The Braves and Phillies are two National League East rivals chasing the same prize this week at Truist Park.
The teams open a three-game series on Tuesday night in Atlanta, with the Braves holding a 2 1/2-game lead in their quest for a fourth consecutive NL East title. The Phillies, meanwhile, have their backs against the wall as they try to win their first division title since 2011. The Braves’ magic number is at five, meaning any combination of five Braves wins and Phillies losses would give Atlanta the title. FanGraphs gives the Braves an 87.3 percent chance to win the division; the Phillies have a 12.7 percent chance.
The earliest the Braves can clinch is Thursday, but only if they sweep the series. The Phillies, on the other hand, need to sweep the series to give themselves a fighting chance. Because even if they win twice in Atlanta, they will be two back in the loss column with only three regular-season games to play.
Here is a look at the upcoming series:
FOOTBALL: 5 Westwood Rockets named all-conference
Westwood’s football season came to a close with a loss to Cascade last week. The Rockets finished 3-5 on the season with three losses by less that one possession.
Five Rockets have been selected to the DRVC All-Conference Team: Isaiah Deadman, Joel Barrera, Kaysen Lowery, Matthew White and Ayden Vanwinkle.
MONDAY ROUNDUP: Westwood soccer, CMS volleyball advance in tournaments
Area sports roundup: Monday, Sept. 27
Westwood soccer
Westwood opened the quarterfinals of the conference tournament with a 4-1 win over Sewanee St-Andrews Monday afternoon at Dyer-Bouldin Field in Manchester.
Westwood got four goals by four different Lady Rockets: Jenny Sanchez, Abigail Bellamy, Anjelica Montealegre and Bailey Barsenas, who added an assist. Anna Rutowski had two saves in goal for Westwood.
The Lady Rockets will now play at 5 p.m. Wednesday at WMS in the tournament semi-finals.
CMS Volleyball
The CMS Lady Raiders beat no. 6 seed Harris to open the CTC conference volleyball tournament Monday.
The win means CMS will play Warren County in the semi-finals Tuesday – first serve set for 5:45 p.m. at Harris Middle.
Also on Monday, two Lady Raiders were named to the all-conference volleyball team: Bella Hennessee and Carrington Saner.
Titans beat Colts for 2nd straight win
o cap off Oilers Tribute Week, the Titans struck oil with a big win over the Colts.
The 25-16 victory, before 67,914 fans at Nissan Stadium, improved the Titans record to 2-1, while the Colts dropped to 0-3.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 18-of-27 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns in the contest.
Titans running back Derrick Henry carried the ball 28 times for 113 yards.
The Titans turned the ball over three times, which allowed the Colts to stay in it.
In the end, however, the banged-up Titans found a way to win.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was aggressive early, and it paid off.
Facing a 4th and 4 from the Colts 41 midway through the first quarter, the Titans went for it, and got it on a 15-yard pass from Tannehill to receiver Julio Jones.
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The Tennessee Titans Play on Thunder Radio thanks to Charlie Gonzales, Weichert Realtors Joe Orr & Associates.
Dream for Weave Foundation, Lady Raider softball team up for Alumni game
The Dennis Weaver “Dream for Weave Foundation” has teamed up with Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider softball team to host an alumni game as a fundraiser for the foundation.
The game will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 at Terry Floyd Field at CHS. All past Lady Raider players are welcome and encouraged to come participate. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.
The Dream for Weave Foundation uses funds to help area children with proper ball equipment and uniforms, as well as providing scholarship funds to graduation Coffee County athletes. The foundation was formed in the fall of 2020 after the passing of Dennis Weaver, longtime radio play by play voice for Coffee County athletics and pioneer of Lady Raider softball program.
RAIDERS ROLL: Coffee County goes on the road, crushes Spring Hill 49-7
Coffee County needed a win in a bad way Friday night – and it showed.
The CHS Red Raiders started hot and finished strong, outgaining Spring Hill 510 yards to 67 on their way to a 49-7 blowout win at Spring Hill High School.
It was a much needed win for the Raiders, who had dropped four straight since opening the season with a win at Franklin County.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO! LISTEN TO THE FIRST HALF REPLAY BY CLICKING HERE. LISTEN TO THE 2ND HALF REPLAY BY CLICKING HERE.
The ground game set the tone for CHS Friday night. Junior tailback Konor Heaton got behind his big offense line and took advantage of solid downfield blocking to rack up a career high 218 yards on 33 totes. Heaton scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 14 and 1.
The Raider defense was pretty much perfect – pitching a shutout and getting a safety to score two points. Spring Hill’s only points came on a defensive score early in the second half when they sacked Conner Shemwell, got the ball away and rumbled about 40 yards for a touchdown.
Coffee County led 22-0 at the half and after Spring Hill’s defensive score, CHS answered quickly to put the game out of reach. Shemwell finished 12-of-20 through the air for 181 yards. He connected with Travis Martin for a touchdown in the first half.
