Category: Sports

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber

Shea Weber scored his second goal in as many games, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 2-1 final in a shootout on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Preds move to 9-3-3 on the season with 21 points.

After the Preds and Ottawa Senators exchanged 12 goals in a Nashville win on Tuesday, the Predators and Maple Leafs were scoreless through two periods; a completely different change in style from 48 hours earlier. There was no extra notch in the win column at the end of the night for the Preds, but an important point was still earned.

“I thought both teams played well; it was a chip-and-chase game and [Toronto] earned that win,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We worked hard. We wanted to come in here with a workman-like attitude, and I thought we did that, but it was a little too late.”

After scoring his 150th career goal and his 400th career point on Tuesday, Weber tallied again in career game No. 700. Weber’s goal came on the power play at 2:40 of the third period, courtesy of a James Neal feed from right to left across the slot. Weber deposited the puck past a sprawling James Reimer for a 1-0 Nashville lead.

Just minutes later, however, Tyler Bozak finished off a 2-on-1 for Toronto and put the puck past Pekka Rinne to get the Leafs on the board for a 1-1 score, a mark that remained as the two clubs went to overtime.

Nashville was unable to capitalize on a power-play opportunity to begin the extra frame, and a five-round shootout was finally decided when Peter Holland beat Rinne to seal the victory for the Leafs.

“I didn’t think it was our best effort,” forward Mike Fisher said. “I think we can play better in a lot of different areas. It wasn’t like we were bad; we get that goal in the third and we got to try to shut them down, but it was one of those games.”

The Predators say they knew coming in there wasn’t going to be much room to be had with the way Toronto plays, and the first period shot summary – six for the Leafs, four for the Preds – strengthened that point.

“I don’t think we played poorly tonight, it just doesn’t come off the same way with the amount of attacks at the net and pucks that can get to the net,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’ve played in these games before… there was not a lot of room out there.”

“We expected that kind of game and we just tried to be patient,” Fisher said. “We didn’t expect the same thing as the other night for sure, and we tried not to get frustrated. I’m sure they’re kind of in the same boat, and we just couldn’t find a way to win.”

The Predators will host Winnipeg on Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena.  Face off is set for 6 PM and you can hear the action hear on Thunder Radio.

How can you DRIVE Westwood Middle School into new lockers? Stop by the Lincoln Drive my School Fundraiser this Saturday, any time between 10AM-4PM and test drive a brand new Lincoln! It is taking place in the parking lot of Metro Industrial Services, 2081 Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester. Westwood Middle School gets $20 for each test drive! Nashville Predators GNASH will be making an appearance and the Chik-fil-a Cow will be handing out certificates for FREE chicken sandwiches!! Westwood Middle School needs new lockers, please help!

The Motlow Bucks gave their best effort to overcome the absence of two of their top players Wednesday night, but visiting Wallace St. had too much depth as they wore down and beat the Bucks 76-70 in front of a large, loud crowd at Copperweld Arena.

Motlow (5-2, 2-0) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end against one of the best non-conference teams they will play all season. The Bucks return to Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) play when they join the Lady Bucks and travel to Gallatin on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a pair of contests against Volunteer St. Tipoff for the men’s game is approximately 4 p.m.

Guards Stephaun Adams and Ryan Jones were both unavailable to the Bucks for various reasons, forcing head Coach J.T. Burton to alter his rotation. The visiting Lions took advantage by double and sometimes triple-teaming Motlow’s Jaylen Barford, who still scored 34 points. It was the fourth consecutive game that Barford, who was named the national player of the week for the second straight week, has scored at least 30 points.

The Bucks started quickly, jumping out to a 15-5 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Darius Joell hit an early three-pointer and inside players Reid Pierce, Jared Pearson and JaQualis Matlock each had early buckets for the Bucks. However, the Lions withstood the early deficit and clawed their way back by going on an 11-0 run to take their first lead with 6:30 remaining in the half, which ended with Wallace St. leading 33-27.

