Wildcat3

When I saw Hillsboro and Maryville warming up in the '01 and '02 state championship games, I thought people would have to be CRAZY to pick Maryville over Hboro. Hboro's size, speed, and intensity made Maryville look like pee wees. Image is nothing....Quarles can out-coach anyone/anything that they face.

Having seen hoover play (some friends of mine go to school at Samford), and living here in East TN, the atmosphere at Hoover is second to none. The MTV cameras have helped the hype of course, but as mentioned earlier the players down there are the same age as those up here. Hoover would handle any team in east TN......with the exception of Maryville. I think that Maryville's discipline is second to none(e.g. coaching). Obviously Hoover has excellent coaching also, but my point is that if these two teams met both teams would be ready to battle and it would be close. It would probably come down to special teams/turnovers/depth. These things considered, my gut says Maryville, my head says Hoover. I'll go with my gut.

Every year people post messeges that refer to "5A" schools like they're supposed to be better teams just bc they have a big school. I don't know how cookeville and that region is this year, but a few years ago they were'nt very impressive. They lost games to "5A" coffey county, who wasn't that great of a team. Classification should be thrown out the door as far as relating it to the strenght of a team...

Actually, there is a problem with that predection. Two years ago, DL lost to a mediocre GP in the regular season, a 1A Boyd Buchanan, and barely won the 1st round of the playoffs against Marion Co. We, being Sweetwater, figured we had it in the bag by about 2 TD's. Even though DL wooped up on Tyner and then avenged the GP loss by handing them a 29-0 rout. We were still pretty confident, but we got a wake up call. DL is more disciplined, and probably plays the smartest football I've seen at the high school level. I would compare that DL team of '02 to a Maryville squad. Many would agree with that. Whether or not they have that kind of team this year, I don't know. All I know is if Alcoa doesn't bring all they have, it could be a long night. Good luck Tornadoes. Bring it home to region 2.

No, you couldn't be more wrong. Historically speaking, when milan makes it to the finals they win. Alcoa was an inferior team against UC, early mistakes proved costly to the tornadoes. There superior physical football play showed in the second half as they dominated Alcoa both offensively and defensively. I'd compare west tn. teams to Nebraska style offenses while east tn. are more like rutgers, possibly even temple. Historically? 1993 AA State Championship: Sweetwater-10 Milan-6 2000 AA championship: looked more like Alcoa got too comfortable with their first half romp(happens quite often when a team is up 3 or 4 TDs). 2001 and 2002: West-Side teams just can't seem to score. BTW..... I wasn't tryin to talk historically earlier, I was talking recent yrs in which the east has owned AA. I'm not doubting Milan's tradition, they have one of the top programs in the state. If they've improved 100% since last year, they'll probably win state.... but 100% improvement is what it'll take to get the best of the East-Side privates.

First of all.....if Lipscomb is HALF the team they were last year, no AA team in the state should be worried about speculations. They would be hands down the best team. Lipscomb is physical, discipline, and speed...... multiplied by ten. I'm not sure what their line looks like this year, but I seriously doubt much has changed. Anyway, I've seen Oliver Springs play once this yr(Kingston), and they looked good at times, bad at times. That definately won't get them past semi's. We (sweetwater) were playin great ball goin into the semi's last year. We gave lipscomb an inch, and they took a mile. If OS gets there, they'll have to bring much more than their A-game to get to state. I don't know a thing about milan, other than they have a much easier road to murfeesboro than OS would have. But who knows, they might have that special team that can't be brought down, like the alcoa team of 2000. Just goin on what I saw in the championship last year(lipscomg pounding mitchell), I'd say the best from the west is about like the 3rd place of the east. OS over Milan by 7. BEAUMIA

First of all.....if Lipscomb is HALF the team they were last year, no AA team in the state should be worried about speculations. They would be hands down the best team. Lipscomb is physical, discipline, and speed...... multiplied by ten. I'm not sure what their line looks like this year, but I seriously doubt much has changed. Anyway, I've seen Oliver Springs play once this yr(Kingston), and they looked good at times, bad at times. That definately won't get them past semi's. We (sweetwater) were playin great ball goin into the semi's last year. We gave lipscomb an inch, and they took a mile. If OS gets there, they'll have to bring much more than their A-game to get to state. I don't know a thing about milan, other than they have a much easier road to murfeesboro than OS would have. But who knows, they might have that special team that can't be brought down, like the alcoa team of 2000. Just goin on what I saw in the championship last year(lipscomg pounding mitchell), I'd say the best from the west is about like the 3rd place of the east. OS over Milan by 7. BEAUMIA

Would someone who knows something about this please post soon? It would be appreciated, thanks

I wish Coach Martin the best at Meigs. He is a great coach, great motivator, and even greater person. I was lucky to have had the oportunity to play for him for 3 years. His influence really brings out a player's best. He accepts nothing less. Good luck Coach

Summer workouts will make or brake a team..... that's very obvious to me. Having been a part of a mediocre team my first two years of HS, and then turning into a team that competed with the best in the state my last two, the biggest difference in those two periods was our summer workout program. Following my sophomore season, We had a team meeting, and the simple message was.....the difference between good teams, and great teams. At the end of the discussion, our coach let us know that workouts would begin in a week (the earlist we'd ever started by far), excluding b-ball players of course. Our staff also made it VERY clear that failure to show up either before or after school would result in quarters not played in scrimmages, passing league, games, etc. This meeting was a turning point, and my junior year we surprised a lot of people. We were predicted to finish second to last in our region......we finished 2nd(no "to last"), losing to a very good Alcoa team. Though the coaches were very strict, they also opened the field house doors at any time. All a player(s) had to do was make arrangements. Even with the strictness, a little old fashioned dedication from individuals also played a large part in our success. It's a mindset, with players and coaches alike, whether they are willing to do whats neccessary to be successful. I think it was great that our coach placed consequences for missing workouts. It was those consequences that prevented us from the worst consequence of all.............LOSING.

