1moreopinion

Should be a good week for evaluation. Halls has had 2 great games after starting 0-6. Playoff hopes are very slim. The passing game has improved for both QB's. The defense is playing pretty good. Gresham, Bright (anyone heard how he is doing) and Fitzpatrick have been bright spots on both sides of the ball. Overall, I would have to give the team "D". What do you all think? What are the prospects for next year? I am not hearing alot out of the soph or junior classes. Some of this is due to injury, (#6, #7) but still.....Who will lead nest year? Are we in for more seasons of being under .500.

Thanks for the update on SC. I also enjoy this series. I always enjoy watching teams with good coaching and lots of tradition play each other. I think the Halls secondary is turning out to be very strong. The problem for Halls, that has been the case for the last several years, is the offense. With the exception of the jolt Kitts brought, the offense has seemed to struggle any time it plays against a formidable defense. The running game seems to be slow and predictble and the passing does not seem to come easy. Every completed pass brings cheers like no one was expecting Halls to complete one. I hope Halls can grow and come together. I hope the coaches can push the right buttons. I am not real sure what to expect out of this team.

Halls is coming off a loss not that unlike last year. Halls stayed close to Maryville and allowed the game to slip away. Halls was neck and neck with Clinton, but went to sleep for 1/2 of one quarter and it cost them. There were major challenges both years. Last year, Halls was inundated with sickness. I heard that there were several kids with Mono. This year, the starting QB was not able to play. (Side note: It was great to see #14 on the sideline last night. For those that missed it, the car that Dowdy wrecked was placed near the front gate as a reminder to all to wear their seatbelts. It is amazing that he survived that accident) Following these losses to favored opponents... Last year, Halls went to Sevier County and did not play well until the end and lost a close one. This led to a 2-6 start to the season. This year…….I guess we will find out Friday night. What do you guys think about this year’s match up? Sevier Co. is coming off of a big win.

Just started this so the Halls / Clinton topic can be for the game this week.

Your not only saying that Clinton scores 38 points, but your saying that this will happen early enough in the game that Halls will be able to score two touchdowns against the JV team in the fourth quarter. You might be right. However, I don't see any team scoring 38 points on this Halls defense in 3 quarters or so. Maybe, if there are a couple of pick/six touchdowns and a few fumbles deep in the Halls end, a punt or Kickoff returned for a TD and Halls goes 3 and out the rest of the time, it could happen. No, I changed my mind. It won't happen. I still say Clinton wins 21 - 10 or so. But... I am still pulling for the upset. I hope it is a great game to watch. There should be a pretty good crowd. I love Friday night football as well.

Halls has plenty of support. I just think these kind of boards bring out the second guessers and the armchair quarterbacks. I am more than happy to talk about the game. I love Friday nights. I will try to start some discussion. Reasons Clinton will win 1. Stars on offense - Stone, Hazzlehurst and Co. should provide plenty of offense to win. 2. Mental edge - Clinton won last year at Halls and Clinton has most key members back. 3. Halls QB - Halls lost starting QB less than two weeks before kickoff and the next two have nearly 0 varsity experience. Reasons Halls will win 1. Halls is at home - Given the fact of the previously stated "mental edge," Halls traditionally plays pretty well at home. (Plus they grow the grass knee deep and drench the field right before kickoff) 2, Underdog mentality - Halls is expected to lose. They were underdogs before the QB car accident. Decent teams can sometimes play great when "up against it." 3. Big Plays - Last year Clinton got two long passes and several Halls turnovers. If big plays even out or go toward Halls this year things might end differently. 4. Webb - This could go either way. Clinton's scrimmage against Webb might get Clinton fired up as an earlier post suggested. On the other hand, Halls played Webb pretty close in the passing league twice. After reading this post, I will still stick with my earlier prediction. What do you think Dragons07?

I am not a pessimist. I always thought I could win any game I played. Halls could win this game. But... I don't see Halls winning by scoring 36 points to beat Clinton 36-35. If Halls is to win, they will need to hold Clinton down closer to the under 20 range. I am not even sure Halls can score 21 on offense right now. They lost their starting QB and look slightly out of sync right now. The best RB is either injured or in the coach's doghouse. I confirmed last night that the best Halls kicker is suspended for the first 3 games. That is why he didn't kick in the halftime contest. Still, the Halls defense is pretty good. For Halls to win, the defense may have to score some points. In my opinion the final score will have to be something like 14 - 7 or 15 - 14 for Halls to win. That will take being +2 on turnovers and Halls having 2 to 4 decent drives. It could happen, but..... I would say that Clinton winning 28 - 7 much more likely.

