VikingVoice

You better not look past Clinton, they are the real deal in the Knoxville area. Like I said...and the Voice usually only speaks once....I'm not ready to crown us champs yet, especially if we have to face the Blazers or Rebels again. And I know Clinton is for real. But so are the Vikings and somebody is going to have to play a heck of a football game to beat us. I'm not saying it can't be done or that it won't be done, but whoever does it will have to play a heck of a game to beat these Vikings. Don't make me say it again.

SIMPLY AWESOME. Vikings LOOKED like at championship team tonight. The defense...STELLAR! The offense...LETHAL. The Game Plan...EXCELLENCE of EXECUTION. Nice mix on both sides of the ball. It was nice to see Keenan look like himself again. AND OH MY GOSH at the hittin going on!!!!! I couldn't be happier with our performance and I couldn't be happier for our kids, our coaches, their families, and for our fans. WHAT A TURN OUT BY VIKING NATION!!!! There better be NO LESS THAN THAT NEXT WEEK AND EVERY WEEK IN THE PLAYOFFS. The Maroon & White was well represented tonight. A tip of the Viking Horns to South. The fact that you all were still standing let alone contending for the title in week 10 after what you all have endured this year is a tribute to Jake, to yourselves, your coaches, school and community. Nothin' but the upmost respect for you. We knew the path to the title would run through Death Valley. I'm not ready to crown us state champs yet, there is too much football left to be played and we could very well have to face the Blazers and the Rebels again. A daunting task. First we have to get by whoever comes calling at the Castle next week. But let's just say...I'll never count the Vikings out and somebody is going to have to play a heck of a football game to beat us. Hey CAP, How bout them Vikings!!!!!!!

AWESOME job Vikings! You guys have given the Voice a lot to shout about this year. I am so proud of all of you not just for the way you play the game, but for the way you conduct yourselves on and off the field. You are making Viking Nation proud. Way to hang in there through a second quarter that didn't go our way. A tip of the Viking Horn to Daniel Boone. You gave us a scare and a tough physical game. Best of luck in the Musket Bowl and in the playoffs. Vikings, there is but one thing left to do in the regular season. You've been taking care of business for nine weeks now and you've earned a share of the conference title. How bad do you want the whole thing? It's time...It's time.

Great effort by both teams tonight. Vikings I am so proud of you all. What a tremendous night, one you will remember for the rest of your lives. Tip of the hat to D-B. Gutsy performance when it would have been a whole lot easier to pack it in, especially with as many sick as you all have had. The FLU has been a nightmare for everybody. Year in and year out D-B is the measuring stick for football in NE TENN, and tonight the Vikings more than measured up. Congratulations Tennessee High, you are Tri Cities Champs! Cap...How Sweet It Is!!! Love ya' Maroon!

Thanks for the good hard fought game Devils. Both teams gave it everything they had. Very impressed with Greeneville, you gave us the test we needed. Now we know we are legit. Good luck the rest of the way. GREAT GAME VIKINGS. We are so proud of you. We had big plays, we over came obsticles and mistakes, we beat a quality team on the road and we did it with at least two of our key players sick but still playing. Kicking game stellar. Defense, solid. Offense, oportunistic! Keep doing what you are doing. Work hard. Do the right things. Keep playing "team" football and not "me" football. 38 - 17...'nuff said. Volunteer. You're NEXT!

Lot's a SMACK talkin' here. I'm just glad most of it is coming from us fans in the stands and not the boys doin' the battlin'. I'm looking for a great game Friday night. I think there are some questions still to be answered by the Vikings. How good are we? We don't know yet and I think that is a scary scenario for the opposition. We've got the firepower to score on anybody. Pick your poison; 31, 18, 44, 20, 24, 22, 4, 10. Who do you want to focus on? And make no mistake the O line is doing the job paving the way and protecting the passer. D is gettin stronger each week too. Careful, we'll HITCHA! Greeneville will be our best test to date. To be a great football team you have to beat teams like the Devils. The '09 Vikings are looking to prove they belong in that discussion. We are also tougher than you think, oh and we HIT BACK! Greeneville has played a stronger schedule to date. That is why we need this game. Greeneville is a measuring stick and we will see where we stack up after Friday night. The season doesn't end after this one and we don't meet again in the playoffs, but the Vikings are out to prove something Friday night.

