ColumbiaBlueNScarlet

You made a comment about the speed, size, and athleticism of Austin-East. I didn't say anything sooner because I'd never seen CAK play in person, but CAK had more size than Austin-East... especially up front. Austin-East did have a 6'3" 225 lb man in Jarod Henderson at MLB, but the following is what Austin-East has played on the offensive line this year. 6'3" 215 5'10" 215 5'10" 200 6'0" 180 6'1" 235 6'3" 310 6'1" 345 Speed and athleticism yes, but not a lot of size up front. ...but you didn't ask for my thoughts on Austin-East. CAK is a very good football team. The offense is great. The offensive scheme is good. High is an above average high school QB. He did a good job of throwing WRs open. The WRs were often covered, but High put it where he knew his WRs would go get it... and AE players were not going up to catch the high balls (pun intended). The CAK O-Line does not get enough recognition because they give the QB plenty of time for those crossing routes to develop. Defensively, CAK’s scheme is solid. All-in-all, CAK has a great offense and a solid defense; CAK is a very good football team.

Congratulations to CAK.

I saw your son in the Anderson County game. He seemed to be making plays all over the field. Does he play ILB or OLB? Is CAK's defensive scheme a true 4-4 or more like a 4-2-5 where those OLBs are similar to strong safeties?

Not necessarily. If Rankin expected to work in Knoxville in 2012, why enroll a child in Blount County schools just to move her the following year?

... new to Austin-East in recent history. Austin-East's offense has struggled against lesser competition than CAK. It would be a pleasant surprise to see them score a lot of points.

Sounds like Austin-East will have a tall order of trying to stop those WRs. I think Austin-East will mix their coverages up... or at least I hope they do. It's a lot easier for an offensive coordinator to scheme, call plays, and get completions when he knows what the defense is doing. It's easier for a QB to get in a rhythm also if he knows what the defense is doing. CAK's offense is always talked about. What does CAK do defensively?

I don't have a lot to say. CAK is a formidable opponent. CAK has build an excellent football program in the last decade. Most people don't give Austin-East a chance, but IMO Austin-East can play with anybody in the state. The operative word being "can" ... I hope they come to play on Friday.

Looks like Alcoa's past success may be skewing the data a little bit... and Austin-East would be higher, but they lose some games that they are not suppose to lose. I like Sonny Moore's rankings; they seem to be the most accurate.

Just curious... Do you think Milan will make the finals this year? Do you think Milan will beat CAK if they meet in the finals?

I'm not saying that Alcoa fans do not expect to win this game, but they definately are not as confident in Alcoa as they were in the past. I only saw two posts were Alcoa fans talked about the game. The other posts from Alcoa fans were in response to another Alcoa fan predicting a CAK win. Alcoa fans, where's the game analysis, comments, photoshop pictures, etc?????? ...must not want to provide any bulletin board material... seems like in the past that didn't matter to the Alcoa faithful.

Those were some good days for Austin-East Football... We've been chasing those days every since Sam left.

Are you not a Milan fan? If you are a Milan fan, don't you want your Bulldogs to be the team that ended Alcoa's streak? Do you not believe that Milan can do it and would rather see them play someone other than Alcoa in the final? If not a Milan fan, please disregard this post.

Not to take anything away from Alcoa because they have built a great program, but i agree that they won a lot of games before they even stepped onto the field... and definately after the first offensive and defensive posessions. One of the main reasons Austin-East was able to beat Alcoa was because they believed that they could win. I remember those days when Austin-East opponents didn't expect to win. Opponents had doubt at the beginning of the game... and after the first possessions, the doubt was confirmed in the opponent's mind... Sigh... those were the days

Yeah... the linemen do a lot of pulling. Rankin does a good job of formationing defenses to be able to allow his linemen to pull. Those 5 guys up front are a big reason for Alcoa's success. Yeah they have speed and athletes at the skill position, but they also have athletic linemen that can run. Often times Alcoa backs will be 5-6 yards down field before they encounter a defender.

Pump your breaks. I'm not predicting that Austin-East will beat Alcoa IF there is a rematch... there's at least 96 minutes of football that needs to be played before we even know who is going to play in the semifinal game. About the first game... Alcoa's 332 yards of total offense was more than Austin-East's 108 yards. (http://stats.prepxtra.com/football/boys/schedules/games/4883/results/) 108 isn't anything to brag about, but I'm not sure where the 60 yards came from. The fact that Alcoa wants to play Austin-East again doesn't need to be stated. I would expect nothing less form a competitor. There's four teams I'd like to see Austin-East play again. Since the first match-up, I'm sure Alcoa has made some adjustments and improvements on special teams. Austin-East has made some adjustments and improvements with their offense. IF we do see a rematch of Austin-East/Alcoa, I think it'll be a good game. As far as the Alcoa/CAK game goes, I have no clue who will win this one. I was suprised that CAK rushed for over 200 yards in the first game. The only outcome that would surprise me in this game is if one team blows the other out of the water... this will be a good game.

So do you think that Quarles went back and told his team that Greeneville is stronger and more physical then Marryville and that no team in the state is stronger than Greeneville? You don't have to answer that question. There is no doubt that Greeneville has strong players... I just think that the original statement was a little strong. There is a big difference in the best and being amoung the best; there's no state championship for the strongest football team, so we'll never who is the strongest.

This will be my last post on the subject because we can debate on it all day long. Scores are used for determining the "best" team for that given game on that given day. To your point about the trophies... here is a scenario... Team A beats Team B in the regular season. Team A does not make the playoffs. Team B wins the state championship and gets a trophy in the trophy case. Is Team A or Team B the "best" team?

Who were those teams?

Based upon Greeneville's body of work, I would agree with what you are saying above. Your initial statement was probably a little bold though... "I'd rank them very high in the "pound for pound" argument." is a much softer statement than ""Pound for pound", there is no team in the state stronger than Greeneville."

I will agree to disagree with you. IMO, the best team does not always win the game. In most cases they do, but IMO there are situations when the best team does not win.

I haven't seen Greeneville, but I'd say that Maryville would have something to say about that statement. Austin-East scrimmaged Maryville, and Maryville was strong and physical at most every position... 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string.

According to CPA4Ever's post (referenced above), CAK and Ausin-East are better than Alcoa. I think the CPA/PC game and the CAK/Alcoa game will be good games.

I hate to keep this debate going... especially in a thread that does NOT include "Elizabethton" AND "Sullivan North" in the title, but my curiosity has gotten the best of me... Which Elizabethton players (please provide their jersey numbers) did not play in the Sullivan North game?

All I know for sure is that the total rushing for West Greene was 121, and the QB had a couple of good runs... on the other hand, the QB got sacked a few times too. A little over 100 is probably accurate, but I would guess that he had less than 120.

Total rushung yards for West Greene was 121... I think Boles had about 80 or 90.