ClemsonDad

I don't get on here often and I very rarely post, but I had to miss the game and watched the second half on the internet while getting texted regularly from about half the people in attendance so I wanted to catch up so here I am. My heart hurts for Haden today. I have been SO proud of him this year. He has already had a heck of a year. Greyrider/Dad, I know what it feels like and it hurts terribly. For the rest of you: this is one really great young man. He is typical of the reason that MHS is so good every year--plays with all of his heart and all of his ability. It has been a joy to watch him this year and a privilege to be a part of his last four years.

I really know better but I just can't stay out of this one. QBClubPrez: I have no idea who you are but you are one of the most clueless posters since BlackHavenSenator and I actually learned to like him (a little). UT sucks. They are terrible and they will be for a long, long time. They don't have SEC caliber players, especially in the offensive line. They don't have SEC caliber coaches either A walk-on kicker comes off the fraternity couch and wins a game for them? They don't have a quarterback in uniform that can complete a 15 yard out route? A walk-on running back leads the team in rushing in an SEC game? Any game? They are just awful. Jay can play. I'm glad he's going to Clemson. No, I'm ecstatic. Sharp can kick. Robinette can play. Probably too smart for UT's coaches. Certainly too much character to wear pale orange. UT doesn't want local players. I don't know why. You're crucifying Brent Hubbs for reporting. He's just doing his job. UT recruiting: Can you say Clabo? Cobb? Reynolds? Can you say local kids that UT didn't want but who are in the NFL today? Not too long ago, there was a local offensive lineman that UT recruited vigorously. Good kid. Outstanding grades. Hard worker. Great potential. UT got a commitment from a kid who had been implicated in a date rape on his official visit to UF. So they quit recruiting the local kid. Just dropped him off the radar without any notification. So who do you want, a local kid that can play, who had strong ties to UT, and who was smart enough to probably double your team GPA and was never going to end up on parole for anything or a kid of highly suspect character of roughly equal ability? Oh, and the other kid was in and out of trouble all through high school and was from out of state. UT didn't want the local kid. After recruiting him hard, treated him badly. And it was Pumpkin that was HFC during this time. The local kid went to the ACC and did pretty well. The other kid? In and out of trouble during his time in pale orange. Probably not a rocket scientist today either. I'll go by rule #2: Pull for whoever UT is playing. BTW: Can somebody tell Dooley to clean up his mouth? I'm hard of hearing so I read lips pretty well and his language is awful! You cannot tell me that a team of kids that bleed orange aren't going to be better than a team of kids whose introduction to UT football was Lane Kiffin or UT's latest Toilet Bowl appearance. Look no further than Reveiz. Not recruited. Too short. Local. Yet, he became the heart and soul of the Tennessee footbal team. Where is he today? I think he's playing on Sundays.

There is a guy that writes a column on Sunday that's pretty good.

Mr. Limbaugh: How many people will be in your party. If you want to go to Foothills Milling Company, you need to call for reservations today! It fills up quickly. It is pricey and it won't handle a large group but as far as good food, it is the best in the whole area. You are also likely to see the retired Voice of the Vols, John Ward there on any given night. If your group is large, Whistlestop Cafe won't work either. 10-12 would be fine but you might call Don (the owner) and tell him you're coming. The number is 865/995-0823. I disagree with coming in on I-140 instead of Hwy 321. 321 is a straight shot and the stop lights in Lenoir City really aren't that bad. Plus it's very scenic coming into Blount County that way. Friendsville is right on 321 and Whistlestop is easy to find. Just a little bit beyond Friendsville is the turnoff to Allison's Catfish. Definitely a one-of-a-kind place and again, right off 321. You won't need reservations if you get there close to opening at 5. Fried catfish is their specialty. Aubrey's is still good and a limited chain. I'm not a big fan of Courtyard Grill. Smoky Mountain Brewery (not far from MHS) is a good choice for a larger group. It's more pub fare than anything else but isn't a big chain so the food isn't all thawed and microwaved. Safe travels.

