sixsons

I will no longer be posting on here under sixsons. I do plan to continue to read the board as, for the most part, I find the information interesting and insightful. I may log on again in the future, under a more anonymous name, but only with the intention of continuing to provide useful information for fans of Halls High School Football. If I do, I will continue to keep my comments positive and optimistic. My late father once said, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. The problem with internet message boards (and I have a great deal of experience on other boards) is a lot of people use their anonimity to speak self-servingly, take things out of context for the sake of argument, and sometimes go so far as to say things they are unwilling to tell you to your face. I am NOT a coach, just a caring and involved parent. As a parent, I don't want my comments to be misconstrued and/or potentially have ANY negative impact on ANY player. I care about all the young men on the team and wish them all well. I'm not calling any individual out by saying this but, from the actions of posters I've seen on here thus far, providing a list of likely starters is beyond the appropriate scope of ANY parent; whether or not they have a son who is among them. IMO, that potentially wreaks of self-interest. This is just something best left to the coaches (to be announced on game day) or perhaps the speculation of non-parents who post on the board. On the other hand mentioning that an individual player has shown signs of improvement is fully within bounds, again provided he's not your own son. The problem here is comments like those can even be taken out of context. For the record, I have not (and will not) comment on my own son(s). I think we should all check our motives at the door before posting, in the interest of the kids. Just as coaches should be held to a higher standard in regard to their use of the board, parents should be held to a higher standard. IMO, again in my past experience with several other football programs (both high school and college), I suggest some standards for message board posting... * Coaches should (and they do) read the board, but not post. * Parents should (and they do) read and post, but offer opinion only when it takes their own son out of the conversation. If your kid is that good, trust me, others will have plenty of positives to say about him. * All others should post, offer their opinion more liberally than parents, but never-the-less keep ther comments civil. One last thing, before I check out into more relative anonimity; there are a lot of new players on Varsity due to the size of the "Rising Sophomore" class. The coaching staff has been gracious enough to give me an UP TO DATE ROSTER (as of Friday, May, 2nd). It includes all the projected players who will be coming over from Track, Soccer, Baseball, etc.. I have volunteered to make copies in time for this Friday's (9 May) scrimmage against Dobbins Bennett. I plan to bring about 50 copies to the scrimmage. If you see any mis-spellings, height/weight discrepancies, etc... please point them out to me right away when you pick up your copy of the roster and I will update a working copy to provide simplified feedback to the coaching staff. Not to lay any blame, but I noticed going into the season last Fall, a lot of the height/weight info was way off the mark on the web page and in programs. These coaches and other program volunteers have a lot to do (more than they have time for) and I know they appreciate whenever we get together (as parents) to help when we see a need. Great Football programs have great volunteers. Along these lines, I suggest we all see how we can be of more benefit to these coaches who sacrifice so much of their time and get paid so little to help our son's grow and develop into young men. There are plenty of opportunities to help and from what I've witnessed, plenty of talented people out there capable of helping out. If you want to plug in, I suggest getting involved with the Stadium Club. If you are not a parent, but still care about the Red Devils, the Stadium Club will still be providing information on how you can help. Meet you on the High Ground...

I stand corrected on the final drive. It's not "selective memory", it's called simply being wrong. Honest mistake. Still, Halls scored 30 on Maryville and no one else (including in the post-season) scored more than 21 on the Rebels all season. My point is the same >>> August 22nd should be on top of the Rebels radar.

Thank you Ironman. We won't be the same team against DB as we would be with the guys who aren't back yet. That said, in talking with others who have been around Red Devil Football a lot longer than I have, it seems that depth is a strength for this team. Given that the teams we scrimmage against are likely also missing some players to other sports, I'm sure we'll hold our own just fine in the scrimmage. To be sure, I don't want anyone thinking I have anything against Turner. I'm glad he's a Red Devil. He's very athletic and adds another dimension to the QB position with his speed. I'm very interested in how the "2s" do as depth is what has made Maryville such a power. Everyone likes to talk about the starters, but depth wins games in the 4th quarter when starters wear down. It should be a great season this Fall.

