Runkle

Halls doesn't participate in summer passing leagues.

So, Powell's offense is good because of the scheme (a balance) and it is the players' ability that raises it to the next level. Also you speak of creating variety. How can that be done in your opinion?

ZCAR, do you feel that your current coaching staff has the knowledge, skill, and/or ability to change their offense? Also what specifically would you change. It is easy for all of us non coaches to say throw the ball more, open up the offense, spread it out, etc. Specifically, what do you think this would involve? Another question, does Powell's offense run because of the scheme is some much better than yours or because Kier Houston is so much better than your defensive players? The same could be said for the Stone kid from Clinton. Both are truely amazing.

Leonard, in your opinion, who would be on a short list of people you would try to bring in. Obviously this assumes that the head coach will fire/demote your current OC. Be mindful though, any current coach in Knox county would not get 1 penny more to move to Halls (no financial incentive, coach would be looking for a "better" situation). Also coaches from Anderson, Oak Ridge, Clinton, Blount County, Alcoa, Maryville, Sevier County, Lenoir City, and Roane County will take a pay DECREASE to coach your beloved devils. Private schools depend on the school so there is no published data. With this in mind...who would you target? Also, in your thought process and the process of other posters, is it important that the assistant coaches be teachers in the school building? If you answer "yes", your coaching search will be confined to certified openings at your high school. If you answer "no", this doesn't matter in your search.

Remember, Halls has a new offensive coordinator. Coach Julian calls the defense. It would stand to reason at this point the defense would be ahead.

I know this is a football board but if your son truly ran 100m in 10.81 he needs to be running track not playing football. He is only .3 of a second from breaking the state record. He also would have won the East Tennessee Sectional (winning time was 11.4). I don't know where we would stand in the state this year though. With a 10.8---run track, forget football.

If we are correcting grammar and spelling, that would be a 10th grader not a 10 grader.

I don't deny that there is a core group of committed individuals in Gibbs. My comments were about the majority of people in Gibbs community. Are your booster meetings packed? Are there droves of people filling the stadium that don't have children involved? I would guess not. My comments were not directed at the Gibbs football program directly more at the community mind set. Also, don't be too confident that I don't put my kid on a bus to ride to HOLSTON middle or that I don't volunteer at the Ruritan park. As for the administration, there is not an administration at Gibbs. Two are retiring and one is going to coach football. I would encourage all members of the Gibbs community to voice your opinions with your school board member or your county commissioner about the kind of principles you want. Or it will be like the football coach selection, one guy sitting in a room, asking for no ones input, and making a selection that some like and some may not. I mentioned Maryville because they are the best program in all of Tennessee. They could be doing something right that Gibbs could learn from. Farragut is a school in our county that has active parents who demand the best for their children. This is not to say that people in Gibbs don't love their children only most will not sign a petition or call a school board member. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Catholic they are a AAA program that was awful for a long time. And then through parent involvement and fundraising (obviously it is easier at a private Catholic school), they turned their program around. jjwsiv, I applaude your work and dedication. My real point is that Gibbs doesn't need a different football coach to be successful, only more community members to be like you--Involved.

Pete, I think the silence of the Gibbs Community in this forum and others speaks for its self. The administration doesn't care about the football program and the community is apathic about the possiblity of success. The past coach has been able to do what he wants for thirty years and no one said a word. Kids transfer to Halls, Carter, Central, etc. and no one said a word. The Gibbs community is stripped of its middle school and its kids are bused to Holston and no one said a word. Ask yourself, what would happen if this had gone on at Maryville, Farragut, or Catholic? I dare say there would be a loud vocal parent group demanding answers. The Gibbs community is content with the way things are...I wish them the best of luck.

I was wonder who the Union County All state player was and what year? I check the TFCA all state team for the past 3 years and there was no mention. I also the TSWA all state team and could only find the 2006 and the 2004 team. I am not trying to demean anyone by this question...I was just curious.

I guess my question was a bad one. Obviously the school will determine the qualifications they feel are important. I was asking about coaching experience...working somewhere as a coordinator or previous head coaching experience.

Other than the obvious (Coach Julian and Coach Ward) who on the Halls staff would have the qualifications to be a head coach?

so, backlash are you saying that the Gibbs job will be going to someone who is part of this network?

I think if Red Bank plays a solid, mistake free game they should beat Maryville.

Aside from the Fulton coach, does anyone have any ideas about who would want the job? Is there current staff who are applying? What will the administration be looking for in its new coach?

I think the coach you are refering to is Houston Qualls (sp. ?). He lives in Gibbs but is a Halls graduate. His brother went to Gibbs with my brother. Don't know about his interest, do know he is an outstanding person and coach.

Congrats to Halls for a hard fought win. I am not sure how my comments were interpreted as backhanded. I think I clearly stated that I thought the Halls players and coaches were well deserving of being the #2 seed and have had an outstanding year. Apparently from the paper, the point I was trying to make was again apparent in yesterday's game... Halls has a problem containing a teams best rusher. Doesn't mean they can't fix it or that that necessarily translates into an automatic loss. I was merely drawing attention to the fact that though Moronicus has some issue with Halls, he may have some valid points. But in typically Halls fashion, nobody can be right but you. And anyone who has a differing opinion, he/she must be an idiot. Good luck to the Devils this Friday vs. Red Bank.

