mtnmaroon

I had to throw another post out there myself since it is game day and most of the trash seems to be flizzling down. This is a big game for both schools and I hope every one of the players enjoy the feeling they should have in their gut today. This is what playing high school football is all about. I know I miss that feeling. I can say I have never heard of Edmond Manuel so I have no clue where his opinion comes from on the Defense. He may be right but I dont think so. We always try to have people go one way and after the first half of the first game typically see that we just dont have the numbers to do it and stick our QB in at LB, our running backs in at LB, etc. I seen those same changes made again this year and we looked a lot better in the second half. The injury risk goes through the roof and obviously they get tired but it gives us our best chance. Besty wont see the same defense that they got on film from a personal standpoint or at least I hope they wont. I believe JC wins in a tight one. I dont think JC has ever been predicted to beat Besty by the "experts" and this year is no different. I can see their point because numbers wise it really shouldnt happen but this has been a nice run. The last thing I wanted to add is that everyone talks about JC not playing SH and DB. Please keep in mind that when we play TN High and South it is about the same type of step up as when those teams play a DB. Difference is we have to do it in our conference as does every other team for the most part in the MLC when playing those two teams. I respect TN High, South, and Besty for keeping these games alive but just wanted to make a point. TN High almost pulled off the DB thing last year but it will probably be a while before they compete again. I always want TN High to win that game and love nothing more than seeing SH go down to a MLC team. As for SH, I wish we did have them on the schedule for the last couple of years. I know they will come out of it but man have they been struggling. Hope everyone enjoys what should be a classic.

This would be a dream for sure. I have no issue with Besty, Unicoi or JC (obviously). They all play up and i feel deserve respect at least for one more year. I am sure some of the posts will continue to become more and more silly but the facts are both teams are good, both teams want and need this game, and this has become a true rival game (you can see it in the personal tone of the posts). You could argue that this game is actually for third but getting through it is the first step to being in the top two. TN High and South have to be the favorites but it isnt as far apart this year as in the past. i am done posting about the game and am looking forward to a great one Friday. This should be well worth the 5 bucks to see.

Excellent post. Instead of this being bickering by fans I think the focus needs to be on these kids who have been playing ball against each other for the last decade at some level. This year both teams have the potential to do great things and it is not loopsided one way or the other on the talent pool. This game is to stay in the race for a home playoff game. I originally picked East at 4th over Besty but I dont see that happening. I see Besty making the playoffs and the winner of this game is one upset away from hosting a game. I agree this is the game of the week against two quality teams.

Ok if we were having a track meet I would give the edge to Besty hands down. But this is football. Getting to space will be the key for the speed guys on both sides. Carr is fast there is no question and i am sure you have other people also but the fact is JC has more speed than they had last year overall so I just cant see speed being the difference. I think this is the best matched game these two teams may have ever had. Let's talk about football and this huge game and not track because it really doesnt matter when the pads go on. The speed is not that far apart overall.

Maybe not anyone in the 40 but football speed wise I think we have enough. There are not many plays in a game where sheer speed decides the outcome but there obviously can be one here and there. I see a tight game here but I give the edge to JC. 35-21 with it being close until the 4th quarter late. I think we got some things switched around in the second half against Hampton that will improve us drastically. People in the right spots, etc. I dont see a difference in speed being a factor in this game. Both teams know what is at stake, talent wise they are pretty even, and they both should want it. JC pulls this one out due to the experienced Seniors. I think there are about 14 of them and most have played varsity from their Sophmore year on. Good luck to both teams.

Agreed. I think most people realize we all have that fan out there who goes to far. Congrats to Besty on a nice step forward with your program

Just got back online. Wasnt ignoring your question. Looks like you got the data. 20 years ago, Johnson County could no more compete with Elizabethton than they could DB consistently but the numbers game has changed that. I dont think JC had beat Besty since the 50's until a couple of years ago keeping in mind that they went years without playing each other. I am looking forward to a great year in the MLC. I am glad things change next year but at the same time I am sad. We may never play TN High or South again and actually there have been some good games in my opinion. The lighting game was one that I will always remember just because of the circumstance. As for JC playing Hampton and Happy Valley, I do feel that Hampton is usually decent. I dont like playing Happy Valley recently at least. We basically do this due to travel and gate. Those were the big games in the old Watauga Conference and have held on just like TN High/ DB, etc. I do think we have a very good team this year and should compete but the Besty game will go a long way in showing that. My opinion is you need to beat South and TN High before making any claims to anything or running your trap in the MLC. The other thing that makes the student body at JC look large is the fact that they count the optional high school (people getting a GED) into the total. this is an option and most schools dont use this number. It happened to be just enough (around 100) to throw JC into the next classification up a few years back and get some more money so they used it. Basically in the actual high school there are about 597 you could say. This year they will graduate around 150. Good luck to all.