Freshman Cole Pippenger had a big night – picking up an interception on defense, then playing quarterback in the fourth quarter and scoring a pair of touchdowns. Pippenger’s first score came from 1-yard out, then he got loose and sprinted 52 yards for a score with under 2 minutes to play.
Jahlin Osbourne led the Red Raiders in receiving with 7 catches for 63 yards. Kelby Walker had the most receiving yards, with 3 catches for 87 yards.
The Raiders are now 2-4 with the win and will return home next Friday, Oct. 1 to host Warren County on Homecoming. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and the pregame show starts at 6 p.m. on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, thunder1320.com and Manchester Go app.
Jaden Carter 
Cole Pippenger 
Konor Heaton 
Cole Pippenger (17) after an interception 
Tyler Myrick (79) 
Derrick Scott 
Robbie Gilley (74) and Travis Martin 
Jake Barlow 
Jahlin Osbourne 
Conner Shemwell
Thunder Radio photos by Holly Peterson
Rocket offense doesn’t touch the field in the first half of 30-6 loss to Cascade
Westwood lost its final football game of the season Thursday night – falling to visiting Cascade 30-6 in what can only be described as an awkward game.
Westwood did not run a single offensive play in the first half. Cascade took the opening kickoff, scored, recovered an onside kick, score, recovered an onside kick, scored, and then recovered another onside kick before time finally ran out on the first half. The onslaught by Cascade left the Champions with a 22-0 lead at the break behind the hard running by Lamar Bass, who scored three touchdowns on 10 carries and 173 yards.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO AS PART OF THE CAPSTAR BANK HOMETOWN SPORTS SERIES. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.
The Rockets finally settled in and got some offensive production in the second half, but just didn’t have enough time to mount a comeback. The lone Rocket score came on a tough quarterback sneak by Kaysen Lowery. Lowery threw for over 100 yards through the air on 6 completions. Matthew White hauled in 4 catches for 77 yards.
The loss ends the season for Westwood at 3-5 – three of those losses were by one score.
Lady Raider volleyball rolls over Warren County
Coffee County’s volleyball team took care of business for the second time in two days, sweeping Warren County 3-0 Wednesday night in McMinnville. CHS won by scores of 25-15, 25-19 and 25-12.
The Lady Raiders had 12 service aces in the win – led by 4 from Maddy Sussen and 3 by Anna Johnson, who also led CHS in kills with 9. Kiya Ferrell led CHS in assists with 12 and Madison Pruitt added 7.
The win moves CHS to 18-9 on the year. The Lady Raiders return to action on Sept. 28 at Columbia.
CHS golfers advance to region tournament
The Coffee County Central High School golf will be sending players on to the region tournament after good showings at the district tournament Thursday, Sept. 23.
As a team, the Lady Raider girls placed third and will all move on to the regionThe Lady Raiders carded a 199 as a team, led by Cadie Prater with a 96 and Maggie Crouch with a 103.
Meanwhile, while the Raider boys team didn’t qualify to advance, two Raider individual golfers did qualify. Senior Logan Hale show an 88 and will move on to next week’s region tournament, followed by sophomore Beau Murray, who fired an even 100 on the day.
The region tournament is scheduled to be Monday, Sept. 27 at Lakewood Country Club in Tullahoma.
Kyle Douglas named new head baseball coach at CHS
Coffee County Central High School is hiring Kyle Douglas to be the new head baseball coach of the Red Raiders.
Douglas, who has a year of assistant experience with the Raiders from last year, replaces David Martin who resigned earlier this month after six seasons to spend more time with his family.
Douglas takes over a Raider baseball team that is coming off its best season in over a decade in terms of wins. as CHS racked up 21 wins in the 2021 season for the first time since 2010 and finished one win shy of advancing to the region semi-finals. The Raiders are the early favorites to claim a district title in 2022, with a large pool of talent returning that includes a deep pitching staff. If that happens it would be the first district title for CHS since 2011, a program that continues to search for success of the late 90s and the first decade of the 2000s. Under the direction of head coaches Doug Greene and Chase Jones, the baseball program won 8 district championships in 15 years between 1997 and 2011, including three district titles in a row between 2009 and 2011 that included a region championship and a state tournament berth.
Douglas served as the head coach of La Vergne in 2020 – only for a couple of games before the season was squashed because of COVID-19. He then resigned to take an assistant position with the Red Raiders for the 2021 season.
“We are pleased to announce Kyle Douglas as the new head baseball coach for Coffee County Central High School,” said CHS co-athletic director Brad Costello in a prepared statement. “Kyle Douglas is a CCCHS alumnus who played baseball all 4 years in high school. Kyle has a passion for baseball, he has a passion for Coffee County, and he has a strong desire to lead the Red Raider baseball team.
“Kyle played 4 years of collegiate ball at Freed Hardeman University, was a graduate assistant at FHU, head coach at LaVergne High School, and was the assistant coach last year at CCCHS. We are excited to have Coach Douglas on board and look forward to the continued success of our baseball program.”
