Category: Sports

Garrett Davis of Coffee County Middle(#27) gets a lead at first base in early action. Coach Rodney Meeker gives instruction in the foreground(right)

Fielding a team of 6th graders for a JV baseball team has great advantages, but comes with growing pains. Those growing pains resulted in 4 unearned runs as the CCMS JV Baseball team saw their season come to an end on Saturday in an extra inning loss to North Franklin in the CTC JV Tournament. The young Raiders played well and will be looked to contribute immensely as the varsity team graduates 14 players to the high school. On Saturday, the Raiders were led by Griffin Meeker who had a hit with 2 RBI. Braxton White, Brayden Brown, Noah Bradshaw, Garrett Davis and Trey Rogers all had hits for Coffee Middle.

Despite a spring of weather challenges, both Coffee County CHS and Coffee County Middle School track teams were able to host meets on Thursday and Friday of last week respectively. On Thursday, the CHS thinclads hosted Shelbyville as both the boys and girls claimed team victories. Results for Coffee County by event are as follows:
Girls Results

Taylor Deberry(left) hands off the baton to Javan Vurge(right) in the 4x200M relay

Disc – Cameron Davis 1st / Svetlanna Ingram 2nd /Susan Martin 3rd /Keishel Norton 4th
Shot Put – Cameron Davis 1st / Svetlanna Ingram 2nd /Keishel Norton 3rd
Long jump – Taylor Deberry 2nd /Lily Harris 3rd
High Jump – Sarah Pearson 2nd /Makenzie Anderson 3rd /Bailey Nester 4th
100M Hurdles – Taylor Deberry 1st /Mackenzie Anderson 2nd /Sarah Pearson 3rd
100M Dash – Javan Vurge 2nd
4×100 Relay – 1st ( Lauren Smith, Keishel Norton, Jasmine Farrar, Renee Martin)
400M – Nadia Hansen 1st / Javan Vurge 2nd
300M Hurdles – Mackenzie Anderson 1st /Lily Harris 2nd
800M – Sarah Hollis 3rd
200M – Javan Vurge 1st

CHS senior Kani Johnson clearing the bar in the high jump

Boys Results
Disc – Reece Pratt 1st /Caleb Buck 2nd / Jalen Cummins 3rd
Long Jump -Johnny Dulin 1st /Joe Melton 3rd
High Jump – Kani Johnson 2nd
100M. Kani Johnson 1st / Tyler Jones 3rd
1600m – Andy Rosson 1st / Neil Sloan 3rd
4×100 Relay – 2nd (Damien Smythia, Ben Myers, Tyler Jones, Johnny Dulin)
400M – Cyler Vaughn 2nd
300M Hurdles -Kani Johnson 1st
800M – Ben Myers 1st
200M – Tyler Jones 2nd
3200M – Andy Rosson 1st / Caleb Buck 3rd
4x400M Relay – 1st (Cyler Vaughn, Johnny Dulin, Dalton Dehaven, Joe Melton)
The Raiders and Lady Raiders are scheduled to travel to Chattanooga on Friday participate in the Little Caesars Championships held at Red Bank.

Carlie Barnes of CCMS track prepares to release the shot.

The CCMS Raider track teams welcomed Warren County Middle to Carden-Jarrell Field on Friday for a Co-Ed Relay meet. After 2 previous cancellations, the Raider teams were participating in their first meet of the season. Not only did Coffee County win the meet, but placed first in every event. The detailed results are as follows:
(For field events, scores of the top boy and top girl from each team were combined to determine the winner)
High Jump: Weston Hargrove (5’3″) & Julia Duncan (4’3″)
Long Jump: Weston Hargrove (16’10”) & Julia Duncan (12’10”)
Discus: Cade Baker (76’10.5″) & Faith Floyd (79’4″)
Shot Put: Drake Medina (28’2″) & Carlie Barnes (27’2″)