Your first choice is right on the way: Whistlestop Cafe in downtown Friendsville. Opens at 5. You won't be disappointed. Definitely a one-of-a-kind place. Also on the way is Allison's Catfish. They also open at 5 so if you're there when they open you will be at the game in plenty of time. Other purely "local" places to consider: Bread of Heaven in Alcoa, Becky's Grill in Rocky Branch, and Aroma Cafe in Eagleton. If you are looking for really great food, make reservations at Dancing Bear Lodge and Restaurant in Townsend or Foothills Milling Company in downtown Maryville. But don't go without reservations. All of these places meet your criteria.

Playoffs began in 1969.

I did miss that one. It is definitely the referee's call that the ball never touched the ground from the tee to the Clinton player's hands but I bet that the ball should have been blown dead at that point or re-kicked. If I'm wrong about the rule, so be it--I've been wrong before and I generally never criticize the officials. In any case, good game. I'm just a fan of high school football and can appreciate the history of Oak Ridge football and also what Andy Shattuck is doing at Clinton.

I just saw the worst call I've ever seen in high school football and I've been around the game for most of my 57 years. Clinton just got screwed.

Just ignore the idiots and do your thing G-Unit. We all know what a class act you are.

You better go back to '98 if you want to talk about the best modern era teams at MHS.

You're smokin' something.

Susie: Joe Black recruits for ALL OF BLOUNT COUNTY. As for the pale orange, I can pretty much guarantee you that is the absolute last place you'll find him recruiting. And I'm still trying to figure out who the heck you are but I'd be willing to bet that I have seen you or yours professionally at some time or another.

Buddy's BBQ "crap"??? Come on FBDad, surely you jest! Back to my question: who off of last year's Powell team is playing D-1A besides Bruhin?

Who are the college players from last year's Powell team and where are they playing? (Beside Bruhin at Marshall)

...but with that said, the coaches did an excellent job. Don't judge the resultant playing time unless you were there all week during three-a-days and then the late night coaching meetings all week. I might have done a few things differently, but isn't it always easier to coach from the stands? or on Monday morning? As an example, wouldn't you have pulled Adkins from the UT baseball game against Arizona State? Did you question Delmonico's choice? But have you ever coached a team to the CWS?

With all due respect, Terrence Scott did not have much in the way of opportunities in this game, but he is a great kid that should have a solid career in college football. I look for him to be in the D-IA level in two years. No, I'm not a coach but I'll just have to leave it at that.

The problems were many but the bottom line is that this wasn't a team made up of the best 40 football players in Tennessee. Too many of the best players refuse to participate. Also, if the head coach is not a member of TACA, they aren't eligible. I know that cost the linemen from O.R. that went to UNC in '99. He definitely could have played on this team but his coach wasn't TACA. Of those that played, the marquee players (read between the lines) seemed to be so afraid of injuries that they might as well have stayed on the bus. This is a good program (of which I have been a part of for the last seven years) with good players and good coaches. You have no idea what kind of sacrifice it is for both at this time of year. Yet, losing stinks and it wasn't much fun. As for the fight at the end, all the Kentucky QB had to do was take a knee and run out the clock but he chose instead to dance around in the backfield, being cute. Nick McFadden from Catholic did what he should have done, tackle him before he decided to take off for the end zone. THAT was how the fight at the end started. And I will say unequivically that the personal fouls that plagued the game (and a bunch that should have been called) were the result of complete ineptitude on the part of the officials. They were holding and clipping calls all night that should have been called. After one particularly grievous no-call on a hold on the corner, the sideline official said that if the KY kid had broke it for a touchdown, he would have called it. It was absolutely crystal clear that they were not there to officiate the game but to see how many flags that they could NOT throw. They definitely let it get out of hand. Terrence Scott is a great kid that I enjoyed getting to know. So was Baron Huber. Both should do well. We needed receivers. The kid going to Wake Forest was the only one that ran good routes. I hope we play it next year. Coach Jim Cartwright has been in bad health and wasn't able to be there this year. My best wishes to a great fellow. It is a good event that needs to be perpetuated. But we definitely need to get the best players convinced to play and maybe that doesn't include the UT signees and that's all I'll say about that.

