Westwood Lady Rockets and their parents on 8th Grade night
Racing out to a 12 to 0 lead in the 1st quarter provided all the momentum the Lady Rockets needed on Monday night as they clipped Eagleville 38 to 21 to 8th grade night. Hot shooting from the perimeter helped Westwood storm out to the early lead, but it was their pressure defense in the 2nd half that held off a Lady Eagles rally that saw Eagleville cut the Rockets lead to 7. 8th graders Ashley Starks, Morgan Jones, Karen Medina and Beatris Barrera were honored after the game as each helped lift Westwood to their 15th victory on the season. Starks led Westwood in scoring with 14 points while Medina added 11 and Jones netted 9.
Westwood Rockets and their parents on 8th Grade night
The Rockets got a strong start but saw Eagleville open the game on fire from the field as the Rockets dropped a 49 to 36 decision. A series of turnovers saw Westwood fall behind 30 to 15 at the half. Westwood clawed back into the game in the 4th quarter but free throws down the stretch allowed the visiting Eagles to hold on for the win. 8th graders Nicolas White, Roderic Brinkley, Collin Ward, Isaiah Owens, Austin Burch, Jake Hollandsworth and Shawn Anderson were all honored in a ceremony at halftime of the girls’ game. Owens led Westwood in scoring with 10 points while Ward added 8 and Brinkley finished with 7. Westwood returns to the court on Thursday night as they travel to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee Christian. Tipoff for the girls’ game is 6 PM.
Westwood cheerleaders and their parents on 8th Grade night
Roman Josi scored twice on the power play, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Boston Bruins by a 3-2 final on Monday night at TD Garden. Viktor Arvidsson scored the go-ahead goal late in regulation, and Carter Hutton stopped 15 shots for his third victory of the season.
“It’s great, I don’t think we ever waivered,” Hutton said. “We were pretty confident the whole time; even in that stretch when we were struggling, I don’t think anyone lost confidence in the way we were playing. We needed a night like this to get the results, and I thought we stepped up big time.”
Boston struck first 4:13 in when Kevan Miller sent a puck to the front of the net, which deflected off a skate and over the shoulder of Carter Hutton for a 1-0 lead. Before the opening stanza was out, the Preds went on a 4-on-3 power play, and Roman Josi extended his point streak to four games. Mike Ribeiro found Josi in the left circle and the Nashville defenseman wristed a shot past Jonas Gustavsson to even the score at 1-1 headed into the first intermission.
Loui Eriksson put the Bruins back in the lead with a power-play goal in the second, but Josi took matters into his own hands on a Nashville man advantage 27 seconds later. The Swiss blueliner collected the puck on the near-side boards and drove to the net, reminiscent of a power forward move, and slid the biscuit over the line to even things up once more.
The score remained even through much of the final frame, until Arvidsson executed a beautiful individual effort, deking around a Boston defender and then Gustavsson, leaving a yawning cage in which to deposit the game winning goal with 4:56 remaining in the contest. Hutton and the Preds staved off a final Bruins push to hang on for the 3-2 victory.
“We thought we played some really good games lately and kind of found a way to lose and tonight we found a way to win that game,” Josi said. “We stayed disciplined tonight and it was a good win.”
Roman Josi almost recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick (one goal, one assist and one fight), but two power-play goals might be even better. The 25-year-old tallied twice with the man advantage for the Preds, with his second marker reminiscent of a rather famous goal from legendary Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr, flying through the air as the puck slid past an outstretched Gustavsson.
“I had a lot of space; I think their D tried to clear and was out of position, and I saw an empty lane to the net so I decided pretty quick I’m going to take it to the net and hopefully something good happens,” Josi said. “I did fly, but I think their D ended up putting it in.”
It’s been quite a stretch for the No. 1 defensive pairing of Josi and Shea Weber; the Preds Captain potted three power-play goals of his own on Saturday against Detroit for his first career hat trick – and the first hat trick by a blueliner in Predators franchise history – although Josi was playfully instructed to stop at two on Monday.
“He told me after the second one ‘don’t get another one, I want to be the only [defenseman] in franchise history [to score a hat trick],’ so I wasn’t allowed to score anymore,” Josi joked. “Our D corps is trying to add to the offense and lately they’ve been going in for us.”
