JcToPpEr103803

how so?

WaCo's got a point...

Sorry I need to clear that up, I meant DB is the best East TN football team outside of the Knoxville area. Thanks for elaborating TCSfan.

Come on guys, the game is over and anybody can say what they want but I'd rather not have to start a new thread after this one escalates and gets shut down. JC will say something, DB will counter, it will go back and forth until CoachT steps in and shuts this thing down. Bottom line, this is Jeff Co VS Toppers thread, and that's what we need to focus on.

Hey may, I'll pull for DB if they're not playing us. They're the best team in the conference, the best team in East TN, and a good measuring stick for us. I hope that they are 9-0 every year when we play them, like Charlie Weis hopes USC is undefeated every time they play Notre Dame. I've seen what happened at DB a couple weeks ago, and while there were issues from both sides, JC had some questionable tactics and I'll leave that topic at that. SH is 4-2, close to where most of us thought they'd be this season. The difference in their wins and losses is simple: we can't stop the run. We can slow it down occasionally, but won't stop it completely. Taylor Fletcher had 196 yds on the ground when we lost to South, and I didn't see Devrin Young's official stats, but he ripped off some long gains against the Toppers last week when they lost to Bearden. This game hinges on whether or not we can stop the run. JC has some big boys up front, and decent speed in the backfield, they just don't have the depth of some other teams. I will say one thing though: we'll score with JC, no doubt about it. Even losing two key skill players, we've got alot of speed to work with and IMO a speed advantage. SH is going to come to play because they've got something to play for this year and they're still in the mix for a playoff bid. Jeff County, from my playing experience, is a physical team that battles and dogfights to get their win. They could have the physical advantage. Any Toppers looking at this: HIT SOMEBODY IN THE MOUTH FRIDAY!! How Isaac keeps his head on in this game could determine a win or a loss. He's a good kid and a great athlete, but sometimes he'll lose his temper. Playing both ways and special teams, there are going to be a few plays after the whistle for him, as in every game, but the key for him is not to retaliate. Isaac is a level headed kid who will occasionally get mixed up in some extracurricular activity on the field if someone pushes him to it. We can't afford to be giving away easy 1st downs on personal fouls on defense and backing up on offense due to personal fouls. We are at our best when Coach Smith can put the ball into Isaac's hands and say '' make a play''. We can't do that on 1st and 25, 2nd and 20, 3rd and 30, that sort of thing. Our defense is the same way, an aggressive, energetic unit that will hit with you and mix it up if something occurs. Everyone has to play level headed and keep a calmness about them, or this thing could swing in JC's favor. If the Toppers keep the penalties to a minimum, slow the run, and don't get mixed up in anything after the whistle, they should take this one on the legs of Isaac Kinley and Armando Canepa on offense, and a collective effort on defense. If they don't, it's anyone's ballgame. Science Hill Hilltoppers: 35 Jefferson County Patriots: 20 Keep juniors Greyson Janeway #6 and Wes Forbush #7 in your prayers. Both are projected to be out for the year with knee injuries. Injuries are random, but it is still sad to see a kid get hurt, no matter what colors they're wearing and what their impact is on the team, from the starting QB all the way down to your JV "just wants to be on the team" kid. Picks: 4-2 (1-1)