Sorry, I just can't resist. Gerry: your should be you're hear should be here. Go back to English class, please. I'm actually somewhat entertained by your stupidity.

Gerry: you're kidding right. Most of the players from Williamson County? You're either inebriated, delusional, or the subject of Al Franken's next book. When Brentwood Academy was winning all those state titles, the playing field was far from being level. The unfairness inherent to the BA situation is why we have separate private and public divisions now. I swore that I would keep quiet on this board but you rival John Paul in the depth of your ________________ (anyone care to fill in the blank?)

I'm the trainer. Is that enough for you to figure it out and give me a call?

Does anyone have copies of the TV broadcast for Maryville and Alcoa? If so, give me a call. If you can't figure out who I am, ask around; it's not hard to figure this one.

Actually, the "sports" part of it may have started after the fight (despite the last possession penalties-more on that in a minute). Some kids with attitudes on both sides of the ball got tossed and the kids that were there to play football stepped up. Not arguing the point-I appreciate your comments. Guess it is my habit to see the glass as half full. As to the last set of penalties: I would like to see the incident that got the Loudon linebacker tossed. I thought I saw him hit the quarterback just at the release but I could have been wrong. If he got tossed for that, then the referee over-reacted. The bench penalties were probably deserved, but then I suspect that were more of those that could have been assessed. All in all, it WAS a bad situation. If I have time later, I'll tell you about a really funny incident after the game that I had with a local cop.

LOL: I'm not about to get into a mess like that. I was in the incredibly rare (for me) position of simply sitting in the stands with my wife (who sees very little of me this time of year) and other members of our family. I'm an athletic trainer and am on the sidelines every Friday night. I don't really want to list those ejected, although I did have a nephew in the group (he left the bench--but there's no way on God's green earth he punched anybody). How did it start? If you know high school football, you know that all sorts of bad things go on at the bottom of a pile-up. I believe that is how it started. I'll not get into how the officals and coaches handled it but I did sense that the frustration of sub-par seasons from both teams culminated in this incident. I do believe that the head coaches for both teams responded with class and dignity from their quotes in the Knoxville newspaper today. As for nothing positive possible from that situation, I disagree. Sports are life lessons. Young men that were ejected and had to watch from the hill overlooking the football field will hopefully learn that they are responsible for their actions and when they misbehave, they must suffer the consequences. Believe me, when the Loudon kids can't play against Lenoir City next week, they will hurt. Will they learn from that? I hope so. "For on the fields of friendly strife are borne the lessons that will carry us through the trials of life." (Douglas Macarthur)

There was a thread started and I think there may have been a posting that was inappropriate but this is a relevant topic and the reason many of us read Coach T: Not to read the trash but to sift through the teenagers and wanna-be's to find meaningful dialogue. This was a good game between two very frustrated teams that obviously got out of hand. But what I saw on the field (and yes, I was there) was some "fire in the belly" of players on both teams and I'm talking about the game that was played after the brawl. To me, it indicates what kids can accomplish when they are really focused. Both teams had kids step up and play well in the fourth quarter. The play certainly seemed much better after all the fighting. Hopefully young men on both sides of the ball will learn that they have to control themselves. I suspect that Loudon will feel it a bit more next week when they have to play their arch-rival Lenoir City without several key players. Still, that is part of what makes this game great--the opportunity to learn lessons in the arena that our playing fields represent. So if the thread gets clobbered again, so be it. Otherwise, I open this up to positive rhetoric.

'98 Maryville Red Rebels.