The newest edition of Thunder the Magazine is now available.
The June edition of the glossy magazine – published by Thunder Radio – focuses on Coffee County High School, Coffee Middle School and Westwood Middle School spring sports for the 2022 year. The magazine also highlights excellent photography and the first ever Thundie Sports Awards.
Hard copies of the full-color, glossy magazine are available for FREE at multiple locations in Manchester, including Thunder Radio studios (1030 Oakdale St.), Al White Ford Lincoln, Mercantile Cafe, Coffee County Bank, Attorney Shawn Trail’s office, Peoples Bank & Trust, Interstate Liquors, Capstar Bank (main branch), Bush Insurance and Reese’s Genes Boutique.
Coffee County Central Cheerleaders attended team camp last week for the first time since 2019. It was a welcome experience for the group that has missed two years due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lady Raider squad placed first at camp in their Gameday routine and fourth in their dance routine.
Senior Liza Johnson and junior Anna Jones were selected as cheer All-Americans at the camp, which was three days at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville.
Liza Johnson (left) and Anna Jones were named All-Americans at 2022 Cheer Camp. The 2022-23 Coffee County Cheerleaders placed first for their gameday routine and fourth in dance at their summer camp at TTU.
Coffee County Central Lady Raider softball will host two camps on July 25 and 26th. Camp will be hosted by CHS coaching staff, players and former players.
Camp on July 25 will be from 9:30am to 12:20 p.m. and will focus on defense. Camp on July 26 will also be from 9:30am to 12:20 pm and will focus on hitting. Both camps are for children ages 4 through 8th grade and all activities will be at Terry Floyd Field (behind CHS). Cost is $30 per camp.
Register now to receive a camp t-shirt. Click here to register. For more questions, contact coach Brandon McWhorter at mcwhorterb@k12coffee.net.
Coffee County Central Red Raider boys basketball hosted teams on Wednesday (June 22, 2022) in summer camp action.
The Raiders opened play with a tight, 59-54 win over Grundy County. Photo gallery below. The Red Raiders are coming off their first trip to the state basketball tournament in 57 years and are spending the summer trying to find replacement for 5 departing seniors.
Dayne Crosslin
Jackson Shemwell
Dayne Crosslin
Brady Wright
Cooper Reed
Treyton Williams
Cooper Reed
Photos by Holly Peterson – Thunder Radio | Thunder The Magazine
The Tennessee Titans on Tuesday morning announced multiple training camp staff additions.
Five coaches will participate as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship – Jeremy Hawkins (Eastern Kentucky), Ashley Cornwell (Wisconsin), TC Taylor (Jackson State), Derik Abbott (U.S. Coast Guard Academy), Justin Hamilton (formerly of Virginia Tech).
Additionally, former Titans running back Bishop Sankey will join the scouting staff for training camp as a Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellow.
This year’s Amy Adams Strunk Women in Football intern is Chesney McClellan. She is a former Auburn volleyball player, who is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Belmont and is a graduate manager for the Bruins baseball team. McClellan will assist in scouting and operations during the Titans training camp.
The 2021 season ended five months ago, but as the Titans wrapped up their offseason work last week, quarterback Ryan Tannehill once again found himself answering questions about how it all ended.
“Like I said,” Tannehill said, referring to his comments from earlier this offseason, “it’s a scar that I’ll carry with me. But I am looking forward to this year. (I’ll be) using it as fuel as I move forward. It’s something I’ll always remember, but at the same time, I dealt with it, it’s in the past, and now I’m using it as fuel to move forward.”
Plenty has changed around Tannehill since the last time the Titans played a game.
Gone is dynamic receiver A.J. Brown, along with veteran guard Rodger Saffold and starting right tackle David Quessenberry, among others.
This offseason, Tannehill has been joined by veteran receiver Robert Woods, acquired in a trade with the Rams, and veteran tight end Austin Hooper, formerly with the Browns. The team drafted receivers Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips, while also selecting tight end Chig Okonkwo. And, the competition is now open for the two starting spots on the offensive line.
The Titans are very much a work in progress.
But Tannehill likes what the team has accomplished so far.
“We’ve done a lot of great stuff,” Tannehill said. “I am proud of our guys, the way we’ve come out and completed every single day. We’ve made a lot of progress – there’s a lot of new faces around here. To see those guys come out and learn the playbook, learn the way do things, and we’re learning each other as players. I am learning how Chig runs, I am learning how Austin runs, learning Treylon a little bit. A bunch of new faces – Josh (Malone), guys who haven’t been around here much, but learning how they move, learning how they run runs and how they fit in our system.
“Our guys have worked extremely hard and they’re going out there and competing and making plays. I’ve seen a lot of progress from all position groups throughout this spring. So it gives me a lot of excitement moving forward and (we have to) carry that momentum into training camp.”
At the end of the team’s offseason program, Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing praised Tannehill for his work this offseason.
“I think (he’s had) a great offseason,” Downing said of Tannehill. “I think he’s done a nice job stepping into that leadership role. He’s always been the leader of this offense, but certainly having a little bit louder voice and making sure he’s getting what he’s looking for in certain route concepts and things like that.
“I think he’s done a nice job helping the new guys transition into their new roles and understanding where they fit in the big picture. So, Ryan has been doing a nice job. We’re lucky to have him.”
Titans quarterbacks are scheduled to report for training camp on July 22, and the whole team is scheduled to report a few days later.
The first practice is tentatively scheduled for July 27.
Tannehill said the next month will be important as the team looks ahead to camp.
