Charlie Coffey, who helped Arkansas go 40-12-1 in five seasons as the Razorbacks' defensive coordinator from 1966-70, died Wednesday at his home in Shelbyville, Tenn., after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.
Coffey left Arkansas to become Virginia Tech's head coach. He had a 12-20-1 record with the Hokies from 1971-73, then went into the trucking business.
Coffey lettered three years as a lineman at Tennessee and later was an assistant coach for the Volunteers. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 201o.
Coffey is survived by his wife, Mai, four children, 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
-- Bob Holt
ASU's Rolland-Jones added to Lombardi list
Arkansas State sophomore defensive end Ja'Von Rolland Jones was added to the final Lombardi Award watch list Tuesday, joining teammate Chris Stone.
Rolland-Jones, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, had 30 tackles and two forced fumbles last season. He led the Red Wolves with eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss, earning second team all-conference honors. Five of those eight sacks came in a 44-28 victory against Idaho on Nov. 1.
VOLLEYBALL
UALR adds middle blocker
Veronica Marin, a 6-2 middle blocker from Tulcea, Romania, was added to UALR's roster Tuesday.
Marin excelled on the club level with Dinamo Bucharest and CSM Bucharest, helping both teams win Junior European Championships. She won a bronze medal at the 2013 Balkan Competition, a silver medal at the 2012 Junior European Championship and a bronze at the 2012 Youth European Championship.
Marin, who was a captain of the Romanian Junior National Team, is the third freshman to join the Trojans and the fifth roster addition overall.
SOFTBALL
UAM adds first full-time assistant
Kyle Lem, a graduate assistant at Arkansas-Monticello, was promoted Tuesday to become the team's first full-time assistant coach.
Lem was a coach and teacher from 2007-2014 at Glen Rose, Monticello, Lavaca and Mansfield. While at Glen Rose and Mansfield, he compiled a 59-29-1 record with three conference championships, a regional championship, a district championship and two seasons as a state tournament quarterfinalist.
Lem was named the Class 3A-5 Coach of the Year in 2011 and was selected to coach the AHSAA All-Star Game in 2009.
SOCCER
Suarez leads Lyon women to victory
Isabel Suarez scored a career-high four goals as the Lyon College women defeated Evangel (Mo.) 9-1 Tuesday at J. Marshall Huser Field in Batesville.
Hannah Miracheta and Maria Alonzo scored goals in the first 12 minutes of the match to give Lyon (1-1) a 2-0 lead. Suarez and Mikaela Buckley added goals in the second half to give Lyon a 4-0 lead.
Evangel (0-1) scored its goal in the 63rd minute to cut the lead to 4-1, but Anna Waldman scored three minutes later to make it 5-1. Buckley added a second goal in the 70th minute and Suarez added another three goals late to provide the final margin.
Lyon men cruise in season opener
The Lyon College men's team had 20 shots in the first half and rolled to a 6-0 victory over Evangel (Mo.) on Tuesday in Batesville.
Tucker Johnston and Estiven Ramirez-Garcia scored goals in the first 10:26 of the game to give Lyon a 2-0 lead. Jonathan Ray scored the first of his two goals 7:14 into the second half, then Lyon blew open the game on Johnston's second goal and a goal from Jack Fleming. Ray and Johnston also had one assist each.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services
Sports on 08/26/2015