Josi also participated in his first NHL scrap with Brad Marchand. Josi scored the takedown after the short scuffle, but don’t expect him to make a habit of the rough stuff.
“It was a short fight; it was my first fight and I tried to not get beat up, so it was all right,” Josi said.
As long as two points come along, the Preds are pleased with whatever Josi can bring to the scoresheet.
“He was terrific,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Josi. “The puck was in his hands all night, he was up and down the ice, goals, a fight, a good game for him. It was really good.”
“He’s such a great player, we know how good he is, and to see him scrap, you don’t see that too often,” Hutton said. “But he kept his composure, comes back and scores two huge goals for us and that’s obviously a difference maker.”
Shea Weber recorded two assists versus the Bruins, the seventh consecutive game he’s tallied against Boston.
Eric Nystrom briefly left the contest to receive several stitches following a fight, but returned for the third period.
Monday’s win was the Predators first in Boston since Nov. 28, 2003.
The Preds are back in action on Tuesday at 7:30 PM to face their division and recent playoff rival the Chicago Blackhawks. Thunder Radio will bring you that game tonight as we join that broadcast in progress following Coffee County basketball.
The Motlow Bucks concluded the first half of their basketball season with an 80-71 win over Roane State Saturday afternoon in Harriman. The win came on the heels of a hard-fought 83-80 loss to Walters State Friday night in Morristown, the first Tennessee Community College Athletic Association loss of the season for Motlow.
The Bucks (13-3, 6-1) will now break for the winter holidays, with their next contest scheduled for Monday, Jan. 11, when the Martin Methodist College JV comes to Copperweld Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The next conference game is Friday, Jan. 15, with Southwest Tennessee coming to Lynchburg.
Motlow sophomore Jaylen Barford became only the seventh player in school history to score 1,000 points during their career with his final basket against Roane St. Saturday. Barford scored 556 points last season and now has 444 already this year. He leads the nation, averaging 27.8 points per game.
Saturday’s contest against Walters St. went right down to the wire. The Bucks trailed 82-80 with 21 seconds remaining but missed a pair of free throws that would have tied the game. Walters then hit a free throw to seal the victory.
Walters St. led 43-39 at the half and ultimately had too much depth for the Bucks to overcome. Motlow won the rebounding battle 42-34 but committed 15 turnovers. The Bucks could have won the game at the free throw line but only connected on 10-22 attempts.
Barford led Motlow in scoring with 33 points while adding four rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Darius Joell scored 23 points with five rebounds and three assists, JaQualis Matlock had nine points and eight rebounds, Jared Pearson scored eight with 11 boards, and Axel Magnuson added six points and two assists.
Saturday the Bucks shot the ball much better in their win over Roane St., connecting on 56 percent of their shots from the floor and almost 70 percent of their 26 free-throw attempts. Motlow had 18 assists on its 28 made field goals, which signals the Bucks played unselfishly and shared the basketball.
Barford was again the leading scorer and showed his all-around versatility with 29 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, four steals and one blocked shot. Stephaun Adams stepped up with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Joell scored seven and Ryan Jones had six points with four assists. Matlock pulled down eight rebounds to go along with four points, and Pearson had seven boards while scoring two points. Jade Patrick added five points and five rebounds and Reid Pierce scored five with four boards.
Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at <Facebook/MotlowSports> and <Twitter@MotlowSports>.
Shea Weber recorded at hat trick, but the Nashville Predators fell 5-4 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.
The hat trick was the first of Weber’s career, and the first by a Preds defenseman in franchise history, a moment that was tough for the Captain to appreciate after the loss.
“It was a tough game,” Weber said. “I thought we battled really hard. It was a quick game; they’re a quick team, and we talked about them being a puck-possession team, so you know they’re going to fight for the puck. They did that a lot better in the third than they did the other two, and we just have to find a way to win games.”
Detroit got a bounce with just 38 seconds to play in the first period after Pekka Rinne stopped a Brad Richards’ shot. The rebound caromed into the net off of Weber for a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.
