Category: Sports

Caitlyn Moore of CHS Soccer

The Coffee County Lady Raider varsity and JV soccer teams competed in the Rebelette Classic on Saturday and Sunday in Winchester. Each team competed in 3 pool play games but neither advanced to Sunday afternoon’s final. The JV team was 1-0-2 on the day while the varsity had a record of 1-1-1 for their 3 contests.
The Lady Raiders opened play on Saturday morning with a draw with district foe Columbia. A Caitlyn Moore goal in the 1st half gave Coffee County a 1 to 0 lead before Columbia tied it in the 2nd half. In the 2nd game of the day, a late penalty kick by Karson Young gave Coffee County a dramatic 2 to 1 win over Community. Moore also notched a first half goal to give Coffee County another 1 to 0 halftime lead. After Community tied it just after the half, the Lady Raiders appeared to be headed to their 2nd straight draw. However, Coffee County was awarded the PK with 2 minutes remaining and Young banged it home to give Coffee County the win. In Sunday morning’s game, the Lady Raiders got blitzed by Stewarts Creek as they fell 6 to 1. Eliza Masters had Coffee County’s lone goal with an assist from Allie Amado.
The JV Raiders got a 2 to 0 win over Huntland on Saturday morning as Emilee Roberson and Reyna Flores had goals. Ellie Graham had the assist for Coffee County. On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Raiders battled to a scoreless draw with Stewarts Creek before closing out the tournament on Saturday with a 1 to 1 draw with Mt. Juliet. Ashley Woods had the goal for Coffee County.
The Lady Raiders return to district action on Tuesday night when they welcome Lawrence County to the home pitch. That match is set to kick off at 6:30 PM.

A year ago, the Titans began the season with a dandy.
On Sunday, they produced a dud.
A nice start faded into a disappointing finish as the Titans lost 25-16 to the Vikings at Nissan Stadium. It ended a streak of three consecutive wins on the NFL’s Kickoff Weekend.

“Turnovers, self-inflicted wounds,’’ tight end Delanie Walker said afterward. “That’s why we’re sitting here talking about how this one got away. But we have each other’s back. This is not the way we wanted to start this year, but it’s only one game. We’ll overcome this.”
The Titans dominated early, but mistakes and turnovers doomed them in the second half as the Vikings took control of the contest, spoiling the team’s season opener.
The Titans looked good early while surging to a 10-0 lead at halftime.
After 28-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop made it 3-0, running back DeMarco Murray provided a big highlight – and a big touchdown – late in the first half when he scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota.
With the Titans facing a second-and-goal, Murray caught a ball in the flat, turned upfield and headed toward the end zone. Vikings defensive back Terence Newman was there waiting for him, but Murray hurdled him and landed in the end zone for a touchdown, making it 10-0.

Murray was swarmed by teammates on the field and on the sideline, as the Nissan Stadium crowd went wild.
When Vikings kicker Blair Walsh misfired on a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the half, the Titans were feeling great.
Coach Mike Mularkey delivered this message at the half: “Finish, finish this game. That’s one thing we failed to do last year.”
But things changed in the second half as the Vikings scored 25 consecutive points, thanks to some costly turnovers by the Titans.
After a pair of field goals from Walsh, disaster struck for the Titans – twice.
Facing pressure, Mariota was intercepted by Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, who returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.
After a 45-yard field goal by Walsh gave the Vikings a 15-10 lead, Mariota and Murray botched an exchange, and Vikings defensive lineman Danielle Hunter picked the ball up and raced 24 yards into the end zone to make it 22-10. A 30-yard field goal by Walsh with 2:36 left made it 25-10.
Mularkey called the turnovers “catastrophic.”

“It’s frustrating,’’ Mariota said. “It is something we can learn from. We really just kind of beat ourselves today. We were moving the ball efficiently, and we ended up giving them 14 points and we just can’t do that.”
A four-yard touchdown pass from Mariota to Murray with 28 seconds left made it 25-16.
Mariota completed 25-of-41 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns in the contest, with an interception. His favorite target was rookie receiver Tajae Sharpe, who hauled in seven passes for 76 yards.
Murray ran for 42 yards on 13 carries, while rookie Derrick Henry had just five carries for three yards. Both players turned in big plays catching the football. Before Murray’s highlight-reel dive into the end zone, Henry caught a 29-yard pass on an earlier drive.

