Category: Sports

Westwood Soccer Opens Conference Tournament with Shut Out Win

Faith Willoughby

The Westwood soccer team opened play in the Central Tennessee Soccer Conference tournament on Tuesday night with a 3 to 0 win over Fayetteville at Dyer-Bouldin Field. With the win the Lady Rockets advance to Friday’s tournament semifinals.
Faith Willoughby opened the scoring for Westwood in the 27th minute with a goal to allow the Lady Rockets to go into the half ahead 1 to nothing. In the 2nd half, Diana Ramirez scored in the 44th minute to give Westwood some breathing room before Willoughby notched her second goal in the 54th minute to close out the scoring. Westwood keeper Alanna Coker had 6 saves on the night.
With the win, the Lady Rockets advance to Friday’s semifinals at Huntland. Friday’s match will take place at 5 PM as the Lady Rockets take on St. Andrews-Sewanee. A win on Friday would place the Lady Rockets in the conference finals on Saturday. The finals will also be held at Huntland.

CCMS Football Gets Win on 8th Grade Night

CCMS running back Marshall Haney(#12 in red) (Photo by John StClair – www.JohnStClairPhoto.com

The Coffee County Middle School football team ended their season on a high note with a 30 to 26 win over White County on Tuesday night at Carden-Jarrell Field. The win also secured a win on 8th grade night as the Red Raiders closed out the season winning 2 of their last 3 games. Marshall Haney had 2 rushing touchdowns, 1 passing touchdown and three 2 point conversions to lead the Red Raiders.
After a scoreless 1st quarter, Haney scored from 10 yards out and added the PAT to give the Raiders an early 8 to 0 lead. After a White County score and missed PAT, Kyle Farless caught a 58 yard touchdown pass from Haney and Haney added the 2 point conversion. A late White County touchdown cut the margin to 16 to 12 at the half. In the 2nd half, Haney rushed for a 2 yard touchdown but the PAT was no good and Coffee County led 22 to 12 with 9 minutes remaining. A pair of White County touchdowns gave the visitors from Sparta a 26 to 22 lead with 7:14 left. But a resilient Coffee County team scored the winning touchdown on a 53 yard touchdown pass on 4th and 11 as Conner Shemwell hit Farless for the winning score. Haney added the 2 point conversion to put the Raiders on top for good with 5:45 remaining. The defense made the stops they needed in the final 5 minutes to earn the win and close out the season on a winning note.

Braves Rally From Down 6 to Defeat Phillies

Long after Julio Teheran’s struggles began with Ryan Howard’s first-inning grand slam, the Braves battled back from a six-run deficit for a 7-6 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night at a rain-soaked Turner Field.