Weber made up for that bounce at the 1:03 mark of the second stanza, as he one-timed a Roman Josi pass home on the power play to even the score at 1-1. Weber’s seventh tally of the season was his sixth on the man advantage.
Just 1:50 later, Viktor Arvidsson converted on a masterful deflection from just outside the crease, tipping a Ryan Ellis point shot past Petr Mrazek to give Nashville a 2-1 lead.
Weber’s redemption continued on another Predators power play, as the Captain’s point shot struck the glass behind the cage, bounced off of Mrazek and barely across the goal line for a 3-1 tally. Detroit, however, cut the lead to 3-2, courtesy of a Tomas Tatar goal on the power play before the period was out.
Weber got his third power-play goal of the game to complete the hat trick and give Nashville a 4-2 lead, again hammering home a shot from the blue line past Mrazek.
“He was great,” defenseman Roman Josi said of Weber. “His shot is unbelievable, but everybody knows that. He showed it again tonight with three unbelievable shots. He’s been great all year, and he really stepped up tonight.”
Down two scores, Detroit stormed back with goals from Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader before regulation was out to send the contest to overtime.
After back-and-forth play in the extra frame, Gustav Nyquist ended it for the Red Wings on a breakaway opportunity.
“It’s a tough loss,” Weber said. “The penalty kill is still struggling; we gave up two more, especially when we needed it and we just have to find a way. We have to battle through, stick together here and find a way to get those wins.”
The road trip continues in Boston on Monday night with a contest against the Bruins, and the Preds are hoping for a reversal in fortunes.
“We’re all dealing with it together,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We have a good group in there. We’ll stick together, and we’ll get ready to play the next game. All teams go through stretches; we’ll take our lumps along the way as well, but our guys came here, played a hard hockey game, it just got away from us at the end.”
The Predators head to Boston to face the Bruins on Monday in the first half of a back-to-back. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that contest beginning at 6 PM.
A cold night in Shelbyville carried over into the gym as cold shooting doomed the Lady Raiders against the Eaglettes on Friday night in the district opener. After taking a 5 to 0 lead in the first 3 minutes of the game, the Lady Raiders saw the Eaglettes go on a 35 to 9 run to close out the first half dooming Coffee County to a 70 to 35 loss. The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Alliyah Williams who had 13 points. Freshman Abby Morgan notched 10 points to be named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. With the loss, Lady Raiders record drops to 3 and 2 overall and 0 and 1 in District 8AAA play.
Stephen Sullivan of Red Raider Basketball
After being held to 1 point in the first quarter the Red Raiders used an 11 to 2 run to the cut the Shelbyville lead to 15 to 12 at the half of a low scoring boys contest. Shelbyville cured their shooting woes in the second half as Coffee County continued to struggle dropping a 45 to 22 decision to the Eagles. The Raiders were led in scoring by Stephen Sullivan who had 7 points as he was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Wyatt Day added 6 points and Kohl Young netted 5 points for Coffee County. The Raiders are now 3 and 3 on the season and 0 and 1 in District 8AAA play.
Coffee County returns home next week for a pair of games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. On Tuesday night, it is a non district matchup with Warren County. The Red & Black will return to District 8AAA action on Friday night as they play host to Lawrence County. The girls’ game tips off at 6 PM each night and exclusive coverage of Coffee County basketball is heard on Thunder Radio beginning with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50 PM.
Rein Bozich of CHS Wrestling squares off with an Oakland wrestler in a preseason match
The Red Raider wrestling team of Coffee County returned to the mats on Thursday night in a dual match at Oakland. The young Raider grapplers had problems with the more experienced wrestlers from Oakland and Page. Coffee County dropped both matches on the evening.
Against the home standing Patriots, the Raider wrestlers got a pair of pin fall wins to go with a decision win to accumulate 15 points on the match. Wrestling at 195 pounds, Josh Tobitt scored a pin fall win over Branson Boone of Oakland in 2:22. Joel Lawrence also scored a pin at 152 pounds as he beat Noland Cook. Rein Bozich got a 5 to 3 decision win over Jerdan Cina at 138 pounds to round out the scoring for Coffee County.