The Titans shut down Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who managed just 31 yards on 19 carries. But quarterback Shaun Hill was efficient, completing 18-of-33 passes for 236 yards.
Mularkey said he was happy with the performance of his defense, which didn’t give up a touchdown.
“Our defense gave us a chance,’’ Mularkey said.
On this day, however, it wasn’t good enough.
“Definitely frustrating,’’ Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “Definitely not what we expected. We had high expectations of coming into this locker room with a victory. But it’s the NFL. Crazy stuff happens. That’s what this NFL is all about. There is a lot of adversity that you have to face throughout the game. It’s back-and-forth, and back-and-forth. And when they had a turnover, we just couldn’t catch up. We have to learn from it and get ready for Detroit.”

The Titans travel to Detroit next Sunday for a match up with the Lions.  Kickoff is set for Noon and Thunder Radio will bring you all the action on the Titans Radio Network.

The Mets had more important matters on their minds Sunday than exorcising the ghosts of Turner Field, which have haunted them for the better part of two decades. In the thick of a skin-tight National League Wild Card race, the Mets simply needed a win.

But they could not have asked for a better sendoff to Turner Field, marshalling a parade across home plate in their 10-3 blowout over the Braves. Yoenis Cespedes clubbed a grand slam for his 30th homer and Seth Lugo contributed seven standout innings, moving the Mets a half-game in front of St. Louis for the NL’s second Wild Card spot.
“For us, it’s about winning games,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I don’t care who they’re against. We’ve just got to go in and win as many as we can.”
It was Cespedes who broke things open in the third inning, extending a one-run lead to five with his slam off Williams Perez. The Braves starter felt some elbow discomfort as he threw the hanging curveball that Cespedes mashed. He lasted just one additional batter before leaving due to a right triceps impingement.
“We had two four-run innings against us,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That doesn’t help. It was just one of those days. It’s tough when your starter leaves that early.”
The Mets then piled on in the middle innings, with five of their nine starters — including Lugo — driving in runs. Lugo’s primary contributions came on the mound, however, with seven innings of two-run ball. He improved to 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in five starts since joining the rotation.
“Just throwing strikes makes it easy to get more comfortable out there and relax, and make quality pitches,” Lugo said. “It’s been a lot easier since I’ve relaxed out there.”
The Mets, meanwhile, improved to 67-106 all-time at Turner Field. Sunday’s victory gave them seven road wins in a season against the Braves for the first time ever, dating back to their time in Milwaukee. The Braves will move to SunTrust Park in Cobb County next season.
With the loss, Atlanta became the first NL team to be mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, joining the Twins in the American League.
The game was not yet a blowout when Cespedes, who also homered Saturday, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the third. Cespedes took a Perez breaking ball in the dirt, before dropping his hands to line an 89-mph sinker into the left-field stands. There, a Turner Field employee caught Cespedes’ fourth career grand slam with one hand.
Cespedes declined to discuss his grand slam after the game. “He’s going to let his bat do the talking,” a team spokesman said.
The Braves recorded one hit through the first three innings and then opened the bottom of the fourth with four straight hits, including Adonis Garcia’s leadoff double and Freddie Freeman’s RBI single. But after a Nick Markakis single loaded the bases, Lugo induced an Anthony Recker popup and got Dansby Swanson to ground into a double play. Jace Peterson ended the game with a double-play groundout to lower Atlanta’s batting average with the bases loaded to .195.
“[Lugo] just made a lot of really good pitches in some big situations,” said Recker, who caught the Mets’ starter at the Triple-A level last year. “He didn’t have a ton of trouble out there. There weren’t a ton of guys on base when he was out there. But that one inning we really had a chance, and we let that one slip away.”
The Braves brought Perez back to the Majors last week hoping he had overcome the right shoulder ailment that had sidelined him most of this summer. But Sunday marked the second straight start in which his two-seam fastball lost life after the second inning and led to a third-inning exit. The right-hander will undergo further evaluation on Monday to determine the extent of what could be an elbow injury.
“He started out and looked pretty good,” Snitker said. “Then as he goes and presses on, something is just not right there.”
Jeff Francoeur will return to Turner Field on Monday, when Atlanta begins a three-game series against Miami. Mike Foltynewicz will be aiming to win his fifth straight decision when he throws the first pitch at 6:10 p.m. CT.  THunder Radio will bring you that broadcast beginning at 6 PM.

A late lead didn’t hold up for the Nashville Sounds in a heart-breaking 10-9 loss to the Oklahoma City Dodgers Sunday night at First Tennessee Park.

