Ironman80

- I have read on and on about the tough schedule of Smyrna and weak schedule of Maryville (SEC vs WAC ?). I looked at the regular season schedule and noted this: - Smyrna beat two teams with playoff wins - (Blackman 2 wins and Riverdale 2 wins) for a total of 4 wins. - Maryville beat 5 teams with playoff wins - (West 3 wins, Oak Ridge 3 wins, Bearden 2 wins, Knox Catholic 1 win, and Farragut 1 win) for a total of 10 wins. - Someone explain how Smyrna schedule = SEC and Maryville schedule = WAC? Does this mean anything towards the outcome of the game, not really. Just found the facts odd. - I'm not from Maryville, but from ET with friends from Smyrna's championship teams. No dog in fight, but would have to say Smyrna is the favorite this year and will pick them to win. Since Matyville has 8 starters returning on both offense and defense I will pick them to be back next year(and next, ect..). Smyrna I pick not to be back next year.

According to program in the past ten years before the split D2 teams won 5 and D1 teams won 5. That would be 50%. IF quick count is correct, 18 -18 before the split for current D1 vs. current D2. Yoadrian, if thats the case, would you say that the teams are close to equal at the top, but the individuals titles would be significantley in favor of the D1.

HaveItYourway - - You get on here and bad mouth a player as bad as anyone I've read, then you say you don't like "hating on a kid". Look in the mirror. - You said since" the first (O'laughlin) is a far superior athlete to the other (Gibson)." That's not uplifting, encouraging, or truthful. If that's not hating on a player I don't know what is. Are you kin to the famous Moronocus? - I have said I feel Gibson is better at running back, and I still believe that. Does that mean I'm "hating" on #6?" I have also said I feel #6 is a great athelete, but not a runnung back. How is that hating? I really like #6, and think he was done a great injustice by being thrown to the wolves as a soph. I also believe he could have gotten a scholarship had he played another position. (not many kids his size get recruited to play running back) - Career facts: #3 - 94 carries, 612 yards, 9 TDs (6.5 per carry average) #6 - 138 carries, 688 yards, 4TDs (4.9 per carry average) Sorry to let a few facts get in the way of your opinion. I just disagree with you.

Not that it matters much, but did anyone else notice the prepxtra stats tried to cheat our #6 - James O'laughlin - out of his 18 carry/19 yards of rushing against Webb? - This may hurt him when it comes to end of year awards, EVERY other stat was reported. Why not these? What should be: - His total rushing yards should be 103 for the year (not 84) - His average per game should be 26 yards (not 21) - He should have 46 carries for 103 yards this year (2.2 per carry). Even though the season has gone south, I feel he should get credit for all he is doing! - What do the other Halls fans think about him not getting credit for these 19 yards?

FYI - O'laughlin averaged 17+ touches per game last year (over 170 total with 5 TD's). Look at the win - loss results. To get on on here and say anyone should get 90% of the offense is crazy. - sx123 - O'laughlin was just a Soph last year and went through alot of growing pains. We all know that Gibson was better last year (less than 5 touches per game with 6 TD's), but that was last year. Look for O'laughlin to improve drastically over last year. - Best play in the jamboree was a 12 yard slant to Greshakm. Why not get him 20+ touches per game or 90% of offense? Wait, Bright has looked really good in scrimmages, lets get him 20+ touches or 90% of offense. But what about Fitz and Burton? Not to mention the new Soph Long (who in my opinion is further along at this time than #6 was as a soph last year. - How about this, spread the wealth between O'laughlin, Gibson, Gresham, Bright, Fitzy, Burton, Long, ect. Then maybe we can talk about the TEAM instead of PLAYERS. - Let's get behind the coaches and players. They have worked hard and it appears to be showing. Tough break about Dowdey, but this team has to regroup. - Zach D. , sorry about what happened and know I will be praying for you and your family. I have no doubt you will rebound (with the fine parents you have) and be a success in the game of life, which ultimately is the only game that matters.

cherries - - I went back and changed my original post. I should never had said that about him and apologize. He (Tait) is a fine athelte and has surely gone through alot over the past few years. I've watched him play since 7th grade and truley respect his game. I wish him the best. I've told everyone to look out for him ever since then. - What I got over excited about was this line has been told the were going to be terrible, and the "weak link" of the team. I was excited with their improvement, and let that excitement get the best of me. - RB was the real deal, my two cents was he looked much better than Sensenbaugh of DB. Maybe not fair to Sensenbaugh - he didn't get many carries against us - but Cozart looked a step faster.

