Category: Sports

The Coffee County Middle School JV soccer team advanced to the championship game of the Central Tennessee Conference JV soccer tournament on Saturday before falling to Warren County 1 to 0. The JV Lady Raiders, who got a first round bye, advanced to the finals by with a 1 to 0 win over Tullahoma in the semifinals. Ellie Fann scored the lone goal for Coffee County as she converted a pass from Ariana Hansen. The Central Tennessee Conference varsity soccer tournament will be held on Saturday at Tullahoma. Thunder Radio will have the times and pairing for you later in the week.

The Titans provided more drama, more defense, and another last-minute drive on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

They weren’t able to provide a win, however, and it felt like a punch in the gut.

“It’s tough to take,’’ linebacker Brian Orakpo said after the team’s 17-10 loss to the Raiders. “We were resilient, we fought all the way until the end, and we had some things go against us at the end. It hurts to lose this one. No one is happy about it.

“But I’m telling you, we have the arrow pointing up in the right direction. It’s a whole different brand of football that’s being presented out here at Nissan Stadium. This loss hurts, but I’m still optimistic. We’re still optimistic. We’re going to win ball games.”

The Titans fell behind 17-3, but nearly rallied to tie it late.

A fourth-down pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota to receiver Harry Douglas fell incomplete in the end zone with 12 seconds left.

Moments earlier, the Titans had a touchdown negated because of an offensive pass interference call against receiver Andre Johnson. The Titans made it all the way to the three-yard line at one point, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on tackle Taylor Lewan backed them up.

“We had a chance to win a game, all the way to the last play we had a chance to win the game and not play the best of football consistently,’’ coach Mike Mularkey said. “We made some plays. Again, there’s a lot we can learn from these games, there’s a lot of good things happening with our team. But this is a fine line in this business, if we make some mistakes, it’ll make it hard to win.”

Running back DeMarco Murray finished the game with 114 yards on 16 carries, along with a touchdown. He became the team’s first 100-yard rusher since Chris Johnson did it in the final game of the 2013 season.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota was 17-of-33 for 214 yards in the contest, with two interceptions, and a fumble.

The Titans kept the Raiders, ranked No.1 in the NFL in total offense entering the game, off the scoreboard in the second half. Mariota kicked himself for his mistakes.

“I thought (our defense) played great,’’ Mariota said. “They gave us an opportunity to win the game. We have to play better on the offensive side of the ball so we can kind of match what they are doing on defense.”

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead early on a 34-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop, the Raiders scored 17 straight points to take control of the game in the first half.

The Raiders scored a touchdown on their opening possession on a 22-yard run by Latavius Murray to make it 7-3, and following a Mariota fumble, they made it 10-3 on a 52-yard field goal by kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

The Raiders stretched the lead to 17-3 just before halftime on a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr to Seth Roberts.

A five-yard touchdown run by Murray cut Oakland’s lead to 17-10 with 5:51 remaining in the third quarter.

The two teams played a scoreless fourth quarter.

The Titans, who played without tight end Delanie Walker and receiver Kendall Wright, took over at their own 20-yard line with 1:51 remaining, with a chance to tie it. An eight-play, 68-yard drive put them in great position. But this time, unlike their come-from-behind win at Detroit last week, they weren’t able to finish.

The Titans (1-2) travel to Houston next Sunday to face the Texans.

“We can’t blame the refs,’’ Titans linebacker Avery Williamson said. “I thought we were about to have another fourth-quarter victory, but we just couldn’t get things to go our way.

“We have to bounce back and be ready to get a win next week.”

Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Titans Radio Network.  Our coverage begins at noon.

Approximately five minutes before arriving at Marlins Park on Sunday morning, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Flowers and a group of other Braves on the team bus were suddenly overwhelmed with sadness and bewilderment as they learned Marlins ace Jose Fernandez died a few hours earlier in a boating accident.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Freeman said. “It’s utter disbelief and shock. I’m hoping to wake up from this nightmare. He was one of the best people I’ve ever met. He was an unbelievable competitor. It was an absolute treat to get to know him these past couple years.”

