powellbubba

HTV, I have heard they are going to take out the hedges behind the Powell bench. I really hope they don't because it gives the field a nice look. I know they are kind of scraggly looking and overgrown now, but it wouldn't take a lot of work to get them in nice shape. And does anyone know if the bathroom situation is going to be improved. It's quite a hike from the stands to the john, especially when things are interesting in the fourth quarter.

It will be interesting to see how Powell's offense fairs not just without Kier but without Collins, Drummer and the three starters gone from the offensive line. I think putting McPhetridge at TE will be a big help because he's a big kid with good speed. A lot is riding on Hodge, obviously, but Mobley is the other key piece. If he's a 1,000 yard type of runner, defenses will have to key on him and that will take a lot of pressure off the rest of the offense. That would be big with an inexperienced QB and receiving corps, especially early.

Powell played Webb.

You can't read anything into 7-on-7, but I know it's a lot more fun to do well than it is to struggle. Powell made it to the championship at Webb, which was fun, then got hammered, which was not so much fun. I think one thing kids can take away from passing leagues when they do well is some confidence, but you have to have perspective. If I'm Clinton I'm still pretty excited about doing so well against Farragut.

I'm not a big fan of the 3-5 either. Even when you run it well it has some issues, especially when it comes to containment on the outside, and I think its vulnerable to intermediate passes to the tight end and slot receivers. I think the reason a lot of teams run it is they have more linebacker-type players on their rosters than they do 4-3 defensive lineman types.

I really don't know how good Oak Ridge is going to be, but going on past history and their new coach I think they'll be pretty good in this district. After you get past Clinton I don't think there is a clear No. 2 team, but if I had to put money on it I would pick Oak Ridge simply because of their past success. Like I said earlier, it wouldn't surprise if any of the other teams jumped up and had a good year and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the better teams from past years struggled (this is the ultimate I have no clue post).

Thanks for the info. I was listening to sports talk the other day and a caller asked about UT recruiting Stone and somebody said the only knock on him was he wasn't tall enough. I don't know how tall he is but he sure seems to have everything else a quarterback needs in college. Kier Houston had a great arm and Stone's looked even better in last year's Powell/Clinton game.

I may be jumping on the Clinton bandwagon too hard, but I think with Stone and Hazelhurst both healthy they will be hard to stop. I like them to win it, OR to finish second (I know only what I've read here, but I just don't think they will stay down long. They never have.) After that I believe it's a pick 'em. Like so many of the teams Powell is young, so I think the only team you can count out is Hardin Valley because they are the youngest of the bunch. One question about Clinton: Does anyone know if Stone has had any offers and if so from what schools? Thanks.

From what I understand the offensive and defensive coaches were former players at Powell and the players who went supplied their own transportation to Kingsport. However it was handled I don't think Powell, Bearden, Sevier County and the other schools would openly flaunt the rules like that if it was somehow illegal.

Do you have any more details about how the passing league went? I talked to someone (who heard it from someone else) that the sophomore receivers looked pretty good. I think they are Wright and Woods.

Playmakers for Powell should be Hunter Hodge at quarterback, Dashawn Mobley at tailback and Tyler Powell in the slot. Powell is probably the best overall athlete on the team. Mobley is a hard runner with good speed that needs to learn how to hold on to the ball a bit better. Hodge has a good arm and virtually no game experience. With the spread good reads are as important as good throws. A sleeper playmaker could be Darian Logan as a kick/punt returner. He's very fast and illusive and will likely play some tailback as well. On defense look for Hunter Cook and Tony Foster to be good lineman, with Cook at end and Foster at nose. Matt Meade should be a good centerfielder at safety and the linebackers as a group look to be talented and agressive.

Getting back to Rico's original question, I would like to hear some predictions about how folks feel Powell will do this year. In fact, I would like to hear from the Halls, Central, Cinton, etc., people about what they think of their teams. I think it will be a fun year in the district. I will now return to being classless.

If I may interlope on your thread: I think you guys are spot on. Powell is in the same boat Halls is with the potential of a really good season (8-2, 7-3) or one exactly the opposite. I think Halls, Central, Powell, Anderson County, Campbell County and Karns all look fairly even going into the season. I've grown up with Oak Ridge being a powerhouse so I elevate them a bit and Clinton does appear to be loaded, so I think the Dragons are the team to beat. Outside of Clinton because of talent and Oak Ridge because of history and a new coach coming off a state title, I have a hard time picking which teams from this district will make the playoffs. I will now float back down Beaver Creek.

