Category: Sports

Matthew Hale strikes a putt on the 11th green during Monday’s match at Willowbrook

The Coffee County Central High School boys’ golf team welcomed district foes Lincoln County, Franklin County and Tullahoma to Willowbrook on Monday for a 4 way team match.  Battling periods of light showers, the Raiders held off their 3 competitors to get the team win.  Austin Farris had the low round of the day as he shot a 1 under par 71 for the 18 hole match.

Coffee County shot a 310 on the day outdistancing second place Franklin County by 19 strokes.  Tullahoma was 3^rd on the day with a 388.  Lincoln County had the high round as they shot a 399.

Individually for Coffee County, Samuel Prater shot a 76.  Matthew Hale had an 81, Josh Perry fired an 82 and Reid Lawrence got around in 85 strokes.  The win improves the Red Raiders’ record to 19 and 2 on the season.

For the JV Red Raiders, Chase Hancock shot the low round for their 9 hole match with a 42.  Chris Robinson fired a 46, David O’Connor had a 60 and Blake Perry shot a 63.

The golf team travels to Sewanee on Tuesday for a 9 hole match with Grundy County.  That match will tee off at 4 PM.

Odalis Garcia of CHS volleyball

The Coffee County Central High School volleyball team opened the 2017 season at home on Monday night.  The Lady Raiders welcomed the always tough Lady Cougars of Middle Tennessee Christian School to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  After rallying back from a set point in the first set, Coffee County fell in the 4 set match by set scores of 26-24, 22-25, 16-25 and 21-25.

The Lady Raiders hurt themselves with unforced errors as they had 19 service errors and 28 hitting errors on the match.  Senior Odalis Garcia led the Lady Raiders in kills with 10 while recording 11 digs and a block.  Senior Tyana Fenton led the Lady Raiders in digs with 18 while senior Alexis Baker added 14.  Keelie Hillis led Coffee County in service aces with 3 and blocks with 4.  Amanda Mukai led the team in assists with 23.

Coffee County is back at home on Tuesday night when they play host to district rival Shelbyville.  The varsity match is set to begin at 6 PM.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the action as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  We will begin our broadcast with the pregame show just before 6 PM.

Coffee County Middle School volleyball hit the road on Monday night for a conference match in Shelbyville.  The Lady Raiders matched up against Harris Middle in a Central Tennessee Conference match.  The Lady Raiders fell in 3 sets by set scores of 15-25, 25-19 and 6-15.

The Lady Raiders are back in action on Monday when they welcome Warren County to CCMS for their first home match of the year.  Coach Malaysha Hickerson said after the match that Coffee Middle will need to work on their communication and hustle prior to that match.  The varsity match will get underway at 4:30 PM.

Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis wasn’t defeated by testicular cancer, and he wouldn’t let the Braves beat him Monday night. He threw seven scoreless innings in his first Major League outing since being diagnosed in November, and the Rockies came through when Charlie Blackmon tripled and scored in the eighth inning for a 3-0 victory at Coors Field.

Bettis, who underwent surgery Nov. 29 but in March had to undergo chemotherapy treatments, gave up six hits, but struck out two and forced 12 ground-ball outs. But his most important outs may have been fly balls to center, by Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson with one out and a runner at third in the seventh.
The game was the first at Coors to go into the eighth inning scoreless since Sept. 14, 2008 — a 1-0 Rockies victory over the Dodgers. But Blackmon opened the bottom of the frame with his Majors-leading 14th triple, off former teammate Rex Brothers. Blackmon scored when Swanson, at shortstop, let Gerardo Parra’s bouncer scoot under his glove for what was originally ruled an error but changed to a single. Carlos Gonzalez added a two-run single off another former Rockies reliever, Jason Motte.
Bettis’ inspiring comeback and the Rockies’ eighth spoiled a standout performance by Braves starter Julio Teheran, who fanned eight and held the Rockies to four hits in seven scoreless innings.
Rockies fielders joyously helped Bettis on the diamond — especially in the beginning. Ender Inciarte’s first-inning leadoff drive to left field past a diving Parra bounced to the wall. Parra fired to shortstop Trevor Story, who relayed home, where catcher Jonathan Lucroy made the tag. According to Statcast™, Inciarte sped the bases in 15.13 seconds — the second-fastest round trip this season. The Royals’ Lorenzo Cain made an error-aided trip around the bases — but successfully — in 15.07 seconds against the Rays on May 8.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, the Majors’ RBI leader with 100, was hit on the left hand Sunday at Miami and was expected to miss at least a couple of days. But with Bettis out of the game, two on and one out in the seventh, Rockies manager Bud Black reached for magic and let Arenado pinch-hit. Teheran, however, forced a foul popup, and Teheran fanned Alexi Amarista.