“It’s an important time of the year,” Tannehill said. “If you sit on your butt for the next five weeks, and show up to camp out of shape, that is going to set us back. So, it is going to be important for guys to take some time away, prepare yourself mentally for a long grind of a season. You have to get ready to go, and make sure you come in at your strongest, most conditioned, ready to run. … If we can come in with a full head of steam and be in shape, be in conditioned and ready to go, it is definitely going to help us.”
When the season starts, Tannehill said he plans to be ready to do his job.
“Just go out and lead the team, and win games,” Tannehill said. “That is ultimately what my job is, to go play quarterback, which includes a lot of different things, but leading the team and finding the way to win each and every Sunday.”
Coffee County Central football hosted Moore County on Monday (June 20th) in 7-on-7 passing work for the second time in less than a week.
The Raiders continue to work their passing game with sophomore quarterback Cole Pippenger – who connected on multiple deep balls to Travis Martin, Brendan Sheppard, Jahlin Osbourne and others.
The Raiders have another 7-on-7 passing day this week in Shelbyville (weather permitting) before the two-week TSSAA dead period begins next week.
Coffee County opens the regular season – the 100th in CHS history – on Aug. 19 when Franklin County comes to town. You can hear the Raiders all season long on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, Manchester Go app, thunder1320.com.
Tristin Galy
Konor Heaton
Jake Barlow
Ian Welden
Travis Martin
Brendan Sheppard
Brendan Sheppard (right), Konor Heaton (left).
Brendan Sheppard
Cole Pippenger
Ashton Ferrell
Brendan Sheppard
Caiden Martin
Caiden Martin
Jake Barlow
Konor Heaton
Travis Martin
Photos by Holly Peterson. Thunder Radio | Thunder The Magazine
Coffee County Central High School baseball youth camp scheduled for June 20th through the 22nd has been postponed due to extreme heat in the forecast.
The camp will be rescheduled with tentative dates of July 11-13 selected. More information will be provided at a later date. Anyone who pre-registered will receive an email.
The Titans hit the field for a minicamp practice on Wednesday at Saint Thomas Sports Park.
It was the second and final day of work on the field during the team’s mandatory camp:
Here’s a look at what happened on Wednesday
-Tight end Chig Okonkwo picked up where he left off on Tuesday, catching a touchdown pass across the middle on the third play of the final 7-on-7 period. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill found Okonkwo open as he raced past cornerback Buster Skrine. It was Okonkwo’s fourth touchdown catch in two days during the minicamp.
-Receiver Josh Malone, who played at the University of Tennessee, also ended his offseason on a solid note. Malone went up high in the end zone to catch a pass from quarterback Logan Woodside on Wednesday. I wrote Malone’s name down numerous times this offseason while watching his bid to impress the coaches.
-Running back Dontrell Hilliard has gotten a lot of work this offseason, and he’s impressed me as well. Hilliard had touchdown catches on back-to-back Tannehill throws at the end of the final 7-on-7 period, and he’s shown good quickness and speed on his carries.
-Running back Derrick Henry, like the rest of his teammates, will continue his offseason training elsewhere at the conclusion of minicamp. Henry looked good again on Wednesday, hitting the hole in drills and showing good movement after reporting on Tuesday.
-We’ll get back to some highlights soon, but first, some nuts and bolts:
-Defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons did not practice again on Wednesday, but he did some work running with a resistance band. Simmons talked to reporters after the session.
Some in baseball say momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher. Some say momentum isn’t a thing at all. But when you haven’t lost all month and your next day’s starter throws 100 mph, you tend to take the field feeling like it’s on your side.
That was the position the Braves found themselves in Wednesday, when they rode another electric start from rookie Spencer Strider and set an Atlanta-era record for home runs in a three-game series en route to their 14th straight win. Atlanta’s 8-2 victory over the Nationals extended the longest win streak in the Majors this season and matched the second-longest streak in franchise history since 1900, putting the Braves one win shy of the modern era club mark of 15 straight, set in 2000.
It was also the Braves’ 11th consecutive win against the Nationals in Washington, the most by any team at Nationals Park. They haven’t lost since May 31 against the D-backs and they have sliced six games off their deficit in the National League East in that time, whittling it down to four games Wednesday after Milwaukee routed the Mets. The Nats became the fourth straight team to be swept by the Braves, joining the Rockies (four games), A’s (two games) and Pirates (four games) during this dominant run by Atlanta.
“Everything seems to be clicking right now,” Strider said. “Top to bottom.”
After connecting for 10 homers in two slugfest victories to begin this series, Austin Riley (twice) and Orlando Arcia’s homers gave them a record-setting 13, the Braves’ most in a three-game set since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.
The Braves also tied a club record for a three-game series with 31 hits in the set, tying a mark set this past April 11-13, also against Washington. They’ve hit an MLB-best 33 homers and outscored their opponents by 60 runs (101-41) during this streak, and they will get a chance to extend it Friday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“That’s kind of amazing, really,” manager Brian Snitker said. “Our pitching, the bullpen. … We made plays, we got big hits. We did the whole thing.”
Otherwise, their runaway finale win was all about Strider. The fire-balling rookie right-hander spent 5 2/3 innings overpowering the Nats, racking up a career-high 11 strikeouts and inducing whiffs on 23 of his first 89 pitches (24 of 106 overall). The 23-year-old averaged 98.8 mph with his fastball and eclipsed 99 mph 31 times, touching 100.9 mph and holding Washington hitless until Luis García’s solo homer in the fifth. That wound up being the only hit Strider allowed, while yielding just two runs
