RedSwarm

3-1 against Melrose.  All 3 wins were great games, especially the one at home.  I'd say the play Sims made at the end of that game is one of the more legendary plays in HC history.  

As far as the midstate goes...

The 2 losses to Hillsboro were totally different games.  The first game we just got flat out whipped, but they had a great team and it was a testament to the heart of that HC team to be in the semifinals that year.  2008 is still painful to think about.  Just a weird game.  There were a ton of athletes on that field that night.  Couple of bad bounces, which is a shame, because I feel like HC would have beaten Maryville that year just as Hillsboro did.

Maplewood was another heartbreaker.  They didn't outmuscle us, though.  The only midstate game I've seen us get whipped at the line of scrimmage terribly was the 2010 second round game against Hendersonville, but we were young.  Gallatin 09 was a great game in which HC should have closed the door in during the first half, but Gallatin made some great adjustments and took home a great win.  Beech having a mack truck carrying the ball was our main issue against them.

I agree that the blend of speed and power is what gives us the most trouble.  If Liberty had 5A numbers and could fill in some of those numbers with more athletes like what they have... Well, that'd be interesting to see.  Their front 7 usually gives us fits, but it's great work for the linemen, especially at the beginning of the year.  Like I said, hope that game sticks around.  Nice to see a 3A team play us even when we're up, unlike a certain team a little north of them.  

Sorry for the nostalgia.  Not much to talk about this week.

Could lose my first 6 or 7 but I've got some serious catching up to do...

Thursday, October 8
 

1) Cordova vs White Station at Fairgrounds

Friday, October 9

2) Arlington at Houston

3) Wooddale at Bolton

4) Central at Brighton

5) Kirby at Munford

6) Overton vs Southwind at Halle

7) East vs Trezevant at Fairgrounds

8) Manassas at St. Benedict

9) MAHS at Lausanne

10) Christian Brothers (MO) at CBHS

11) Collierville at Germantown

Back in those days, having Teague/Allen/McFerren/Sims to name a few could matchup with anyone, especially in the offense we ran.  I have no problem saying that.  In the Counce era things have changed a little bit, but like you said, it's turned into a more of a smashmouth style. We get our fast guys in cycles and random years just like most anywhere else.  For a while in the late mid to late 2000s, we had a load of them.  I obviously don't think this year's team is the fastest in HC history, but they play hard and it shows.  We've still got some burners. 3 has wowed me more than once with his acceleration and you can catch yourself staring at the back of 7's jersey pretty easily if you're not careful.  One of the biggest things that I think is not pointed out enough is how fast our LB's flow to the ball.  

Also, I get your "5 to 1" comment.  What narrows that gap in my opinion is weeding some out by asking "are they athletes or football players"? That goes back to how lucky we've been to have top notch coaches.  

After the Liberty game, I thought HC would be 5-5 for the year. HC staff made some great player adjustments and the OL has gotten better each week. But I also think that Liberty has been the only really good team HC has faced. The other teams that I first thought were good teams (Hou, Gallatin, CHS, Rossview) have struggled against good teams. So I'm not sure how good HC is at this time. Their defense is very good and offense is much better than the first of the year.

 

The next 3 games will all be very physical and competitive (yes even the DC game) and will tell a great deal about where HC stands.

 

The off week after the DC game comes at a very good time. 

 

Also, I hope HC is focused on winning each game they play and not too worried about holding teams scoreless - just win baby. To me there has been too much hype about shutouts. JMO.

GO BIG RED.

I think both the Liberty and Houston games are the 2 best games that this team could have played this season.  They revealed a lot to both players and coaches, and the results have been great.  Gallatin was a good team when they got on the bus to come to Paris. No clue what's happened since.  I think that game here had some side effects.  Clarksville is a respectable 5A playoff team, but it's obvious that Centennial and Brentwood will be our litmus test going into the playoffs.

I do worry about our offense's ability to get in a rhythm sometimes.  They're growing week-by-week, though, and having 2 big-play backs helps.  

Speed Kills. Believe it or not, Henry County is not blessed with a tremendous amount of athletes. They win football games the old fashioned way...smash mouth. If you compare the Henry County football team to Dickson, Clarksville, etc. they match up pretty well. Lined up against Liberty, Ridgeway, the old Melrose, and other Memphis teams, it's not even close. So, with that being said, Henry County has to be perfect when they play these teams. No margin for error against that kind of speed and athleticism. 

I agree with you that HC is a smashmouth team this year.  I do think that you're overselling the lack of athletes though, this year and in the past.  I feel like we beat the old Melrose's because we could match up for the most part and played a more disciplined brand of football. Even in the Counce era of teams, we have had some incredible athletes that could run around you (or over you).   

