Cactus Jack

Clinton has depth issues, and it seems like AC has the momentum as far as getting the good kids from the county that Clinton used to get. Sounds like the Fulton scrimmage revealed that AC may have some issues containing a fast team, like Fulton usually is, so if Clinton has anyone that can run, that may be their best chance, but I still believe this one goes to AC.

Farragut has a huge offensive line and their quarterback throws well and they have some experience. This will be a tough test for the Indians as they lost a lot of guys due to graduation. You may have to outscore the Admirals to beat them, the odds are they will get some points. So the question here is will the DB Offense be able to move the ball and keep the big Admiral line on the bench? Hope to be up there to watch this one.

Take scrimmages with a grain of salt. They are a time where coaches feed players in to see what they can do going against someone else, Oak Ridge is a very young team with a lot guys that have not had much or any Friday night experience, but in the first scrimmage, the main thing I saw was that the effort was there, they wanted to play, and they gave effort. They made mistakes sure, and this is the time to find those mistakes. The Hardin Valley scrimmage will be a good test because of their size and we certainly need time against a team with size with that huge Farragut offensive line coming up in the first game. We have some good teams on the schedule even though overall it is not as tough as last years schedule, this team will need to be ready by the last three games. Good Luck guys!!! Jamborees are practically worthless, more a show for the fans and media. A lot of coaches don't even play their starters, wisely not wanting their key players injured in a game that does not count. Hard to really tell from a one quarter jamboree unless the starters play, and then you don't know how the game would progress after that.

I think AC will be very good. That staff does a good job up there year in and year out. Dragons won't be any match, heard their numbers are way down.

DB is just facing a heavy graduation loss. Clark will bring them around. Best of luck at Fox Den on Week Zero......by the way, is the J. Fred renovation on for 2014??

Farragut is very big up front in the offensive line, they will try to push OR around. Quarterback does return, same guy from last year, good runner and passer. They have a definate advantage with the Week Zero game vs DB, although I hear DB is down due to heavy graduation losses from their 12-1 playoff team in 2012. I thought the game is at Farragut, not Kingsport, where it was last year. Would like to see a large crowd of Oak Ridge fans journey to Fox Den to get the second Joe Gaddis era off to a good start. Too bad they tore down the Frontier House, and replaced it with a bank! Miss the burgers and beers there.....I see the game being close, with mistakes making the difference, the old Neyland Maxim holds true here, the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

Looking forward to the upcoming season. While we have little game experience, the spring showed more players out and raw talent. This team needs to continue to work hard and practice hard and I believe if they do that, they will have a good season. They can take no game for granted as most games will be close. Starting with Farragut, they were down last year at 3-7, so I expect that game to be pretty much even with two green teams on the field with a slight advantage to Farragut in that respect since they play Kingsport DB in Week 0. After that we can do quite well with the tougher games being McMinn County in week 5 and at Powell in week 8. I suspect Powell will be the best team on the schedule. Central in week 9 over in Fountain City could be very tough as they improved last year, especially toward the end of the season, and closing with an always competitive and well coached Anderson County team could be a repeat of last years OT game at Blankenship. Hopefully, by that time we will be a veteran team ready for the 5A playoffs, which we could really make some noise in. Main thing is to get fans in the seats both at home and on the road. About 60 days left until Farragut!!!!

Hate to see you all go, you are right, nothing is as unstable as DOE Funding, however a big project is coming, wish you could fit into that and stay around. Good luck to you and your family,

Jon said he wanted to build his own pool and add a garage for his humvee and two mercedes, and my house has roon for all that!

Freshman had around 25, JV about the same. Freshman played well until several key injuries hurt them late in the season. JV played pretty well most of the time. I understand if all the upcoming juniors and sophomores come back out, we will only dress 34 in the spring, not counting the new freshman coming in. The numbers will certainly be a challenge to the new coach, I think a good number to dress for varsity is around 65, so that means trying to get at least 30 more out in the spring. I think this year is a good opportunity for a kid who wants to play on Friday nights, so if they are sitting on the fence, they need to come on out now and get started in the weight room, and be ready to compete for a position in the spring, since most of them will be wide open, with a new head coach to evaluate them.

I would agree with that. The field itself has been kept in very good shape by the school maintenance guys over the past couple of seasons, best grass field in ET. Maryville had to get field turf due to drainage problems, it was a quagmire after a rain, it did not drain well. Field turf may be nice eventually, but the priority at Blankenship needs to be as stated above, and getting the new scoreboard up for next season as well.

I hope they buy my mother's house Linda has listed!!!

I hope that a coach is hired that will reignite interest in the football program in the community and in the school hallways. I do not know who that might be, I just know how he should be. I also think it is time for the School Administration to start investing in the program, i.e. facilities, especially Blankenship Field. Other schools are doing so, whether it be with public or private money or both, We have great facilities for basketball, soccer etc., and now it is time for football to get some attention as far as facilities and support go. Coach Blade did a great job on the field, he got the team playing at the level it should be, he did not have the talent that OR teams in the past had, or he would have probably won the big prize, but he got them as far as they could get. He was not a PR coach, did not feel like it was his job to get the support from the community, he hoped that winning would do that, but it did not, as evidenced by the weak crowd for the Science Hill playoff game. OR football is again at a crossroads, to go in the right direction it needs a top notch coach with both the on and off field skills to move the program forward, time for the School Administration to lead on this, and back it up!!!

School Administration needs to step up and support the football program and the new coach, the perception is they don't care, is that the reality? Like they apparently do at places like Maryville, DB, Science Hill etc, as evidenced by their recent stadium improvements.

