Category: Sports

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher

The Predators kicked off their Central Division tour with a nasty, bruising 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.

After a slow start in the 1st, things picked up in the 2nd– oh wait, no they didn’t. This game was played almost entirely in a phone booth. Hardly an inch of ice was uncovered. With both teams playing tight defensive hockey and not allowing easy quality chances, it was tough to see where goals would come from. But they did come eventually.

Mike Fisher scored first in the 2nd period as the Predators caught the Wild on a line change. Weber with the old two-line pass leading Fisher into the zone untouched, who then slotted it past Devan Dubnyk. A rare, wide open lane to the net and the Preds took advantage. The Wild answered on the power-play, as Marco Scandella put one by Rinne after a questionable call on Ryan Ellis.

The pace quickened in the 3rd. First, Roman Josi scored 12 seconds into the period to give the Preds the lead. The Preds had the Wild on their heels for a bit, but then started taking stupid penalties. Matt Dumba’s power-play goal tied it up at 2. Things started getting pretty nasty towards the end, but the refs elected to fault the Predators for most of the foul play. But the Preds would weather the penalty storm and find a 3rd period savior: Cody Hodgson! His late 3rd period goal wins it for Nashville and the 2-game losing streak is over.  The Predators are back in action at home on Saturday night as they welcome the St. Louis Blues to the Bridgestone Arena.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game on the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network beginning at 7 PM.

Leigha Insell of CCMS basketball

After spotting West Tullahoma a 2 point lead, the 6th grade Lady Raider basketball team of Coffee County Middle School reeled off the next 9 points to jump start a 25 to 10 win over the Lady Bobcats on Wednesday afternoon at home. The Lady Bobcats cut the deficit to 2 points late in the first half before the Lady Raiders pulled away holding West to 2 points in the second half. Coffee County was led in scoring by Leigha Insell who finished with 11 points. Kiya Ferrell finished with 4 points and Marley Perry added 3 points for the Lady Raiders who are now 8 and 0 on the season.

Joseph Duncan of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders closed each half strong for a 35 to 20 win in the boys game. Joseph Duncan hit a 3 point shot just before the halftime buzzer to give the Raiders a 17 to 14 lead at the half. In the second half, Coffee County scored the last 11 points holding West scoreless in the final 4 minutes. Duncan finished with 20 points and Conner Shemwell added 10 points for the Raiders who are now 6 and 2 on the season. The 6th graders return to the court on Saturday as they travel to East Tullahoma to take on Providence Academy. The girls game will tip at high noon.

The Coffee County varsity will be on the road on Thursday night as they visit North Franklin. We originally reported that as a home game for Coffee County, but it is in fact an away game. The girls’ game gets underway at 6 PM.

Luke Beachboard of Westwood basketball

The Westwood Rocket and Lady Rocket 6th grade basketball teams captured a pair of wins on Wednesday night as they traveled to Shelbyville to take on Harris. The Lady Rockets held Harris to 3 points in the first half on their way to a 21 to 10 win. Elizabeth Brown was the leading scorer for Westwood as she netted 8 points in the win.
The Rockets turned up the defense as well as they held Harris without a field goal in the first half in a 24 to 7 win. Harris managed 3 made free throws in the first half and scored 5 of their 7 points at the free throw line. Luke Beachboard was the leading scorer for Westwood as he finished with 6 points. The Rocket 6th grade teams will be back in action on Tuesday as they welcome West Tullahoma to the Joel Vinson Gym. The girls game will tip off at 5:00 PM.

Motlow College softball coach Janice Morey

Lynchburg native and former Motlow College softball player Janice Morey has seen her life and career come full circle after being named the new head softball coach at Motlow, according to Athletic Director Laura Monks.

Morey comes back home to Lynchburg and Motlow after serving most recently as an assistant softball coach at Stewarts Creek High School after 10 years as head softball coach at Oakland, where she led her team to the District 7-AAA championship in 2014.

“I am looking forward to the challenge coaching at the next level will bring,” said Morey. “Although coaching in District 7-AAA seemed pretty intense at times, coaching at the college level will bring new opportunities to make an impact on young adult’s lives. I cannot image wanting to take this step forward in my career anywhere other than Motlow.”

Monks, the former director of the Motlow Fayetteville Center, was recently named Motlow’s new athletic director as well as dean of students. She joined Morey in starting her new position effective Nov. 1.

“Janice’s passion for softball and for student achievement will be a great asset to the success of the Motlow athletic program,” said Monks. “Her talents as a coach will be felt on the field and in the classroom.”

