Category: Sports

Prep Roundup

CHS senior Cameron Davis releases the discus in Tuesday’s track meet at Carden-Jarrell Field

The boys and girls track teams at Coffee County High School defeated Lincoln County and Warren County. Cam Davis took 1st in discus and shot. Reece Pratt was 1st in discus and 2nd in shot. Kani Johnson had four 1st place finishes; 100 meter hurdles, the 100 meter and 200 meter runs, and high jump. Karson Young won three events; High jump, triple jump and long jump. Sarah Pearson was 1st in the 300 meter hurdles. Both the 4×400 relay boys and girls teams won 1st. Sarah Hollis was 1st in the 800 meter run. Javan Burg 1st in 100 & 200 meter runs. Andy Rosson 1st place 1600 meters. Taylor Deberry finished 1st in 100 meter hurdles followed by teammates Mackenzie Anderson 2nd Sarah Pearson 3rd. Deberry finished 2nd and Lily Harris 3rd in the 300 meter hurdles.
The next meet is Thursday at Carden-Jarrell Field with field events getting underway at 3:00 PM..

Westwood soccer’s Leo Botello (#7) – file photo

The Westwood Rockets boys’ soccer team traveled to the mountain on Tuesday to take on St. Andrews-Sewanee. The Rockets got a hat trick (3 goals) from Leo Botello in the 4-1 win. Juan Penaloza had 2 assists, and Leo Suarez had a goal the other goal. The win improves the Rockets record to 3 and 1 on the season and 2 and 0 in conference play. The Rockets host Lincoln County on Thursday at Dyer-Bouldin Field. That match will kick off at 6:00 PM.

In high school soccer Tuesday the Coffee County Red Raiders were on the road at Franklin County. Breyer Taylor got things started for the Raiders with a goal off an assist from Ernesto Gomez at the 30 minute mark. Early in the 2nd half Taylor scored again to make it 2-0. In the 74th minute Taylor scored again for the hat trick to make the final 3-0.
Coffee County will be on the road in Columbia on Thursday night beginning with JV action at 5pm and varsity at 7pm.

Westwood’s M.E. Spradley with a backhand return in Tuesday’s tennis match against Tullahoma

In middle school tennis on Tuesday Westwood took on Tullahoma at Fred Deadman Park. The Rocket boys lost 7-0 and the girls lost 6-1 to the very experienced Wildcats. This is the first year for the program at Westwood under the direction of coach Justin Winton. The Rockets will be at home on Tuesday, April 7th as they welcome Lewisburg to the Fred Deadman Park. The first matches will get underway at 4:00 PM

The Coffee County tennis teams traveled to Lincoln County to take on the Falcons. The girls were winners, 5-2. Alex Crossland won 8-6, Maddie Taylor 8-4, Savannah Hodge 8-6 and Kayla Wright 8-4. The doubles team of Hodge/Crossland also picked up a win.
Lincoln County defeated the Raiders, 6-1. Easton Mai won 9-7 and the doubles team of Mai/Trevor Ivey-Bodman had the best 2-man match of the day but lost in a tie-breaker. Coffee County hits the road again on Thursday as they are in Tullahoma for a 4pm start.

Motlow Splits Weekend Softball Games

Sophomore Bridgette Wilson, shown from a contest earlier this season, had six hits during Motlow’s series split with Volunteer State. Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.