While the Marlins ended the Braves’ seven-game winning streak on Saturday night, Fernandez entertained his teammates in the dugout in the same manner he had since first gracing the Majors with his tremendous talents and vibrant personality. A few hours later, he and two friends were killed when their boat crashed and capsized near the entrance to the Miami Harbor.
“There’s a lot of shock and disbelief,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Everybody in [the clubhouse] is just kind of staring at each other. As a parent, when you see something like this happen to a young man like that, it’s just hard to comprehend.”
Once Sunday’s game was postponed with no makeup date set, the Braves spent close to four hours at Marlins Park watching the news and dwelling on the reality that a man who had established himself as one of the game’s best pitchers and personalities was dead at 24.
“It’s always hard to see that happen to anybody, much less someone you saw last night,” Flowers said. “I think that makes it more surreal for myself. Whenever you hear of something like this, it’s amazing that 12 hours ago, he was across the way over there cheering for his team. It’s definitely a tough morning. I can only imagine what his teammates and family are going through.”
Upon hearing this tragic news, Flowers immediately thought about what transpired nearly two weeks ago, after Braves reliever Jose Ramirez threw a pitch over Fernandez’s head. The Marlins’ pitcher was understandably upset as the benches cleared. Once order was restored, he shared a cordial exchange with the Braves’ catcher and mentioned fear of sustaining an injury that would prevent him from caring for his family.
“He had a personality that was very rare in sports,” Freeman said. “Getting to see it over the years, it was a personality you got drawn to. He was always smiling and always having fun. He loved playing the game of baseball. Every time he got on that mound, he brought the best out of you. It’s not only a loss for baseball, but this whole country really, Cuba and everything. It’s a very sad day.”
Freeman homered in his first career at-bat against Fernandez and then doubled three innings later. Upon reaching second base, he gained a glimpse of the pitcher’s easy-going, competitive nature when Fernandez turned toward him, smiled and shook his head in a fun-loving manner while essentially saying, “What do I have to do to get you out?”
“He was always smiling at you,” Freeman said. “It was just a fun competition. It makes you better because he’s had so much fun out there, you just kind of forgot about everything. You just wanted to go up there and compete with him because he put on show every time he was out there. It was an honor to be a part of it.”

All season, the Braves have presented problems to Miami. On Friday night, Adonis Garcia’s two-out RBI single in the ninth inning lifted Atlanta to a 3-2 comeback win and pushed the Marlins closer to National League Wild Card elimination.

Former Marlins infielder Emilio Bonifacio slapped a pinch-hit, one-out single in the ninth off A.J. Ramos, stole second with two outs and advanced to third on catcher J.T. Realmuto’s throwing error. With the count at 2-2, Garcia lined a single to left, giving Atlanta the lead, while handing Miami its third straight loss.
With their seventh straight victory, the Braves guaranteed themselves of avoiding a 100-loss season that once seemed inevitable, especially after they totaled five wins in April and entered June with a 15-36 record.
“It was a good [win],” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. “We were grinding. There was good passion and good team camaraderie. Wins like this with that kind of emotion can really bring a group together, or it can take them apart. I think for us, it has brought us together. It has been like that for a while now. We’re having a lot of fun playing.”
Atlanta, 11-6 against the Marlins on the season, had numerous chances all night, collecting nine hits and leaving on nine on base.
The Marlins struck quickly off Matt Wisler, taking the lead on Martin Prado’s two-run double in the first. But the Atlanta right-hander didn’t allow a hit after the first inning, and he exited after six. Miami was held to three hits.
“You know, really, this is typical of the way we played, to be honest with you,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after his team fell to 76-78. “We catch a little stretch where we play good, win three in a row, and you start to feel you’ve got a little momentum, and you lose three in a row.”
Atlanta closed to 2-1 in the second on Flowers’ RBI single off Andrew Cashner, who gave up that lone run in five innings.
“I kind of battled my fastball command a little bit,” Cashner said. “I thought I did a good job of not letting them barrel me up. Overall, I thought I mixed speeds well. It was just unfortunate.”
Flowers pulled the Braves even at 2 in the sixth with his two-out double off Mike Dunn. Freddie Freeman, who doubled to open the frame, scored.
“We’re playing like we’re trying to get a playoff spot,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s a really good feeling and it’s fun.”
Bonifacio spent most of this season with Triple-A Gwinnett, but he proved he still has some of the speed he had when he played for the Marlins from 2009-12. The veteran utility man’s stolen base in the ninth inning was his first of this season and second since the start of 2015. Garcia’s game-winning single capped his 12th three-hit game of the season and third within his past six games.
“The way this team has been going lately, I really haven’t been focusing on home runs,” Garcia said. “I’ve been focusing on helping the team win, whether that’s by driving in a few runs or getting Freddie up to bat, so he can drive in the runs. It’s been a constant effort, and I’m glad we’ve been improving and winning the way we have been.”
The Braves tied it at 2 in the sixth inning and were primed to claim the lead on Jace Peterson’s two-out single to center. Flowers, who drove in the tying run with a double, attempted to score from second, but center fielder Christian Yelich made a strong throw home, and catcher Realmuto applied the tag for the third out.
Wisler allowed two hits, issued a walk and surrendered a pair of runs before recording his first out. But the right-hander did not allow another hit or run over the remainder of his six-inning effort. He pitched around a pair of walks in the third and ended up retiring each of the final 10 batters he faced. His effort was preserved by Mauricio Cabrera, who worked a scoreless ninth that concluded with Mallex Smith making a diving catch of Justin Bour’s sinking liner in left field.
“These past two starts have been huge for himself and our team,” Freeman said of Wisler. “A couple weeks ago, that might have gotten out of hand. He shut it down after that first inning. Good things are happening around here, and that’s all I care about right now.”
Ichiro Suzuki, who replaced Giancarlo Stanton in right field, led off the eighth with a single to left. It was the Marlins’ first hit since Prado’s double in the first. Miami advanced the 42-year-old to second base on Miguel Rojas’ bunt, but with the game tied at 2, Brandon Cunniff struck out Marcell Ozuna and Prado to end the threat.
“Obviously, you feel like you’re going to put some runs on the board,” Mattingly said. “You get a couple of runs in the first, and from there, obviously, they make adjustments, and we weren’t able to.”
Braves left fielder Matt Kemp was ejected when he voiced his displeasure from the bench after home-plate umpire Adam Hamari called a strike on Cashner’s 3-1 pitch to Nick Markakis with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning. After looking at the called strike that appeared to be high and outside, Markakis flied out to left field. Kemp proceeded to complain and was thrown out by Hamari, who then tossed Snitker during an ensuing argument.
Aaron Blair will take the mound when Atlanta resumes the four-game series at 6:10 p.m. CT on Saturday. Blair recorded his first career win on Monday when he limited the Mets to two runs over six innings.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Braves Radio Network beginning at 6 PM.