(The open 1600M was treated and scored as normal)
Boys: 1st – Larson Meltzer, 2nd – Jalen Morris
Girls: 1st – Kaytee Christian, 2nd – Trava Brown, 3rd – Karie Wooten

Larson Meltzer of CCMS finishes the 1600M run with a new personal best time

(Relay teams were to be composed of a mix of boys and girls)
4x100M: Weston Hargrove, Gracie Pippenger, Laura Bogard, Marissa Douglas
4x200M: Zach Morgan, Jenna Garretson, Willow Hobbs, Lindsey Perry
4x400M: Weston Hargrove, Gracie Pippenger, Larson Meltzer, Julia Duncan
4x800M: Makenzie Webb, Morgan Henley, Jalen Morris, Clinton Ferrell

CCMS entered one additional team in the 4x100M & 4x200M relays. Both teams performed exceptionally well, with the 4x200M second team nearly edging out Warren’s team for second place.

Freshman Raven Rogers fires a pitch during one of four games she pitched in over the weekend. She was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the day on Saturday… Photo by Barry West

The Coffee County Lady Raiders beat Warren County 8-0 in five innings on Friday. The two teams are competing in the Coffee County Classic.
Haley Hinshaw and Kaylee Skipper had 2 hits and 3 RBI’s each. Hinshaw added two runs scored. They earned the Co-Gateway Tire and Service Center players of the game. Brianna Jones, Taylor Barnes and Shelby Scrivnor all contributed 2 hits for the Lady Raiders.
Jones struck out 10 and allowed just one hit to give her 246 on the season.

Megan Gravely had 2 hits and 2 RBI’s on Friday in the Coffee County Classic as the Lady Raiders defeated Lincoln County 4-3.
Both head coaches had agreed before the game to play their junior varsity players in the varsity game. The game was tied at 3 as the time-limit ended and the game moved into the international tie-breaker. The Lady Falcons had a runner at 3^rd and got a hard hit groundball at 3^rd baseman Alisabeth York showed her quick hands as she fielded the ball and fired the ball home to get the runner. Pitcher Raven Rogers worked through the rest of the inning to set up the Coffee County offense. According to international tie-breaker rules the player to make the last out in the previous inning goes to 2^nd base with no outs. With Athena Lusk at second, Raven Rogers would jump on the first pitch to lay down a bunt. Lincoln County’s 3^rd baseman threw the ball to first but it would sail into right field and Lusk scored the winning run.
Gravely earned the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game.

Senior players; Brittany Williams, Shelby Giles, Brianna Jones and Taylor Barnes hanging out at the ball field before the prom on Saturday… Photo by Barry West

Next up for the Lady Raiders was Strong Tower Lightning from Michigan on Saturday morning. Coffee County would roll in the one hour time-limit game, 17-0.

In the single-elimination portion of the tournament the Lady Raiders opened up against Bledsoe County, playing mostly junior varsity because of Saturday’s prom.
Paige Baker hot bat and Raven Rogers’ pitching arm helped to lead Coffee County to a 10-0 win.

In the quarterfinals the Lady Raiders, again playing with mostly JV players lost to Ravenwood, 19-1.
Ravenwood would go on to beat Hendersonville and Riverdale to win the championship.
Coffee County at 24-4-1 on the season travels to Whitwell on Monday night to wrap up the regular season. The district tournament for the Lady Raiders begins on Saturday.

Leo Botello prepares to strike a penalty kick in the 2nd minute of Saturday’s conference championship match.

