Category: Sports

Rein Bozich works to score a pin in Thursday’s match against LaVergne

The Red Raider wrestling team got a pair of match wins to open up their new home in grand fashion on Thursday night. The Coffee County wrestling team played host to St. Andrew’s-Sewanee and LaVergne in a dual meet on Thursday night at the Raider Academy.

Opening with LaVergne, Coffee County needed a pin from Michael Pressley(170 weight class) to earn a 42 to 39 win over the Wolverines and christen “The Meat Grinder”, the Raiders affectionate name for their new home venue. Also scoring pin fall wins were Austin Silvers(126) and Rein Bozich(138). William Green earned 3 points in a decision loss at 132 while

Harry Hosea earns a win for CHS Wrestling on Thursday night

(220), Dustin Seals(285), Drake Medina(182) and Joshua Tobitt(195) all got forfeit wins.

Against St. Andrew’s-Sewanee, the Raiders took advantage of 5 forfeit wins and 3 pin fall wins to claim a 48 to 18 match win. Austin Silvers(126), William Green(132) and Joshua Tobitt(195) all scored pins in the first 90 seconds of their matches. Rein Bozich(138), Dustin Seals(285), Joshua Young(145), Joel Lawrence(152) and Michael Pressley(170) each claimed 6 points via forfeit wins.
The Raider grapplers return to mat at home on Thursday night as they welcome Siegel and Franklin County to “The Meat Grinder.” The 1st match will get underway at 6 PM.

Westwood Lady Rocket Ashley Starks

The Westwood Lady Rockets capped off the Duck River Valley Conference regular season with the conference title after a hard fought 29 to 25 win at Middle Tennessee Christian on Thursday night in Murfreesboro. The home standing Lady Cougars had a 13 point rally in the 4th quarter come up just short as Westwood earned the season sweep over MTCS. The Lady Rockets were led in scoring by Ashley Starks who had 12 points. Morgan Jones added 7 points and Valarie Barger added 4 points as Westwood finishes the regular season with a record of 16 and 2. The Lady Rockets will receive a bye in next week’s DRVC Tournament as they will take on the winner of Saturday’s 1st round match-up between Moore County and Middle Tennessee Christian on Monday at 4 PM at Forrest.

Jake Hollandsworth of Westwood basketball

The Rockets saw a 4 point 1st quarter lead over Middle Tennessee Christian slip away in a 42 to 29 defeat on Thursday night. The Rockets shot a disappointing 15% from the field for the game as they could not get a basket to fall from close range on a consistent basis. The Rockets were led in scoring by Jake Hollandsworth who finished with 14 points. Rodrick Brinkley netted 5 points as Westwood finishes the regular season as the number 7 seed for the DRVC post season tournament. The Rockets will open conference tournament play on Saturday at Forrest as they take on Moore County in a 4:45 PM matchup.

Ellie Graham of CCMS Basketball

The Lady Raiders of Coffee County Middle School needed a strong 2nd half effort effort on Thursday night to stop the Lady Gators of North Franklin 39 to 22. Leading by 5 at the half, Coffee County exploded for 17 points in the 3rd quarter to run their season record to 10 and 0. Coffee County was led in scoring by Bella Vinson who scored 10 points. Julia Duncan netted 9 points while Ellie Graham added 7 points.

Larson Meltzer of CCMS Basketball

The Raiders saw a 3 point lead with a minute remaining evaporate under a furious North rally as the Coffee County boys dropped a heart-wrenching 41 to 38 decision. Leading by 10 at the half, the Raiders saw the visiting Gators hit four 3 pointers in the second half to help fuel the comeback. The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Brandon Jernigan who had 16 points. Larson Meltzer added 8 points and Blanton Brown netted 7. The loss drops Coffee County’s record to 4 and 6 on the year.

Coffee County travels to McMinnville on Monday night for their final road trip before the holidays as they take on Warren County. The girls’ game tips off at 6 PM at Warren County Middle School.

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report

James Neal of the Nashville Predators

James Neal scored twice and Pekka Rinne stopped 35 shots as the Nashville Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 in the second half of a home-and-home series on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.   The victory gave Nashville 15 wins and 35 points on the season, good enough to pass Chicago in the Central Division standings and slot third among the group.

“We needed those two points, especially against that team,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We came out hard right off the bat, kind of let it slide in the second, but overall, I thought we played a great hockey game.”   The Predators were all over the Blackhawks, outshooting Chicago 10-0 less than six minutes into the period. Nashville’s 11th shot found its way past Scott Darling. Neal went inside out on defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on his way to the net, sliding the puck underneath Darling for a 1-0 Predators lead.