Gatlinburg-Pitt won't have it as easy as they might think. They'll definately win their region(very weak). But, once they get past that it'll be tough. In my opinion 3a isn't too far ahead of 2a.......especially the last few years. I know for a fact NOONE in 3a could have handled Lipscomb last year. That team definately "clicked" in the playoffs. Anyway, G-P may have an easy road to the playoffs, but they need to load their schedule with some competition if they expect to go very far. OH........Rockwood will get handled by Sweetwater next year (AGAIN) and finish 3rd, maybe 4th in region 2-2a. No doubt.

Alright.....I'm Sweetwater's goalie. I for one would know if I have been pounded by CCS the past 2 games. The answer........NO. LOL. Yes, they took a lot of shots, but I touched about 7 of those, 9 at the most. And in last years regional? give me a break. I remember one decent shot, and I didn't even have to leave my feet on that one. CCS has possessed the ball better than we have, they just can't seem to get a good shot on us.

I never thought I would be saying this but David Lipscomb is undoubtedly the best team in the state and I think they will jump all over mitchell the first quarter just like what they have done all through out the playoffs. Lipscomb 45 Mitchell 0. First Down Lipscomb lol Santiago will run all over mitchell. Elrod better keep him in the pocket because that kid is a rocket. Good Luck Both

thom022....... Nice assumption there genius, but oldreb is not TJ Brock. Overrated? You try playin with a plate in your foot and one ankle half as strong as the other. That's heart. It's too bad you never ever had the oppurtunity to play with him, cause it seems like you need some of his humility to rub off on you.

OS91....I apologize for my unspecified remark concerning the bad mouthing. I was referring mostly to just one of the three. Again, thank you for your support. We'll try to bring one back for Sweetwater and the rest of region 2AA.

I'm not going to get on here and try to justify what some of my teamates did last night. I know that a couple of them took some cheap shots. BUT, as for TJ, he was responding to the frustration of being harassed the whole nigt after he'd get tackled. Every time I talked to him on the sidelines he was upset about it. I was in a pile once, and that ONE time, a player grabbed my facemask and almost jurked my helmet off. As for us not shaking hands, that was the coaches decision, and it was a good one. After what happened on the last play, they did NOT want to take any chances on an all out brawl. Personally, I respect OS and their community. They have individuals, though, that aren't very respectable, just as any community will have. Great season OS. OS91, OSHSman, OSGUAC, (even though you've bad mouthed us in the past....) Thanks for your humble support. THAT"S respectable

timbranard......."ignorant?" He asked you a question. "Why is it foolish?" Seeing that you didn't answer that SIMPLE question, it would seem that you don't have a legitimate explanation of why you made your statement. THAT is ignorance. So, do you HAVE an answer, or do we assume you're biased as oldreb claimed?

If Kingston stops Hess and the rest of the WAM-IT type Offense, then you can count on them being in the 2nd round. And from personal experience, G-P's line is not all that powerful. Also, their DBs can be easily beat to the outside or inside. Hit a few slants and out routs and you'll get good yardage. Unless Kingston just doesn't "show up," then this should be a great game. If they do show up then I pick the Jackets by 7. G-P....... not a very strong region. Kingston plays w/ the best in the state

All you people who hate OR's coaching staff...you say you support OR and the players, but yet some of you arent attending games. Bad coaches or not, that's not SUPPORT! When you're not showing up bc of the coaches, you're also not showing up for the players, or OR. It doesn't matter whether every player knows that you're not there bc of the coaches. The fact is..... attendence boosts the PLAYERS, and if you support them and want to see them win, then GO. It stinks that HS kids have to be brought down bc of disputes like this. Guess what..... there IS a coaching staff, and they WILL be there the rest of this season. GET OVER IT for the time being, and wish the PLAYERS the best in the playoffs. That's what the PLAYERS need. Coaches can be delt with in the off-season. Gaww..... a great tradition usually has a history of great support. Attendence shouldn't suffer bc of coaching. The cards have been delt(for now)..... GO WITH IT

Boorelly..... what makes you think G-P can even get past Kingston in the 1st round? Kingston has more speed, and speed hurts that team big time. If Kingston can hit short pass routs they can easily turn into big yardage. Stop G-P's WAM-IT offense w/ Hess and you pretty much have em beat. Not much of a chance they'll upset AC even if they make the 2nd rd.

OS is looking foward to another win against Kingston this year. Its not going to be that easy. The game will be played at Kingston, for homecoming, and Kingston is ready to get revenge. If Kingston plays like they did last week, the game will be a different story, but if the two teams play their best..... Kingston 24, OS-10