I think its going to be very competitive althought I also think everybody in the district will be chasing Clinton. If Hazelhurst and Stone stay healthy I just don't see them not scoring points by the bushel. After that I really think its going to be a crapshoot which teams make the playoffs. I think you may see a lot of low scoring games in district play because most of the teams lost their "name" players: Halls lost a lot of linemen, Central lost Jamie Wilson, Powell lost Houston and three really good receivers, Anderson and Campbell counties both lost a lot of kids and Oak Ridge could be the cliched sleeping giant with their new coach, etc. I know everybody discounts Karns, but they lost a lot of close games last year and have some pretty good players coming back. After Clinton, I think it's all just a guess who finishes where.

That's a fair question. The line lost three seniors, including one that made the News Sentinel's Prepxtra team and another that was all-region. The two returning starters will both be juniors, but they do have a year of experience starting. The senior-to-be that was a part-time starter last year started two or three games because of injury, but did not play a down in at least three other games. What's making it tough for the line is the loss of two seniors, courtney and driver, that were the dominant players last year. Throw in the fact the Kier Houston could use his legs to get away from pressure and that made last year's line look even better. The converted defense end, who will be a junior, might have taken 10 snaps last year in varsity games and all were on defense. So maybe they aren't real young, but compared to last year's line they are pretty inexperienced.

I don't know about Dyshawn being eligible, but if he's not that will be a big blow to the offense. Sophomore-to-be Darian Logan is very fast, but he's not going to be an inside runner. Throw in an offense line that's iffy coming out of the spring and this team definately needs Dyshawn. Catcall, how did the scrimmage with A-E go for Central? Talk about coincidences, I just talked to somebody about Mobly being eligible about 30 seconds after writing this and they said he's definately got the grades to play this fall. In fact, if this person is right, he said there's not a class he is in danger of not passing.

Here's my thoughts on Powell coming out of spring practice: Quarterback: Hunter Hodge looks fine, had a good spring game and scrimmage against Bearden. Dustin McFetridge (?) is an excellent runner and athlete that needs to be on the field somewhere. I think he would be a good fit at receiver and still play backup quarterback. Running backs: Dyshawn Mobley is going to be good and potentially very good. Darian Logan is the fastest kid on the team and the coaches need to figure ways to get him the ball. Jose Pelosios missed the spring because of illness and that's going to set him back. He looked good on the JV last year. Receivers: Much better coming out of the spring than they were going into it. Only one drop on either side during the black and white game, with Tyler Powell looking much improved over last year. Zack Pelser had a good spring as did Dustin Wood and Landon Wright. Jeremiah Catlett may be the second fastest player on the team and after looking shaky catching the ball much of the spring looked good at Bearden and again on Friday. Offensive line: A long way to go. Three fulltime or partime starters are back from last year but as a group they looked shaky at times and struggled at Bearden. Ussery, Norman and Smith are locks to start and converted DE Tyler Waters only had four days on the OL during the spring but has potential. Overall the offense is very young and they are not going to be as dynamic as last year even if they line improves. Defense: DL: This group could be outstanding. Although undersized, they can all run and appear to be in good shape. Hunter Cook's move from LB to DE seems to be working out well and Tony Foster at nose could be the team's lone D-I prospect. He's already big and fast and only 15 years old. Austin Benson and Stephen Ross are both very fast and disruptive. LB: The deepest group on the team, you have six guys who can play pretty well. Cameron Petree looks much improved inthe middle and Stephen Slagle also looks good in the middle. Mobley could be a better linebacker than running back and Kolby Skeen looks like a lineman playing linebacker and has the speed to do it. James Duran and the transfer from Clinton also looked good in the spring and Nick Webb, last year's starter at outside, missed the spring because of baseball. DB: Young and inexperienced, but again potentially very good. All three of the starters are good tacklers. Matt Meade's move from corner to safety should payoff because he probably knows the game better than most players his age. He will not be the bigtime run stuffer safety like Cardio last year, but should be much better in pass coverage. DJ Hamilton is a senior moved from receiver and Jonathan Staggs is a sophomore that looks very good. This group isn't as fast as last year, but again they are better tacklers. Overall it adds up to who knows. Clinton is clearly going to be the class of the district with all the talent they have on offense. Hardin Valley is unknown, Anderson County and Oak Ridge have new coaches and who knows what impact that will have there. I think you can take Campbell County, Halls, Central, Karns and Powell and put big question marks beside all of them going into the season.