Then it was Craig Smith’s turn, potting his sixth goal of the season with a play at the front of the net in which the Preds forward got just enough on the puck for it to ever-so-slightly elude a sprawling Darling and barley cross the goal line. Less than 40 seconds later, it was Filip Forsberg converting on a power-play opportunity for a 3-0 Nashville lead headed into the first intermission. Defenseman Barret Jackman and forward Paul Gaustad were both involved in scraps for the Preds in the opening frame, with a shot total reading 18-7 in favor of Nashville at the end of the frame.

“I think it was one of our best periods of the year,” Neal said. “Every guy wanted to respond from our game in Chicago. It was a tough one for us, so coming back home and having Chicago again was great for our team, and I think we did a great job.”

After a scoreless second, Patrick Kane got the Blackhawks on the board in the third to make it 3-1, but the Preds withstood Chicago’s push as Neal potted his second of the evening before Eric Nystrom iced it with a shorthanded, empty-net tally for the 5-1 final.

“You know that they’re going to come with a big pushback, but we did a great job of holding them back,” Neal said. “They have high-end skill and they’re going to wind it up and come at you from all angles, and I think we did a good job of being hard on their top guys and not giving them much. I like the way we played tonight.”

The Predators weren’t necessarily frustrated, but they weren’t getting the results they wanted either. Until the Blackhawks came to town.

Nashville exploded from the start of Thursday’s contest, registering 10 shots less than six minutes into the first period, and finishing the frame out with a 3-0 lead. It may have been just a regular season game in December, but the victory feels a little sweeter coming against a Chicago team that bested Nashville in the first round of the playoffs last season.

“[Playing] a team that’s obviously Stanley Cup Champions, they know how to score, so I thought we did a fairly good job [holding them off],” Ellis said. “[Rinne] played amazing tonight; that’s what we needed from him and he had a great game. That was huge for us.”

The victory in the second half of the home-and-home series was gratifying against the Blackhawks, a result the Nashville bench boss was content with as time expired.

“We had a chance to go back and play them again,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “No one felt good about [Tuesday’s game]. I think that showed tonight by the way we took the ice. I think that is first and foremost.”

Nashville hosts another Central Division opponent on Saturday when they welcome the Colorado Avalanche to town.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that contest, with the opening face-off set for 7 PM at Bridgestone Arena.

The Coffee County CHS Wrestling team hosts their first meet of the year on Thursday night as the Raider grapplers welcome LaVergne and St. Andrews-Sewanee to their new home at the Raider Academy. Coach Roger Barlow is excited about the first dual match at “The Meat Grinder” which will begin at 6 PM.

CHS Wrestler Josh Tobitt

The Raider wrestlers dropped a pair of matches at Cookeville on Tuesday night as they faced a pair of more experienced teams in Cookeville and Stone Memorial. Joshua Tobitt(195 pound class) got a pair of pins on the night as the senior continued his strong season performance. Michael Pressley(170) , Josh Young(145) and Rein Bozich(138) all gained pin fall wins against Cookeville. Austin Silver also earned a 10 to 1 major decision against Cookeville fighting at 126 pounds for the Raiders.

The Raiders wrestlers enjoyed some success on Saturday, December 5th as they took part in the Mt. Juliet Duals. The meet provided the Raiders with their first team win of the season as they dropped Daviess County, KY 54 to 18. The Raiders got pin fall wins from Josh Young(138 pound class), Rein Bozich(145), Joel Lawrence(152), Brodie Litz(160), Michael Pressley(182), and Austin Silvers(126). Three Coffee County wrestlers also got forfeit wins as Josh Tobitt(195), Harry Hosea(220) and Dustin Seals(285) all scored “walk-overs.”

CHS wrestler Dustin Seals

In other matches, Michael Pressley(170) and Robert Brandon((132) got pinfall wins over Lebanon while Josh Young(145) gained a forfeit win and Rein Bozich(138) got a decision win. Against Centennial, Josh Tobitt(195) and Dustin Seals(285) scored pins while Austin Silvers(126) was credited with a forfeit. Against Rossview, Robert Brandon(132), Rein Bozich(138) and Dustin Seals(285) pinned their opponents and Josh Tobitt(195) earned an 8 to 7 decision win.

Abby Morgan of Lady Raider Basketball

A broken water line left the Joe Frank Patch Gym without water on Tuesday night, forcing the Coffee County basketball teams to move their non-district game with Warren County to the Coffee County Middle School. The late afternoon venue changed seemed to have an effect on both Coffee County teams as they begin a 4 game home stand leading into the Christmas tournament season. The Lady Raiders were held to 3 points in the first quarter on their way to a 62 to 37 defeat at the hands of the Lady Pioneers. A tenacious Warren County pressure defense, coupled with a handful of shots that would not fall, saw the Lady Raiders miss 20 of their first 21 shots on the night. Abby Morgan led Coffee County in scoring as she netted 14 points to be named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Alliyah Williams finished with 8 points and Holli Smithson netted 7. The loss evens Coffee County’s record at 3 and 3.

