Category: Sports

Eliot Sain of Westwood basketball

Composure ending up being the deciding factor on Saturday as the Westwood Rockets defeated Huntland 37 to 31 in the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament play-in game at the Joel Vinson Gym. In a game marred by a technical foul call on a Huntland player and the ejection of a Huntland parent, Coach Will Pannell and his Rocket team kept their cool in a contentious 2nd half. The Rockets battled back from a 7 point deficit in the 3rd quarter to advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinal round at Cascade.
Leading by 3 points at the half, Huntland stretched their lead to 7 in the first 2 and a half minutes of the 3rd quarter before the wheels fell off of the Hornet train. Brady Nugent hit a pair of free throws awarded to Westwood after Huntland’s top scorer overreacted to an official’s decision. That technical foul call triggered a chorus of displeasure from the Huntland fans directed at the game’s referees. The remainder of the 3rd quarter saw Westwood finish on a 10 to 2 run and also saw a Huntland fan removed from the gym.
Westwood was a remarkable 8 for 10 at the free throw line in the 3rd quarter comeback. Eliot Sain led the free throw barrage as he was 7 of 8 from the free throw line in the 2nd half and finished the game with 7 points. Trent Thompson and Wyatt Nugent led the Rockets in scoring as each finished with 8 points. Will Partin was a perfect 4 for 4 at the line and finished with 4 points.
Westwood will take on the tournament’s #1 seed Cascade on Wednesday night in the tournament’s semifinals. That game will tip-off at 6 PM.

Valarie Barger of Westwood basketball

A cold shooting first half doomed the Westwood Lady Rockets in their Duck River Valley Conference Tournament opener on Saturday at Liberty.  Held to 1 field goal in the first half, Westwood was held to 3 first half points in a 24 to 14 loss that ends the Lady Rocket season.

The Lady Rockets did a good job of limiting the Lady Patriots after Liberty raced out to a fast start with a 12 point first quarter.  Each team was limited to a single point in the 2^nd quarter and the teams matched scoring totals in the 3^rd and 4^th quarter as well; but the 10 point margin after 1 quarter proved to be the margin of victory.

Westwood was led in scoring by a pair of their 8^th graders who were playing their final game as a Lady Rocket.  Valarie Barger led Westwood in scoring with 5 points while Allie Roberts added 4.  Sixth grader Maddie Sullivan came off the bench to add 4 points on a 4 for 4 shooting performance at the free throw line.

The Coffee County Youth Basketball League ended their regular season on Saturday as they played the final slate of regular season games. The postseason tournament will run through the month of January with champions crowned on January 21st.  The league’s post season tournament will begin on January 7th. The bracket has not been finalized but Thunder Radio will keep you updated on match-ups and tournament schedules when it is completed..

Saturday’s Results
Girls
Westwood 25, East Coffee 6
Hillsboro 20, College Street 13
New Union 16, North Coffee 11
Boys
Hickerson 30, Deerfield 10
Westwood 32, East Coffee 16
College Street 23, Hillsboro 17
New Union 22, North Coffee 10

Final Standings(UNOFFICIAL)

The defending Super Bowl champs came to town on Sunday, and the Titans didn’t flinch.

The Titans stood toe-to-toe with the Denver Broncos, and when it was over the Titans walked away with a critical 13-10 win.

The Titans improved to 7-6 with the victory, and remained in a first-place tie in the AFC South with three games left to play.

They ended up clinching it late when linebacker Avery Williamson stripped Broncos tight end A.J. Derby in the closing minute, and safety Daimion Stafford recovered it. The Titans ran out the clock, and the Nissan Stadium crowd celebrated wildly.

The Titans led from the start.

After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the Titans drove the field on their opening possession and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by running back DeMarco Murray to take a 7-0 lead. The run capped off an 11-play, 70-yard drive that included a 23-yard reception from tight end Delanie Walker on third down.

On Denver’s next possession, Titans safety Rashad Johnson forced a fumble by running back Justin Forsett, and cornerback Jason McCourty jumped on the loose football.

A few plays later, Titans kicker Ryan Succop connected on a 53-yard field goal to give the Titans a 10-0 lead with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter.

The Titans made it 13-0 just before halftime with Succop hit a 41-yard field goal, which capped off an impressive 19-play, 74-yard drive that took 8:04 off the clock.

The two teams played a scoreless third quarter.

After the Titans finished off a goal-line stand on defense early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos got the ball back on a short field and made quick work with a five-play, 26-yard drive.

A three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Siemian to receiver Emmanuel Sanders made it 13-7 with 9:58 remaining.

The Titans held the Broncos out of the end zone with a big defensive stand late in the game. After Denver reached the Tennessee 7, rookie linebacker Aaron Wallace sacked Siemian on first down before safety Da’Norris Searcy and cornerback Brice McCain made nice plays in coverage to hold the Broncos, who were forced to settle for a 34-yard field goal from kicker Brandon McManus to make it 13-10 with 4:33 left.

