73 to 50.

The Lady Raiders had their hands full with a hot shooting, scrappy Lady Jackets team.  Trailing by 7 points with 4:26 left in the 2^nd quarter, the Lady Raiders turned up the defensive pressure to close the half on a 15 to 4 run and take a 4 point lead into the half.  The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Bella Vinson who had 18 points.  Alliyah Williams had 15 points, including 10 in the first half to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.   The Lady Raiders are now 3 and 0 on the season.

The Red Raiders broke open a tie game in the final 7 minutes of the first half to take a 33 to 24 lead into halftime.  In the second half, the Red Raiders pushed the lead in 30 points in the 4^th quarter to run their record to 3 and 0 on the year.   Garrett Booth had a career game for Coffee County as the senior netted 25 points and led the team in assists.  For his performance, Booth earned the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  DeAaron Rozier and Harley Hinshaw each netted 13 points and Darius Rozier chipped in 9.

Coffee County will now be off for the Thanksgiving holidays.  The Lady Raiders will take part in tournament in Woodbury on Friday and Saturday.  Coffee County will take on Station Camp on Friday at 3:00 at the Woodbury Grammar School.   Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of Friday’s game.  On Saturday morning at 9, the Lady Raiders will play Smyrna at Cannon County High School.  Both Raider teams return to the court on Tuesday, November 28^th when they visit Fayetteville.

The Coffee County Middle School basketball team welcomed conference rival East Tullahoma to the CCMS Gym on Monday night.  In their final game before Thanksgiving, the Lady Raiders and Red Raiders swept the visiting Panthers.  The Lady Raiders got a 50 to 17 win while the Red Raiders clawed their way to a 41 to 39 decision.

The Lady Raiders led from wire to wire in the blowout win.  Coffee County held East to 6 first half points as they took a 29 to 6 lead into intermission.  Marley Perry led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 16 points, including 11 in the first quarter.  Kiya Ferrell chipped in 12 points and Alivia Reel scored 6.

The Red Raiders outscored the visitors from Tullahoma 11 to 4 in the 3^rd quarter to take a decisive advantage into the final 6 minutes.  The Red Raiders held off a 4^th quarter charge from the Panthers for the win.  Jacob Holder led Coffee Middle in scoring with 9 points.  Aiden Abellana added 7 points and Conner Shemwell, Ethan Baker and Rueben Alvarez all finished with 6.

The Coffee Middle teams will now take off for the Thanksgiving holidays.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders return to action on Monday, November 27^th when they travel to Decherd to take on North Franklin.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of that game as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.   Lucky Knott will be on the call as the opening tip is set for 6 PM.  Thunder Radio’s live coverage begins at 5:50 with the pregame show.

Mattias Ekholm set a franchise record, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Winnipeg Jets by a 5-3 final on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. The win is Nashville’s second consecutive victory and their fifth win in their last seven tries over Winnipeg.

After a first period that saw the score even at 1-1, the Preds exploded for three goals in the middle frame and added another in the third to score at least four times for the fifth consecutive game. Against a Winnipeg team that now only sits one point ahead of Nashville for second place in the Central Division, the win was a gratifying one for Nashville.

“I thought we played well,” Ekholm said. “[Winnipeg] looked tired [in the second period] and we just kept coming at them – they took some penalties and we got some goals. We got that separation and that was the difference in the end. I feel like we’re really strong at home.”

Kevin Fiala got Nashville on the board first with a beautiful move to the backhand before Mathieu Perreault tied the game minutes later.

Then, it was Ryan Johansen, Kyle Turris and Ekholm all tallying in the second stanza for the Preds, the final two coming with the man advantage. Johansen’s goal was his 300th NHL point, while Ekholm’s goal was his fourth in as many games (more on that below).

Nick Bonino potted his third of the season in the final frame, and although the Jets added two more before the horn sounded, Nashville will certainly take the two points – and the goals just keep on coming.

“With Kyle [Turris] coming into the lineup, he’s a very offensive guy and that changed the whole team and the lines of our offense,” Fiala said. “We are changing our mindset and playing more offense. We are attacking the game, and that’s what we are doing now to find success.”

Tickling the Twine:

When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Monday’s 5-3 win against Winnipeg marked the fifth consecutive game that saw the Preds score at least four goals and the eighth consecutive contest that has seen them light the lamp on at least three occasions.

As has been the case in seemingly every game during the streak, five different Preds found the back of the net in the win as the contributions continue to come from top to bottom in the Nashville lineup.

“There was a lot of talk in the beginning of the year because we weren’t scoring goals,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s always something to coach up in the locker room and address with the players, and you hope for a good response. Sometimes, you just get in a funk with something, and it’s not working. At the beginning of the year, it was the goals, or output, or the 5-on-5 goals and production. Those things usually work themselves out if you can keep to the process and keep doing things the right way. We played well offensively, and at times we’ve really been humming in the offensive zone. I thought we’ve done some good things.”

In particular, Mattias Ekholm has contributed to that cause in four-straight games, setting a Predators franchise record for consecutive contests with a goal by a blueliner. Ekholm also became the first NHL defenseman to score a goal in four straight since Brent Burns had a four-game streak (Feb. 29-March 7, 2016).