I see Science Hill winning this game by 3 touchdowns. I dont see a need to critize Besty because they have a long tradition of winning. I do think they are getting a little to much credit because of their coach at this point. The played HV for goodness sake. That shows nothing. I think what has happened to the program is that their numbers have been reduced to the level of JC, etc. so now they are not getting the advantage like TN High and South have in the MLC (I realize this is not by their choice) with the extra numbers to pick from. I personally think the game between JC and Besty will be close. Besty will rise back up and be competitive in the new system next year but the glory days are gone of being competitive with the 5A schools. Other than South and TN High no one in the MLC can be consistently competitve with DB or SH except every once in a blue moon and if Science Hill gets back on their feet not even those two will be able to compete at that level year in year out. Numbers make all the difference in the world when you are talking consistency.

I am very pleased to hear that he is ok. The game really took a back seat at that point. Hampton as usual brought their A game. Tough, tough kids on both sides of the ball. Hampton as I expected is just fine. You will win the conference again and in my opinion make a deep run into the playoffs. The Andrews kid was impressive as was the new QB. As for the Horns, we looked like the inexperienced team out there not a group of seniors. We cannot give the ball up three times and have all those uncalled for roughing penalities. I think we had 6 of them if my count is right. I would say we had at least 150 yards in penalities and probably more. Way to much and this must be corrected if we expect to win many games. I did see some bright spots for JC but turnovers and penalities will bite us if this cant be stopped. Good luck to the Dogs the rest of the way and I guess next year we can do it all again on the other side of Watauga Lake!!

I agree PUJO but this is almost always a close game and a hard hitting game. I do expect JC to win this year but the Dogs are never going to lay down against us and vice versa. I expect a two touchdown game in the end but it will be close for three quarters. 28-14 final. We should be pretty tough this year and as always Hampton will be a good game to toughen up with. Last year, we need to win that conference.

I cant argue with your reasoning and I agree that reclassification was necessary when it comes to the MLC. I look forward to next year for sure. I will say that Coach W and the name seems to have somehow gotten Besty a lot of credit quick. I just dont see them being third but that question will probably be answered real quick. I see it as follows: South THS JCHS EAST BESTY The rest I dont see competing for a playoff spot but it is high school football so who knows. Now for the JC opinion. This is our shot. We dont need any injuires but this is our last year to try and make a run at this conference and in my opinion is our best chance to do so. I will not put us ahead of THS or South until we beat them but we have them both in Mountain City on the rocks so that should be of some help. We have a ton of returning players and I was actually thankful we didnt show anything in the jamboree. I do think we should have stuck at least one TD in there since the whole game was played inside the UC 20 but I guess work on what you feel like working on. I am hoping that the off field issues will motivate the players and coaches, the last year in the conference will motivate the players and coaches, and the fact that this group is pretty dang good will lead to a run at this thing. I wish all teams health and good luck.

That is an interesting shuffle on the Prudhomme thing. I am not so sure that I disagree with that being a good ideal but with that said I dont see it happening. I think they will get him the ball as much as possible but more so on the quick hitters that give him some space at receiver. I see some real surprises at the RB position because there are 3 that have looked good at times. I believe all three have missed at least a season at some point due to injury so throw this out if that happens but they all have some talent. One kid is like Leonard (quick and darty) and the other two are bigger with decent speed (probably in the 200 lb range). None of these have showed much due to injuries and basically always playing behind great backs (Atwood and Leonard). It is a total quess on how well any of them will do but I can see some unheard of names showing up like Shelton, Penley, Fenner in the running stats. Glad to see everyone getting the conversation going again. Been a long time since football ruled the talk!!

This is an excellent and objective post. Teams tend to play to the level they have to over time and I think this is why JC, Besty, etc. have become competitive at 4A. I also agree that it hurt South and TN High to basically be forced to play down with so many teams making the decision to play up in their conference. Great post in my opinion and I look forward to an interesting year in the MLC.

No one said anything about being forced. I said due to travel expense. Good for some bad for others is my opinion. Our school board made this decision a few years back and you play the hand you are given but I for one am glad to see this. I remember a lot of your posts but cant remember who you pull for. Is it South? Keep in mind if they had not changed things I would have been fine with that also. I didnt like the decision to play up to begin with and this somewhat fixed the issue in only my case. I do understand all of the concerns mentioned on here but from my view it gives us a chance at some point to compete for a state title whereas I dont think that was fessible for us under the circumstances we are currently in. The conference yes but the state title no. This year should be interesting in the MLC.

It is bad for some and great for others. In Upper East Tennessee it really helped get Johnson County, Unicoi County, Elizabethton, and Sullivan North back to playing in equal matchups as far as school size. Those teams were already playing up to 4A due to travel expense. They were grouped with schools (especially TN High and Sullivan South) that are much larger already. It evened the playing field for them. I think it is the side of the fence you are on but being a Johnson County fan I like it.