Wyatt Day of CHS Basketball

The Red Raiders got a better start as they raced out to a 5 – 0 lead, only to see Warren County close out the first period on a 10 to 0 run. Trailing by 10 points going into the 2nd period, the Raiders cut the deficit to 5 points only to see Warren County crank up the defensive pressure to secure the 56 to 39 win over Coffee County. Wyatt Day led Coffee County in scoring with 9 points as he was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Kohl Young finished with 8 points and Garrett Eldridge chipped in 7. The loss drops the Raiders record to 3 and 4 on the year.

Coffee County returns to district play on Friday night as Lawrence County visits “The Patch.” The doubleheader gets underway at 6 PM. Thunder Radio begins our exclusive coverage of Raider basketball with the Char-El Apartments pregame show at 5:50.

The Westwood 6^th grade basketball teams closed out their 6^th grade season as they dropped a doubleheader to West Tullahoma on Tuesday night at the Joel Vinson Gym. A 12 point 4^th quarter was not enough to lift the Lady Rockets in their comeback attempt as they fell 26 to 25.  Westwood was led in scoring by Haidyn Campbell who had 7 points.  Gracie Morris finished with 6 points while Kasen Holt and Elizabeth Brown added 4 points apiece.

In the boys’ game, the Rockets saw West net 12 points of their own on their way to a 30 to 25 win.  Will Partin was forced to leave the game as he received a cut on the head that required stitches.  Westwood was led in scoring by Trenton Thompson who had 8 points.  The loss for the Rockets was the first in 3 games against the Bobcats this year.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

The Nashville Predators could only get one of their 37 shots past Corey Crawford as they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks by a 4-1 final on Tuesday night at United Center. The loss concludes a stretch of three road games in four nights for the Preds, who went 1-1-1 in the outings.

“There are always things we can do better,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re in a position coming into a game tonight [with a chance to win] and that’s everybody’s responsibility. It didn’t go our way.”

Chicago recorded the first goal of the evening, courtesy of a tip in front off the stick of Dennis Rasmussen, his first tally in the NHL. Andrew Shaw made it 2-0 in favor of the Blackhawks when he one-timed a puck home on the power play, but the Preds got one back before the end of the middle stanza.

Roman Josi, who already had a number of offensive rushes toward the Hawks net, fed Eric Nystrom at the top of the crease, with Nystrom getting just enough of the puck to slide it past Corey Crawford to cut the Chicago lead to 2-1 headed into the second intermission.

Just 14 seconds into the third, Teuvo Teravainen beat Pekka Rinne to put the Hawks back up by two, a lead the Preds could not overcome. Patrick Kane added an empty netter to ice it and hand the Preds their first regulation loss of the trip.

“We’re not consistent; it’s not good enough,” Captain Shea Weber said. “You can sit here and say we’re getting chances, but who cares, we’re not winning games, we’re not scoring goals. That’s the bottom line; it’s not good enough.”

The Predators now head back home to Nashville to host the Blackhawks to complete their home-and-home series and the second of five meetings between the two this season. With a quick turnaround, the Preds will be eager to have another shot on Thursday.

“The best part about this League is you get to play the next night or two nights later and you have a chance to redeem yourself,” Weber said. “We have to start winning games and playing consistent. It’s frustrating because we’re so good at times and other times we’re not.”

“We get to go home, get some rest and get ready for Thursday; try them again,” Laviolette said.  Thursday night’s game will get underway at 7 PM and you can hear the action here on Thunder Radio

Jalen Morris of CCMS Basketball

The Coffee County Middle School Raiders and Lady Raiders got a huge conference sweep on Monday night in Cowan as they downed South Franklin in a pair of middle school basketball games.  Trailing 25 to 19 at the half, the Red Raiders outscored South 18 to 2 in the 3^rd quarter to stun the home standing Trojans and lift Coffee County to a 48 to 32 win.  Brandon Jernigan led Coffee County in scoring with 13 points.  Jalen Morris had 6 points in the pivotal 3^rd quarter and finished with 11 on the night.  Larson Meltzer hit a pair of 3 pointers to finish with 10 points.

Bella Vinson of CCMS Basketball

The Lady Raiders saw South match them score for score in the first quarter before Coffee County snagged the 34 to 24 win.  Knotted at 12 after the opening quarter, Coffee County got 5 points from Bella Vinson in the 2^nd quarter to take a 4 point lead into the halftime break.  The Lady Raider defense stepped up big in the 2^nd half holding South to 7 points and earning Coffee County their 9^th win of the season.  The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Julia Duncan who had 10 points.  Vinson added 9 points while Keri Munn netted 8 points for the Lady Raiders.  Coffee County returns home on Thursday night as they host North Franklin.  The girls game leads off the doubleheader as it begins at 6 PM.