I think you're overreacting. Saying something complimentary about one player does not mean I'm implying anything negative about another. It's Turner's job to lose, but Dowdy looks good. I think we have two very capable starters, which championship caliber teams NEED. I know my football. If you want to question my judgement, that's your perogative. It doesn't change my opinion. Dowdy looks very poised and confident behind center. His feet are moving well on 3 and 5 step drops and he is throwing the ball accuaretely with some zip. I saw him step in against "live" defenders last year AT MARYVILLE and he handled himself very capably there. He appears to be even bigger, stronger, and faster than last Fall... This is a good thing. IMO, competition for every position is healthy for a team and I believe I share this opinion with the coaching staff. I'm glad we have both of these young QBs on this team, along with a great deal of other young men.

Because they haven't broke ground yet. A field house is a fairly simple building to build. A little patience will go a long way.

Here's the link... http://hallsstadiumclub.com/calendar.htm

We (parents / boosters / and friends of Red Devil Football) will be tailgating at the Dobbins Bennett scrimmage next Friday. All are welcome AND ENCOURAGED to attend. Just bring your own food. We will have a large grill fired up so you can bring raw meats, burgers, dogs, steaks, whatever and your own sides and drinks (no alcohol). >>> We will be tailgating near the field, possibly in or near the North end zone. The purpose of the tailgate will be for adults to get to know one another and find out how to "plug in" to the football fraternity at Halls. I will provide updated rosters (as of today's practice) to everyone in attendance at the tailgate. Even if you don't want to eat or hang out, stop by an get a roster. We will tailgate again on the 16th, but not at the Red & White game (on the 19th) as we expect the concession stand to be open for that. GOOOOOOOOOOOO RED DEVILS!

Yesterday (first day with helmet) there were at least 20 not there due to track, soccer, and baseball. Today, a few more were here for full pads, but still about 10-12 missing. Many of those missing will be major contributors.That said, the team looked good again today. Some Freshmen (rising sophomores) got introduced to the big boys in one on ones. It was entertaining. Okay, I asked around today at practice and someone told me 6:00 pm for the Dobnbin's Bennett scrimmage next Friday (the 9th). Don't quote that as gospel though. I did NOT get it from any official source.

I hope they're thinking along these lines.

Maryville & Halls = 4A Blount 5A The blount game counted for nothing. Technically, I stand corrected, but I'd say that answering the Rebels score for score the entire game, at their place, playing the entire 2nd half without our starting QB, and failing to send it in to overtime after getting down within the red zone on the final drive makes it the closest game of the year, William Blount or no William Blount. Final score Maryville 38 Halls 30 With the game being the season opener, in Halls, the Red Devils will be the Rebel toughest game of the season. Not sure I'm having to go out on much of a limb in saying this?

Not sure of the start time, but yes, it is at Halls. I'll try to find out more details today.

Granted it's early, but for the first practice of Spring, QB Zack Dowdy looked sharp! He just seemed to have a presence in the backfield and also look like he's made some progress in the weightroom. He has nice size. Tyler Turner will be challenged for the starting position IMO and as a result we have 2 very solid choice behind center. We'll need this, along with some sure handed WRs and a stellar defense to make a real run in the post-season. I am a huge Wesley Kitts fan, but I happen to think the running game, as a whole will be even better than last year, despite Kitt's departure for college. Kevin Waggoner should be a solid performer at TB and Sophomore James O'Laughlin has the potential to really shine. I think O'Laughlin will be the biggest surpirse on the team, if not the WR coming over from the basketball team. O'Laughlin may be the fastest kid on the team and he runs in that seemingly patented Red Devil style > tough. Add in Ryan Pixley, who when it comes to tough, has no peer on the team and the backfield appears to be deep. The depth at RB is not the primary reason I say the running game will be improved; the number one reason is I believe we will have a great running game is a "potentially" phenominal offensive line. Steven Hill has gotten huge in the off-season (in a good way). Caleb Leonard is, well, Caleb Leonard (possibly the best overall football player in East Tennessee this fall) Also, rising Junior, Zach Shaddix is huge. He must go 6'3" and 340+. It's not his size that's so impressive, but I've heard great things about his progress in the weightroom. Sure he could stand to lose about 40 pounds to be at a more ideal playing weight, however, he carries his big body around well. I attribute this to the wightroom and his great attitude. Provided we have a solid performer at Center, this line should be good for a 3-4 yard push on any given play, against anyone. The kicking game will be solid with Jared Kahn. Now it's time for us parents and boosters to get behind 'em early.

They were out filming at practice

Are you actually serious? You're trying to use the "we beat someone by more than you" smack over... HEAD TO HEAD COMPETITION? News Flash! Halls BEAT Powell = Bragging Rights /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

blah, blah, blah Hey troll, >>> Scoreboard Next!