Barford was spectacular in the final 20 minutes, scoring 24 of his points. His teammates combined for only 19 points in the second half though, as the visitors stretched their lead at one time to 13. The Bucks never got closer than four points after intermission.

Barford added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal to his 34 points. Joell scored 13 and had a pair of steals, rebounds and assists; and Pearson had nine points, including 7-12 from the free-throw line, and added seven rebounds. Pierce scored six and also had a team-high 10 rebounds, while Axel Magnuson had four points and two assists. Matlock didn’t scored after his early bucket but added six rebounds. Anton Cowherd and Jade Patrick each scored one point, with Patrick adding five rebounds and three steals.

Free-throw shooting was costly for Motlow as the Bucks connected on only 26-40 attempts. Motlow shot 42 percent from the field and pulled down 39 rebounds.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at Facebook/MotlowSports and Twitter@MotlowSports.

Freshmen Makayla Liles and Sydney Floyd combined for 14 fourth-quarter points to help the Motlow Lady Bucks come back from a five-point halftime deficit and beat visiting nationally-ranked Wallace St. 60-54 Wednesday night at Copperweld Arena.

The Lady Bucks (2-2, 1-1) will continue outside conference play when they travel to Gadsden, Ala., to face Gadsden St. on Friday, Nov. 13. The Motlow women will then join the Motlow Bucks for a pair of Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) contests against Volunteer St. on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Gallatin.

The significance of the victory was not lost on second-year head coach Dominic Tharpe. “Wednesday night was a signature win for this program, beating the No. 24 team in the country,” he said. “The environment inside Nisbett Center with a packed crowd contributed greatly to the intensity and energy that our team played with. I was pleased with how we shared the ball on offense and with our effort on the defensive side.”

Motlow started strong Wednesday night, jumping out to a 16-10 first quarter lead as Liles had five early points and Jasmine Rhodes hit a three-pointer. MeKhaela Witherspoon had four points in the opening 10 minutes and pulled down a pair of big rebounds.

With the Lady Bucks leading 20-13, the visiting Lady Lions went on an 18-6 run to close the second quarter and went into the locker room at halftime leading 31-26. Floyd kept Motlow close with five second-quarter points, including her only three-pointer.

Aja Robertson and Rhodes combined for eight third-quarter points as Motlow, after trailing 36-28 with 6:40 to play in the quarter, went on a 14-4 run to lead 42-40 heading into the final 10 minutes, when Liles and Floyd took over.

After the two teams were tied 50-50 with 3:50 remaining on the game clock, the Lady Bucks stormed to a 59-50 advantage before holding off the visitors and securing one of the program’s most significant wins over the past five seasons.

Liles added five rebounds to her 17 points, while Floyd pulled down six boards and had two steals to go along with 11 points. Taylor Hayes scored seven, with four rebounds and three assists. Rhodes also had seven points, while Ajaycia Cotton scored five points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Robertson had six rebounds and scored four points, and Shakala Griffin scored three with five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. All stats are unofficial.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at <Facebook/MotlowSports> and <Twitter@MotlowSports>.

CHS baseball coach David Martin would like to invite the public to a special baseball camp on Saturday, November 14th.  CHS Baseball is teaming up with Al White Ford/Lincoln and Spring Street Market to host the 1st Annual “30 and a Turkey” Baseball Camp.

The camp will be held at the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility and at Powers Field.  The camp is open to participants of all ages and ability levels.  The camp will run from 10 AM to noon and will feature instruction from former professional and Division 1 baseball players, a national championship college head coach, a former major leaguer and members of the Red Raider baseball team.

Camp cost is $30 and a minimum $10 turkey/ham
certificate from Spring Street Market.  Vouchers will be
available for purchase at sign-in for out of town participants.  Sign-ins will begin at 9 AM.

All vouchers will be used to support the CCCHS
Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive to help provide Thanksgiving
Dinner for local families. Camp cost will be utilized by the CCCHS baseball team for their upcoming season.