I would also add that Liberty started having more success when it became the first game of the season.  Year-in and year-out, a healthy Liberty team will gives anybody in West Tennessee fits.  I think that a few of their seasons have been the injury-plagued kind in the last few years. Dhs could probably correct or dismiss that statement.  Either way, they've usually been one of the best teams we face in the regular season.  It's a fun semi-rivalry that I hope continues.  

Wow ! This topic has definitely peaked some interest !  Looking back in the past I'm sure Henry County had some dark days as well with losing seasons and despair.  If I remember correctly DC went to the 2nd round of the playoffs just 3 years ago with a 10-2 record. That was a very talented team. That team had 2 players that now plays at UT Martin (a kicker and a LB) a TE/LB /Punter that starts at UT Knoxville leading the SEC in punting and others that went on to play in college.  Talent is a tricky thing....you have it or you don't !  Enrollment doesn't matter if talent is not there.  I believe it is not great right now but this team is very young.  A freshman running back, a sophomore receiver and 3-4 junior receivers as well as a junior quarterback.  No excuses, just sharing information that a former 60 year old Dad that had a son that never got to play in DC doesn't know.  If he had been at DC that long he should know the past.  3 years ago the staff was there that is basically there now.  Someone other than me from DC that would like to post chime in !  I don't have the answers....just sharing what I know.  Parents are always bitter when their child sits the bench.

I get what you're saying, but there has to be more talent that is not being developed or put in football pads in that school.  Just has to be.  I've heard nothing but great things about DC's coach, and I believe it because not many people are still around after the last couple of years Dickson has had.  

What happened against NE last week? Seems Dickson had been competitive in almost every game this season up to that one.  Injuries? Have they mailed it in for the season?

Think I agree with you as far as this week goes.  Feel like Brentwood has some talent but it just doesn't show up some nights. Don't have too much to base that on besides stats and scores, but there is usually always going to be talent at a place like that, it just depends on the coaching. Guess we'll find out more about them from here on out. 

I do think that the HC-Centennial game will be a great one, and said as much before the season started in that region thread.  It all comes down to balance.  They shouldn't be able to lean on us. They'll have to be able to mix in some passes... That's no secret. But I will say that the margin for error when it comes to passing on that defense has been lowered significantly over the last few weeks.  We'll see. Should be fun. 

"Dickson County Week". Does the barrel still mean as much? Honest question. No complaints about HC being so dominant lately, but I do wish that DC was up so this rivalry still felt like.... I don't know, a rivalry? I don't mean to come across as talking trash, because that's not why I post on here.  I feel like I'm just stating facts. 

With that said, I don't think nor wish that DC will pull what would be one of the more legendary upsets in the rivalry Friday night.  I do look forward to the secondary getting more work as they continue to improve every week, as well as the offense to get more work in, especially in the red zone. I've had a blast watching some of these guys develop over the course of the season, and we're not even in November yet.  

I think Union City could beat a couple top 10 or 15 teams in a game.  It's hard to stop that offense, and if they built a sizable lead they could easily control the clock even if depth started to become an issue.  

With that said, of course there's no way they could hang week in and week out in 6A and some 5A regions.  Just don't have the numbers.  I think it speaks volumes to their success though when I easily think they could highly sucessful in 2A, 3A (even as tough as it is this year), and possibly 4A.  

Brentwood with a running clock.

Centennial by 17.

Dickson by a TD.

Henry County by 3 TD's.

Here's some more Henry County highlights from last week's region matchup again Clarksville. 

1) MAHS vs Trezevant at Fairgrounds

2) Carver vs KIPP at Melrose

3) Southwind vs Wooddale at Halle

Friday, October 2

4) Briarcrest at CBHS

5) MUS at St. Benedict

6) Lausanne at Northpoint Christian

7) Fairley vs Manassas at JP Freeman

8) Fayette Ware at Hamilton

9) Bolivar at Raleigh Egypt

10) Ridgeway at West Monroe, LA

11) Central at Kirby

12) Cordova at Arlington

13) White Station at Whitehaven

14) Houston at Collierville

They, Houston, really aired it out against you guys. Their QB completed 23 of 36 passes to three different receivers. One recevier (Parks O'Neill, #7) caught 10 passes for 248 yards. Another receiver (Chanse Pullen, #8) caught 10 passes for 164 yards. Those two obviously did the most damage. I don't know how many of those passes were short yardage passes that turned into big gains ... but whatever they did, it was effective that night.

 

Like I said, I was impressed with Houston's passing game. I've seen another that is better ... but not by much, and that is Arlington's.

 

I'm curious about Rossview's now.

A lot of them were deep passes.  They spread us out with 4 WR's most of the time and had at least 2 deep options almost ever play.  It was frustrating to see, but it put a lot of mistakes on film that I think the defense learned from.   