The Motlow Lady Bucks overcame a six run first-inning deficit and scored the winning run in the top of the tenth inning to beat Volunteer State 13-12 Saturday afternoon in Gallatin. The win was part of a four-game series split between the two TCCAA rivals.
Motlow (16-6-2, 11-5) also staged a comeback in Friday’s series opener, scoring four runs in the seventh inning to win 9-8. The Lady Pioneers turned the tables in Friday’s second game 10-6. Following the Lady Bucks’ dramatic win in Saturday’s opener, the home team finished off the weekend earning a split with a 10-2 victory.
Motlow is scheduled to play three doubleheaders at home this week, beginning with a visit from non-conference Martin Methodist College JV on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Lady Bucks are back in conference play this weekend, hosting Cleveland State on Thursday at 2 p.m. and Friday, April 3, at noon. There is no admission charge to Motlow College athletic events.
Friday’s first game typified the Lady Bucks during this 2015 season; a team that continues to battle even when faced with significant deficits. The Lady Pioneers (9-11, 7-9) put Motlow in an early 7-1 hole after three innings, but the Lady Buck scored four in the sixth and four more in the seventh to grab the one run win.
Cameron Pearson (10-1) went the distance, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs. The Lady Bucks overcame seven errors during the victory and got out-hit 11-9. Taylor Wolaver went 3-4 with three RBI and Chelsea Buffington drove in a pair of runs. Wolaver scored the go-ahead run on a Buffington sacrifice fly.
Motlow staged a mini comeback during Friday’s second game although it fell short. After falling behind 10-0 through four innings the Lady Bucks fought back before losing 10-6. Shaky defense hurt the Motlow cause with five errors, but Motlow pitchers Riley Long, Lauren Hasty and Rachel Gamble combined to give up 13 hits and seven earned runs.
Saturday’s opener was a classic, with Pearson pitching the full 10 innings and allowing 20 hits, but only six earned runs. After the early 6-0 deficit, the Lady Bucks scored four runs in the second, two in the third and four more in the fourth inning to lead 11-7 after five innings. However, Volunteer State added three in the sixth and one more in the seventh to tie the game at 11-11. Each team scored once in the eighth before Motlow plated the game winner in the tenth. Lianna Martinez scored the game winner for the Lady Bucks on Pearson’s sacrifice fly.
Miranda Whelan slammed three doubles and drove in three runs and Bridgette Wilson added a pair of doubles and drove in two more runs. Pearson had two RBI as Motlow collected 15 hits and overcame nine errors.
The Lady Bucks seemed to run out of steam by Saturday’s second game after taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Lady Pioneers scored two in the second, three in the third, two more in the fourth and three runs in the sixth.
Long took the loss, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in three innings. Gamble pitched the final two innings and gave up four hits and three earned runs.
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>.

Hinshaw Homers In Lady Raider Win

CHS shortstop Haley Hinshaw

Another great performance by Brianna Jones spurred the Coffee County Lady Raiders to a 7-0 win in seven innings over Franklin County on Monday.
Jones struck out 15 hitters en route to the win. Coffee County is now 10-1 on the season.
Six runs in the first three innings helped the Lady Raiders blow out Franklin County. A wild pitch and during the first inning and an RBI single by Brittany Williams and an RBI single by Jones in the second inning supplied the early offense for the Lady Raiders.
Haley Hinshaw reached base three times in the game for Coffee County. She scored two runs and had one RBI. She homered in the seventh inning.
The Lady Raiders will host Tullahoma Thursday night and you can hear the game live on Thunder Radio beginning at 6:50pm.

Tennis Teams Compete In Sparta

CHS Lady Raider tennis player Karlee Reed

The Coffee County girls tennis team defeated White County on Monday, 6-3. Winners included Karlee Reed, Alex Crossland, Maddie Taylor and Ali Shelton in singles action and in doubles. Reed/Taylor and Kayla Wright and Ali Shelton were winners over White County.
The boys lost 9-0.
The two teams play at Lincoln County on Tuesday.

Westwood Softball Drops Home Opener to Liberty on Monday

Westwood first baseman Haley Miller bats in Monday’s game against Liberty

The Lady Rockets softball team hosted their first home game of the year on Monday as they welcomed Liberty to Lady Rocket Field. The Lady Rockets battled back from an 8 to 3 deficit in the 5th inning to make the score 8 to 7 and kept it at that score going into the 7th. At that point, the Lady Patriots banged out 7 hits as they batted around twice to defeat the Lady Rockets. Sarah West and Haley Miller each had 2 hits apiece and an RBI to lead the Lady Rockets. Westwood plated 4 runs in the 5th inning as Danielle Baker, West, Miller and Carlee Sullivan had consecutive hits. Sullivan got the start in the circle for Westwood and had 7 strikeouts. She was relieved in the later innings by Hallie Wimberley and Avery Whitsett.