Titans punter Brett Kern pinned Denver back at their own two-yard line with a late punt, and the Broncos were stopped when the Titans forced the fumble.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 6-of-20 passes for 88 yards in the game.

The Titans travel to Kansas City next Sunday to face the Chiefs.

The Arizona Coyotes used timely scoring and a strong first period to end a six-game losing streak and win their second of the season over the Nashville Predators by a 4-1 final.

Brendan Perlini tallied his first goal in the NHL at 12:48 of the second to put the Coyotes ahead 3-1, and the Preds were unable to mount a comeback. Nashville’s overall record now stands at 12-11-4 and 3-9-2 on the road.

“We knew they were going to be desperate, and I think we could’ve played a lot better in the first; we should be desperate too,” defenseman Roman Josi said. “We have to get our road game right. We haven’t been winning on the road and played a bad game in Dallas, and we need to be desperate too.”

“Coming off that Dallas game [on Thursday, Arizona] should have had to have matched our intensity,” forward Austin Watson said. “We knew we were in a battle tonight, and we didn’t get the job done.”

Josi scored the lone Nashville goal in the first period, but that was all the Preds were able to get past Mike Smith, who made 44 saves on the night for the Coyotes. In total, Nashville registered 86 shot attempts on Saturday night.

“We had a lot of shots, but we didn’t have that many great chances for the amount of shots we had,” Josi said. “You’re not gonna score if you don’t tip it or there’s a screen or a rebound or dirty goal in front.”

Nashville returns home for a challenging three-game home stand that begins on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues and features three total playoffs teams from 2015-16, as the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers will also pay a visit.

“We know we have to be better, and we have to go home and continue the success we’ve had at home,” Watson said. “It’s a tough two games here on the road, but we’ve just got to look at it as an opportunity to get back on the horse here at home.”

Notes:

Petter Granberg re-entered the lineup on Saturday after sitting for Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Stars.

With an assist on Roman Josi’s goal, Viktor Arvidsson extended his point streak to three games, tying a career high.

Defenseman Yannick Weber skated in his 300th career NHL contest on Saturday night.

Marley Perry of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams were in Woodbury on Thursday night to take on the Cannon County middle grade teams. Cannon County, who uses K thru 8 grammar schools, is fielding its first ever middle school level team this season using players from the 6 Cannon County grammar schools. Following their grammar school season, Cannon County built this “All-County” team that is competing against area middle schools. On Thursday night, the Raiders and Lady Raiders were too much for the Cannon County select as they came home with a pair of victories.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders held the home standing Lionettes to 6 first half points in a 33 to 23 win. Bella Vinson led Coffee County in scoring with 16 points. Marley Perry chipped in 6 points and Kylie Phillips added 5.

Hayden Hullett of CCMS Basketball

In the boys’ game, the Red Raiders jumped out to a 12 to 2 first quarter lead and coasted to a 44 to 27 win. Jaxon Vaughn lit up the scoreboard for 18 points to lead the Raiders to the win. Hayden Hullett had 6 points and Trenton Scrivnor chipped in 5.
The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be back at home on Monday when White County visits the CCMS gym. Thunder Radio will be on hand to broadcast the game as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series. The girls’ game gets underway at 6 and Lucky Knott will begin Thunder Radio’s coverage with the pregame show at 5:50.

Allie Roberts of Westwood basketball

The Westwood basketball teams closed out the regular season at Liberty on Thursday night as they make their final preparations for the postseason tournament. The Lady Rockets dropped a 32 to 27 decision. The Rockets fell 38 to 30.
A hot start for Westwood was not enough to hold off the Lady Patriots on Thursday night in the girls’ game. The Lady Rockets built a 10 to 4 1st quarter lead thanks to three 3 pointers from Allie Roberts. Liberty was able to rally back to take a one point lead into the half and closed out the tight game by outscoring Westwood 16 to 12 in the 2nd half. Roberts finished with 14 points leading Westwood, while Clarissa Barrera added 6 points.

Cruz Pitsinos of Westwood basketball

A strong 2nd half by the Rockets could not overcome Westwood’s cold shooting start. Trailing 21 to 9 at the half, the Rockets closed out the game scoring 12 points in a 4th quarter rally that came up short. Trent Thompson led Westwood in scoring with 9 points. Cruz Pitsinos added 7 points with all of them coming on the 4th quarter rally.
Both Westwood teams will begin tournament play on Saturday.  The Lady Rockets will travel to Liberty at 11 AM for their first round game with the Lady Patriots. The Rockets will be hosting their first round game. The boys will take on Huntland on Saturday at the Joel Vinson Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 PM.