Strong defense, excellent play at the net, and an aggressive and effective service game lifted the CHS volleyball team to a straight set win over district rival Columbia on Thursday.  Coffee County took the road match win by set scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-21.  The win also gave the Lady Raiders a season sweep over the Lady Lions.

Coffee County shined at the service line on the night with 17 aces.  Aerial Williams served 5 aces and Rachel Henley served up 4.  Bailey Morgan and Kaylee Skipper each added 3 service aces.  Baylee Nester led the Lady Raiders in kills with 8.  Skipper, Alliyah Williams and Laneva Bell each added 5.  Aerial Williams added 3 blocks while Morgan led the team in assists with 21.  Skipper added 11 digs as Tyana Fenton scooped up 10 digs of her own.

Coffee County is back in action on Tuesday when they play host to Franklin County at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  First serve is set for 6 PM.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  We will begin with the pregame show at 5:50.  Coffee County coach Andrew Taylor will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season and set the fans up for the postseason.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard right here on Thunder Radio each Saturday morning at 10 AM and is broadcast live from Al White Ford Lincoln.

A pair of scores by Coffee County off of corner kicks proved to be the deciding factor on Thursday as the Lady Raiders blanked Franklin County 2 to 0 in district soccer action.  The Lady Raiders dominated the time of possession and out shot Franklin County on the match 20 to 7. Senior keeper Holli Smithson was credited with 4 saves in the shutout win.
Coffee County got their first goal in the 30th minute as Karson Young collected a loose ball in the crease, off of an Allie Amado corner kick, and guided it past the Rebelette keeper. That 1 to 0 score held up until the half. In the second half, Caitlyn Moore pushed a ball into the net off another corner from Amado in the 55th minute.
The win raises the Lady Raiders record to 10-3-1 on the season and 4-1 in district play. The Lady Raiders are back at home on Saturday for a 10 AM match with Central Magnet.

A touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the game by St. Rose spoiled Westwood’s football homecoming on Thursday night at Dyer-Bouldin Field. The visiting Stars from Murfreesboro drove the length of the field in the final 3 minutes to storm back for the 20 to 16 win.
The Stars, using their effective passing game, drove 58 yards in 7 plays highlighted by a long 26 yard completion on 3rd and 14. Westwood had gone on top with 2:45 left in the game when Reynaldo Ramirez bowled over from 9 yards out to give Westwood a 16 to 12 lead after the 2 point conversion. Westwood used their strong inside running game in the first half to open up the perimeter for Trenton Thompson to score the first points of the game with 1:34 left in the 1st quarter. Henry Garcia got the 2 point conversion to make it 8 to 0. St. Rose answered 55 seconds later but missed the PAT to give the Rockets an 8 to 6 halftime lead. The visiting Stars scored on the first possession of the 2nd half setting up the exciting 4th quarter. At the half, the Westwood student body crowned Allison Roberts and Cruz Pitsinos as the homecoming queen and king.
Ramirez led Westwood in rushing with 78 yards on 13 carries. Thompson added 23 yards on 6 carries and he also completed 1 pass for 24 yards to Caiden Mullican. The loss drops Westwood’s record to 3 and 5 on the season. The Rockets will conclude the season next Thursday in Fayetteville when they take on the Tigers in a 6:30 PM game.

The Braves continue to play for more than pride. The way they’ve heated up, they’re spoiling the postseason plans for a couple of National League East rivals. Matt Kemp belted two home runs and Josh Collmenter gave up two runs in seven innings on Thursday night in Atlanta’s 6-3 win over Miami at Marlins Park.

After a three-game sweep of the Mets, who are in the thick of a three-team Wild Card race, the Braves dealt a serious blow to the Marlins’ last-gasp bid to sneak into the mix. Miami (76-77) entered the night four behind the Mets, Giants and Cardinals.
The Braves, winners of six straight, struck for four runs with two outs in the third inning off Jose Urena, breaking open a five-run lead. Freeman’s two-run single extended his hitting streak to 26 games and his streak of reaching successfully to 42 games. Kemp’s two-run homer gave Atlanta five runs before Miami had as much as a hit. Kemp added a solo shot in the sixth off Mike Dunn.
Collmenter limited the Marlins to a run in the third inning on Marcell Ozuna’s RBI single and J.T. Realmuto’s solo homer in the seventh.
The Braves improved to 10-6 against the Marlins in the season series.
The Braves used cash to acquire Collmenter from the Cubs last week simply because they were running out of internal options to fill their injury-depleted rotation. The veteran, who spent most of this season in Arizona’s bullpen or at Triple-A with Chicago, produced a solid start against the Nationals on Saturday and then delivered this seven-inning gem that included 106 pitches — his highest total at any level since April 17, 2015.

A Faith Willoughby hat trick in the first 5 minutes of the match sparked a huge Westwood Middle School soccer win over Liberty on 8th grade night. Honoring the 8th grade Lady Rockets was a new event for Westwood, but winning another conference match was not as Westwood steamrolled the Lady Patriots 6 to 0. Anna Coker and Abygail Hernandez combined in goal for the shut out win as Coker turned back 4 shots in the 1st half and Hernandez stopped a pair of shots in the 2nd.
Willoughby, an 8th grader, made her last home match a memorable one as she scored 30 seconds into the match. Faith added goals in the 4th and 5th minutes to earn a hat trick before the fans in attendance could get settled in their seats. Brittney Hernandez added a goal in the 13th minute before Willoughby added goal #4 in the 18th minute to give Westwood a 5 to 0 lead at the half. Brittney Hernandez added a goal in the last minute for the final tally.
The game was the final regular season for Westwood prior to next week’s conference tournament. The Central Tennessee Soccer Conference Tournament will take place all next week. The tournament quarterfinals take place on Tuesday as Westwood travels to Fayetteville to take on the Lady Tigers. A win there would advance the Lady Rockets to Friday’s semifinals to be held at either St. Andrews or Huntland. Thunder Radio will keep you updated with Westwood’s schedule and results.

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team celebrated 8th grade night in grand fashion on Wednesday with a 4 to 1 win over North Franklin at the Lady Raiders home pitch. The win improved the Lady Raiders record to 8-1-1 on the year overall as Coffee County had already finished the conference slate with a record of 6 and 0.
North Franklin got on the board first as they scored in the 8th minute. Reagan Ellison leveled the score in the 10th minute unassisted to settle down the Lady Raiders. Katie Cotton added a pair of goals, in the 11th and 18th minutes, to give Coffee County a 3 to 1 halftime lead. Ellie Fann wrapped up the scoring for the Lady Raiders in the 43rd minute off a corner from Marley Perry. Perry finished the game with 2 assists as she also assisted on Cotton’s first score.
The game ends the regular season for Coffee County as they prepare for conference tournaments. The JV tournament will be held on Saturday in Shelbyville hosted by Harris. The varsity tournament will take place on Saturday, October 1st at Tullahoma. Keep your eye on the Thunder Radio sports page for schedules and results.