Tyler Flowers delivered a double during the decisive eighth inning that was capped when Mallex Smith and Emilio Bonifacio recorded consecutive two-out singles off David Hernandez. Flowers also capped Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning with three-run homer that traveled a projected 417 feet with a 107 mph exit velocity via Statcast™.
“I’m just happy to be here and find a way to contribute,” said Smith, who had two hits while making his first start since fracturing his thumb on June 19. “I can’t say that any more genuinely than I did right there.”
Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff retired each of the first 11 hitters he faced before Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 29 games with a two-out homer in the seventh inning. Eickhoff and Teheran, who allowed six earned runs and 10 hits in just four innings, did not return after a 1-hour, 53-minute rain delay, which began before the start of the fifth inning.
“That was tough getting down 6-0, but I think the rain delay kind of helped,” Freeman said. “We got regrouped, came out and swung the bats well. It was kind of nice to help Julio out. We haven’t been helping him out all year. It was nice to bail him out.”
Roman Quinn highlighted his three-hit night with a double during a two-run second inning that gave the Phillies a 6-0 lead. But after Teheran exited, the Braves notched their eighth win in their past nine games courtesy of a bullpen that delivered five scoreless innings.
Howard’s grand slam was the 15th of his career, which moved him into a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. and Richie Sexson for 13th place on the all-time list. The home run also moved Howard into a tie with Albert Belle for 69th place on the all-time home run list. Both sluggers hit 381 home runs.
“I savor every home run, period,” said Howard, who said he is not getting wistful thinking about his potential final week with the Phillies. “You guys are looking at it the way you guys are looking at it. I just really stay in the moment. I don’t really try to focus on any of that stuff.”
Freeman’s 29-game hitting streak ties him with Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for the longest produced in the Majors this season. The Braves first baseman would have a chance to match Dan Uggla’s Atlanta record 33-game hitting streak on Saturday. His solo shot off the previously perfect Eickhoff also extended his on-base streak to 45 games, which is also MLB’s longest active streak. More »
The Phillies’ bullpen has an 8.03 ERA (69 earned runs in 77 ⅓ innings) this month, which included six runs in five innings against the Braves. Severino Gonzalez and Luis Garcia allowed four runs in the sixth to make it a one-run game, and Joely Rodriguez and Hernandez allowed two runs in the eighth to give the Braves the lead. Edubray Ramos was unavailable because of a right elbow issue. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin planned to bring in Hector Neris to close in the ninth.
“But, at some point, somebody else has to do a … job,” Mackanin said. “Somebody else has to … step up. In two games now, every reliever I brought in has given up a … run. That’s unheard of.”
Dansby Swanson struck out with the bases loaded before Smith and Bonifacio delivered their clutch singles in the eighth inning. But Swanson also played a significant role in this victory when he dove into the left-field grass to stop Cesar Hernandez’s single and prevent Aaron Altherr from scoring from second base.
“That’s a huge play,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was like the kid never stopped trying to catch the ball.”
Atlanta will send Mike Foltynewicz to the mound when this three-game series resumes on Wednesday night. Foltynewicz will be making his first appearance since being hit on the left calf by Marcell Ozuna’s line drive on Sept. 12. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast immediately following the Ryan Sulkowski Show tonight.

Preds Split Preseason Doubleheader With Panthers

The Nashville Predators went 1-for-2 in their first preseason action, as they travelled to South Florida on Tuesday, falling 4-1 in their first outing with the Florida Panthers before finishing the night with a 2-1 victory over the same opponent.

More important than the score, the six periods of hockey in one day afforded the opportunity for the coaching staff and management to see almost every player in camp in a game situation, a benefit when it comes to evaluating the talent pool.

There were high and low points, but that’s to be expected in the first games, as Head Coach Peter Laviolette explained.

“I thought the power play did well, we generated a lot of shots, lot of opportunities, and defensively I thought we were pretty tight,” Laviolette said. “We made some mistakes at the start of the third in game one, that cost us three goals, and we turned the puck over a little bit too much, especially in the second game here in the second period. We controlled it so well in the first, and even in the third, we did a good job of just making smart plays and good decisions, but in the second it got real sloppy for us. But overall for a first day, guys were probably a little bit nervous out there, and I thought it was pretty good.”

With the exception of the first five minutes of the third period in game one, the Preds were even with Florida, but three goals against to open the final frame put Nashville in a hole. It’s experiences like that, defenseman Yannick Weber said, that will be used as teaching points before the games count in the standings.

“You just have to be ready,” Weber said. “We had a little let down there in the third and that just can’t happen. Those are things we can learn for the season coming up; you always have to be ready, you can’t let loose and then be soft all of a sudden or you’ll pay for it.”

There were also bright spots for the Preds in the afternoon slot; goaltender Marek Mazanec stopped 15 of 16 shots he faced through two periods before Jonas Gunnarsson entered in the third, and Nashville was perfect on the penalty kill. The line of James Neal, Calle Jarnkrok and Kevin Fiala provided the club’s only goal and combined for 13 shots. It was Weber who found Neal streaking to the net, and Neal deflected the pass underneath the pads of Sam Brittain.

Weber skated with Matt Carle on the team’s top defensive pair, logging more than 24 and 26 minutes of ice team, respectively.

“It’s those kind of games that you learn from, you get your rhythm from,” Weber said. “We created a lot of chances, we had a lot of shots, but you never want to lose like that.”

The second contest of the day went in Nashville’s favor, thanks to two markers in the opening period.

Anthony Bitetto’s point shot on the power play was tipped in front by Miikka Salomaki and past Roberto Luongo to give Nashville their first lead of the trip. Minutes later, it was Bitetto again, this time finding Pontus Aberg all alone in the slot, and Aberg snapped a shot into the twine for a 2-0 lead.