Ditto! Cougars have proven to be a very tough out for the Vikings at times. This year we face a Cougar team with nothing to lose and a season to make with a win over the Vikings. That kind of victory would go a long way for making senior memories and building for next year. Vikings better be focused on the right Sullivan this week. P.S. THSVikings2004 I really like the picture at the bottom of all your posts. I recognize some but not all the Vikings in it. Can you id everyone in it from left to right. I think it is one of the coolest pictures. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

I think youmay be right about East. They could be in a catch 22. However, you know the old formula, success brings $$$$. I know the gate from visiting teams may not be as good if East goes I AA, but East has amazing fans who really support their kids. Ralph is doing a great job there and if they get in a situation where they win their first conference football title you will see that program snowball and gate won't be an issue because their fans will pack the place. Not to mention their take on playoff gates if they make the post season year in and year out at that classification. It could be a win, win situation for them.

How about the "Big 2 and the 6 not near as Big as you"?

Cap, THS11 & Viking88 I'm counting on you guys and all the Viking fans to make some noise tomorrow night. I'm talking MAJOR NOISE! It's the last time our boys go over there so let's make it count! GO VIKINGS!!!

Longhorn51 and all other JC fans, I assure you the Vikings are not looking past the Horns. We learned not to do that three years ago when it took us two nights to beat you. Had it not been for that lightning storm that forced the game to be stopped on Friday night and continued on Saturday night, you all would have beat us in the Castle. We may have over looked you all then, but never since. You all play a hard physical brand of football and have really developed a good program. I for one respect you all and I will miss playing Johnson County when realignment takes place next year. So don't dicount what your kids do on Friday night if the Horns win by saying "...well Tennessee High was looking past us", because we know we can't look past anybody. We have to battle for every win we get. It sounds like you all are a lot like us, resembling a M*A*S*H unit as much as you do a football team. I hate to hear that about Prudehomme, he is fun to watch and Tester too. We lost sophomore Carlos Howard in the Science Hill game to a knee injury and he was really starting to come into his own on both sides of the ball. Good news is he is recovering well and should be ready to go next year. We have had other injuries as well and have not started the same line up all season long. Good luck to both teams Friday night as JC & THS lock horns one more time, for the last time. I hope it is a classic. THS 21 - JC 14 GO VIKINGS!

Thanks Cap and Vikingfan. I get to have a lot of fun on Friday nights because of our kids. The players, coaches and their families I have gotten to know over the seven seasons I have done this mean a whole lot to me. I'll keep doin' what I do, all you Viking Fans out their keep cheering our kids on. They can't hear me while they are on the field, but they can hear you. Rember cheers and encouragement are loud. Silence is deafening. P.S. Cap tune in in about 45 minutes and you'll have the answer to your question.