“As long as it takes!”  Those were the words of Westwood soccer coach Jonathan Graf prior to Westwood’s 4 to 1 conference championship win Cascade on Saturday.  Graf was reminding his team that they needed to be prepared to play as long as needed to earn a championship.  After being pushed to overtime on Friday night before scoring, the Rockets got a first half hat trick from Leo Botello to carry a 3 to 1 lead into the half.  After trading penalty kicks in the first 5 minutes, Westwood imposed their will on Cascade offensively and defensively.  The Westwood defense was so strong they held the Champions to 3 shots, all of which were turned back by keeper Cailan McLean.  On offense, Westwood got off 23 shots with 14 of them being on frame.  Leo Botello opened the scoring on a penalty kick in the 2^nd minute as he was taken down in the box on Westwood’s first offensive rush.  Cascade answered with a penalty kick of their own at 5 minutes after a collision at the top of the 18 yard box.  The Rockets took the lead on an incredible play at the 12 minute mark.  Felix Salinas sent a beautiful feed deep in the 18 yard box that Botello flicked past the Cascade keeper on a sliding kick.  A 2^nd rush two minutes later saw Andres Cavalie have a shot blocked by the Champions keeper only to end up on Botello’s foot.  Leo punched it home and Cascade never mounted an effective attack the rest of the way.  Cavalie managed to get off 3 shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half scoring on the 3^rd shot in the 44^th minute.  The win improved Westwood’s final record to 11 and 2 on the season and a perfect 7 and 0 in conference play.

Westwood soccer teams celebrates after their conference championship win.

Colton Kerber comes into 3rd base standing up after hitting a triple in early season baseball action

Needing a win to earn a 3^rd place seed in the upcoming CTC conference tournament, the CCMS baseball team got a strong offensive performance up and down the lineup along with a complete game from starting pitcher Harley Hinshaw on their way to a 7 to 2 win over Warren County.  The game, originally slated to be held at Warren County, was moved to Coffee County and the home dugout suited the Red & Gray just fine as four Red Raiders banged out a pair of hits and the defense was sterling.  Colton Kerber was 2 for 4 with a triple and stole home for Coffee County.  Andrew Mahaffey was 2 for 4 with a home run while Clayton Lowell and Cody Esslinger were 2 for 4 on the day.  Hayden Skipper and Hinshaw each added hits to avenge a 5 to 2 loss on Tuesday night which sullied the 8^th Grade Appreciation ceremonies.  With the win, Coffee County will open conference tournament play on Thursday with a 5 PM game at White County High School.

Westwood’s Andres Cavalie from early season action

Andres Cavalie found the back of the Fayetteville net in the 5th minute of overtime period to give Westwood a 1 to 0 win over the Tigers in the CTSC Tournament semifinals on Friday night at Westwood. Westwood out shot Fayetteville 24 to 2 on the night with 11 shots being on frame for the Rockets forcing the Tigers keeper into a save. Cavalie found the ball at his feet off of a deflection as the Rockets rushed the net in the overtime period. Cavalie easliey converted on the lone mistake of the game by the Tigers to propel Westwood to the victory. With the win, Westwood will host Cascade at noon on Saturday for the CTSC Tournament championship at Dyer-Bouldin Field.

CHS Soccer seniors were honored prior to the game

The victorious CHS soccer team poses with the Coffee Cup trophy after beating Tullahoma 2 to 0

Senior Night is supposed to be about a team’s seniors.  On Thursday night, that was exactly the case as seniors Ernesto Gomez and Cole Hawkins had 2^nd half goals to lead the Coffee County CHS soccer team to their first victory over Tullahoma in the program’s history.  Perhaps even more importantly, senior Lafredo Ramirez was spectacular in goal as he had 12 saves including 2 saves in each the last 5 minutes of each half to ensure the win.  After a scoreless 1^st half in which Tullahoma out shot Coffee County 8 to 5, the Raiders dominated play in the second half to retain the Coffee Cup Trophy.  Ernesto found the back of the goal first in the 46^th minute from the top of the 18 yard box.  Cole Hawkins rang a shot off the goal post in the 48^th minute as the Raider offense peppered the Tullahoma keeper with shots.  Hawkins got a 2^nd chance 2 minutes later on a corner kick as he headed the crossing kick into the top of the Tullahoma net that gave Coffee County a lead they would not relinquish.  With the win, Coffee County finishes the season with a 6 and 1 record in district games earning a home game and the 2^nd seed for the upcoming District Tournament.  Coffee County closes the season at Warren County on Tuesday in a 7:00 PM match.

