DeeJay32

I'm really curious as to how Hodges was kept in check...very rare that a Mr. Football finalist and player of his caliber is held to 6 points

I absolutely agree...really dont understand that.

Respect! Love the pride, banter, and energy for your squad! Let's do it again next year!

You don't want that...

Revenge, adrenaline, hype, crowd, fireworks, entrance, tombstones, pride...none of that is going to win you a football game. It is about who has the better players and coaches, who executes, and who makes the plays on the big stage. That's it. And all that comes from years of preparation and training. AC is a very good team, but at a certain point, you simply cannot beat some teams unless the stars align perfectly.

100% agree- what a bootleg, halfa@$ operation...this is a joke

NFHS is $9.99 per month. Given the terrible quality of the live stream on rivalrythursday.com, I am investing in the backup plan.

As much hype and attention as Greeneville's QB, WRs, and passing game gets, the difference in this game will be at the line of scrimmage. I really don't think AC can match Greeneville's strength and physicality up front for 4 quarters, and it is impossible to prepare for that by watching film or practicing against the scout team. I think Greeneville's ability to run the ball on offense and stop the run and get after the QB on defense will be the difference. Don't get me wrong, AC will move the ball and score points. But I think Greeneville gets a few more stops on defense and relies on the running game in the 4th quarter to secure the win. Greeneville- 49 Anderson County- 31

Dude, it's gonna take WAY more than that to offend me. No need to apologize. I realized about 3 sentences into your post that my sarcasm/attempt at humor had failed! All good! We are on the same side of this street fight anyway- Go Devils

Yes- i was merely restating the arguments that are continually made daily on here. I do not agree with most of them.

Respectfully, there are roughly 100 pages of comments discussing the AC/Greeneville schedule comparison and the Ballard vs. Martin best QB argument. I honestly do not think anyone could come up with any argument or comment on either side of these topics that hasn't already been said a dozen times across these threads. But I'll summarize: - both conferences that AC and Gville play in are not good - Gville's out of conference schedule is tougher than AC - all of AC opponents except Elizabethton have a losing record - AC was more impressive against Elizabethton - Ballard only throws screens and short passes - Martin has way more interceptions - Ballard and Martin are great QB's and great kids - neither Ballard nor Martin have played deep into the 4th quarter in a game - Ballard has better rushing stats, but Martin could run if he wanted to but he is trying to stay healthy - AC would have won last year if Martin didnt get hurt I might be leaving something out, but that is about the gist of the arguments that everyone on here is probably tired of hearing at this point.

I hear ya, and I fully understand where you are coming from. BUT once they kick it off at 7pm tomorrow, it is all about execution and making plays. AC can set off all the fireworks they want and have the dramatic entrance onto the field; Greeneville can talk about being the best team in school history; the AC announcer can do his one-sided commentary; Greeneville fans can be loud and proud (and in some people's opinion, obnoxious); and there will be one of the biggest crowds in East TN high school football history. But at the end of the day, none of those things can throw or catch a football, make a tackle, or score a touchdown. Everyone is talking about the revenge factor for AC, the chip on their shoulder from being the underdog, this being the biggest game in school history, and wanting to win this game for the entire county. And maybe those factors provide a shot of adrenaline for AC for the first few plays, the first series, or maybe even the first quarter. But I can tell you from experience as a player in many big games, that adrenaline/extra juice/energy/whatever you wanna call it- it wears off pretty quickly, and it becomes just another game that comes down to X's and O's and the Jimmy's and the Joe's. Throw all of this other outside noise/factors out the window. The game will be decided by: 1. which coaching staff has the best gameplans on offense and defense to put their players in the best positions to limit the other team's strengths 2. turnovers 3. which team can win the 1 on 1 matchups (deep balls, tackling in space, blocks on the perimeter) 4. controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball

I, too, was very impressed with AC's offensive performance against Elizabethton. Their running game looked very strong. One of the most intriguing matchups to me is AC's OLine against Gville's DLine. AC did what they wanted with Elizabethton up front, and I will be very interested in seeing if AC can move the ball on the ground against Gville. Nobody has been able to run against Greeneville, but if AC can run it and not become one-dimensional, they have a chance. If AC can't run it and Gville can just pin their ears back and rush the passer, it will be very hard for AC to operate like that.

I would love some unbiased and informed comments/predictions/etc. from folks that have seen both of these teams play. I love the banter and smack-talking as much as anyone, but we have about 100 pages of comments spread across numerous threads over the last year with no real discussion about the actual matchups and Xs and Os. The game is finally here, so can we finally talk about how AC and Greeneville will match up against each other and how the game will go from an Xs and Os perspective??

It is no coincidence that AC didn't have an answer for Greeneville in the 2nd half last year. AC has a lot of talent, but by my count at least 7/8 AC kids play both ways, just like they did last year. This isn't an issue during the regular season when nearly every game is a blowout and you aren't playing starters into the 4th quarter, much less being challenged in a tight game. But I think this is a huge key to the game, especially if Greeneville runs the ball 30-35 times on offense. Almost all of AC's front 7 on defense goes both ways, which makes a huge difference when you play a team as physical as Greeneville.