CHS Soccer Team to Host Middle School Tournament This Weekend

The Coffee County CHS soccer team is hosting a middle school tournament this weekend at the Raider Soccer Field behind the Raider Academy. 4 middle school teams have been invited for the 2 day event to be help on Friday and Saturday. Games begin at 6:00 PM on Friday and go from 9 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday. Teams who have accepted this invitation are Algood Middle of Putnam County, Harris Middle of Shelbyville, Madison Academy of Huntsville, AL and Manchester’s own Westwood Middle.
Red Raider Coach Robert Harper wants to make this an annual event and hopes to have the ability to expand the number of entries in the future. Westwood Rockets head coach Jonathan Graf is excited about the opportunity to make up some cancelled games and see some unique competition.

The Schedule is as follows:
Friday, April 3
6:00 PM Algood vs. Harris
7:30 PM Madison Academy vs. Westwood

Saturday, April 4
9:00 AM Harris vs. Westwood
10:30 AM Madison Academy vs. Algood
1:00 PM Westwood vs. Algood
2:30 PM Harris vs. Madison Academy

Harper says that he hopes the tournament will fill a void for middle school soccer in terms of scheduling and in bring top flight programs together at a central location. Coach Harper will be the guest of Lucky Knott on Tuesday’s edition of Straight Talk which airs from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM Monday thru Friday on Thunder Radio.

Strong Weekend Performance For The Lady Raiders In Southern Classic

Brianna Jones pitched a one-hitter and had a homerun as the Coffee County softballers picked up a 9-0 win in five innings over Lake Zurich, Illinois on Friday in the Southern Classic in Murfreesboro.
The big inning was the 3^rd when the Lady raiders plated 8 of their 9 runs.
Jones struck out 11 as she picked up her 7th win of the year.
Coffee County got 2 hits and 2 RBI’s from Kaylee Skipper and Brittany Williams contributed 2 RBI’s.

In game two on Friday Coffee County took on Lauderdale County, Alabama.
Tori Bell, Haley Hinshaw, Kaylee Skipper, Brianna Jones, Rhianna Roberson and Shelby Scrivnor all provided one RBI each in the 9-1 win. The Lady Raiders scored 4 in the first and cruised to the win.
Tori Bell, Haley Hinshaw and Brittany Williams had 2 hits each and Skipper was the winning pitcher.

On Saturday afternoon Coffee County took on defending Class-AAA state champs, Dickson County in the Southern Classic. Pitcher Kaylee Skipper went the distance as the Lady Raiders fell for the first time this season, 7-4.
Coffee County 8-1 on the year was led by Rhianna Roberson who had 2 hits and an RBI. Ashlynn Morton, Brittany Williams and Haley Hinshaw added an RBI each.

Another great effort by Brianna Jones led the Coffee County Central Lady Raiders to a 2-0 win over Lakota West, Ohio on Saturday.
Jones had 16 strikeouts gave up just two hits over seven shutout innings.
Tori Bell had two RBIs with one on a solo homer, her first of the year.
The Lady Raiders finished 4-1 in the Southern Classic and are now 9-1 on the season.
Coffee County will travel to Franklin County for district action on Monday.

CHS Baseball Drops a Pair of Weekend Games

CHS baseball team celebrates with J.P. Duncan following his home run. Photo by Hayden Proffitt

A 2nd inning solo home run from J.P. Duncan staked the CHS Red Raider baseball team to a 1 to nothing lead thru 3 innings of play as Coffee County played host to Warren County on Friday afternoon at Pwers Field. Warren County answered with 2 runs in the 4th inning before scoring 10 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to drop Coffee County 12 to 4. In addition to Duncan’s home run, Noah Anderson was 2 for 3 on the game with an RBI, Dylan Sandoval was 1 for 2 with an RBI and Deandre Wakefield, who pitched well as he finished the game on the mound in relief, added the other RBI.

