For the first time in 40 years, the Coffee County Central High School basketball teams have each claimed the regular season district title in the same season. A pair of wins on Friday night over Tullahoma gave the Raiders and Lady Raiders their 9th straight doubleheader sweep and clinched the #1 seed for the upcoming postseason tournament. The Lady Raiders record now stands at 24 and 3 on the season while the Red Raiders improved to 17 and 4. The Lady Raiders will open the district tournament play on Thursday, February 14th at 6 PM at Lawrence County after a first round bye. The Red Raiders also get a first round bye as they open tournament play on Friday, February 15th at 6 PM at Lawrence County as well. The district finals will be held on Saturday, February 16th.
Equally exciting for the Lady Raiders is an appearance in this week’s Associated Press Class AAA Top 10. For the first time in more than 20 years, the Lady Raiders grabbed the #10 spot in the weekly poll which is voted on by writers across the state. Riverdale is the state’s #1 team with a record of 22 and 1 as they captured 13 first place votes. Blackman fell out of the Top 10 to 12th place but did receive a 1st place vote. The complete girl’s Associated Press Top 10:
1 – Riverdale(22-1)
2 – Maryville (25-1)
3 – Houston(22-2)
4 – Oak Ridge(24-2)
5 – Bradley Central(22-3)
6 – Bearden(22-3)
7 – Morristown West(21-3)
8 – Campbell County(243)
9 – Mt. Juliet(20-4)
10 – Coffee County(24-3)
The Raiders and Lady Raiders will hit the road on Tuesday to begin the final week of the regular season. The road trip begins in Winchester as Coffee County visits Franklin County. The regular season finale will be in Shelbyville on Thursday. The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM both nights; Thunder Radio’s live coverage will begin with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50.