The Memphis Redbirds continued their winnings ways with a 3-1 win over the Nashville Sounds on Monday night at First Tennessee Park.

Three of the four runs on the night came in the first inning when Memphis got on the board early on Tyler O’Neill’s two-run homer to deep left field.

The Sounds came back with a run of their own with a two-out rally in the home half of the inning. Joey Wendle singled and raced home on Renato Nuñez’s double down the left field line.

It stayed 2-1 in favor of Memphis as both starting pitchers settled in. Pitching with the Sounds for the first time in over two months, Daniel Mengden put zeroes on the board for the rest of his four-inning start. He tallied four strikeouts and issued one walk.

Redbirds’ starter John Gant set Nashville down for the rest of his outing. After the three hits he allowed in the first inning, Nashville managed just two in innings two through six. Gant struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings and picked up his fifth win of the season.

Three hits for Memphis produced another run for the Redbirds in the fifth. Singles by Gabriel Lino and Alex Mejia set the table for Nick Martini who lined a base hit up the middle off Chris Bassitt to score Lino and make it a 3-1 game.

The Sounds had opportunities in the later innings against the Memphis bullpen. They had two runners on in the sixth when Ryan Lavarnway bounced out to end the inning. Matt McBride singled to start the seventh but was stranded. Nuñez and Mark Canha had consecutive one-out singles in the eighth, but Yairo Muñoz grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Nashville relievers Logan Bawcom and Lou Trivino combined to toss three scoreless innings to keep the game close, but the offense never came up with the big hit.

The Sounds left eight runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Nuñez and Canha had multi-hit games as the Sounds out-hit the Redbirds in the loss.

The two teams begin a fresh four-game series tomorrow, but travel to AutoZone Park in Memphis to do so. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (2-2, 6.21) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Dakota Hudson (0-0, 4.86) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Alontae Taylor of CHS football

The Coffee County Red Raider football team completed their preseason workouts with a “dress rehearsal scrimmage” against Heritage Christian out of Dalton, GA on Friday night.  Three Alontae Taylor touchdowns lifted the Red Raiders to a 20 to 14 win in the one half scrimmage between varsity squads.  The Red Raider defense added a safety to get in on the scoring action.

The Raiders scored on their first possession after going 89 yards following an interception in the end zone by Hayden Skipper.  Taylor scored that first touchdown with 5:06 left in the first quarter after hauling in a jump ball in the end zone on a pass from Colton Prater.  A high snap nullified a chance at the point after and Coffee County led 6 to 0.  On the ensuing possession, Skipper provided pressure on the Lions quarterback forcing him in an intentional grounding call in the end zone that gave the Raiders an 8 to 0 lead.  Prater then connected with Taylor with 3:54 left in the half on an 88 yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders a 14 to 0 lead.

Heritage Christian rallied back as they scored a touchdown and extra point to close the gap to 14 to 7 with 2:38 left.  On the ensuing drive, the Lions intercepted a Prater screen pass and returned it 38 yards for the tying touchdown with 1:54 left in the half.  Coffee County responded on the next play as Taylor lined up at quarterback and raced 70 yards around left end to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Taylor finished the night with 199 yards and 3 scores.  He hauled in 3 passes for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns.   He rushed 3 times for 90 yards and another score.  Prater was 5 for 12 through the air for 113 yards with 1 interception.  Deaaron Rozier rushed 5 times for 33 yards while catching 1 pass for 12 yards.  Cameron West added 3 carries for 19 yards.

The scrimmage was the final tune-up for the regular season which begins Friday night in Winchester.  The 2017 season begins with a matchup with old rival Franklin County.  The Raiders’ first home game is scheduled for Friday, August 25^th when Tullahoma visits for the 91^st Coffee Pot Game.  For the 3^rd year in a row, the Coffee Pot rivalry game will be featured as part of the Great American Rivalry Series.

As always, Thunder Radio is your exclusive home for Coffee County football and Lucky Knott will bring you all the action beginning at 6:45 PM.  Thunder Radio’s coverage begins at 6:00 PM and ends at 11:00 PM with Friday Night Thunder.