1st: SH may have lost Junior WR/CB Wes Forbush to an ACL injury during warm-up against Bearden. Freak accident. The second of two Toppers out for the year with knee injuries as Greyson Janeway is out. Both are important skill players on this SH squad, but more importantly they work hard and deserve the chance to be great but they caught the injury bug. It's part of the sport. 2nd: Good game Bearden. I mean that in all sincerity, Bearden came to play, and unfortunately, we did not. We still control our fate IMO, but can only finish at 3rd at best, because Bearden lost to DB, and I will be extremely surprised if SH can beat DB. They're on a different level this year, however, beating everyone else on the rest of our schedule with the exception of DB would put us in 3rd in the conference with SH and Bearden having the same conference record but Bearden holding the tiebreaker over SH. It would be in order: DB, Bearden, Science Hill. Also would give us a playoff game which Coach Smith hasn't even sniffed yet. 3rd: Devrin Young could be the best tailback in the state. The reason why I didn't call him the best? I haven't seen them all. 4th: In the spirit of being realistic, yes I'm picking my team to lose to DB when they play each other in a few weeks. What would you do? 5th: I'm a Gator fan (38-7 way to rebound from Ole Miss!), but i was at the UT game against NIU last night and IDK about ya'll but IMO, the refs tried to hand the game to NIU more than a few times. BTW Nick Stevens is something serious, watch out Georgia fans.. the kid is NICE!!!! He might save Fulmer's job... 6th: Jonathan Crompton will never take another snap at QB for the University of Tennessee. See 5th.

Most definitely. I'm excited. If you happen to get down here a little early, take a trip down North Roan Street to the Red Pig BBQ across from Kroger. The finest game day BBQ you will get, and they'll usually let you bring it in the stadium with you if you want to eat it during the game.

IDK about Bearden's defense this year, but SH's whole offensive line graduated last season. Big difference. 3 of the starters this season played JV line last season and the other 2 are key defensive players.

Prayers for Carlos Howard in Johnson City. Key player, but more importantly, a very serious injury. Luckily he is a sophomore, and he'll rehab and get stronger and faster. I missed half of my spring and summer of my senior year with a broken foot from pick-up basketball in gym class a few hours before our 1st spring scrimmage. Also, keep Greyson Janeway #6 in your prayers. He's been on crutches since our 3rd game and it's a knee injury. Still haven't gotten word on his status for Bearden.

Sullivan South- 49 (35 at half) Patrick Albright High- 7

Science Hill's offensive attack can be described with one key work: gimmick. Coach Smith will try to outscheme his opponents, rather than out play them. He'll come out in the spread, but at any given moment will switch to the goal line, 3 wide w/QB under center, or even bring in a back and run some direct snaps. Also, he'll switch QBs, depending on the situation and how the current QB is moving the offense. Coach Smith has been putting the ball in the hands of senior QB Isaac Kinley more often than not, but Daniel Norris (soph QB) will come in for obvious passing situations. Both of them can pass farely well, but Isaac's strength is his legs. He had played CB, FS, WR, RB, KR, PR over his career, and he even punts for the Toppers. Daniel is more of a classic drop back kind of guy. He is agile, but he won't outrun anyone. Better baseball player, but not too shabby at football himself either. You'll see Armando Canepa at RB primarily, a junior who has gotten alot bigger and matured alot since he started getting his snaps. He is a downhill, bowling ball type of runner, a compact guy who will hit with you. He'll also play some OLB, or stud in the Topper D. Ryan Mitchell will get some carries, and he is lightning to Armando's thunder. Taking him down is relatively easy, however, catching him to get him down is easier said than done. He is one of the 3 fastest guys on the squad, and he'll return kicks in addition to getting 5-10 carries on the night. Coach Smith's offense will feature two wide outs with good size, Larry Smith (6'6) and Wes Forbush (6'2). Corey Macpherson is the speed guy of the group, smaller, but has good hands and field vision. He'll also line up to return kicks with Ryan and Isaac. Greyson Janeway complements Corey, but he's been on crutches since the 1st half of the West game. Zach Jordan, a 6'4 220 OLB, will play some slot for the Toppers, and he was a difference maker at TE for Coach Bowles his sophomore year, and an even better slot for Coach Smith last year. This season, he's making bigger plays for the D, but still gets his snaps on O. One thing is for sure, the Toppers have big guys, and the Toppers have fast guys. What they don't have, is big, fast guys. They still manage though, an offense by committee.

