CHS senior Sara Brown from earlier season action
Playing before a packed and partisan crowd on Friday night at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym, the Raiders and Lady Raiders earned a hard fought split with their cross county rivals Tullahoma. Al White Ford/Lincoln paid the admission cost for every student from Coffee County CHS and the Raider Academy on the night as both fan bases combined to tally the biggest attendance night of the year on Senior Night.
The Lady Raiders opened the basketball doubleheader as they dropped a hard fought 61 to 47 decision to the Lady Cats. Coffee County, which cut the 9 point halftime deficit to 3 points in the first 2 minutes of the second half, saw a string of turnovers and missed shots help Tullahoma to go on a 9-0 run over the next 3 minutes. From there, the Lady Raiders could never get any closer than 8 points. Senior Tyger Fenton led Coffee County with 14 points while senior Cameron Davis added 11 points. The 4 CHS seniors, Fenton, Davis, Sydney Pearson and Sara Brown, were named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Co-players of the game for the Lady Raiders.
CHS senior Zack Taylor from earlier season action
In the boys game, the Red Raiders roared out to an 8 to 0 lead in the 1st 2 minutes of the game and never trailed as they turned back the Wildcats 61 to 49. The win, the first career win for Red Raider interim coach Ben Holl, snapped a 10 game losing streak for the Raiders and handed them their first district win of the year. Senior Peyton Talley led Coffee County in scoring with 18 points while senior J.P. Duncan tallied 13. The 4 Red Raider seniors, Talley, Duncan, Addison Carter and Zack Taylor, were named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Co-players of the game for Coffee County.
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Both teams finished the regular season as the 6th place team in the district and each will host a playoff game next week. The Lady Raiders will open district tournament play on Monday night at 6 as they play host to Columbia. A win for Coffee County on Monday would set up a rematch with Tullahoma on Thursday night at Tullahoma. The Red Raiders will play host to Tullahoma on Tuesday night in a 6 PM game. A 2nd win over Tullahoma would send Coffee County to Shelbyville on Friday night for a 2nd round game with the Eagles. Thunder Radio will have the broadcast of all of Coffee County’s playoff games