The loss ends the Sounds’ season while the Dodgers advance to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series to face the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Two separate four-run innings helped the Sounds overcome multiple deficits but it wasn’t enough in the end. Franklin Barreto, Matt Olson and Renato Nunez all crushed homers for Nashville.

The two comebacks helped the Sounds to a 9-7 lead after six innings. Reliever Andres Aliva worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings before handing it off to Ryan Brasier who turned in a 1-2-3 top of the seventh.

With one out in the eighth, Micah Johnson singled and Brasier issued a walk to Cody Bellinger. They both came back to hurt when O’Koyea Dickson drilled a go-ahead three-run homer to give the Dodgers a 10-9 lead.

The drama wasn’t over as Nashville had multiple chances in the eighth and ninth innings. Rangel Ravelo doubled with two outs in the eighth, but Jacob Rhame struck out Bryan Anderson to end the threat.

Tucker Healy worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to give the Sounds a chance. With one out in the bottom half, Jaycob Brugman sent a single into left field to give Nashville a runner. Franklin Barreto followed with a double down the left field line to put runners at second and third.

Clinging to a 10-9 lead, Oklahoma City elected to intentionally walk Matt Chapman to load the bases. The move paid off when Rhame got Olson to pop out for the second out. The right-handed closer finished the job by getting Nunez to pop out behind home plate.

Oklahoma City jumped on Nashville starter Chris Jensen early. Chris Taylor’s two-run double and Cody Bellinger’s sacrifice fly helped the Dodgers to a 3-0 lead after two innings.

The first rally started with Jaycob Brugman’s leadoff single in the third. Barreto followed with the first home run of the night – a two-run blast to the left field seats to trim the deficit to 3-2. Lisalverto Bonilla walked Matt Chapman to set up Olson who launched a mammoth two-run blast down the right field line to give the Sounds a 4-3 lead.

Oklahoma City didn’t trail for long as they used their own four-run top of the fifth to take the lead. Kyle Farmer and Drew Maggi had run-scoring hits, and the Dodgers took advantage of an intentional walk issued by Angel Castro and an error at third base committed by Chapman.

The Sounds immediately got a run back when Nunez hit a booming solo homer to left-center to trim the deficit to 7-5.

In the sixth, Barreto tripled with one out and scored when Chapman followed with a double. A base hit by Nunez scored Chapman to even the game at 7-7, and Rangel Ravelo’s two-run single gave the Sounds a 9-7 lead.

Nashville had a number of opportunities to build on the lead but left the bases loaded in four separate innings, including the ninth. They went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left a season-high 14 on base.

Barreto and Ravelo each had three hits while four other Sounds had multi-hit games. Dickson finished the night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs.

The 2016 season was the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. For up-to-date news over the offseason, visit www.nashvillesounds.com.

A few weeks ago, their playoff hopes dangling by a thread, the Mets might have shuddered at the thought of a two-run deficit in the eighth inning of a critical — they’re all critical at this point — game.