I thought the defense for Halls continued to look pretty quick and defended pretty well. The offense appeared to struggle. However, it was against a very good defense. It has been a tough week for this team. All things being considered, not a bad showing. Is O’Laughlin hurt? He didn't get many carries and didn't run the 50 this year at halftime.

I agree HB. From everything I am hearing, Dowdy was one of the 4 or 5 leaders on this team that have been great in the off season. I have heard rumors that he is going to try to comeback. I am not sure how realistic that is with his condition. I will leave that up to the Dr. and parents. I would love to see him get to play at least some of his senior year. More importantly, I am thankful he was not hurt worse and I hope he has a quick recovery. Halls strength this year should be its defense. Dowdy played more of a backup role there. So, we should still be okay. Offensively, there is no way to tell how #11 or #12 will handle being thrown into the fire. No scrimmages with the first string will hurt. I am sure the coaches will have to dial back on the playbook a little. I hope we can get the running game going or it could be a long season.

This saturday is the freshman jamboree. It involves several teams from the area. I have been told that it is usually at Powell but was moved due to the construction of their new stadium. I do not know the schedule or which teams are participating. I have just been told that a Halls player was in a car accident today and is hurt. I was also told that it was serious but that it should not be life threatening (I hope this is true). I am not comfortable sharing a name or any more details of the injury here. Please pray for this player and his family.

I don't know if Halls is good enough to strike fear in anyone, but they are playing better football. So far, they are playing pretty stingy on defense and, with an improved passing attack, the offense might put up a few more points. We'll see. Clinton, Seveir Co, Powell, Webb and Oak Ridge make for a pretty tough first half of the season.

I had to go back a few pages to find this thread. Not much talk lately about this matchup. I guess most consider it a blow out. I have seen one Halls practice and two scrimmages. i now think Halls might be be a playoff contender. I am not sure how many 5A teams get in from our district. I think it is three. Clinton would have to be considered the favorite for #1. Halls, Central, AC and Powell are probably in the running for the other two spots. I think CC is the only other 5A school. I have heard they might be down a little this year, but I am not sure. As for the Clinton - Halls game: Halls has done well against a couple good opponents in scrimmages, but I still think Clinton has too many weapons. Halls would have to find a way to outscore Clinton and I don't see that happening based on the two scrimmages. (3 Tds for the first string) I would have to say Clinton by 2 TDs. I will still be pulling for my Red Devils. Who knows? a couple of INT's by the quick Halls secondary and things could get crazy.

I agree. Both teams are not going to show "everything" in any scrimmage or jamoree game. Catholic was running pretty well early. When #23 went down, I think it Catholic became a little more protective of #1. Their running game wasn't quite as effective after that. (Halls may have made some adjustments as well to slow down the run) Second, I am sure Meadows is trying to go through the growing pains of becoming a more wide open offense and wanted to keep throwing. I saw it as a stalemate for the most part. Halls broke one long run and did look a little fresher than Catholic later on. Ironman, I also loved seeing the defense flying around. They gave up too many yards on many plays, but they kept hustling and running to the ball. They have created several turnovers in the two scrimmages. That could be great if they keep it up. The negative would be their inability to get off the field on 3 and long plays and 4 and short plays. The offense stills needs to work on the running game. They can't seem to get enough of those 4 to 6 yard carries which runs the clock. i have no doubt that Catholic will be a power in their region and the 6A teams they face are in for a game. I hope #23 isn't hurt too bad and good luck to you as well.

I did not go to the scrimmage last night. I heard that it was very short due to the storms and that it was rescheduled for tonight. Can anyone confirm this?

Halls has one scrimmage under its belt. Catholic this Tues. and Carter next Tues. Who are the starters right now? What are the predictions for the upcoming season? There doesn't seem to be high expectations or much excitement this year. Is that because last year didn't go well? Just wondering what everyone thought.