That was enough for goaltenders Juuse Saros and Mark Visentin to combine to allow just one goal on the evening to the Panthers, sealing the victory and giving the Preds a split at the BB&T Center.

“Overall, for a first preseason game, I was impressed with our structure the way all of us came together for the first time playing with each other,” center Ryan Johansen said. “At both ends of the ice, we made a lot of good decisions with the puck. We got away from it a bit there in the second, but got back to it in the third again, and I like the way we played a north-south game and kept the puck moving forward and played hard.”

The Preds are back on the ice on Wednesday at Centennial Sportsplex as training camp continues, and goaltender Pekka Rinne is expected to join his teammates for the first time this season after returning from the World Cup of Hockey.

Nashville then travels to Columbus on Thursday night before returning home to host Tampa Bay on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in conjunction with the annual Skate of the Union address.

Lady Raider Golf Wins 4th Consecutive District Championship

The CHS Lady Raider golf team with their district tournament plaque. Left to right – Sophie Vinson, Savannah Quick and Ashley Gilliam [Photo provided]

Four in a row! For the 4th consecutive year, the Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider golf team captured the District 8AAA crown as they finished with 3 of the top 4 individual scores to outdistance their competitors by 36 strokes. The win advances them to Thursday’s Region 4AAA tournament in Murfreesboro. The Red Raiders finished in 2nd place behind Tullahoma which was still good enough to qualify them for Thursday’s Region tournament as well.
Ashley Gilliam fired a 1 over par score of 72 on the Bear Trace Course at Tims Ford to tie for the overall low round with Malia Stovall of Franklin County. Gilliam lost on the first playoff hole to finish in 2nd place. Savannah Quick fired a 78 to finish in 3rd place and Sophie Vinson carded an 83 to finish in 4th. The Lady Raiders finished the round with a team score of 150. Franklin County came in 2nd at 186 and Shelbyville was 3rd at 206. The tournament win lifts the Lady Raiders season record to 49 and 3 on the year. The Lady Raiders will attempt to capture their 4th straight Region 4AAA title on Thursday at Murfreesboro’s Indian Hills Golf Course.

The CHS Red Raider golf team with their district tournament runner-up plaque. Left to right – Reid Lawrence, Austin Farris, John Parigger, Josh Perry and Samuel Prater [Photo provided]

The Red Raiders got a 5th place individual finish from Samuel Prater to finish in 2nd place in the district behind Tullahoma. The Red Raiders fired a team score of 316 which placed them 7 strokes ahead of 3rd place Franklin County. Prater fired a 77 on the day followed by Austin Farris at 79 while Reid Lawrence and John Parigger each fired an 80. The tournament performance lifted the Red Raiders record on the season to 58 and 15 on the year.
The Red Raiders will join the Lady Raiders at Thursday’s Region 4AAA tournament at Indian Hills. The tournament is set to get underway at 9 AM.

CHS Soccer Rallies for District Win at Columbia on Monday

Jenna Garretson of CHS Soccer

It took a pair of Lady Raider rallies, but the Coffee County Central High school soccer team escaped Columbia on Monday night with a 4 to 3 district win. Coffee County needed three 2nd half goals to hold off the Lions in a crucial battle for tournament seeding.
Columbia opened the scoring with a goal in the 6th minute. Coffee County leveled the score in the 30th minute when Caitlyn Moore scored after a corner kick feed from Allie Amado. That momentum was lost 3 minutes later as Columbia scored again to take a 2 to 1 lead into halftime. In the 2nd half, Columbia stretched their lead to 3 to 1 after a goal in the 49th minute to put Coffee County on the ropes. But the Lady Raiders responded in the 52nd minute on a goal by Amado, assisted by Sam Ellison. Five minutes later, Jenna Garretson was dragged down in the box and Karson Young converted on the penalty kick to level the match at 3 with 23 minutes remaining. Garretson added the game winner in the 74th minute on a breakaway to cap the dramatic comeback win.
The win improved Coffee County to 11-4-1 on the year and 5-1 in district play. It also assures the Lady Raiders of a 2nd place finish in the district regular season and an opportunity to host a possible 2 district tournament games at the Raider Soccer Field. The Lady Raiders are back at home on Thursday night when they play host to Community for Senior Night. That match is set to get underway at 7 PM, with Senior Night activities to start around 6:30.