Absolutely!! Coach Blade did a good job and got the program back on the field. I wish him well at Independence and don't blame him for making the move for his family. Now, the next coach does indeed need to not only be able to coach, but to do the things mentioned above. Ex Players, fans etc, let the administration know that OR Football is relevant and its success could help revive a struggling town, if they invest in it. They need to hear many voices, not just a few.

Sure wish you guys had dropped Farragut and played us (Oak Ridge) in Week 0.

I would definately support Ron Gray for the Catholic job. He has servied his time as an assistant, offensive coordinator on several staffs, including here in Oak Ridge until 2004. Ron has the energy and the knowledge to make Catholic very competitive.

Blankenship needs the upgrades soon, could still probably be done cheaper than moving the facility to the high school, and that just wouldn't seem right anyway. The field itself is in good shape, thanks to Big Cat and the guys who do such a good job mowing, watering and trimming. So, as long as they can do that, field turf is not really needed although most newer coaches prefer it. The main thing needed at Blankenship is both the visitors side and lower home side bleachers need replaced with up to code bleachers and there "appears" to be money in the Capital Plan for that starting in FY 2014 or 2015, which could end up getting defferred or even canceled, its not hard money. The press box needs some serious work, especailly the roof, and locker rooms. I think building a building on the visitors side to house a locker room, concession stand and bathrooms, and setting a new set of bleachers over the top of them takes care of some of that, then the both locker rooms could be for Oak Ridge. There are a LOT of things that could be done up there and probably should have been included in the High School Renovation, but Blankenship was invisable to the planners. Bounder is right that most of the upgrades up there were completed with private donations of time and money by the Quarterback Club and Boosters Club. SO, its time for the schools to pony up, there hasn't been an upgrade up there since 1979 when they put up new lights and aluminum bleacher bottoms. Facilities are an important part of any program, Kingsport, Science Hill, Maryville, Greeneville, Morristown and others have realized that and already done so. With the fall to 5A and our numbers being down, our program needs a shot and support from the community and of course private donations if we can get them. Its time!!!

Good luck DB, run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, win the game....for my buddy Coach Hoover at DB

I was proud of the effort given by Oak Ridge tonight, our guys played hard and had the Maryville crowd pretty quiet when we tied it up. Maryville is like the Oak Ridge teams of Emory Hale in the late 70s and early 80s and Joe Gaddis' 1991 team, lots of talent and depth and able to withstand a teams best and win late. Oak Ridge has good first team players, but a lot going both ways and tough to handle injuries. Got a big rebuilding job ahead next year, hopefully some new guys will step up and more guys will come out and we can be back. Great job this year guys!!! May ride back over there next Friday to see if DB can pull off a win. This looks like the best DB team in several years, and they do have more depth and talent then OR, but do they have the toughness OR had? Can they avoid the turnovers that Maryville cashes in on? Can their athletes make the plays? We will see, that's why they play them....

I was hoping they would vote to go back to the 5 Classification System they had up until 2008, I think it was more consistent and you knew who you were going to play (for the most part) once the scores were in on Friday nights, 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3. 1 and 2 had the home games. I don't have a vote Board of Control, but if I did, lets go back to 5.

This should be a great game, edge to Maryville because of playoff experience, home field, and team play. For DB to win, NO turnovers, you can't afford them, Maryville cashes them in. DB has a little more depth and speed than Oak Ridge had, and that may help them IF they don't turn it over. Oak Ridge played a great game against them, probably the toughest playoff game they have had in a while, but ran out of gas in the 4th quarter. DB has to play close attention to that film to see what worked. Maryville will be well prepared and their QB can throw and run well just like the kid at Sevier County. They have quality receivers that get open, so DBs secondary better be on the coverage. Prevo breaks tackles and runs by people too, so DBs linebackers need to be tough. I would have to say Maryville 35 Dobyns-Bennett 24. I may just ride over and watch this one.

Several comments: Science Hill is much improved over past few years, this Coach is on the right track. Hayes is a great player, his ability to scramble kept the Hilltoppers in the game. DB will have to keep a wary eye on this program from now on, they have invested in making it better, with the new stadium and all. Oak Ridge played a great game, Rian Hall was absolutely great tonight, he was not going to let them lose, what a determined effort on that last score. Defense harried and sacked Hayes enough to keep him a little off throwing, and Matt Moore's KO return swung the momentum back to OR. OR missed some scoring opportunities early that would have put the game out of reach. Definately disappointed in the turnout, nothing wrong with the weather, guess it is the way that the town is, but do appreciate those that were there, they chipped in when the game was tight, OR needs to make the same investments Science Hill has in the Ship, it needs some things done, hope that is in the works. Tough trip to Maryville coming up, the Rebels continue to impress, they are well coached and deep, OR must avoid turnovers and play hard, if they do, it could go down to the end. Like to see a good turnout of OR fans take the trip to Maryville Friday. Good luck Wildcats and nice job against Science Hill!!!

Agreed, go back to 5 Classes next time and go back to the old system, this system sends District Champions on the road to play 6-4 teams. You knew who you were playing then as soon as the scores were in on the last Friday night, not waiting until 11 AM Saturday, the TSSAA is not the BCS...

By the way, I am hearing the wonderful TSSAA Playoff System will award Oak Ridge for winning the District Championship and going 9-1 should they beat Campbell County next Friday night (and that is not a given, CC is playing pretty good football right now) by sending them on the road for the fourth straight year in the playoffs, the first two years, they should have, last year, maybe, but this year, no, they should be at home the first round. I understand that they may be going to McMinn County, where they went last year and in 2009. This is not the BCS, the TSSAA needs to reward teams that win their districts regardless of strength of schedule and I think that they should have voted to go back to the 5 Classification System last year. The current system is too watered down and is just too strange!!!