If Kinley comes to play, not a lot of people will stop him, period. The kid does what he wants on the football field, whenever he wants to. The Toppers offensive line is a combination of kids that played JV last year, and kids that spend the majority of their time on the defensive line. The Toppers won't wow anyone with their size up front, but Coach Miller has his guys fundamentally sound, and that makes up for some of their size issues. The defensive line is a fast, finesse group of guys. Will Rentel and Seth Williams will play on both lines, while Andrew Chaudron, Will Lindsay, and Joel Shrum make up the rest of the offensive line, Josh Lewis, Jordan Alexander, and Zach Collie will be key on the defensive front. The defense that the Toppers run enables them to play 3 down linemen and 5 linebackers at any given time with 3 defensive backs. It's organized chaos, and when executed correctly, it can create a long night for opposing offenses. The defense as a whole has alot more success when they can force teams to throw the ball and they can blitz. Their pass coverage is sound, and 3 of their 4 rotating defensive backs have picks on the year. 2 of them have multiple picks. What's Bearden got this season? Throw me some names and positions.

Wow. A lot of ppl are picking my Toppers in this one. Of course, everybody picked my Gators over Ole Miss.... but thats an entirely different story. I haven't seen much from Bearden this year, but I know that we are going to have to key in on Young. Our D had a pretty easy time with Keenan Sheppard and Carlos Howard, but they hardly had a line to block for them. We never beat Bearden when I played, losing 9-7, 42-13, and 21-7 respectively over the last 3 years. Everybody likes Knoxville over the rest of East Tennessee, with the exception of Dobyns-Bennett. Knoxville fields good football teams year in and year out with the exception of Karns High School and the University of Tennessee, and I know that Bearden will be no slouch. Shame on whoever scheduled them for homecoming my junior year (42-13), that did not work out the way we wanted it to. This is a totally different Science Hill team than years past, and they are riding some serious momentum with their 24-6 win over an undermanned TN High squad. Homecoming will be an exciting week, but hopefully our minds won't stray far from taking care of business, and we can do what we do. Many say that Bearden's success hinges on Young's success. The same with the Toppers, just not as much- The Toppers live and die on the play of Isaac Kinley. Isaac always comes to play, and is single handedly moving the topper offense down the field every game. If all goes well, Coach Smith will call Isaac's number early and often to establish a presence on offense. While I'm on the topic of Coach Smith, he's got to look at these boards so THANKS FOR TAKING THE POINTS LAST WEEK COACH!!!!!!!!!!! Brandon MacAuley hasn't missed since he put on a Topper uniform, and his presence (5'11 140) on the kickoff team last week saved a couple large returns that could've put TN High right back into the game. I'm not picking a score until some Bearden ppl get on here and give us some info on what they've got. They lost 27 seniors? So what? SH lost 22, and has already surpassed their win total from last season. Good luck Friday Toppers, lets show Knoxville what East Tenn can do!

Sure thing Comp: Fredericks is in the mold of a speed guy, won't really hit with you unless you force him to. Goforth didn't play much against us, but he offered a physical style. Fletcher is easily better than both. He is the best overall back that the Toppers have faced. Cody Forbes was tops in terms of speed. Keenan Sheppard is a good back, but he didn't have anybody blocking for him last night. In order it would be: 1) Fletcher 2) Fredericks 3) Forbes 4) Sheppard (because he has no line)

Good investment for DB, not far to travel, they've got the advantage at every position, their 2nd team should be able to get some meaningful game experience and they should leave Betsy with a strong W. Elizabethton, well.... atleast you'll get a good gate because DB will fill the away stands for this non-con beat down. Hopefully, taking your lumps in this one will prepare you for a run in your conference.

1) Dobyns-Bennett- I'll pick DB year in and year out until somebody else in the conference takes a stand and gives me a reason not to. They've just got too much this year. 2) IMO, 2nd is up for grabs between Bearden and Science Hill. Sevier has already lost to SH, and a loss to DB would mathematically put them in 3rd, but I see them losing to DB, and atleast one more time after that. Bearden has lost to DB already, and SH doesn't have enough to beat DB this year, so the Bearden-Science Hill game will determine 2nd and 3rd. 4) Jeff County. Nasty game against the Tribe Friday, inexcusable actions on both sides combined with shoddy refs. A win against Science Hill could shake this conference up and give Jeff Co something to play for. The bottom half of the conference will be Sevier County, Karns, and Campbell County in any order. The Beavers look like the weakest of these 3 teams.