Campers should wear athletic clothes, and bring personal equipment, cleats, and tennis shoes. Tennis shoes will be needed for the base
running session in the bus parking lot. Personal bats can be brought however, bats will also be provided for the hitting portion of camp.
Any interested participants concerned about cost or are interested in making a donation should call Coach Kris Lammers at 931-570-3928.

For more information, visit the Red Raider baseball team Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Coffecountybaseball

CHS Red Raider basketball coach Micah Williams instructs his players on the 1st day of practice

Head basketball coach Micah Williams of the Coffee County Red Raider basketball team invites all former players to participate in an alumni basketball game Saturday at 6 PM at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium.  The community is invited to come out and watch the former Red Raiders in action and Coach Williams has indicated that he will make an appearance as well!  Admission to the event is free but donations will be accepted for the Coffee County Central High School basketball team.  To register to play, or to get more information, visit the Red Raider basketball team Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Coffee-County-HS-Boys-Basketball-165286593644351

The Red Raiders will host a scrimmage game on Friday November 13th at 5 p.m. against Middle Tennessee Christian.  The Lady Raiders will attend a scrimmage play day on Saturday as they travel to Sparta to take part in a scrimmage play day at White County High School. The girls games will get underway at 1 p.m.

The basketball regular season will get underway on Tuesday November 17th at 6 p.m. as Coffee County plays host to Huntland in the Hall of Fame Classic game at home.  As always, Thunder Radio is your exclusive home for Coffee County basketball.  We will bring you the broadcast on Tuesday night beginning with the pregame show at 5: 50 PM

Will Partin of Westwood basketball

The Westwood Rockets 6th grade basketball team needed overtime to defeat the West Tullahoma Bobcats 41 to 36 on Tuesday night at the Joel Vinson Gym. After taking a 7 point lead into the locker room at halftime, the Rockets saw West force overtime with a furious 11 point 4th quarter rally. In the overtime period, the Rockets settled down to run their offense and secure the season sweep over the Bobcats. Will Partin had 16 points to lead Westwood while Bodey Nugent added 9.

WMS Lady Rocket Elizabeth Brown

The Lady Rockets held off a 4th quarter charge from the Lady Bobcats to claim a 23 to 15 win in the girls game and give Westwood the doubleheader sweep. Elizabeth Brown led all scorers with 11 points for Westwood while Gracie Morris added 4 points. The 6th grade teams will be back in action on Tuesday November 17th as they play host Harris Middle. The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.

Leigha Insell of CCMS basketball

The 6th grade Lady Raider basketball team finished the regular season with a perfect 9 and 0 record after a 25 to 10 win over Harris on Tuesday night. Coffee County won 8 of their 9 games this season by at least 10 points. On Tuesday, the Lady Raiders held Harris to 4 points in the 2nd half to secure the victory. Leigha Insell was the high scorer for Coffee County as she had 6 points. Marley Perry added 5 points in the win.

Aidan Abellana of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders secured the sweep over the Eagles with a 37 to 14 win in the boys’ game. Aidan Abellana used a pair of three pointers to lead Coffee County in scoring with 14 points. Joseph Duncan added 8 points and Kohlton Strange came off the bench to net 6 points for the Raiders. Coffee County finished the 6th grade season with a record of 7 and 2.

Peter Weber’s post game Report

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber

Defenseman Barrett Jackman scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Nashville Predators rallied to defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-5 at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Jackman broke a 5-5 tie at 10:09 of the third period when his pass from the left-wing boards hit a defenseman’s skate in front and went past goaltender Craig Anderson. It was Jackman’s first goal with the Predators; he signed with Nashville as a free agent this summer.

“We were definitely due,” Jackman said. “I think we had a lot more dirtier second chances today. We were able to get some bounces our way, and the floodgates opened tonight.”

Gabriel Bourque added an insurance goal at 11:43, firing the rebound of defenseman Mattias Ekholm’s shot past Anderson for his first goal of the season. Ekholm had tied the game 5-5 at 2:29 of the third on a slap shot from the left circle. He took a pass from defense partner Ryan Ellis and beat Anderson for his second of the season.

The Predators didn’t panic despite trailing 2-0 and 3-1 in the first period, as well as 5-4 after the second.