I cant disagree with your reasoning. Very well thought out. I do think you give Besty to much credit. I think they will be lucky to make the playoffs. It is very early for me to think about ranking anyone but I would not have Besty in the top four and would probably move Sullivan East into the 4th spot. I understand your opinion and where your heart is but I think they are still a few years away. Sorry. Being a JC fan I will give you some insight on them. They will be better in my opinion than last year. Running back will be a question mark. They have some quality backs it will be a matter of who steps up like Leonard did last year. They have two or three who were very good when they were younger but injuries and playing behind Atwood and Leonard have kept them in the shadows. JC seems to be in a cycle of always having an unknown get the tailback job because they have had some really good backs recently but most only started for a year or so. I think they will probably start out sharing the ball with 3 or 4 different guys in that position and see who gives them the best shot. They have options of small darty guys like Leonard and Atwood but also have a couple that are bigger and fairly quick that I remember seeing at JV games etc. As always staying healthy will be key. JC simply doesnt have the numbers to replace a key injury. If they stay healthy this should be their best shot to compete for the conference championship since coming into the MLC. They return 9 or 10 starters on both sides of the ball to the best of my knowledge. Looking forward to getting it started. Also, as usual JC will be small overall. Our QB will be bigger than most of the line.

I agree with you on that (South). Your Vikings should be really good next year. This will probably be our best team since we joined the MLC. I stated we had 13 Seniors next year but that may not have put it into context. On a given night we dress 40 including all Freshman so that is why that number is large up here. Almost a year out I see it like this in preseason ranking: 1. THS 2. JCHS 3. SS 4. SE I dont believe Besty will have what it takes next year but I do see them turning it around in 09'. I am alot like you guys. I wish football could be played year round.

I dont disagree that THS will be the favorite. I do think that you may not realize one thing. Johnson County will have 13 Seniors next year all of which started last year except maybe one and most on both sides of the ball. We lose a good back but we do every year (Atwood last year, Leonard this year). We replace that pretty easy each year. Everything else at the skills is intact and the vast majority of the line. Very early to talk about this I agree but keep in mind that THS and JCHS both return about everybody. Dont see how you could not have JC at least second and for sure not in the top four. Prudhomme will be offensive player of the year or maybe just player of the year and dont forget that the QB returns also so he could make a run if he keep the ints down.

Well guys I have got to get off here and get back to work. I have enjoyed the walk in the past. Best of luck next week although I dont think you need much of it. Next year in my opinion we will field our best team in a lot of years so hopefully we might be able to take you guys on a walk down memory lane and bring you up here for a semi final game. We still have to play almost everybody both ways like you guys probably did back in the 80's so only time will tell if we can stay injury free next year which means everthing under the circumstances. Here is to hoping to see you in 08'.

Very funny!!! I dont know if I could find my way to West Town from all the way up here. HA!! Haglar went to Carson Newman and they moved him to a tight end position I believe but he never had much success there. He did get a ring there though.

Excellent memory. It was Billings and he was All-State with super speed. Sadly he was killed a couple of years out of high school in a motor cycle accident. The QB was a sophmore back then named Haglar. He is still probably the best we ever had up this way. Had a cannon arm that could throw it to Billings speed.

Yes I remember we couldnt get past you guys back then. Am I correct on Rule back in 80? That was actually our best team except for 88'. Ironically Alcoa beat us on a hail mary that year and went on to win the state. I am assuming in 80' rule would have gotten past you guys or maybe Loudon. Sorry for the walk in the past and taking this off topic but interesting to look back. By the way, everyone up this way is hoping for another state championship for you guys now that you took our regions champ out.

I am sure you guys came up here a couple of times and I also remember a regular season matchup back in those days where we traded off home and away. You guys were very good even back then and I think there was a year where our only loss may have been to you. You sure have built a program down there but going back 25 years you started with a great base.

Burnette who I have never seen play sounds like someone UT would probably want where as Phillips will do better in the W. VA type offense. Both of them sound great but I believe that college football is changing and the drop back pocket passer is going to be a thing of the past soon if they cannot also run the ball. Obviously this would carry over to the pro level at some point and we are also starting to see it there. Titans are a prime example in my opinion as well as the Vick lead Falcons. If Young and Vick run the ball they give their teams a huge advantage at winning ball games. With that said, you still have the Mannings and Bradys of the world that with the right people around them can be deadly just like it sounds Burnette is. I think within 5 to 10 years you will see QB's only be around in the NFL for about the same amount of time as running backs because of the running.

Interesting post. I am a Johnson County High fan which most people from Maryville probably havent heard of. We are the farthest east you can get in the state and actually a small 3A school playing 4A ball because of travel expense to our school board. I remember back in the 80's at the double A level we seemed to always meet up with Maryville, Knox Rule, or Loudon in the playoffs. It was reasonable on the equality. Rule won the 80 state championship if I remember correctly and we lost to them 6-0 with the QB throwing I believe 6 ints for us (he was a freshman). Now days, I dont think we can ever compete with Maryville without all the best players ever from Johnson County having boys at the same time and maybe genes can be passed. HA!! Maryville is breaking no rules but does have a huge advantage as you stated above with a great coach, community, and prox. to K-town. I would like to know roughly what percentage of your team is actually born and raised in Maryville. Up here on the Mountain I can tell you that year end year out it is probably 95% of our 40 guys dressed including Freshman. This isnt meant to take a thing away from Maryville because with the string of wins that you have put together I feel it is the greatest run ever in TN. That is impressive whether you have any advantage or not.