When I read Moronicus's post, I was a little offended and upset. So, I have set out to disprove his idea that Halls is awful on defense (especially the run). I went to prepextra.com and gathered some ammo... Take this MoronicusTotal rushing Team 100 yd rusher114 yds S.C. No220 yds Cent. C. McMillan 143 yds.66 yds. Gibbs No137 yds. West J. Klotzbach 100 yds.196 yds. Bearden T. Works 112155 yds. Clinton W. Hazelhurst 116 yds.150 yds. Powell No (Clemon-94)187 yds. Maryville No (Rodriquez-95, Shuler-85)223 yds. SD W. Cox 114 There is no data on the Lenior City Game. Look at the numbers.... Well, Halls isn't very good on defense. They have allowed a 100 or near 100 yd rusher in 7 of 10 games. Take out Gibbs (3A school) and Halls allows an average of 172.25 yds on the ground a game. WOW! Read carefully...I am not saying the players aren't trying their guts out, the coaches are to blame, or that Halls isn't a good team that doesn't deserve to be number 2 in the region. I am saying Halls is not good on defense and maybe Moronicus has a point.

ZCAR, I am not as educated about Halls and defense as you are so I have a question? I thought Halls was a 4-4 defense. I didn't see a Mike ( I assume middle) backer. I saw two inside backers and two outside linebacker types? If the devils are running a 4-4, how does that translate into responsibility? Is it the same as a 4-3 or a 3-4? Also does it matter how the O-line blocks, are those hard fast rules? It seems central has a te, a tackle, and a guard. If the DT and LB have dive I have 3 to block your two if they down block. I am interested to know given the vols big game against the gators this weekend. Thanks for any input you can give. Go Vols!

I think there should be a Coacht rule that states if you disagree with what your program is doing you must offer a detailed solution on how to fix the problem. Then we can all instant message each other behind your back and talk about how you have no clue, you can't out coach animals, insult your knowledge of the game, etc. Or we could all show up at your job and watch you work. Then when any of your 14-18 year old subordinates make an honest mistake, we can insult your knowledge, dedication, or desire to be successful. Remember high footbal is a game...played by children...coached by teachers whose real job isn't coaching football it's teaching students in school. At least Fulmer gets paid millions to take abuse.

I believe they improved in the most important stat of all. Scoring. In fact against Central two years ago I believe Halls was ahead at half time. Obviously they were unable to beat Central and Maryville in that time frame. However, Don Ward's play calling has resulted in steadily increasing offensive output for the past few years. Halls beats the teams they are supposed to and for the most part is competative against the better squads. Talk all the Run/Pass ratio, spread formation, talented receivers, and super fast players you want. Halls has a hall of fame offensive coordinator who knows about teaching, motivating, and game planning for the high school game. Sometimes we non-coaches need to accept that maybe we don't know best. We can not watch college football or NFL and expect high scool kids to perform similiarly. It just so happens that the best high school football program in the state possibily in the Southeast is in the same region as Halls. Can Maryville do alot of things with the pass, with the run, with defense, etc? Yes! They happen to be loaded with talent and have every advantage imaginable in high school sports. If Maryville wasn't in the region and instead it was Gibbs or Carter, would the Halls fans be clamoring for a change in play calling or offensive scheme?

I think Red and Black the saying is it's less about the X's and O's and more about the Jimmys and Joes. Maryville would have won a state title last year in any formation or offensive scheme you could draw up. Why? They have better athletes than Halls. The Wing T and Veer Option are offensive schemes that allow lesser talent to compete consistantly against more talented teams. The comment earlier about scoring 3 or 4 times in the last couple of years against Maryville was meant to illustrate the point that Halls is getting better and improving steadily. According to Prep Extra Halls averages 9-10 pass attempts a game. However, they are only about 45% percent effective. Also the reason Dayton seems to be so great is he according to the numbers is the only one Cooper the QB is throwing to. Do you really think the Halls coaches would keep other players as talented as the Dayton kid on the sideline just because they are "devoted" to the Wing T? You can't shoot bullets you don't have.

Another question about a teams passing game is not how much they throw the ball but when they throw the ball and for what reasons. Does your team only throw in passing situations (2nd or 3rd and long)? What is the philosphy behind the pass attempt? What is trying to be accomplished? If you are an option football team and only throw the ball 4 times a game but two end up as TD's or long gains isn't that more effective in high school than a team that wings it 15 times with a 40% completion rate. Teams usually don't become effective just because they do something frequently. If QB, WR, OL, or RB aren't all suited to an offensive scheme, no amount of practice will make them successful.

Leonard, if you go to Prepextra and click on the Halls players list you can access individual stats for last year. Unfortuneatley, I couldn't find a team stat page. However, here is what I found (assuming the prepextra site is right???): G. Cooper 92 Pass Attempts Rushing Attempts 97 Kitts, Kelly 90, Carr 6, Pevy 26, Gunter 6, McGill, 18, Waggoner 30, Dutton 2, Case 1=276 Rushing Attempts By my math (which is far from perfect), your team had a total of 368 plays. Using the numbers above you get a 75% run 25% pass distribution. The one stat I left out is rushing attempts by the quarterback which was 33. Because of how high school counts this stat (sacks are an attempt) it is hard to say what these were. However if you add them to the pass total (assuming these were called passes, and then something happened) you get a 67 RUN TO 33 PASS RATIO! Maybe your teams' problems lay in execution as opposed to play calling. Good luck this year.