“I think that’s basically what we do now,” Ekholm said. “I didn’t even feel worried at one point during this game. I felt like we were going to pull it off, we were going to come back. There was never a doubt in my mind that we were not. It’s just that feeling that you have with this group that we’re never going to quit, we’re never going to not battle back.”

Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne made 21 saves. Anderson finished with 31 saves.

Milan Michalek gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 4:33 of the first period when he scored on the game’s first power play. Bobby Ryan took a shot from the top of the right circle, and Michalek redirected the puck past Rinne for his third goal.

Zack Smith gave the Senators a 2-0 lead at 5:54 on another redirection, getting a piece of defenseman Jared Cowen’s shot from the top of the left circle and deflecting it past Rinne for his third goal.

Predators forward Colton Sissons, who was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, made it 2-1 at 6:55 on a redirection that beat Anderson.

But Smith restored Nashville’s two-goal lead when he scored his second of the game with 36.9 seconds remaining on a shorthanded breakaway. Smith deflected a pass by Predators forward Mike Fisher, won the race to the puck and beat Rinne on the stick side.

“We seem to get to that point now when the game is on the line, especially after we get early leads and are going real good, and we get to the point where the game is on the line and we try to do too much rather than just trusting the simple stuff that got you there,” Senators coach Dave Cameron said.

Predators defenseman Shea Weber scored a power-play goal 6:23 into the second period on a one-timer past Anderson to make it 3-2. It was Weber’s fourth goal of the season, the 150th goal of his career and his 400th career point. He is the 39th defenseman in NHL history to score 150 career goals.

“Hopefully I can get more, I don’t know,” Weber said. “I’m not done playing yet. Very fortunate to be able to play in this League. It’s a great League, and the Predators have given me a great opportunity to be here. We’ve just got to keep winning games and get on a roll here.”

Roman Josi tied the game 3-3 at 7:57 when he deked his way around Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson and beat Anderson with a wrist shot for his fourth goal. Austin Watson put Nashville ahead for the first time at 8:51 by redirecting a shot from defenseman Seth Jones past Anderson for his second goal. Watson finished the game with three points, and every player on Nashville’s fourth line scored a goal.

“If you have the contribution up and down the lineup, that’s going to help you win a lot of hockey games,” Sissons said. “I think you need that down the stretch and in playoffs as well. I’m sure they’re happy to see that all lines were contributing, and we’re happy that all three of us got one tonight.”

But Karlsson tied the game 4-4 at 9:32 when his wrist shot from the right circle beat Rinne on the glove side. It was the first goal of the season for Karlsson, who has 13 assists. Curtis Lazar gave the Senators a 5-4 lead at 19:08, backhanding the rebound of Mike Hoffman’s shot past Rinne for his second goal.

Nashville forward Paul Gaustad missed the game with a lower-body injury and is as day-to-day. Sissons replaced Gaustad on the fourth line.

Nashville will play host to Toronto on Thursday night in a 7 PM contest at the Bridgestone Arena. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network

Julia Duncan of CCMS Basketball

Holding the Lady Panthers scoreless in the first half, the Coffee County Middle School improved their record to 3 and 0 on the year with a 58 to 5 win over East Tullahoma on Monday night.  The Lady Raiders raced out to a 37 to 0 halftime lead allowing Coach George Pearson to freely substitute as 10 different Lady Raiders scored on the night.  Julia Duncan led Coffee County in scoring with 21 points, including 15 in the first quarter.  Keelie Hillis finished with 10 points.

Brandon Jernigan of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders used a strong 4^th quarter to complete the sweep as they beat the Panthers 45 to 31.  Leading by 6 points at the end of the 3^rd quarter, Coffee County outscored East 13 to 5 in the 4^th quarter to claim their 2^nd win on the season.  Brandon Jernigan led all scorers as he had 24 points for Coffee County.  Kyle Farless added 9 points for the Red Raiders who are now 2 and 1 on the year.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders travel to Sparta on Thursday night to take on White County.  The girls game tips off at 6.