I understand this ... well, I don't know if understand is quite the right word to use, but I think that this poster's confidence in the Hawks passing game is pretty high. However, I would like a comparison between Rossview's passing game as compared to Houston's passing game. Whitehaven has played two teams this year with fantastic passing games. Arlington and Houston. I'm curious now how this Rossview passing game stacks up against Houston's. When this game is over I'd love to hear from the Henry Countians on this.

 

The comment that this poster made above, may or may not be accurate. I know that the Houston passing attack is pretty dog gone good.

I'll tell you up front that I highly doubt Rossview's passing attack is as good as Houston's.  We'll find out Friday I guess.  

This game seems hard to pick if you are truly looking at the game realistically. The Patriots will try and slow the game down and put together long drives and CHS wants an up tempo game. CHS will score, can the big red score enough to keep up? Who makes the big defensive stop? Will the Patriots be able to have their way with the CHS defense?

 

So these types of games between two good teams (probably both top 10 teams at the end) comes down to a turnover or the kicking game and that's why I will take the home team here and go CHS in a 27-24 type of contest. Either way it seems possible that this is only the first meeting this year between these two. Should be fun to watch.

I simply think it comes down to if CHS can move the ball through the air. If they can't mix it up some then it'll be a long night for them if HC takes care of the ball.

MAHS tonight. Will edit in rest later.

Friday, September 25

2) Ridgeway at MUS

3) Raleigh Egypt at St. Benedict      

4) Covington at Lausanne

5) Cordova at Germantown

6) Millington at Kirby

7) Central vs Holly Springs at Crump

8) Craigmont at Hardin Co

Saturday, September 26

9) East at Melrose

Well if Station Camp beats Gallatin then this computer mess may have some merit. If Gallatin wins then this computer mess is just mess. We will see. I think there are intangibles in every contest which the computer can't gauge, some games more than others.

I do agree with this to an extent. Computer numbers are great for betting. They're right more often than they're wrong. But... High school football would be a terrible sport to bet on. Intangibles factor in this sport more than most. Small sample sizes and disparity in competition don't help. Sometimes the computers miss that.

I do think Gallatin beats Station Camp, though.

Accurate BC Gallatin-henry the ball over several times. HC is probably 7-10 pts better than Gallatin-henry in a normal game

HC turned the ball over 2 or 3 times as well. Not to say that Gallatin didn't have a bad night, but they got whipped plain and simple in the trenches, and that seems to have a trickle down effect to every aspect of the game more times than not.  

As far as close losses/easy wins... I'm more worried about the team with 4 losses from a tough district that's been tested and has played tough out-of-region games than the 9-1 team who has beaten 3 teams with a winning record.  Just throwing that out there.. 

Don't see see the big deal. I'm sure CHS coaches havec put a little extra time into prepping for this one. It would be a huge step for CHS to win and Shelby knows firsthand what that kind of win can do for a program.

With that said, I think HC has fun playing the villain to the feel good story this week.

I'll take MAHS and Wooddale tonight.  Will edit in the rest of my picks later

EDIT:
 

3) Covington at Raleigh Egypt

4) Sheffield at Bolivar

5) Overton at Bolton

6) Kirby at Brighton

7) Munford at Southwind

8) Whitehaven at Germantown

9) White Station at Arlington

10) Houston at Bartlett

11) Collierville at Cordova

12) Mitchell at Lewisburg

13) Hernando at Briarcrest

14) Trezevant at DeSoto Central

15) MUS at South Panola

16) Northpoint Christian at FACS

17) Harding Academy at Lausanne

Saturday, September 19
 

18) CBHS at La Salle (OH)

I'm attaching highlights from Henry County's last game for our 7-5A fans to look at. I know I always enjoy seeing highlights from other schools. If your teams them available online, I'd love to see them.

Superintendent has a plan to reduce public high schools in Jackson from 5 to 3 by 2020...she fired the principal right before the game of week 2...talk is to turn Liberty into a middle school

 

It's ridiculous, the facilities at every other high school in Jackson are atrocious...complete joke...

Liberty is the nicest school in the city, isn't it? I've been in there twice and was impressed. Are enrollment numbers dropping due to families moving to the edge of the city?

Hard to imagine Liberty not putting this away by the 3rd quarter, especially with the motivation factor from last season. Then again, it's still my belief that you have to make Liberty play assignment football to beat them. I'm sure Dyersburg will give them all they got - just don't think it will be enough.

Forgive me for my ignorance, but 2020?

The majority of that was on Liberty's 2's and 3's if what I heard was correct. Pretty sure they couldn't move the ball against their 1's.

Enyone who has gone to HC its a long drive the visitors stands should be condemed you never get a refs call if your has a big gain you were holding and your playing the whole county. Anyone who plays a regular season game there is nuts.

Lol