Against Page, Coffee County scored a pair of pin fall wins to earn 12 points. At 132 pounds, Robert Brandon scored a pin fall at 3:30 over Laz Bibeau. Dustin Seals got the other win as he pinned Dayton Davis in 2:34. The Raider grapplers return to the mat on Saturday when they travel to Mt. Juliet for the Mt. Juliet Duals Meet.
The Burch & Stanley attorneys at law Student of the week for 4 December 2015 is Keely Harris. Keely is in fifth grade at Hickerson Elementary School in Tullahoma. She is the daughter of proud parents Chassity and Charley. She was nominated and selected to receive this award because she always comes to school prepared and ready to learn. Keely is a positive force in the classroom, always willing to help out both her classmates and teachers. Keely’s favorite subject is math because she states she’s always had great teachers who always kept her interested and made the subject fun. She plays on both the school basketball and softball teams as a post player and catcher. She is also active in her local 4H club. Keely is truly devoted to her sports and when she’s not in school or doing school work you can find her practicing. She hopes to become a veterinarian when she gets older because she enjoys caring for animals. Keely was presented with a plaque (courtesy of K&S Trophies of Tullahoma) and a set of tickets to an up-coming Nashville Predators game. Congratulations to Keely Harris, the Burch & Stanley attorneys at law Student of the Week.
The Burch & Stanley Attorneys at Law Student of the Week Keely Harris and Eric Burch.
A full house, and a Thunder Radio listening audience, were treated to a Westwood sweep on Thursday night as the Rockets and Lady Rockets tamed the Tigers of Fayetteville Middle. The Lady Rockets scored the first 10 points of the game on their way to a 44 to 10 win on Teddy Bear Toss Night. The win lifts the Lady Rockets season record to 14 and 2 on the year. Westwood built a 41 to 8 lead after 3 periods of play as Coach Angela Houck was able to rest her starters for most of the 2nd half. Despite not playing in the 4th quarter, Ashley Starks led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 17 points and was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game. Karen Medina netted 9 and Morgan Jones finished with 6 points.
Jake Hollandsworth of Westwood basketball
The Rockets got 10 first half steals on their way to a 46 to 18 mauling of Fayetteville. The visiting Tigers had no answer for the help defense of the Rockets as they were held scoreless in the 3rd quarter. Jake Hollandsworth poured in 9 of his team high 13 points in the 2nd quarter on his way to being named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game. Roderic Brinkley led Westwood in rebounds and finished with 10 points and Collin Ward netted 8 for the Rockets. Westwood returns home on Monday night as they host Eagleville on 8th Grade Night. The girls’ game will tip off at 6.
At halftime of the boys’ game, the annual Teddy Bear Toss event saw 125 stuffed animals collected for the Manchester Police and Fire Departments. The donated toys were tossed into the middle of the court and the closest toss to the middle won a gift basket totaling more than $75 in gifts and prizes. The donated animals will be used by the departments as “comfort animals” to be given to children when they are impacted by a fire, car crash, or other tragic event.
A portion of the donated stuffed animals collected on Thursday night in the Westwood Middle School Teddy Bear Toss
It was a tale of 2 periods for the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team at home on Thursday night as they eased past Harris 36 to 31. After racing out to an 18 to 0 lead after the first period, the Lady Raiders saw the Lady Eagles outscore Coffee County 17 to 3 in the 2nd quarter to set up an exciting second half. The Lady Raiders were able to hit 9 of 17 free throws in the 2nd half to stay unbeaten after the hard fought win. Julia Duncan was the leading scorer for Coffee County as she finished with 15 points. Keelie Hillis ended the night with 7 points as the Lady Raiders are now 8 & 0 on the season.
Brandon Jernigan of CCMS basketball
The Red Raiders saw Harris jump out to a halftime lead of 33 to 9 in the boys game as they fell by a final score of 60 to 26. The talented Eagles team scored in double digits in all 4 quarters to drop Coffee County to 3 and 5 on the season. Brandon Jernigan led Coffee County in scoring as he netted 8 points. Kyle Farless and Blanton Brown each finished the night with 5. Coffee County will travel to Cowan on Monday night for a crucial conference matchup with South Franklin. The girls’ game will get underway at 6 PM.