CHS senior baseball player Dylan Sandoval at third base in early season action

Another strong start but disastrous finish doomed the Red Raider baseball team on Saturday at Powers Field as they dropped a 17 to 2 decision to Independence. After giving up a run in the top of the 1st to the visiting Eagles, Coffee County starting pitcher Daniel Gassman settled in to hold Independence scoreless through 3 innings which allowed Coffee County to plate the tying run on a Brandon Haston double in the 2nd inning which scored Dylan Sandoval from 1st base. However, 3 Raider errors in the 5th inning broke open a close game as Independence built up a 8 to 1 lead which they would never relinquish. Sandoval scored the 2nd run of the game when Haston reached on an Independence error in the 5th. Coffee County could only muster 4 hits on the game as Sandoval, Wyatt Day and Zach Wise had singles to go with Haston’s double. The JV baseball team will travel to Tullahoma on Monday for a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 PM. Coffee County will play host to Tullahoma on Tuesday night at Powers Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM and you can hear the game on Thunder Radio beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.

Westwood Baseball Drops Friday Game to Huntland

Westwood’s Jacob Garms follows thru on an infield hit from early season action

The Rockets baseball team of Westwood Middle School played their 3^rd game of the week as they played host to Huntland on Friday evening at Looney Riddle Field at Fred Deadman Park. The young Rockets continue to improve but dropped an 18 to 1 decision as coach Tyrell Campbell features a starting lineup loaded with 6^th and 7^th graders. After spotting the visiting Hornets 2 runs in the top of the first inning, Westwood answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, catcher Nick Smith singled, advanced to second base on Devin Taylor’s sacrifice and scored on Jacob Garms RBI single. Westwood kept it close thru 3 innings before Huntland began to string together hits to put the game out of reach. Winston Alford and Byron Sullivan added singles for Westwood in the game as Huntland’s pitcher did not allow a walk and the Hornet defense did not commit an error on the game. Westwood will be off until Friday when they play host to Cornersville in a 3 PM start on Good Friday at Looney Riddle Field.

CHS Soccer Earns 6th Place Finish at Gulf Shores Classic Tournament

The CHS soccer team warms up in Gulf Shores on Friday before their 2nd game of the day. Photo by Heather Spaulding Reid’s husband

The Red Raider soccer team split their 2 games on Friday in Alabama as they opened play in the Gulf Shores tournament. The Raiders won a literal slug fest with Madison County, AL in their morning contest by a score of 3 to 0, before dropping the second game to the tournament host, Gulf Shores 5 to 1.
In the morning contest, Breyer Taylor ripped an unassisted goal past the Madison Co keeper at the 10 minute mark to give the Raiders an early lead. Samuel Brown added a goal at the 23rd minute off an assist from Ethan Hickman as Coffee County took a 2 to 0 lead into the second half. Breyer Taylor notched his second goal in the 55th minute before the fireworks ensued. Cole Hawkins took a punch from a Madison County defender before 2 other Tiger defenders jumped on Hawkins. After the fight was broken up, 3 red cards were issued to Madison County which disqualified those players from the game. Madison County decided to forfeit at that point. After the game, head coach Robert Harper expressed he composure shown by his squad.
In the afternoon contest, the Raiders took an early 1 to 0 lead on a Paco Barrera goal off of a Breyer Taylor assist in the 2nd minute. The host Dolphins added 2 first half goals to take a 2 to 1 lead into intermission and 3 goals in the second half against a tired Red Raider squad to claim the 5 to 1 win.

On Saturday, the Red Raiders opened with eventual tournament champion Sparkman as Coffee County was blanked 4 to 0. Sparkman came into the game averaging 8 goals a match in the tournament, but the stingy Raider defense held them to 2 first half goals. Sparkman added 2 goals in the final 10 minutes to advance to the title game and send Coffee County to the 5th place game against Gadsden Southside. The Raiders got on the scoreboard first as Breyer Taylor drilled a shot past the keeper on a pass from Abilene Barrera in the 14th minute to give Coffee County a 1 to 0 lead at the half. Southside answered with goals in the 38th, 43rd and 55th minutes to take a 3 to 1 lead. Coffee County answered back in the 60th with an unassisted goal from Scott Randolph but could not find the equalizer in the 3 to 2 defeat. The Raiders return home to open district play on Tuesday night as they travel to Franklin County for a 7:00 PM match in Winchester.