I have an x factor for every game. Against South, it was the Topper defense vs. Taylor Fletcher. Fletch got 196 yds in a good game that South won. Yes the Toppers lost, but they COMPETED. That is a big step up from last year. Against Elizabethton, it was speed. SH won the speed battle and the game. Against West, Topper D vs Tyrell Fredricks. Kid got 150, but we came out with more points, and I was pleased with the overall effort. Against Sevier Co, it was the Topper linebackers vs Zac Flynn and Patrick Miller. The guys won that battle for 3 qtrs, but the D gave up 21 pts in the 4th. They scored just enough points to hang onto the win and prevent the improbable comeback. Tonight, I have 2 x factors. The first, and IMO the most crucial, is the Topper offense vs. the weather. A wet field could expose the Toppers if they have to go to the running game more than usual. They are a gimmick play offense, and they have certain plays that just won't work if the ground is wet and guys are slipping around. The second of my x factors is Topper WRs vs the Viking secondary. They have a nice size advantage. Wes Forbush is 6'2, and has great hands playing both ways. At 6'6, Larry Smith won't beat you with his speed, but he has a knack for catching the ball over defenders, and is hard to bring down because he is so lanky. If Norris is on the field, he is going to go to Larry. On their first play together against South, they connected on a 35 yd completion. Against West, Isaac and Larry connected on an easy 17 yd TD that consisted of Isaac lobbing it up and letting Larry go get it. Larry simply reached up and snatched the ball out of the air. No one has to throw for 400 in this one, but if Isaac and Daniel are able to hit receivers downfield, and take advantage of the size mismatch, that will open things up on the ground because the Vikes will be forced to respect the pass. If the Topper QBs can't make those plays, then a pumped up Vike D playing at home could keep their team in this one. I still like the Toppers in a low scoring 17-13 effort. Rain or shine, can't wait to get up to the Castle for this one. Should be a good one.

DB definitely. I've played on that field, and I've sat in the stands. The stadium is very nice IMO, and the field, well it's perfect. I also like the Stone Castle. Once again, on the field and in the stands. The stands aren't that great, but I like the uniqueness of the Castle and the atmosphere is always crazy. Now, this one isn't the best stadium, or even close, but I like how Campbell County's stadium overlooks their school. It sits up on the hill and above everything. I compare it Mile High in Denver. It is a fun place to play, and a unique facility.

I agree with you that the Toppers are better than their coach's ability. I know Coach Smith, and I like him as a person, but as coach, he is constantly trying to outscheme his opponents. Coach Bowles simply lined up, ran the ball, threw in a couple play actions, and tried to outplay the other team. It worked. We had pretty good seasons my sophomore and junior years, but then Coach Smith came. I don't want to say that Coach Smith is the only reason that we tanked last year, he didn't take one snap all season, but there were alot of questionable calls last season. IMO, we were about 8 plays from being 7-3, instead of 3-7. South, Bearden, and DB were the games where we were simply outmatched. Karns, well, nobody fumbles twice in the 4th trying to run the clock out, and NOBODY EVER has both of those fumbles returned for TDs. I like what Coach Smith is doing this year, Kinley was effective as a back and a WR last season, but at QB he has many more chances to make game changing plays. Bringing in Norris is good in that it gives the defense a different look with a classic drop back guy. Still think that he should be more cautious on 4th down and take FGs in the redzone, especially with MacAuley back from injury. The kid didn't miss ANYTHING last season, and he is also one of the leading tacklers on our kickoff team though he is 5'11 140. The other kicker is a soccer player, and this was his first year on the football team. He had a couple rough outings while Brandon was hurt, but now that he is back, COACH SMITH TAKE THE POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Points don't hurt, 4th down turnovers do. Kick it to Mitchell, and this isn't a knock on TN High coverage, but he has the speed and vision to take it to the house every time. Having Corey Macpherson and Isaac Kinley back there doesn't hurt either, but Mitchell is the gamebreaker. He is raw as a back, but his special teams skills are very well developed. I can't wait to get up to the Castle and watch this one unfold. TN High plays with much more confidence at home, and anything can happen, that is why they play the games. Science Hill:17 TN High: 13