Sorry - I should have mentioned I was including the opening drive Halls had the night before - Halls drove down to the Irish 10 and stalled, held Catholic and got a pick by #10, then the game got sloppy with lightning and such. Thus, I felt Halls looked really good early Tuesday with the opening 60 yard drive and the first series pick. - My overall view counted this part of the scrimmage also. I would agree that on Wednesday night it looked like catholic had fixed their problems on Offense and drove the ball well early. Halls started out slow on Wednesday thean came on strong - maybe because they were smaller and faster - while the heat wore on the Catholic players. - Overall, pretty even. I think 13-7 first teamers, with most of the night spent on the Catholic side of the field. My main point was did anyone believe that Halls could not only hold their own with Catholic and DB, but truthfully out play both of these squads?? I was in no way demeaning Catholic or DB, as both programs are way ahead of ours right now. However, we did look good (even though it's just a scrimmage) and most people did not expect that this year.

After two scrimmages against traditional power house programs, my two cents: - Two wins is great for this teams confedence!! Not only did we win on score board, we actually controlled both scrimmages. - Defensive speed is MUCH better than last years. DB's and LB's are flying around to the ball all over the field. What looks like big holes are closed quickly. - Dowdy has looked exceptional at QB!! Any doubts about him leading this team has been removed. He is the real deal!! Passing game looks like the best since Julian has taken over. - Young offensive line is getting the job done. Superstar Tait from Catholic was held in place better than expected - Long and Mcfalls did OK with him most of the scrimmage. Proud of Long,who wieghs about 150 pounds less than Tait, for is effort against him!! Great job of coaching this year getting the team prepared!! Team looks organized in all the small areas, which seemed to be a problem last year. Not saying this team will win a state championship, but look for this team to be the surprise team in Konxville this year.

My two cents: - After watching the spring game, #3 (Gibson) still seems to be the real deal. Last years almost ten yards per carry and TD every 7.5 times he touched the ball will set the stage for this years running game. By far the fastest of the running backs. Homerun threat anywhere on the field. - #6 O'Laughlin seems improved (last year 6 yards per carry, TD every 23 times he touched the ball), but still needs to learn how to run north and south instead of east to west. Speaking of north to south runners, how about the white teams #7 Long? He will push O'Laughlin for playing time, seems like a throw back to the hard nosed, turn it upfield runners of the old days. I was impressed with this kid. I thought he and Gibson looked good together, blocking and running. Also liked the white teams fullback, Woods I think. Someone told me the starting front four where all on the red team. If so, these RBs really looked good. - Line will be OK. McFalls has gotten noticiably bigger. This group needs to hit the wieghts hard this summer, or it will be a tough year on this group. I believe they will. - Excited about the pasing league. Timing is crucial for the passing game, which could have been the difference between 4-6 last year or 8-2. Look for Gresham and Bright to have good years at reciever if given a chance. - This years team is much faster and more athletic than last years. Defensive team speed will be much faster, as last years was one of the slowest I've seen. Offense will have to pass more, which will be a good thing. - Overall observation, still too many question marks to make a prediction on next year. Easier schedule should help (no more Bearden, West, Maryville). Wins should come aaginst Hardin Valley, Cambell County, and Karns.( Powell, Central, Sevier County, Webb, and Anderson County are all winnable, but I'd list these as toss ups). Clinton is the toghest challenge, and Oak Ridge should be better than last year. My guess is best case 8-2, worst case 3-7, probably 7-3 or 6-4 and back into the playoffs.

whtatheheck - - You make some really good points. My comment at the "mystery" LB was at uknowme, who claims the PrepXtra LB's were a joke (implying their stats were not as good as others, thus they couldn't be as good). I claimed I thought the players were deserving at that position. - I agree that great players can be on weak teams. But I also believe that QBs and LBs can be great without great stats, simply by leading their teams to greatness. I know I'm old fashioned, but I like the old days when peolple would do their jobs and allow others to make the tackle - not seeking personal glory but team success.