After getting caught up in all the message board scene a couple of years ago, I saw not only how involved our fans were getting with them, but also our players and how they were getting caught up in the whole mess and how it affected them, so I stopped. Didn't even look at Coach T last year. One day last week I decided to log on and see what was going on. What I see on here is the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good....The passion of Tennessee High Football fans. The opportunity to voice an opinion. The bad....The slamming and tearing down of one another. Remember, we are on the same team and we are all entitled to our opinion. The ugly...Telling our kids they are horrible. Folks these kids read this stuff. Before I go further let me make one thing very clear. I do my talking on Friday nights. I'm easy to find and easy to hear. Any one listening will know who I am pulling for. I have a unique perspective on this program. I am not a coach but I have a connection to them. I do not have a kid on the team but I know many of them and their parents. I will use the term "our kids" a lot during this post, because they are our kids. I know the coaches, players, and parents and see and hear all of their frustrations and concerns. The coaches and players are doing the best they can with the hand they are dealt with for this season. This team has resembled the occupants of a M*A*S*H unit almost as much as it has a football squad. But that is this sport we all know and love called football. It's part of the game and sometimes you have to put a player in a position in order to have a player in that position. The coaches do a pretty good job of that and the kids that have been asked to step up have done so to the best of their ability. If a kid is not playing in a particular spot or not playing at all, there is a reason or reasons why. As parents and fans we don't always have unclouded judgment. Year after year in high school ball the kids coming through change. No class is the same as the one before it. Some are more special than others. Tennessee High has had some great teams for this area, for this school. There is a difference in the talent pool at Tennessee High vs. other schools in the state or any other state for that matter. There is not a lot of of D-1 talent walking around the halls of THS, because D-1 means more than talent in football it also means size and speed. We do not posess those D-1 qualities and that is not a slap at our kids it is simply a matter of fact. If you don't think so, go to a college game of any classification and get as close to the field as you can. You will see the difference I am talking about. To do what our kids and coaches have done durring the Greg Stubbs era is a testament to their heart and their work ethic. Our kids work hard and and our coaches work hard to get the most out of them that they can. All that being said I don't always agree with the play calling and at times this year it has seemed like we had a great game plan during the first half but then for some reason or another got away from it in the second half. Coach Stubbs is not a razzle dazzle coach but he can be creative. It makes my job easier and more exciting when he is. His philosophy is to run the football and pass off of that. I do think we need to mix it up a little more and spread the ball around if nothing else than to make the defense guess and to give Keenan a break. He is a special back and a play maker but I do worry that we are going to wear him out before the season is over with. I think we do have some other play makers that can help us be successful, it is up to them to show the coaches they can do it. You know the old addage, you play the way you practice? I hope any would be play makers are giving it their all in practice. Also, the coaches can't play the game the kids do and we have been eaten up by penalties at times this year. Our kids have to fix that. When push comes to shove I can tell you time after time that Coach Stubbs has taken the blame for any coaching miscues. Now, a challenge to the fans. Let's be positive for these kids. They are after all the ones playing the game and the very reason we are in attendance on Friday night. Let's be supportive of them, win or lose. Let's use some of the same passion I see posted on these boards to cheer our lungs out on a Friday night. I look out from my spot in the press box and I see very little fan enthusiasm. Game in and game out from D-B to this past Friday night the fans in the opposing stands have put us to shame. They have been louder than we have been. They have been up on their feet most of the time and they have really gotten into the game. Fans from other schools are blasting us on these boards for being church mouse quiet at game time! They are calling the Stone Castle a funeral home! As fans, where is our Viking Pride? LETS GET BEHIND OUR KIDS & COACHES!!!! LETS BE THE 12th MAN!!! LET'S HELP THE COACHES FIRE THEM UP AND KEEP THEM PUMPED DURING BALL GAMES!!! YOU WANT TO SEE SOME FIRE...BRING SOME FIRE!!! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! YOU WANT TO SEE EXCITING FOOTBALL PLAYED WITH ENTHUSIASM? SHOW YOUR ENTHUSIASM IN A POSATIVE MANNER AND I PROMISE YOU THE KIDS WILL PLAY WITH ENTHUSIASM! Years from now our kids may or may not be state champs but they will remember the support of the crowd and the excitement of playing in the Stone Castle on a Friday night. We are 4 - 2 at this juncture and 3 - 0 in the conference. While it hasn't always been pretty, it could be a lot worse just ask the teams that aren't even sniffing the playoffs. We've got four big games left in the regular season. Let's all get behind our kids and our coaches and see what they can do.

Skunk you are too kind. The Vikings return a grand total of 0 starters on offense and 5 on defense. We are youuuuuung. That said we'll be stong on the defensive front and have some key leadership in the defensive backfield. Offensively we've got some talent at the skill positions, it's just green untested talent. The offensive line is young as well and will have to really step it up. On the plus side, the kids have worked really hard this summer and some of these unproven players are ready to show that they have earned their horns. We never have a lot of size at THS or a stable of game breakers. But what we do have is a good coaching staff who know how to get the most out of the kids and kids who have a good work ethic. I'm glad this game is when it is. With it being race week, there will be little if any media hype, just us morons on Coach T. All the excitement will be about it being the first game and not necessarily DB v. THS. DB is the premiere program in our neck of the woods and this will give us a good indication of where we are at and where we need to get to by week 10. I look forward to the game and to the season. Because the bottom line is IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE. Plus, at least this year we won't have to worry about Son of Skunk. We'll see you next Thursday.

Scoreboard opperator better be warmed up and I hope the refs have been cuttin back on the Twinkies and doings some running because this one is gonna light it up. Rebels 35 - Topper 30

I'll believe it when the first weekend in December rolls around and the Rebels aren't the last ones standing.

I hope things went well for the Tribe tonight or you all might have to hide the sharp objects from "Mr. Crazy".

I'm glad you all have Coach Witten. I think he will do an outstanding job. It should be a real interesting season in the Mt. Lakes. Mr. Wisconsin will have the Rebels ready to roll. Johnson County should be tough. Both the Vikings and the Cyclones are pretty young but I think will make some noise. It will be interesting to see what the Patriots do and if Unicoi can make the playoffs back to back. I think by the end of the season Elizabethon and Tennessee High should both mature enough to have the capabilities to make a run at the conference title. We could end up with a real interesting three or four team race.