Cap1, good to hear from you. I always enjoy what you, THSViking2004, comp, and even WaCo bring to the boards. You all always provide good insight on the teams that you support, and even alot of teams that I haven't been able to see this season. This is always helpful in gauging the team I support against teams that I am not always familiar with since I'm not in the fieldhouse watching film of them anymore. One thing I've been wondering, what is up with KS? I've heard that TN High has alot of injuries this season. Is he injured or has he just not been getting press this year? THSViking2004 can help me out with this one too. Posting with TN High and DB fans is fun every year, and I'm glad that you guys follow your teams hardcore. It's refreshing to see that some people still keep an eye on their squads and give great info, almost scouting reports, of what to expect when they take the field. Thanks guys. Go Toppers!

The Vikes always get up for Science Hill, and I think that their performance early in the season will not reflect the outcome. Especially since this one is in Bristol, SH had better come to play. TN High is very hard to beat at home, they have a great atmosphere there. I know alot of the guys look at these boards, because I did when I played, but I hope that the boards don't make them take TN High lightly. Keenan Shepard is a good back, and we need to be ready to stop him. I hope that it is a good game and that SH comes out on top. As it was proven last season, the TN High game will be a telling point in the SH season. They need this win.

What does TN High look like this season? I didn't get to see them play DB because I was at Science Hill-South. What can Science Hill expect when they get to Bristol friday night? The Toppers are playing very well this year, but they were playing well at the same time last season, and we all know what happened.

With the nature of TN High's ball control offense, I don't see this one getting too far away from the Vikings. The Hilltoppers should win, but TN High is a traditional 4A power, and anything can happen. I like the Toppers by one possession, in a game maybe a bit more one-sided than the score reflects.

The fact of the matter is, after last season, East TN was ready to throw Smith to the wolves. Everybody was hating on Smith. Some of that hate may have been deserved, but that is another story altogether. Many of the seniors and their families were displeased with the way things went, and most of Johnson City was calling for the man's head. Now they're 3-1, won 3 in a row, and have a date against TN High (sounds a bit like last season). Now everybody wants to anoint Smith as the next Urban Meyer and talk about his coaching strategy. From what I've seen, the biggest adjustment was not the play calling, but the attitude and the workout intensity. SH is much stronger and faster, as you say, and the mentality is there to win. They don't want to be the 1-5A version of Ohio State anymore, a much hyped team with great talent that just can't win big games. SH is playing to win this season, and the boys think they are ready to take on the rest of the conference. I like the enthusiasm and the energy that they've displayed on the field this year, but our boys better be ready for TN High because they are the 2nd best 4A in the area, and we already lost to the best in South.

I never go in expecting to lose, even after being a senior on last year's 3-7 team that lost 6 straight. I think that the Toppers could take this one, but I think it will be close. In recent years, it's played close, or one team blows out the other. I see much of the same, with TN High playing closer than expected, and Coach Smith will capitalize on some good field position and put Brandon MacAuley on for a FG. If the defense doesn't pick it up though, Shepard could have a career night. TH High is as good a 4A on the schedule, and is up there with South, DB, and Bearden on the list of elite opponents that play very well against the Toppers year in and year out. I didn't count out DB last season after a slow start, simply because tradition will not allow the Indians to field a bad football team. I believe the same with TH High, so SH better capitalize before TN High starts clicking on all cylinders and playing at a level that could cause a lot of teams in this area some trouble.