Inside Knox County I think Farragut, Bearden and Catholic should be good. I think West also has the potential to surprise people. Most of the other schools, even the ones that have historically good programs, have a lot of question marks. Halls, Powell and Central are all very young. Of the programs that have been down for a while I think South Doyle could be the biggest surprise because of Clark Duncan . . . if they are 5A? I'm not sure. Outside of Knox County I think Clinton is going to be very good and is the obvious favorite to win their district. Oak Ridge has a new coach that will likely get them going in the right direction again and Maryville will continue to be the best until somebody proves otherwise. Anderson County's coaching change should also be interesting.

I thought the defense played extremely well after the first three plays. I don't know what happened after Bearden went 70 yards easily the first time, but after that I think Powell's starting defense allowed only one more first down. Playing Bearden without Devron Young is like playing the Colts without Peyton Manning, but overall I would give the defense a B plus or an A minus. Hopefully the offense will get some help on the line . . . a lot of help. Hunter Hodge had very little time to throw and Dyshawn Mobley didn't have very many holes to run through and often had to get away from defenders behind the line of scrimmage. The snaps were an issue for every center that played with the exception of No. 67, who snapped very well but only played late in the scrimmage. The receivers looked better than they had in practice with only a couple of drops. Overall I thought the scrimmage was positive for Powell. After an offensive series where you lose 18 yards and three plays on defense where you give up 70 it looked bad to begin with, but after that I thought most of the players with the exception of the O-line got better.

Does anyone know if the new stadium will have a "tunnel" like the old one? For years Powell has had one of the better openings of a high school football game in the area with the players running out across the track. Hopefully that will get to continue.

I like the looks of the D line as well. Although not very big by a lot of standards, they are all very athletic.

Wow, that's a pretty good lineup for fall scrimmages. Anybody have any input on today's practice?

An added thought about yesterday's practice: I think this team could have the best overall set of linebackers the school has had in a while. Again, they don't have Baron Huber out there, but they have a lot of guys that seem like they are going to be very aggressive and are in good physical condition. The kid from Clinton, Mobley, Petree (and two still playing baseball) look to be, potentially, a good group. I know coach Lowe doesn't like playing kids two ways, but Mobley looks like a natural fit at linebacker to me. You also have, again potentially, a group of DBs that appear like they are going to be better tacklers than in years past. Meade won't be the run stopping free safety Cardio was last year, but I'm betting he'll be much better in pass coverage. I haven't heard they will scrimmage Sullivan South, but that would fit with Matt Lowe's style of scrimmaging the best teams he can find in the pre-season.

My thoughts on the first day (as if I really know what I'm talking about): The Oklahoma drill that started practice was as spirited and hard hitting as anything I've seen at Powell in many years. Mobley was tough on everybody he faced and I thought others that looked very physical were James, No. 37 (the new kid), Meade with the DBs, Staggs with the DBs and Foster and Norman with the lineman. The team does look like they are in excellent shape. Powell is not going to be very big this year, but I think overall they are more athletic on defense than I have seen in a while. They may not have that standout D-I prospect, but on average a faster, more aggressive bunch than in years past. The backfield (potentially) of Meade, Staggs and Hamilton could be very good. Booth has added a lot of size and looks good at the strong safety position. The line is very fast and very deep if not overly big. Offensively the team looked ragged because you have a new quarterback, three new lineman (with one returning starter playing baseball) and three of four receivers new to the starting lineup. There were a lot of dropped passes and, from what I heard, some wrong routes being ran. The defense is not only ahead of the offense, I wonder if this team could rely more on the defense and less on outscoring people like it has the past couple of years?

It was Mobley and Pelosios who were not there. It will be interesting to see if they are there is afternoon.