Morey graduated from Moore County High School and continued her athletic career playing both basketball and softball at Motlow in the mid-1990s. She continued as a student-athlete at Cumberland University in Lebanon where she earned her bachelor’s degree. During the 1999 and 2000 seasons she served as a graduate assistant for the Cumberland softball program while earning her master’s degree.

She officially began her coaching career at Shelbyville in the fall of 2000 and coached the Eaglettes’ softball program for five successful seasons before moving to Murfreesboro and taking over as head coach at Oakland.

“I am very excited to return home to the community I was raised in and to have an opportunity to make a positive impact,” continued Morey. “Motlow has a strong foundation we plan to build upon. I look forward to building relationships with the local schools, outreach programs, and others to allow the girls to get involved and give back to the community. They have a chance to live out their dream of playing college ball, and with that chance comes the responsibility to give back.”

Morey becomes the College’s sixth softball head coach in the program’s 22 years of existence. She replaces Tori Raby-Gentry, another former Motlow player who served as head coach for the past four seasons and as athletic director for the previous 18 months. Raby-Gentry, who resigned in July, led the Lady Bucks to a 27-19-2 record in 2015 and an overall record of 84-107-2.

Motlow College Athletic Director Laura Monks

Monks is a native of Fayetteville and has been the director of Motlow’s Fayetteville campus for almost 10 years. She has held multiple positions at the College since her arrival in 1994, including assistant director of student services, programmer/analyst, and financial aid technician.

“Motlow’s athletic program is highly respected across the state of Tennessee, and I am excited to be part of its future success,” added Monks. “I am looking forward to working with our student athletes and the esteemed coaching staff.”

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

After opening the 2015-16 basketball season winning two out of three non-conference games, the Motlow Bucks will jump into Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) play when they travel to Columbia State Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on Tullahoma’s sports radio The Ticket.

The Bucks have won two straight since dropping their season opener 68-66 to Olney Central College (Ill.) on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Vincennes Kiwanis Classic in Vincennes, Ind. The next night Motlow got its first win under head coach J.T. Burton by beating the home team, Vincennes University, 78-66.

Motlow won its second consecutive game Monday night, traveling to Boaz, Ala., and beating Snead State 92-70. The Bucks will be heavily tested Friday night against the Chargers, who have won back-to-back TCCAA tournament championships.

“This Friday is going to be another big road test,” said Burton. “Going to the reigning conference tournament champions’ place for the first conference game is going to be tough.

“They have very good guard play,” added Burton, “including Braxton Bonds, who I coached at the University of Tennessee. He will bring leadership and toughness to their team. We have to continue to do the little things in order to be successful.”

The Bucks dominated Snead State from the beginning, jumping out to a 51-32 halftime lead behind hot shooting that continued the entire game. Motlow connected on 56 percent of its shots from the floor and 52 percent from behind the three-point line.

Jaylen Barford and Darius Joell led all scorers with 23 point each. Barford added five rebounds, six assists and two steals; while Joell, who hit 5-9 three pointers, had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ryan Jones scored 16 points with three rebounds and three assists and hit 3-4 from behind the three-point line.

Jared Pearson led all rebounders with 10 boards while also scoring seven points. Stephaun Adams was outstanding from his point guard position, dishing out 12 assists with six steals and seven rebounds to go along with three points. Reid Pierce and JaQualis Matlock each scored six, Jade Patrick added five and Axel Magnuson scored three points for Motlow.

Barford has led the Bucks in scoring in each of the first three contests, including his 27 points in the win over Vincennes, who entered the season ranked No. 6 in the nation by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Joell scored 18 points while Adams led the assist column with 10 and led the Bucks in rebounding with eight.

Motlow struggled in its season opening loss to Olney Central, falling behind 16-1 in the early going and trailing at halftime 41-24. The Bucks caught the Blue Knights, but lost the game on a buzzer beating layup as time expired. Barford scored 22 points and Adams added 13. Matlock and Barford each had eight rebounds, with Adams leading the team with six assists.

The Ticket can be heard in southern middle Tennessee on 105.1 FM and 740 AM, and around the world at TheTicketRadio.com and on your smartphone with the Tune In Radio app (search for WHMT). Those in Tullahoma who are LightTUBe subscribers can also listen live on channel 11.