Not anymore. Now fully in control of their own destiny in the National League Wild Card race, the Mets parlayed three walks, a hit batsman and a fielding error into a four-run rally in the eighth inning Friday, stealing their sixth straight win, a 6-4 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.
The victory helped the Mets retain a half-game lead over the Cardinals, who beat the Brewers, for the NL’s second Wild Card spot. It also moved the Mets back to a season-high nine games over .500 for the first time since July 7.
“We’re playing good baseball,” said Mets infielder Kelly Johnson. “As long as we’re healthy, our lineup is too good to sit still. Plus, guys have been hot at the right time.”
Trailing all evening, the Mets went ahead for the first time on Johnson’s RBI double in the eighth. Ten Mets came to the plate in the inning, turning a two-run deficit into a two-run lead.
That spoiled the early efforts of Braves starter Julio Teheran, who extended his scoreless-innings streak against the Mets to 29 before serving up Curtis Granderson’s two-run homer in the sixth. Teheran outpitched Mets rookie Robert Gsellman, who gave up four runs — including a booming Matt Kemp solo homer and a Nick Markakis two-run single — in five innings.
“[We] just couldn’t complete the drill or whatever,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “[Teheran] threw great, we had the good inning and that’s usually a game we win. That happens.”
Down to their final six outs, the Mets took advantage of two Mauricio Cabrera walks and a Dansby Swanson fielding error to load the bases with no outs in the eighth. Then came the assault. After Yoenis Cespedes brought the Mets within a run of the lead on a sacrifice fly, Granderson tied things with an RBI single and Johnson untied them with a run-scoring double.
“Right now, some things are falling our way,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “There’s no question about it. There’s no doubt about it. But that’s what you’ve got to have. We played a lot of games this year when things weren’t going our way. So we’ll take them as they’re coming.”
Teheran encountered trouble in the first when he walked Granderson to load the bases with one out. But even after falling behind 3-1 to Wilmer Flores, the right-hander remained poised and escaped the jam unscathed by inducing a double play. Teheran proceeded to retire 14 of the next 15 batters he faced before a single by Cespedes grazed Teheran’s forearm in the sixth and Granderson snapped his scoreless-innings streak vs. New York in the ensuing at-bat. Teheran exited the contest after throwing 23 pitches in the inning and 97 for the game, but he said the comebacker didn’t hamper him and he should be able to make his next start.
“I could have [continued] if I needed to, but I knew I threw a lot of pitches and I gave up two runs,” Teheran said. “I feel good. If I made a mistake, I don’t think it was because I got hit. I think it was just because I made a mistake. It wasn’t the pitch I wanted to throw in that location. Whenever you make a mistake, you pay, especially with those guys. They’ve got a pretty good lineup.”
Granderson’s sixth-inning homer off Teheran was the outfielder’s fourth in his last four games. In his last five games, Granderson has nine RBIs, though his season total of 48 would be the fewest ever for a Major Leaguer with at least 26 homers.
“Just a little bit of luck,” said Granderson, who reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances. “Sometimes you happen to connect on some balls squarely and they get a chance to drive out of the ballpark. Sometimes you don’t. Right now, they happen to be going out of the ballpark.”
Kemp ignited the Braves’ offense when he led off the bottom of the second with a homer, his sixth through his first 142 at-bats with Atlanta and his third over his past seven games. And after a three-run fifth gave the Braves a 4-0 edge, they appeared ready to pad their lead when they put runners on the corners with no outs in the sixth. But Atlanta couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. Pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski struck out before Ender Inciarte grounded into an inning-ending double play that thwarted the scoring chance.
The Mets pushed Bartolo Colon up a day in their rotation to accommodate Seth Lugo, who is nursing a blister on one of his fingers. Colon will face the Braves in a 6:10 p.m. CT game at Turner Field on Saturday, looking for his team-high 14th victory. He won at least 14 in each of his first two seasons with the Mets.
Atlanta will counter with John Gant, who will be making his second start since coming back from an oblique injury. The right-hander was traded from the Mets to the Braves in 2015 and delivered his most impressive start of this season in New York on June 17, when he allowed one run across 6 2/3 innings for his first career win.   Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network beginning at 6 PM.

Two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Nashville Sounds to a crucial 6-5 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 6,643 fans Friday night at First Tennessee Park.

With the come-from-behind win, Nashville took control of the best-of-five American Conference Finals with a 2-1 lead. The Sounds have an opportunity to clinch a trip to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series with a win in game four Saturday night at First Tennessee Park.

After building an early 4-0 lead, Nashville’s bullpen squandered away the lead and trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the eighth.

Shortstop Franklin Barreto greeted Dodgers’ right-hander Joe Broussard with a triple to the gap in right-center to put the tying run at third. Colin Walsh followed with a base hit to center field on a 1-0 pitch to make it a 5-5 game.

Broussard retired Renato Nunez for the first out, but then Matt Olson lined a base hit to right to put runners at first and second.

Ralston Cash relieved Broussard and promptly issued a walk to Matt Chapman to load the bases. Rangel Ravelo delivered the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice that knocked in Walsh to put the Sounds on top, 6-5.

Closer Tucker Healy was summoned by Manager Steve Scarsone and worked around a one-out walk to save it for the Sounds.

Nashville built the 4-0 advantage with a big four-run third inning. Oklahoma City starter Chase De Jong issued three walks in the inning and they came back to hurt when Nunez belted a three-run homer, his second in the series.

The Dodgers bounced back with two runs in the fourth when Corey Brown hit an opposite-field two-run homer off Nashville starter Daniel Gossett. The right-hander went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on four hits in a no decision.

It stayed 4-2 until the seventh when the Dodgers struck for three runs. Two runs were charged to Ryan Brasier, and the third was on Colt Hynes’ line. Cody Bellinger leveled the game with a two-run single and O’Koyea Dickson gave Oklahoma City the lead with a sacrifice fly.

Sounds’ reliever Andres Avila retired the Dodgers in order in the eighth to set up the dramatic finish.