In middle school soccer, a first half hat trick by Drake Medina and a penalty kick off the toe of Briggs Haithcock were the only points the Coffee County Middle School soccer team needed as they dropped South Franklin on Thursday night in the first round of the CTC conference tournament. The win advances Coffee County to the semifinals of the conference tournament which will be held at Shelbyville. The Raiders will take on top seeded Warren County on Saturday morning in a 10:45 AM game.

In high school baseball on Thursday, Coffee County traveled to Lawrenceburg to take on Lawrence County. The Wildcats jumped to and early 3-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back as the won the District 8-AAA matchup over the Raiders 15-0 in 5 innings.
Friday at 5pm in Manchester the rain delayed game between Coffee County and Franklin County will pick back up where it left off on Wednesday. The game was tied at one run each after 2 innings of play.

Maddie Taylor hitting a backhand

The CHS tennis team continued their strong play with an impressive first day of the District 8AAA Singles/Doubles District Tournament on Thursday hosted by Sewanee.  The Lady Raiders will advance a singles player and both doubles teams into Friday semifinals, while the boys netters continued to improve but fell just short in their quest for a Friday match.  In girls singles play, Karlee Reed had a strong day going 2 & 0 on the day to advance to the semifinals.  Reed won her first match 8 to 2 then rolled into the semifinals with a 6-4/6-0 quarterfinal sweep.  Also playing singles for Coffee County was Maddie Taylor who started the day with an 8 to 1 win before losing in the quarterfinals 3-6/6-7(5-7 tiebreaker score).  Both Coffee County doubles teams had great days as the team of Kayla Wright and Alli Shelton won their opening round game 8-4 before gutting out a 3 set quarterfinal match.  After winning the 1st set 6-2, they dropped the 2nd set 2-6 setting up the 10 point tiebreaker.  In the tiebreaker, Wright & Shelton grabbed a 10-7 win to advance to Friday.  Coffee County’s other doubles team, Alex Crossland and Savannah Hodge got a 1st round bye before sweeping their quarterfinal match 6-0/6-1.  The 2 Coffee County teams will square off in the semifinals against one another with a berth in the finals on the line.

In boys singles play, Walker Seagrove and Will Davis dropped their opening round matches by scores of 1-8 and 0-8 respectively.  In doubles action, the team of Jay & Shilp Patel fell 1-8 in the opening round while the team of Trevor Ivey-Bodman and Easton Mai got an 8-4 win to advance to the quarterfinals.  In the quarterfinals, Ivey-Bodman & Mai were eliminated 2-6/0-6.  In JV action, Anna Harrell and Hope Blackwell got 1st round wins before falling in the second round.  Harrell won her match 8-2 in the opening round before falling 2-8 in the second round.  Blackwell opened up with an 8-0 blanking before falling in the 2nd round 6-8 in a hard fought match.

Reed and the 2 doubles teams will return to Sewanee on Friday for semifinal action beginning at 10 AM.

Tori Bell ready to attack a pitch on Wednesday night in Tullahoma… Photo by Barry West

After a rain delay the Lady Cats of Tullahoma hosted the Lady Raiders of Coffee County in District 8-AAA softball on Wednesday night.
The game remained scoreless through 3 innings before Coffee County scored twice with one run on a solo homer by Tori Bell. Taylor Barnes scored a run in the 7th on a throwing error to make the final score 3-0.
The Lady Raiders improved to 20-3-1 and 12-0 in District 8-AAA play.
Brianna Jones had another strong outing allowing just one hit, striking out 17.
Coffee County will host the Lady Raider Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The ladies play Warren County at 1pm and will see action again at 5:30pm.