On Wednesday night, the Coffee County Lady Raiders again beat the Lincoln County Lady Falcons, this time for the 4A Region 5 Title at Centennial High School.
The Lady Raiders came flying out of the gate, outscoring the Lady Falcons 18-10 in the first quarter.
Coffee amped up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, keeping Lincoln County to just six points while the Lady Raiders scored 17 to lead at halftime, 35-16.
The Lady Raiders continued to hold service in the third, outscoring Lincoln County 12-9 for 47-25 lead heading into the fourth, where they would close out the game, 56-30 for the first ever Region Championship in Lady Raiders history.
“It’s a great testament to what these kids can do,” said Coach Joe Pat Cope. “During warmups, I could tell our girls were laser focused. We also kept our turnovers to a minimum and most of those came late in the game. “My point guard here (Jules Ferrell) also did a great job of pushing the basketball up the floor.”
Jules Ferrell has had a fantastic season as the Lady Raiders’ starting point guard, being named to the District 9 All-District and Tournament Teams.
The freshman guard seems as though she’s already playing like a senior.
“It’s been really great,” said Ferrell. “I felt like a part of the team as soon as I came here. It also helps that a lot of us play AAU together.”
This season has also been a breakout year for sophomore Audri Patton, who has played a plethora of minutes coming off the bench, occasionally hitting a timely three pointer or two, such as the case with this game
“It means a lot to me to come in and take on the role that I have this season and winning a Region Championship is huge,” said Patton.
Scoring for the Lady Raiders in the Region Championship were Channah Gannon with 21 points, Olivia Vinson with 13 points, Natalie Barnes with 10 points, Jules Ferrell with seven points, Audri Patton with three points and Ella Arnold with two points.
After the game Channah Gannon and Olivia Vinson were named to the Region All-Tournament Team, with Gannon taking MVP honors.
The Region Champion Coffee County Lady Raiders will play Region 6 runner-up Hendersonville at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 2 at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium.
A win in that game will send the Lady Raiders to the State Tournament in Murfreesboro next week.
Sports collectibles and apparel merchandiser Fanatics is suing wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., alleging breach of contract, multiple outlets reported. The lawsuit was filed Saturday in New York Supreme Court against Harrison, who was selected No. 4 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in last month's NFL Draft. Per a Sunday report from The Athletic, Harrison initially signed a limited, non-exclusive promotion and license agreement with Fanatics while he played for Ohio State. The parties then negotiated a longer contract with Harrison, which included what the filing called "significant" compensation, with both sides signing off on it in May 2023. In the lawsuit, reviewed by The Athletic, Fanatics charges that Harrison hasn't lived up to his end of the contract, despite receiving paychecks last August and October, and that he has denied he had an agreement with the company. While details of the purported agreement, including his contractual obligations, were redacted in the suit, ESPN reported that a source earlier this month said Harrison agreed to signing autographs and trading cards, providing game-worn apparel and "other marketing opportunities." The Athletic said Harrison has ignored requests from Fanatics to fulfill that the company says exists. Fanatics is seeking a jury trial and estimates in potential losses as totaling "millions of dollars." Harrison also has not yet signed the NFL Players Association's group licensing agreement, which is holding up the sale of his licensed jerseys and other memorabilia. Anyone itching to buy Harrison gear can do so at The Official Harrison Collection, a website that sells autographed jerseys, helmets, photos, mini-helmets and such. There also are limited items signed by his father, Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison Sr., on the site. --Field Level Media
Former Michigan State guard A.J. Hoggard announced Saturday that he's transferring to Vanderbilt. Hoggard announced his decision on the Field of 68 podcast. He chose Vandy over Georgia, Southern California, Washington and Florida. An All-Big Ten honorable mention pick the past two seasons, Hoggard averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 assists in 35 games (34 starts) last season for the Spartans. He averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 assists in 131 career games (83 starts) at East Lansing. The 6-foot-3 Hoggard has one year of eligibility remaining. --Field Level Media
Former Texas forward Dillon Mitchell has transferred to Cincinnati, according to reports. Mitchell posted a picture of himself in a Bearcats uniform on his Instagram page. Mitchell, a former five-star recruit, was a McDonald's All-American in high school. The 6-foot-8 Mitchell reportedly also considered Auburn and Miami. Last season, Mitchell averaged 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in 34 appearances (33 starts). In two seasons with the Longhorns, he had averages of 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 72 games (71 starts). When Texas produced a 74-73 road win at Cincinnati last season, Mitchell had 10 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes. --Field Level Media