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

Karen Medina of Westwood basketball

Balanced scoring for 4 quarters lifted the Westwood Lady Rockets to a 45 to 31 victory over Liberty on Tuesday night in Duck River Valley Conference action. Ashley Starks led the Lady Rockets in scoring as she poured in 20 points, including 8 points in the 4th quarter. Karen Medina finished the night with 10 points while Morgan Jones added 6. The win improves the Lady Rockets record to 6 and 2 on the season.

Shawn Anderson of Westwood basketball

Closing out the 3rd quarter on an 8 to 2 run gave the Rockets a 1 point lead going into the 4th quarter and lifted Westwood to a 46 to 44 win over the Liberty Patriots in the boys’ game. A nip and tuck battle in the last 95 seconds saw Liberty close a 5 point Westwood lead to a single point before Collin Ward sank a free throw with 2 seconds left to give the Rockets the huge win. Roderic Brinkley finished with 14 points while Shawn Anderson had 10 and Augie Burch netted 9 points. The win is the 5th straight for the Rockets.
Westwood will be back at home on Thursday night as they play host to Middle Tennessee Christian School. The girls’ game will tip of at 6 PM at the Joel Vinson Gym. The 6th grade Rocket teams will travel to Shelbyville on Wednesday for a doubleheader with Harris Middle School. The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM at Thomas Magnet School.

Julia Duncan of CCMS Basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams opened the regular season in winning fashion on Monday night at home as they swept a pair of games from the rival Trojans of South Franklin. A hot shooting first half saw the Lady Raiders drain five 3 pointers and force a dozen turnovers on their way to a 49 to 30 win. The Lady Raiders raced out to a 10 to 2 lead in the first 2 minutes of the game as South had no answer for Coffee County’s quickness and ball movement. The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Julia Duncan who had 15 points, Ellie Graham and Bella Vinson each added 14 points for Coffee County.

Brandon Jernigan of CCMS basketball

Kyle Farless hit a 3 pointer in the waning seconds of the first half to give the Red Raiders a lead that they would not relinquish in a 27 to 21 defeat of South in the boys game. Farless’ 3 point basket made the halftime score 17 to 16 in favor of Coffee County. Coffee County used their interior size in the 2nd half as Trevor Horne and Brandon Jernigan combined for 7 of the Raiders last 10 points. Jernigan led Coffee County in scoring with 11 points while Farless finished with 5 points and Horne had 4 points.
Coffee County will be back at home on Thursday night as they welcome North Franklin to the CCMS gym. The girls’ game gets underway at 6 PM.

Roderic Brinkley of Westwood basketball

The Westwood Rockets won their 4^th game in their last 5 contests as they got a huge conference win at Eagleville on Monday night.  The home standing Eagles entered the game leading the conference at 6 and 1 but were no match for the Rockets effort and hustle.  A 14 point explosion in the 2^nd quarter gave Westwood an 8 point lead at the half as the Rockets pulled away in the 2^nd half.  Roderick Brinkley led Westwood in scoring with 15 points and yanked down 8 rebounds.  Jake Hollandsworth added 11 points as the Rockets improved to 4 and 3 on the year.

Westwood Lady Rocket Ashley Starks

The Lady Rockets of Westwood Middle got 27 points from the tandem of Ashley Starks and Morgan Jones but it was not enough as they fell 33 to31 to Eagleville on Monday.  Tied at 24 entering the final period, the Lady Eagles were able to get to the free throw line more than Westwood in the 4^th quarter to scratch out the conference win.  Starks had all 7 of Westwood’s 4^th quarter points as she finished with 19 points.  Jones netted 8 points in the loss as the Lady Rockets’ record falls to 5 and 2 on the season.

Westwood returns home to the Joel Vinson Gym on Tuesday night as they welcome Liberty for a double header.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6:00 PM.

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

The Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams of Coffee County Central High School had their first practice sessions on Monday at the Joe Frank Patch Gym.

Coach Micah Williams begins his first season as the Raiders head coach as the Raiders look to improve on a 5 win season last year.   The Red Raiders lost 5 starters to graduation along with the majority of their scoring from last season.

CHS Lady Raider basketball coach Herb Hortoninstructs his players on the 1st day of practice

Coach Herb Horton begins is 3^rd year at the helm of the Lady Raiders.  Coach Horton looks to replace 4 senior starts from last year’s squad.  The Lady Raiders will see the return of junior post player Aerial Williams who missed most of last season with a knee injury.

Coffee County opens the regular season on November 17^th at home as they play host to Huntland.  As always, Thunder Radio is your exclusive home for Coffee County athletics.