“Just shooting the puck, I guess, and playing on a really good power-play unit,” Ekholm said of his scoring touch. “With Kyle Turris and Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala is really good in the middle and Colton Sissons in front of the net – credit to those guys for giving me the opportunity to shoot the puck.”

“He’s a great player,” Laviolette said of Ekholm. “I think what we’re seeing is that he’s got a good shot from the point right now. He’s getting some power-play time and he’s really bringing the hammer from the weak side of the ice. It’s good for him. He’s done a really good job fitting in on the power play. I think the power plays looked really good in the last 10 games or so. We’ve been able to produce and score some goals, and he’s a big part of that. He’s a 200-foot player both ways and playing very well.”

Notes:

Kevin Fiala, who recorded a goal and an assist in Monday’s win, has posted back-to-back multipoint games for the first time in his career.

Ryan Johansen now has 19 points (10g-9a) in 14 career games vs. the Jets.

Prior to Monday’s game, the Predators recalled forwards Pontus Aberg and Frederick Gaudreau from Milwaukee. They also recalled goaltender Juuse Saros and returned netminder Anders Lindback to the Admirals.

Nashville finishes their three-game home stand on Wednesday night when they welcome Shea Weber and the Montreal Canadiens to town.

A pair of dominating defensive efforts lifted the Lady Raider and Red Raider basketball teams to a pair of wins over Cascade on Friday night.  Playing in the Hall of Champions tournament at Franklin County High School, Coffee County’s basketball teams improved to 2 and 0 on the season.  The Lady Raiders won by a score of 71 to 31 and the Red Raiders captured a 77 to 44 win.

The Lady Raiders got 13 steals in the first half as they jumped on Cascade for a 47 to 16 halftime lead on their way to the win.  While sitting starters for the second half, 11 different Lady Raiders scored in the game and 2 non-starters finished in double figures.  Bella Vinson led the way as she scored 14 points, with all of those coming in the 1^st half.  Journey Arnold came off the bench to score 13 points and Chloe Spry added 10.

The Red Raiders jumped out to a hot start thanks to the shooting of Darius Rozier.  The junior had Coffee County’s first 11 points as he hit a trio of 3 point baskets to help lift his team to a 27 to 9 lead after the first quarter.  Thirteen different Red Raiders scored led by Darius’ 20 points.  Harley Hinshaw added 8 points and Grey Riddle and Chase Simpkins each tallied 7.

Coffee County will host their first home game of the year on Monday night at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders will welcome Grundy County to town for the non-district doubleheader that begins at 6.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action.  We begin live coverage at 5:50 PM with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental Pregame Show.

The Coffee County elementary basketball league was in action on Saturday with a slate of 12 games. The league had their last games before the Thanksgiving break as they will take off this coming Saturday. Six schools were in action as College Street had the week off.
Girls’ Results
East Coffee edged Hillsboro – 14 to 13
New Union bested Deerfield – 35 to 16
North Coffee topped Westwood – 32 to 14

Boys’ Results
Hillsboro beat East Coffee – 27 to 8
Deerfield got past New Union – 23 to 14
Westwood rolled up North Coffee – 28 to 6

Saturday’s Schedule – 25November2017
No games – Thanksgiving holiday

Saturday’s Schedule – 2December2017

at CHS			Girls	Boys
College St	vs	East Coffee	9:00	10:00
Westwood	vs	New Union	11:00	12:00
Hillsboro	vs	North Coffee	1:00	2:00

Unofficial Standings(thru Nov 18)

Place	Girls	Wins	Losses
1	New Union	4	0
2	Hillsboro	3	1
2	North Coffee	3	1
4	East Coffee	2	2
5	Westwood	2	3
6	College Street	1	3
7	Deerfield	0	5
Place	Boys	Wins	Losses
1	College Street	4	0
2	Westwood	4	1
3	New Union	2	2
3	Hillsboro	2	2
5	Deerfield	2	3
6	North Coffee	1	3
7	East Coffee	0	4

Thanking “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”, Alontae Taylor accepted his honorary game jersey at the American Family Insurance Selection Tour for the 2018 Under Armour All-America High School Football Game.  The ceremony was held in front of the student body on Thursday at Central High School.   The 2018 Under Armour All-America Game will be played Jan. 4, 2018 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and practices will be aired on ESPNU.  The event was part of the three-month American Family Insurance Selection Tour for the Under Armour All-America Game.

Alontae is one of more than 80 players selected to compete in the 10-year anniversary game of the annual Under Armour All-America Game presented by American Family Insurance, a nationally televised competition spotlighting the country’s top high school seniors.  Taylor is one of 2 players from Tennessee selected for the game as he joins Jordan Davis of Memphis’ Southwind High School on the team.

When asked if playing in the game was a dream come true, Taylor said “most definitely.”  When asked who he wished to thank, Alontae responded:

Alontae, after re-opening his college recruitment last week, is set to name his college choice in December.  Taylor, a 4-star rated recruit in the 24/7 recruiting composite, will sign with his college of choice during the new Division 1 early signing period.  The early signing period will be from December 20^th to the 22^nd and Taylor is set to sign on December 22^nd.