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Farragut VS Independence 5A State Title Game


SweetScience
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Congrats to both teams, players and coaches for getting to the state championship game so hats off to both programs.

Let's take a neutral look at both teams and trying to compare them (I may need some help with the Farragut Info)

Coaches - Scott Blade vs Eddie Courtney (both have consistent winning records) since they squared off 4 times when Coach Blade was coaching Oak Ridge does anyone know the head to head results? In looking at Coach Blades record at Oak Ridge he was 35-15 compared to 49-9 at Indy with a 29 game winning streak. Coach Blade has a 3-1 record in state championship games. Not sure of Coach Courtney's state championship record (Please fill in)

Talent at Indy seems more suited to his style of coaching based on the comparable records.

Offense - Pure spread team with four D1 WR's and dual threat RB. QB has been a nice surprise this year with steady play. Checking the matchups using unapproved website and 24/7 sports I see 2 seniors on Indy rated in the top 115 in the state (3 Star Landon Guidry committed to Mississippi State and 2 Star Owen Murphy committed to Austin Peay) There are no Farragut senior players listed in the top 115 of the state as of this morning. Add in two super sophmores from Indy (Kendrell Scurry (UT & Ohio State) and TJ Sheffield (Vandy & UT) and this looks to be a tall order for Farragut's defense which has given up 283 points this year compared to Indy's 236. We'll leave the level of competition out of the equation for now.

Defense - Indy had 3 players listed on it's preseason All-State Team (Landon Guidry, Hunter Dupree and Cole Huner) I did not see any Farragut players listed. Farragut put up 623 points which is tops in 5A this year compared to Indy's 570. Farragut has good line and RB which should pose an interesting matchup for Indy's defense. Indy has 18 Int's this year I believe so when Farragut decides to throw it will create turnover opportunities. Farragut's WR's are tall but have no deep ball threat. Farragut will put a few scores on the board but I do not believe they have enough firepower to keep up with Indy the whole game.

Special teams are both sound and pretty much a wash with neither team getting the edge.

If the game is wide open my prediction is Indy will win 49-21 but if Farragut can control the clock with their running game and limit Indy's offensive touches then Indy will win 28-14.

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Congrats to both teams, players and coaches for getting to the state championship game so hats off to both programs.

Let's take a neutral look at both teams and trying to compare them (I may need some help with the Farragut Info)

Coaches - Scott Blade vs Eddie Courtney (both have consistent winning records) since they squared off 4 times when Coach Blade was coaching Oak Ridge does anyone know the head to head results? In looking at Coach Blades record at Oak Ridge he was 35-15 compared to 49-9 at Indy with a 29 game winning streak. Coach Blade has a 3-1 record in state championship games. Not sure of Coach Courtney's state championship record (Please fill in)

Talent at Indy seems more suited to his style of coaching based on the comparable records.

Offense - Pure spread team with four D1 WR's and dual threat RB. QB has been a nice surprise this year with steady play. Checking the matchups using unapproved website and 24/7 sports I see 2 seniors on Indy rated in the top 115 in the state (3 Star Landon Guidry committed to Mississippi State and 2 Star Owen Murphy committed to Austin Peay) There are no Farragut senior players listed in the top 115 of the state as of this morning. Add in two super sophmores from Indy (Kendrell Scurry (UT & Ohio State) and TJ Sheffield (Vandy & UT) and this looks to be a tall order for Farragut's defense which has given up 283 points this year compared to Indy's 236. We'll leave the level of competition out of the equation for now.

Defense - Indy had 3 players listed on it's preseason All-State Team (Landon Guidry, Hunter Dupree and Cole Huner) I did not see any Farragut players listed. Farragut put up 623 points which is tops in 5A this year compared to Indy's 570. Farragut has good line and RB which should pose an interesting matchup for Indy's defense. Indy has 18 Int's this year I believe so when Farragut decides to throw it will create turnover opportunities. Farragut's WR's are tall but have no deep ball threat. Farragut will put a few scores on the board but I do not believe they have enough firepower to keep up with Indy the whole game.

Special teams are both sound and pretty much a wash with neither team getting the edge.