CCMS soccer player Jayda Wright prepares to hit a corner kick which results in a goal on Saturday

Fighting a battle that extends beyond the soccer pitch, the CCMS Lady Raider soccer team hosted their annual “Kickin Cancer PlayDay” on Saturday.  The event serves as a final tune up for the regular season for the young Lady Raider squad.  It also serves as a fund raising and awareness raising event for everyone involved as a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Middle Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition.

Donning pink jerseys and using a pink ball, the Lady Raiders battled their way to a 2 and 0 record on the day with wins over North Franklin and DeKalb County.  The JV Lady Raiders lost a 2 to 0 decision to DeKalb County before fighting to a 1 to 1 draw with Algood.  Ellie Fann had the lone JV goal on the day. “We definitely got better today” said CCMS coach Travis O’Kelley.

The Lady Raiders started off slow in their opening match against North in the 30 minute, running clock match.  Coffee County’s defense was superb shutting out the Lady Gators until Arianna Hansen and Marley Perry could each find the back of the net to give the Lady Raiders a 2 to 0 win.

In their second match, it was another slow start for the Lady Raiders before a corner kick from Marley Perry almost bent its way into the net in the 18^th minute.  That near miss seemed to awaken the Lady Raider attack as they spent the entire final 12 minutes of the match in the Coffee County defensive end.  Coffee Middle racked up 4 goals in the final 10 minutes for the 4 to 0 win.  The Lady Raiders powered up 12 shots while the Lady Raider defense prevented keeper Lucy Riddle from seeing a shot from DeKalb.

Katie Cotton began the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 20 minute.  Perry added a goal on a beautiful corner kick feed from Jayda Wright in the 24^th minute.  Anna Amado added the 3^rd goal, unassisted, in the 25^th minute before Wright added a goal on a penalty kick in the 29^th minute.

Coach O’Kelley was proud of his young Lady Raiders calling out their “patience and passing” as bright spots on the day.  “I felt like our decision making was much improved” added O’Kelley.  Coffee County opens the regular season on Thursday in McMinnville as they take on Warren County.  O’Kelley says that he wants to fine tune some things this week in preparation for the season opener.  “We will need to increase our speed to the ball and work on finishing shots” said O’Kelley.  The match with Warren County kicks off at 5 PM.

In less than a New York minute, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota proved he could take a hit.

Mariota bounced up without hesitation after getting sacked in the team’s preseason opener here against the New York Jets. It was his first action since suffering a fractured fibula last season.

“It was just a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the opportunity I had,” Mariota said. “I just did my best to go out there and make plays, and I really enjoyed it.”

Mariota’s return was the highlight in Saturday night’s preseason opener here at MetLife Stadium. The Titans lost 7-3 to the Jets on a night when starters gave way to back-ups early.

The Titans turned in some good and bad in this one.

The defense struggled early before settling down.

The Jets scored on their first possession on a four-yard pass from quarterback Josh McCown to receiver Charone Peake to make it 7-0. While safety Kevin Byard made a pair of nice defensive stops vs. the run on the first series, the Titans allowed an early deep ball – a 53-yard completion to Robby Anderson to set up the early score.

Then Mariota made his first appearance since December 24 of last season. On the team’s first offensive play, Mariota rolled to his right and completed a 15-yard pass to receiver Rishard Matthews.

A few plays later, Mariota was sacked by Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams, but he popped up from the ground without hesitation and on the next play completed a pass to running back Derrick Henry.

Mariota ended up playing in two possessions before being replaced by Alex Tanney in the second quarter. He completed 2-of-3 passes for 15 yards and also ran once for a six-yard gain. He was sacked once.

Tanney played the bulk of the game for the Titans, after taking a big hit on his first snap, which resulted in him being replaced by Tyler Ferguson. Tanney returned the next series, however, and played through the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. Matt Cassel did not play for the Titans.

The Titans struggled on offense, largely because they had trouble in pass protection. Mariota was sacked once, and Tanney was sacked seven times and hit on several other occasions.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey wasn’t happy about the start.

“Not good enough, and that was with our veteran group,” Mularkey said. “Not good enough.”

While Mariota said it felt great to be back, he acknowledged there’s plenty of work to do.

“It was OK, but I didn’t think it was good enough,’’ Mariota said. “We had penalties, and we didn’t really build a rhythm on offense. But that’s what the preseason is for. We have an opportunity to come back, look at the film and get better.”

Titans safety Kevin Byard said the first-team defense needs to tighten up.