In the regular season, Nashville was 3-48 when trailing after seven innings. Nunez finished with the three RBI and has eight in the series to match Nelson Cruz (2005) and Drew Denson (1993) for most in a playoff series in franchise history.

Avila got the win and Healy earned his second save in the series. Broussard was charged with the loss for Oklahoma City.

Game four of the best-of-five series is set for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Donn Roach (6-6, 4.08) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Alfredo Figaro (1-0, 1.89) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League Playoffs at First Tennessee Park are available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com. The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate.

Reynaldo Ramirez of Westwood football

An undersized, but undaunted Westwood Rockets football team went toe to toe with an undefeated Moore County on Thursday night at Dyer-Bouldin Field.  Westwood took the game into the 4^th quarter before got 2 touchdowns in the final 5 minutes helped Moore County claim a 22 to 8 win over the Rockets.  “The best team probably won tonight, but we gave them a battle” said a proud but disappointed Westwood coach Chad Dyer.

Westwood took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 16 plays as they ate up 9:58 off the first half clock to take an early 8 to 0 lead.  Reynaldo Ramirez rolled over from 1 yard out on his 12^th carry of the drive to give Westwood the touchdown.  Trenton Thompson converted the 2 point conversion.  Moore County knotted the game with 2:08 left in the half and threatened to take the lead before intermission.  A stingy Rocket defense stopped Moore County twice at the 1 yard line as the first half expired to keep the game knotted at 8.

In the 2^nd half, Moore County fumbled in their first possession, but Westwood’s drive stalled entering the 4^th quarter.  From there, the visiting Blue Raiders added a pair of touchdowns after Westwood turned the ball over on downs in their final 2 possessions to seal the victory.  Ramirez led Westwood in rushing with 83 yards on 17 carries and the touchdown.  Thompson added 30 yards on 8 carries.

Coach Dyer will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show broadcast live at 10 AM from Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Rockets will be back in action next Thursday when they travel to Eagleville for a conference game with the Eagles.  Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM.

You can download the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast at:  http://www.thunder1320.com/audio/HOMETOWN090816.mp3

Alliyah Williams of CHS volleyball

The CHS volleyball team bounced back in a big way on Thursday night as they claimed a straight set win over Shelbyville at “The Patch.” Coffee County put together a strong effort in all aspects of the win as they rolled up Shelbyville by set scores of 25-10, 25-17 & 25-10.
Coffee County had an amazing 17 aces on the match led by Alliyah Williams who had 6. Baylee Nester and Rachel Henley each added 4. Williams also led the team in kills with 8 as Bailey Morgan added 7. Henley had 7 assists while Tyana Fenton led the team in digs with 10.
The win improves Coffee County’s record to 12 and 9 overall and 5 and 2 in district play. The Lady Raiders are back in action on Monday when they travel to Fayetteville for a non-district match with Fayetteville. First serve is set for 6 PM.

Maddy Jones(in black) of CCMS soccer

A first half hat trick by Maddy Jones helped lift the CCMS Lady Raider soccer team to a 5 to 1 win over South Franklin on Thursday. Coming off a disappointing loss on Tuesday, the Lady Raiders were back to full strength in the bounce back win. The Lady Raiders used 3 goals in a 15 minute span of the first half to power to the win.
Jones got the first score of the game in the 5th minute with an unassisted goal. South answered 10 minutes later to tie the match and ignite the Lady Raider offense.  Coffee County scored 3 times in the final 15 minutes of the half to take a 4 to 1 lead into the half. Jones added another unassisted goal in the 17th minute and got her 3rd in the 29th minute off an assist from Katie Cotton. Reagan Ellison added a goal in the 25th minute and Anna Amado notched a goal in the 40th minute off a feed from Alexis Rayman to close out the scoring.
The win raises the Lady Raiders record to 4-1-1 and 3-0 in conference play. The Coffee County will travel to Winchester on Monday to take on North Franklin. That match gets underway at 6 PM.

Kiya Ferrell of CCMS Volleyball

The CCMS volleyball team got their 4th straight win as they dropped Harris on Thursday night in straight sets in Shelbyville. The Lady Raiders won by set scores of 25-23 and 25-22. Kiya Ferrell led Coffee County in winners with 7. Maci Head added 6 aces for the Lady Raiders to complete the season sweep over the Eaglettes.
The win improves the record of Coffee County to 4 and 3 on the season and 3 and 2 in conference play. The Lady Raiders return to the court on Monday when they play host to Eagleville. First serve is set for 5 PM.