perception

There may be 5 or 6 schools in the state that can compare with the history and tradition of Oak Ridge, you have to respect it even if you are a rival fan. However to say that AC does not have tradition or relevant in high school football until the past 5 or 6 years is off base, I would say AC became relevant about the time Coach Kerr landed there and football became important at AC. You can say what you want about him but he built it, since he arrived I think in 94 the Mavs have a record of 130-68 68% winnning percentage and 13 playoff appearances, does not compare to Oak Ridge who during that time had 162-50 76% winning percentage and 14 playoff appearances but still relevant. I think with Coach Gillum and the coaching staff in place they will continue to be relevant. Also the one thing about history is people remember it how they want to, Oak Ridge leads the series 6-1,Oak Ridge won in 87,88, 89, 90, 09, 10, AC won in 02, Oak Ridge and AC didn't play from 1990-2001, then did not play from 2003-2008, not saying AC would have won any of those years but from the time Coach Kerr arrived I think it would have been fun to watch. At AC football has been important from about 94, at Oak Ridge it has always been, that's the difference, but watch out for the Mavs because the fireworks will continue

Herzog and Daniels both great coaches, both had success at Page and other places, they just get it done differently. Read in the 5A-6A post that Rathbone is leaving for Indy, he has been there through 3 coaches and has been a constant in the success, I believe he will be sorely missed

Does that mean you will be taking AE big over AC?

I don't know if Scott can win but I do know 2 things, 1. if they win they shouldn't have and B. they will not be outcoached, no disrespect to any other coaches but in watching Scott the past couple of years and especially this year (although I have only seen them once at Stone) it seems that they get the most out of their talent

Those poor public schools in East TN seem to like playing DL, however DL may have to deal with another private school coming out of knoxville.

They would probably 3rd or 4th in region 1

He is also pretty good at winning, considering he has almost 250 wins.

I was able to watch the Clinton-Cumberland Co. jamboree and although Cumberland Co. is not the caliber of teams Clinton will be facing, as fan or player you have to be excited about the style of offense Clinton is running, no huddle and with Stone I am sure they will throw it around a little more than they did at the jamboree, I think it is a good move by the OC to try to adjust the tempo of games and give defenses more to prepare for.

I don't know much about Scott, I only got to see them one time, but I agree they should probably attempt to run the ball more effectively, however balance is an different thing, you wouldn't ask Fulton to be more balanced or even less predictable in handing the ball off to Dennis Rogan, in fact I don't know if you can get more predictable than Fulton or Catholic and what I saw of Scott last year they put the ball in the hands of their best player whether he was running or throwing, so they were probably doing the same thing the Catholics and Fultons were doing but with less talent.

I guess neither team was too excited about their performance since nobody is talking about it, but the Sterling kid is a good football player, I expect some good things from both of these teams.

How did the AC-Farragut scrimmage turn out?

What non-region games do the Cougars have?

I agree with you I don't think either team could be as good as they have been losing the caliber of players of the likes of Smith, Rogan, Freeney, Hamilton, etc, and I really like the quote at the bottom of your page by Theo R

I got to see Catholic play under the powerlines twice, once in a down pour against Scott Co. in which Harrison didn't have to do much, the other was in the playoffs against Fulton. Smith is a great athlete, but to say that he is all Catholic had is ridiculous, in the Fulton game I could hardly tell he was on the field offensively and Fulton still had to come back to win the game, so I think he may have had some help on the field. Catholic has very capable players coming back, no they don't have a Harrison Smith type athlete but they will still be one of the better teams in the knoxville area

I grew up watching football in the Fort Meyers area watching the likes of Deion Sanders and Jevon Kearse but I was always more impressed with the coaches who got more out of less, I have only been in TN for the past 7 years, so what coaches do more with less talent?

Ruse again I agree with you Fulton vs. Alcoa it makes both teams better, AE-Redbank same thing, The teams that have the athletes to compete with the big time schools should go do it, but what would Scott or LA gain by playing Alcoa, especially when they play AE, Fulton and Catholic in the region, if they didn't have to play these teams in the region, I would understand going out a playing a tough team but not when you play in a region that tough, but by no means do I suggest scheduling easy wins like Scott has done with Wartburg but I think teams are better served playing against teams of equal or a little more talented rather than 50 points more talented were more than likely you can't run your usual offense and defense ends up being a track meet. In that region, AE, Fulton and Catholic go out of region to prepare for each other, the other teams get better by playing AE, Fulton, and Catholic

First of all, I am all for teams that are more than likely going to the playoffs to go play better teams as AE often does, however when you are Scott or LA why go get drilled by teams outside of your region? I believe you get better by playing teams that are somewhat equal and you don't get better by playing teams that beat you by 50, I don't understand how that makes any sense at all, I do give credit to LA, however I do not know what their schedule was in 05, but I do know they had the best football player in the region that year and that was a great run to the Championship

How did that work out for A-E? Teams like LA and Scott, don't need to go out of region and get hammered they will get plenty of that in their own region, these teams need success to get confidence to help compete in the region. The Big three should probably play tough schedules so they can get better and ready for the playoffs not these other teams who more than likely aren't going to the playoffs. If you were these teams would you rather say hey we played at tough schedule and won 2 games or would you rather say we play in the toughest region in the state and went 4-6 or 5-5 the end result may be the same, you miss the playoffs, but I would say the players feel better about the 5-5 season

To be honest I do not play against these teams, I am just a high school football fan that watches alot of games in the knoxville area, I agree with you though alot of teams group themselves in that region and align themselves with the Fultons and Catholics (I have no idea what you leave out A-E as a dominant team, the reason they haven't gone deep in the playoffs is because they have to play either Fulton or Catholic, so no I don't buy the A-E and Carter comparison,) and for some reason believe they are better than they are, but I also think people see teams like AC and Kingston get beat by 35 by Fulton and Catholic and underestimate how good AC and Kingston are. I have no idea why we are arguing anyway because you and I agree region 2-3A is much tougher, the problem lies here if you put Kingston and AC in the other region they make the playoffs every year without a doubt. The reason is just as you stated, Carter does not compare to Fulton or Catholic and in my opinion A-E, and without taking the pounding, physical nature, and speed of these games the 14-18 year old kids would probably respond better without these devastating losses, Carter would not beat any team in region-2-3A the way the Big 3 dominate them and could very easily miss the playoffs in region 2.

I don't think it matters if they are the most experienced team in the region or the most experienced team they have had, being experienced without good talent simply equals mediocrity another 4-6 season if that, I give them a little credit though they have got a little better but they talk way out of their head like claiming they will make the playoffs or compete for a state title

I understand what you are saying LL and to a point I agree there is probably not that big of difference between AC and Kingston and Carter, but one I would like to point out is that you mention that these teams (AC and Kingston) were more dominant in the past, the Gibbs, Carters and whoever else in that region were never dominant, for instance take a look at the Gibbs team, they made the playoffs with a 3-7 record, meaning their 3 wins had to come in their region. I may be wrong but Carter who has dominated region 1-3A would probably be fighting for a playoff spot with Kingston and AC and more years than not would probably be left out. In my opinion, you are comparing the SEC and the WAC, in one game who knows what may happen but from game to game in Region 2-3A the toll of playing Catholic, Fulton, AE, AC and Kingston will get you.