“I think we started off a bit slow,” Byard said. “We gave up the deep ball, and we had a couple penalties. But then I liked the way we came out on the next drive and finished it out. We forced them to punt, so it wasn’t the best start but it’s definitely something to work off of.”

Titans running back Derrick Henry started in place of DeMarco Murray, who missed the game with a hamstring injury. Henry carried the ball eight times for 29 yards, and also caught a pass.

Most of Tennessee’s starters were out by the end of the first quarter, and the second half of the game was played by players battling for playing time and roster spots for the 2017 season.

Rookie receiver Taywan Taylor was one of the stars on this night. Taylor, a third-round pick from Western Kentucky, caught four passes for 56 yards, including an acrobatic catch that was initially ruled a 67-yard touchdown. Officials ruled Taylor was down by contact after a 42-yard gain, however.

The play helped set up a 36-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop, Tennessee’s only score of the night.

The Braves put an end to their five-game skid and the Cardinals’ eight-game winning streak on Sunday, as R.A. Dickey silenced a St. Louis offense that had scored at least six runs in its last seven games to take a 6-3 victory at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals staged a comeback attempt in the eighth, loading the bases, but ultimately came up just short.

“They came out with a very clear approach against me today,” Dickey said. “They were going to make me throw strikes. I was able to attack the strike zone early. The first two times through the lineup, they gave me strike one a lot with my fastball. … I knew that once I got through that lineup once by stealing strikes, they were going to turn a little bit more aggressive, and they did. It was nice to have a plan and to execute it. That’s when the game becomes fun.”

With the win, the Braves avoided a sweep and came away with their first win over the Cardinals in the six games the two teams have played this season.
“We’re looking for one however we can get it, whenever we can get it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It all starts on the mound. Your starting pitcher gives you a chance to win the game and then you can get to the back end of your bullpen, and good things can happen.”
With the loss, the Cards slipped a game back in the National League Central behind the Cubs, who defeated the D-backs on Sunday.
“Today it was just too little too late,” said Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong, who connected on his 18th homer. “Dickey was pretty good early in the game and [we] couldn’t get anything elevated. He was getting a lot of weakly hit balls and nothing in the gap.”
Dickey’s knuckleball left the Cardinals with no answers. He gave up one run on seven hits, only one of which went for extra bases, in seven innings. It is just the fourth time since July 16 that a Braves starter has completed seven innings.
“R.A.’s been doing his job all year, and for him to pitch the way he pitched today, it was awesome to really see that,” Braves third baseman Brandon Phillips said. “He kept the ball down. Facing him all these years, he looked like the old R.A. He kept the ball down and he had success today, and it was beautiful to watch.”
The game’s first runs scored in the fourth, when Cardinals starter Michael Wacha gave up two on four hits and a walk. The Braves built on their lead in the fifth, when Phillips blasted a 407-foot two-run homer to make it 4-0.
Ender Inciarte served as a spark for much of the Braves’ offensive surge, finishing the day with three hits, two runs and a stolen base.
“He’s our catalyst,” Snitker said. “When he goes, we do. And the kid, last couple of years, has got as many hits as anybody. So when he’s getting on base and getting his hits, we find ways to score runs.”
Wacha was forced out of the game after just five innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out just one in his first career August loss. The Braves remain the only NL team (besides the Cardinals) he has not earned a win against.
“I just gave up too many runs today for us,” Wacha said. “Our offense showed some fight. We were right back in it, a hit away from taking the lead or tying it up.”
Wacha got in a tough spot in the fourth after the Braves hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Wacha then walked Tyler Flowers to load the bases, a walk that proved costly after the next batter, Danny Santana, hit an RBI single to plate the first run of the game. Atlanta went on to take a two-run lead in the inning.
“[Wacha] had pretty good stuff once again, just got into a couple of trouble innings there in the fourth and fifth,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “[We] just didn’t give him an opportunity. Didn’t get an opportunity to help him out.”
Atlanta reliever Jose Ramirez entered in the eighth with two runners on and one out and the Cardinals in the middle of a comeback attempt after scoring two runs earlier in the inning. After he loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, Ramirez shut things down, striking out Greg Garcia looking on a 98-mph fastball and getting pinch-hitter Yadier Molina to ground out.
Right-hander Julio Teheran (7-10, 5.25 ERA) will open a four-game series at Colorado on Monday night, with first pitch set for 7:40 CT. Teheran will be opposed by Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis, who will make his season debut after being diagnosed with testicular cancer last year.