If the game is wide open my prediction is Indy will win 49-21 but if Farragut can control the clock with their running game and limit Indy's offensive touches then Indy will win 28-14.

how good is indy's dline

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Owlman1967 you didn't give any thought about the match ups. Why? I'm curious how the two teams will compete? Your earlier thread said this isn't the same Indy team as last year and you are correct however nobody is talking about last years' team. In the final game against Sevier County both teams had 3 players in the top 115 in the state playing in the game and Indy won in a landslide 49-14. I believe you are right that Indy may only have 5 plays (LOL) but 29 other teams knew those plays and still couldn't stop them. Farragut knows what those plays are so my point is who does Farragut have on defense this year that can match up with Indy's D1 athletes? Pick your poison? To answer your question above 2 out of 4 DL were starters as Juniors on the 

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This is not the same Indy team as last year. Indy's whole offense is based around the screen game and fake screens and they only run one kind of running play and their defense I feel was exposed the last 2 weeks so if Farragut can see what Cane Ridge did and Brentwood did it should be a good game 
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Yes you are correct but this year the weapons are much different and can beat you in a lot of different ways. Running game is much better than last year, receivers are bigger and the OL is quietly having a great season. Give me something other than what everybody knows about last year with Bunch and Johnson. For the record Bunch could also beat you with his running as well which was a totally different dynamic than what we have this year. We leave the running to the RB (Troy Henderson) who is getting Power 5 looks as a Junior. If you are going to make comments that this years' team is not as good, then you need to back it up with some numbers and how they will stack up against Farragut on Friday night. You sound like you know some football so jump in with some numbers.

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last year indy's offense was more diverse due to bunch being able to stretch the field with his arm along with nate johnson

Scurry now is playing at Nate Johnson level now - watch his cuts and how he gets separation

Bunch and Hines have same arm strength but Bunch knew the offense like a coach on the field , better legs and more accuracy

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NotreDameAlum I concur that Scurry (6'4") has filled Johnson's (5'10") position nicely but doesn't possess his break away speed yet as he is only a sophomore but his catching radius is much bigger. He is still getting separation especially on press coverage and that is a tough match up for any DB.

Hines actually has a much stronger arm than Bunch being an ex-pitcher for baseball but Bunch was clearly ahead in the other categories you mentioned above which is why he was without question the best QB in the state last year. Hines on the other hand stepped into some big shoes to fill with a lot of expectations/pressure and he has his team 14-0 so he must be doing something right. The development of Hines is clearly a testament to Coach Blade's coaching style.  

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I don't know if I would have laughed..... but there were question marks coming into the season that's for sure.

For those who don't know much about Hines here's the book on him. As a Freshman QB he led the Indy team to a 9-1 record and Division title. There are no playoffs for the Freshman level. As a sophomore he took a year off from football and concentrated on baseball as a pitcher throwing in the upper 80's. He had an elbow injury that required surgery and his pitching career was over. He came back out for football as a Junior and did the grind working on his development on JV. He paid his dues and now has an opportunity to lead his team to a state title. He is 4.0 honor student and has a calm demeanor which is needed at the most important position on the field. 

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Yes you are correct but this year the weapons are much different and can beat you in a lot of different ways. Running game is much better than last year, receivers are bigger and the OL is quietly having a great season. Give me something other than what everybody knows about last year with Bunch and Johnson. For the record Bunch could also beat you with his running as well which was a totally different dynamic than what we have this year. We leave the running to the RB (Troy Henderson) who is getting Power 5 looks as a Junior. If you are going to make comments that this years' team is not as good, then you need to back it up with some numbers and how they will stack up against Farragut on Friday night. You sound like you know some football so jump in with some numbers.

well Last years team had very few close games (2 if i recall) this years team has had multiple ones. The run game I will say is better this year but last year  they literally did not have to run the ball. Scurry is not on nate's level yet but he might be eventually. His lanky body is a good one for receivers to have. I do not see how you guys think Hines had a stronger arm than Bunch bc he could really spin the ball and had a rocket. Last years indy team was literally unbeatable in 5a and was probably the 3rd best team in the state last year. This years team is still very good but has a different dynamic. If farragut can exploit some of the weaknesses that CR and BHS showed then they can win. Pulling for Indy tho to bring a ball to Wilco!

Edited by zoneread56
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zoneread56 you are correct that Indy had only 2 close games last year (Smyrna & Hillsboro) and this years' team had 4 close games (Smyrna, Cane Ridge & Brentwood 2x) At 29-0 Indy has gotten everybody's best shot but somehow always comes up with a victory. Last year's team was dominant no question, this year's team has had to dig deep a few more times. They know how to get on top and finish you, they have experienced being up and losing momentum (Cane Ridge) and coming up with big plays at the end to hold on and they also have played from behind (Brentwood) and had the mental toughness not to panic and keep making plays to win. You can bet the gold ball will be coming back to Wilco with Indy again this Friday night.

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