CCMS Volleyball Sweeps Eagleville on Monday

Maci Head of CCMS Volleyball

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team stayed hot on Monday night as they got a straight set win at Eagleville. The Lady Raiders won by set scores of 25-15 and 25-14. Coffee County’s Maci Head led Coffee County at the service line as she served 8 aces on the match. Kiya Ferrell added 3 aces to help the Lady Raiders earn the season sweep over the Lady Eagles.
The win improves Coffee County’s record to 7 and 4 overall as they remain 4 and 3 in conference play after the non-conference win. Coffee County is back at home on Wednesday night for a 4:30 PM game with North Franklin. Immediately following that match, and before the JV match, the Lady Raider 8th graders will be recognized and honored. Coffee County will close out the season on Saturday with a tournament at Warren County. Thunder Radio will post that schedule later in the week.

Red Raiders Blanked by Oakland

Byron Sullivan(right) takes the handoff from QB Colton Prater(left) during Friday night’s game with Oakland[Photo by John St.Clair – JohnStClairPhoto.com]

The Oakland Patriots scored touchdowns on a blocked field goal, a punt return and a kickoff return as the visitors from Murfreesboro blanked a shorthanded Coffee County Red Raider football team 62 to 0 on Friday night. Missing several starters, including Tennessee commitment Alontae Taylor, put Coffee County at a severe matchup disadvantage in the region matchup.
A strong Oakland defense held Coffee County to 3 first downs and 59 total yards of offense on the night. Byron Sullivan led the Red Raiders with 48 yards rushing on 24 carries to be named the Thunder Radio/Crazy Daisies Player of the game. Colton Prater was 2 for 3 passing for 11 yards. Freshman Tanner Hulvey came off the bench to rush one time for 21 yards.
The Raiders will be back at home on Friday night as Cookeville visits Carden-Jarrell Field for homecoming. Homecoming festivities for the community will kick off on Thursday night with Homecoming on the Square. The Homecoming on the Square is open to the public and begins at 5:30 PM. Come out and enjoy food, a parade, the football team, the band, dancers and cheerleaders including a Pep Rally. The game on Friday night kicks off at 7 PM, Thunder Radio begins live pregame coverage at 6 PM with the Friday Night Thunder pregame show.

CHS Cross Country Sweeps Meet at Sewanee

James Lynn of Coffee County CHS XC(Photo by Pascal Randolph)

The Coffee Central High School cross country teams swept the top 3 places in the boys and girls races in winning both divisions of Mountain Lion Invitational on Friday in Sewanee. The Red Raiders placed 5 runners in the top 10 while the Lady Raiders placed 6 runners in the top 10.
Sarah Pearson won the girls’ race followed by Emily St.John in 2nd and Makenzie Webb in 3rd place. Byanka Woods finished 6th while Chiara Gisinti was 9th and Keisheal Norton was 10th. Shyanna Rader was 14th and Ping Srisuk was 16th.
James Lynn won the boys race followed by Bradley Kishpaugh in 2nd and Andrew Godwin in 3rd. Andres Cavalie finished 4th and Reuben Chaput was the 9th place finisher. Other Raider finishers were: Larson Meltzer in 13th , Neil Slone in 17th , Samuel Workman in 18th, Aiden Stowe in 19th, Eric Randolph in 20th and Nick Johnson in 21st.
The Coffee County Middle School runners had another strong showing in the middle school division races. Jacob Rutledge finished in 3rd place in the boys’ race followed by Ethan Welch in 4th place. In the girls’ race, Jasie Willis and Shelby Watkins crossed the finish line together to tie for 9th place.
The Raider cross country teams will be back in action on Tuesday when they host a home meet beginning at 4 PM. That meet will be held behind Carden-Jarrell Field on the campus of the Raider Academy.

CHS Soccer Falls in Saturday Match

CHS Soccer’s Eliza Masters

Despite outshooting Central Magnet 14 to 12 on Saturday morning, the Coffee County Lady Raider soccer team fell 5 to 2 in the non-district game. Eliza Masters and Holli Smithson each scored unassisted goals for the Lady Raiders. The loss drops the Lady Raiders record to 10-4-1 on the year. The Lady Raiders return to district action on Monday when they travel to Columbia to take on the Lady Lions. That match will kick off at 7 PM.