whatheheck - - You didn't uderstand what I said. According to stats, South Doyle and Central would have 8 players better than Marvilles BEST player. That's a joke! Maryville's defense was the best we saw. Good defenses are made up of good palyers. The best defensive players we saw played for Maryville. - I can't say that about offense. Both Powell and Clinton had offenses that were really good. Again, good offenses are made up of good players. Kier Houston and Darin Stone were the best QB's I saw. I have no idea how their stats look. - LB is like QB on defense, winning is the top priority and getting everyone in the right position. I do think sacks, TFL's. etc. can be very misleading. Last year we had a player get 3 sacks in two quarters against a weaker opponent (almost 4). Had this kid played the entire ballgame, 7 to 8 sacks wouldn't have been out of the question. Had we played a few more weaker opponents, 20 sacks for the year would have been a real possibilty. - Again, if this "mystery" LB you keep talking about led a GOOD defense to a championship run, let us know who he is. I really have no idea who you are talking about - I might've thought he was a heck of a player. Until then, I have to say I agree with the LB's as I saw them on the PrepXtra.

uknowme- - I have to agree with sx123 - stats are for losers (my opinion). - I'm not sure which region your son plays in, but my son plays in reion 3-4a (for Halls). - We palyed against Maryville, and scored 7 points. We played against Central and scored 23 points, South Doyle and scored 38 points. Thus - Maryville's defense was MUCH better than either, hands down, bare none, no where close. However, according to the stats Central and South Doyle both had 4 players each with more tackles for the year than anyone on Maryville's team. - How can anyone in their right mind think that these two teams had 8 players better than anyone on Maryville's defense? Truth is, we had many 3 and outs against Maryville(not many tackles), as did most teams. That is a sign of a good defensive player, not how many tackles he made. - Cody McCoy made All PrepXtra from Maryville. He was by far the best linebacker in our region! I saw them all. Many - maybe 5-8 had more tackles. That means nothing. Cody sacrificed himself against us, drove himself and our lineman into the ground, and helped cause his TEAM to stop us on many three and outs. He played TEAM defense, didn't worry about stats, and got the job done. That my friend is what defense is about. - By the way, I have no idea who McCoy's family is and would not recognize him if I saw him on the street. I just get tired of this generation of stats. - I can't think of anyone better at LB in the prepxtra area than those listed. Maybe you can enlighten us. Three players played in the clinic bowl - can't argue about those selections (like I said, few points allowed by team defines good defenses, and good defenses are made up of good players). That leaves Cole Lail (over 300 takles in the last two years - showed what he could do on a phenominal defense last season) and Tyler Richardson (team went a few rounds in playoffs). - Like I said, I can only speak for region 3-4a. In our region, they picked the right guy. (I saw them all) No one else was close.

Consider the following: - 13 players made the team - not sure what position Orlando Gordon of Red Bank played - 5 played offense, of which 4 were QB's - Interesting all-state team that has one offensive non-QB (Revis of Rhea County)

Congratulations to the 25 players from across the state to make this select group. - Note that four Prepxtra area players were selected : Daniel Hood - Catholic (DT) Justin Smith - Maryville (DE) Caleb Leonard - Knox Halls (OL) Will Jackson - Farragut (OL) Nice to see these Knoxville area players rewarded in a Middle Tennessee based award.

Congrats to all the Halls seniors on a fine game. Two cents: - Shame on Jr Zach Gibson - on senior night he stole the show ( about 110-120 yards rushing on 7 carries??) JK. On a serious note, does he make our offense go or what? Finally, getting some huge gains on holes that have been there all year. Good game Zach! - Thought he and #23 (Waggoner) showed a great combination - speed and power. (Was this the only game we two 100 yard rushers?) It would have been nice if we could have figured that out - say maybe after the Sevier County game. Good year #23! - Did anyone else notice the WR's lined up and played in a grasshopper type rotation - six guys playing then going to the back of the line? Not sure any other high schols do this, maybe that explains why our leading receiver had five receptions for the year. It seems we feel this is an unimportant position, thus like in hoppers - just try to let guys get on the field. - Also, not trying to sound to negative, but next year if we are going to be succesful, we really need to figure out who the best 11 are, and have them on the field. We can't waste a WR spot on some plays, then wonder why we lose every close game. Next we need to figure out who is the best "gamer" at RB, and who gets the tough yards in the 4th quarter. Finally, passes down the field, not to the sidelines. Pass on downs no one expects (i.e. 2nd and short). It may not work in the short run, but long term it will keep the defenses honest. - Again, thanks to the coaches for evrything they have done. As stated earlier, I believe this program is headed in the right direction. I just feel like we missed out on several small things this year. Nothing that can't be fixed. Next year begins today. - I'll leave you with something my Daddy taught me (and tried to pass on to my son) - "I might lose to someone that is better than me, but I WILL NEVER LOSE to someone that worked harder than me". That applies to both playing and coaching.