To be the team you've got to beat the team. I think you have to give the early nod to the Rebels. Look out for the Longhorns though. They've got a tough and talented quarterback who is only going to get better along with the young talent around him. But never, and I mean NEVER, count out Tennessee High. Go Vikings!!!

GO TROJANS! Take it all the way to the title and them bring it on home with ya.

While a previous post regarding Coach Wampler coming to Tennessee High so that Coach Stubbs can take the job at SciHill with Coach Wampler taking over the helm of the Viking ship is pretty interesting at least from a "conspiricy theory" point of view, I have from a very reliable source that it won't happen. I don't think Coach Stubbs is interested in starting over at this stage in his career. While the $$$$ I'm sure would be good, there are other things to be considered. I'm not sure about Coach Wampler, he has only been here a year and we would certainly hate to lose such a quality coach, but with his resume and previous accomplishments who could blame him for taking a shot. I would hate to lose him, but would certainly wish him the best. As for the hypothesized Stubbs and two assistants to the Hill with Wampler taking over at THS thoery, it makes for interesting discussion on the boards but I assure you that is all it is.

I am pretty certain of one name you can take off the list. I have from reliable sources that Stubbs is not interested. And for that Viking Nation is glad.

Are we sure Coach Nelson is a done deal? I have been on the road today and I haven't heard any news yet. I know this has been a rumor but I thought it was only in our neck of the woods. Ralph has been rumored for a couple of jobs and I heard from a pretty good source that he flat out said no he was staying put because he has a freshman class that everyone on Weaver Pike is pretty excited about. Ralph is in a pretty good situation he has taken a school that has very little football history and turned them into a MLC contender. He has been great in the community and has generated a lot of excitement in East football. He is a hero at East and can stay as long as he wants. Wait a minute maybe he is the guy for the Hill then. With a school of SH's size and the calliber of athletes there, there is no reason the Toppers shouldn't be a major factor year in and year out in football just like they are in basketball and baseball. I would like to see what Ralph could do there. All that being said, maybe Johnson City is more of a basketball town than a football town. The university and community loved football so much they let the school president blow up the program. Don't give me all the so called reasons I've heard all of them. As for Science Hill, if the JC school board and the Topper administration and boosters were so gung ho for football then why has nothing happened before now.

First things first. Congrats to Mo'Town West. You all brought the heat for real! You are a great team and have a great program. Good luck. It would tickle me to death for you all to beat the Canes, lay the s-a-mackdown on Maryville and go on to win the state title. If we gotta get beat in the playoffs, I would just as soon get beat by the state champs. Next, I see a lot of Viking Pride on this thread and I see a lot of "team of whatever year" pride. That's not all bad. But maybe we should keep the comparisons to our private conversations and not air it out on the web. Pride and respect are very closely related. After all, a Viking is a Viking no matter the year. It's all maroon and white. I have had the priviledge to follow Viking football pretty closely for the past five seasons and I have heard many stories about teams from past years and eras even. Something that is evident in all of it is Viking Pride. In doing what I do, I have the opportunity to get to know a lot of the players and their families. I am asked frequently by other people around town to compare teams year to year. Out of respect for every player and every team, I try not to do that. It's not a fair comparison, because each season is different, each game is different, each team we face is different, each situation is different. The pigskin is a funny shaped ball and you never know how it is going to bounce. Bottom line, each player is special and every Viking team is special to me for a different reason. I love the kids I've followed for the past five years and this program to much to make irrelevant comparisons. To the 2006 Vikings, thank you for allowing me to have a lot of fun on Friday nights. I will never forget the way you fought each and every week. If I get to calling names I'm afraid I might leave somebody out. But I do want thank all the players who made plays and there were a lot of them. Thank you for giving me something to holler about. I will say that going into the season, I didn't know a whole lot about our quarterback and I thought there were two good ones from the '04 & '05 teams that he would be following. It didn't take Danny Thomas long to show me and the rest of the Viking fans that he too was a good quarterback. I've seen the kid take hit after hit, not thinking he was going to get up and time after time he did. He layed it on the line and played with a lot of heart each and every week. Make no mistake, he played the game and represented his school and our town in a way that would make a Viking from any era proud. Thanks again team of '06 and to the '07 team I've got two words for ya...YOUR NEXT! See you week 0 in the Castle for kickoff against the Indians.

I like you srupley and your diplomatic politicly correct approach to my question as well as your ability to tie it right back into the thread. Brilliant Post! Did I see your name on the ballot when I voted earlier today?