Minnesota Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson provided an update on his surgically repaired right knee Friday, indicating he's made good progress but has a long way to go. Hockenson, the eighth overall pick by the Detroit Lions in 2019, suffered ACL and MCL damage in a Week 16 loss to Detroit and had surgery delayed until Jan. 29 because of swelling. "They (the team) haven't really put a timeline on it," Hockenson said this week via NFL Media. "We're just kinda taking it day by day, week by week. There's just so many variables that you can go through in this process. "I'm doing really good right now. We're attacking each process. I'm attacking each one and it's been awesome. The progression has been incredible." NFL.com speculated Hockenson might miss the season's first few weeks but the two-time Pro Bowler might be ready to take the team flight to London for a Week 5 matchup with the New York Jets. Traded to Minnesota by the Lions during the 2022 season, Hockenson had 60 catches, three of them touchdowns, for 519 yards in those 10 games with the Vikings. He became a major component of the Minnesota offense last season, with 95 receptions for 960 yards, scoring five touchdowns in 15 games before his season was cut short. Hockenson's four-year, $66 million contract runs through 2027. The team signed veteran tight end Robert Tonyan on Thursday. -Field Level Media
More than three months before Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, the Cowboys and Texans are among the early-line favorites on the first Sunday of the regular season. Dallas is a two-point favorite at Cleveland and the Texans are giving a point at Indianapolis. Circa Sports published its Week 1 lines on Friday afternoon with the Cincinnati Bengals leading the way as the largest favorite -- nine points over the New England Patriots. The Buffalo Bills (-7.5) are the only other team giving more than five points in the opener. The first game of the regular season, Super Bowl ring night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, has the Chiefs set at 2.5-point favorites over the Baltimore Ravens. A rematch of the NFC divisional playoffs in Detroit between the Lions and Rams features the highest projected point total at 50.5. The full lineup for Week 1 with odds and point totals (over-under) from Circa Sports: Thursday, Sept. 5 Baltimore at Kansas City (-2.5, 47.5) Friday, Sept. 6 (Brazil) Green Bay vs Philadelphia (-1, 48.5) Sunday, Sept. 8 Jacksonville at Miami (-3, 49) Pittsburgh at Atlanta (-2.5, 43) Minnesota at NYG (-1.5, 41) Carolina at New Orleans (-5, 40) New England at Cincinnati (-9, 42.5) Tennessee at Chicago (-4.5, 43.5) Arizona at Buffalo (-7.5, 48) Houston (-1, 48) at Indianapolis Las Vegas at LA Chargers (-3.5, 43) Washington at Tampa Bay (-4, 41.5) Denver at Seattle (-5, 41) Dallas (-2, 44) at Cleveland LA Rams at Detroit (-3.5, 50.5) Monday, Sept. 9 NY Jets at San Francisco (-5, 44.5) --Field Level Media
On Thursday night, the CCCHS Football Team played an intrasquad scrimmage at Carden-Jarrell Field with the White Team picking up a 13-12 win over the Red Team.
Mystik Dan will look to win the second leg of the Triple Crown when he takes on seven other horses in the Preakness. He won the Kentucky Derby by a nose in the race's closest finish since 1947. Kenny McPeek's horse, who was a Derby long shot, did not open as the Preakness favorite. But Bob Baffert-trained Muth was scratched Wednesday after spiking a fever upon arrival at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Muth's absence makes it a field of eight for the race.
Dakorien Moore, the No. 1-ranked receiver in the Class of 2025, announced he has decommitted from LSU. The 247Sports composite also lists him as the No. 3 overall player in the class. Moore, from Duncanville, Texas, made the announcement on social media Thursday night. He had been committed to coach Brian Kelly's Tigers since last August. "I want to express my sincere gratitude to Coach Kelly and the entire LSU community for their tremendous support of my family and me," he said. "I am incredibly blessed and deeply appreciative of the opportunity the coaching staff has given me to play football at the collegiate level. "After careful and extensive consideration, my family and I have decided that it is in my best interest to decommit from LSU. I want to emphasize that despite this decision, I will not be considering any recruitment offers." 247Sports predicted that Moore would land with home-state Texas, which will make its Southeastern Conference debut this fall. --Field Level Media
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy for his proclamations of conservative politics and Catholicism, but he received a standing ovation at the May 11 commencement ceremony at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. The fast-growing college is part of a constellation of conservative Catholic colleges that tout their adherence to church teachings and practice. It is part of a larger conservative movement in parts of the Catholic Church. The college also is home to more traditional expressions of Catholicism, such as the Latin Mass, all-night prayer vigils and a strict code of conduct.
