osunut2

30-20 clinton leads at the half

That is definitely the real challenge that Powell faces tonight. Obviously, they can't completely shutdown the Clinton offense. There are just too many weapons. Last year, Hazelhurst ran wild on Powell's defense, and that was the difference, in the end. The Panthers simply have to find a way to slow him down. Since their loss to Maryville, the Panther defense has done an excellent job of forcing their opponents to grind it out, rather than giving up a ton of big plays. Clinton was forced to grind it out last week, and they got the job done. However, Powell has a much more potent offense than Central. Clinton's gameplan should be simple - put pressure on Kier Houston. Maryville did just that, and he was completely ineffective. On the flipside, Kier torched Halls in the 1st half of their game a couple of weeks later. The Halls linebackers played containment football in the 2nd half, which slowed Kier down, but he was able to pick them apart in the secondary. Powell has established a running game by committee, which does not rely on one tailback. However, this offense lives and dies by the performance of Kier Houston, and he has been unbeatable for the past 5 weeks. Good luck to both teams tonight, and I look forward to a great game! Go Panthers!

Thanks for the info, Dragon. I wondered if that was still a problem. I was planning on getting there around 6:15, so I'll probably leave a bit earlier. I'm curious to see what kind of turn out there will be. With the kids out trick-or-treating and with CSS carrying the game, I doubt there will be the same turnout I was originally expecting. I had forgotten that a lot of kids and their parents will be out on the town. At least it won't be that cold.

I don't even see East Hamilton playing varsity football next season, so I don't really get what the big deal is. Hardin Valley here in West Knoxville decided to play a JV only schedule this season, and opted to play varsity football next year. A big part of that decision was because the juniors and seniors who were zoned for Hardin Valley were given the option to remain at their old high schools (whichever school they were originally zoned for - Farragut or Karns, most likely). Enrollment at Hardin Valley this year was much lower than it will be in 2 years when that is no longer an option, and I'm sure that the same will be true at East Hamilton, which is exactly why TSSAA based their enrollment on their projections 2 years from now. There are two sides to that coin. What if East Hamilton actually was classified given their current enrollment? I'm sure in 2 years, people (particularly those outside of EH) would be complaining that they were classified too low. It's just a double-edged sword.

On another note, it's been a few years since I've been to a game at Clinton, but I'm wondering if the parking situation has improved at all? I just know that at Powell, with such a small stadium, you have to get there early for a seat, but at Clinton, we always had to get there early so that we could park, even though there were plenty of seats. Is that still the case?

I beg to differ. There are plenty of teenagers out there who choose not to drink while in high school. Besides, even if that were the case, just because everyone else that age is drinking does not make it right. We've all heard the, "Would you jump off of a bridge if..." arguement, and this isn't any different. If I'm not mistaken, the legal drinking age is still 21. If it turns out that he was actually drinking and driving, I can't feel bad for him. I won't feel bad for this kid making the decision to drink. I won't feel bad for this kid deciding to drive under the influence. We all must be held to the same standard, athletes included. I'm tired of the "teenagers are going to drink" arguement. From a legality standpoint, that just doesn't cut it. You can't just smack him on the wrist if he's guilty. What's "convenient" about this situation is the fact that his court date isn't until 2009. Greeneville is screwed either way. If they suspend or dismiss him from the team, it could turn out that he actually wasn't guilty. However, if they let him play, he could be guilty of a DUI, so I'm not sure what they should do. This story is making headlines because he is a "high-profile" athlete. I use the term "high-profile" loosely, but the same attention is given to college and professional athletes that make the same mistakes. Whether they like it or not, athletes' lives are often put under a microscope. Like college and pro athletes, high school football players serve as role models for many pee-wee football players that don their own football jerseys on Friday nights. Athletes garner a lot of media attention, and in a area like Greeneville, it's big news because it's such a small community.

I would love to try and compile that head-to-head record. HSFdatabase.com provides the head-to-head record since 1993, which gives Powell a 9-7 advantage. Obviously, there are a lot of games missing.

I would say that this is the ultimate statement of the obvious, since you are a Halls fan and not a Powell fan.

If Campbell County beats Karns (and they should), Clinton would actually be 1-3 versus playoff bound teams, while Powell would be 2-2.

They had to vacate wins against Hillwood and Dickson County, according to TSSAA.

I'm not going to say that Halls stinks, but this season they suffered from a classic case of "great expectations." I've heard a ton of excuses for why they couldn't get it done, but it seems like a lot of people are overlooking the most obvious one - they were overrated. Sure, the way their schedule was set up didn't help. Sure, they lost some close games. Sure, they had some injuries and illnesses. Sure, if a few plays had gone their way or if the ball had bounced their way, they might be playoff bound. I have 3 words for that - coulda, woulda, shoulda! Halls has a good young team, and they simply got in a hole that they couldn't dig themselves out of. The way fans approached their game against Maryville was ridiculous. During the week of the Maryville game, I asked a simple question in the Maryville-Halls thread - If Halls doesn't beat Maryville, how will they respond? I was afraid that they would have a difficult time recovering, if they didn't come up with a win (because so many people expected them to pull the "upset"). Sure enough, they never really recovered. I think that if they had been able to win even one of those close games, things might have been different. They just never figured out how to win in one of those situations this season. As a Powell fan, I don't often pull for Halls, but I do feel for their fans and their players this season. Sometimes you have to have a little bit of luck on your side, and the Devils just didn't have it this year. All you can hope for is a productive off-season and a fresh start next year. With a totally new classification system (and no Maryville), things will be a lot different for everyone in this region.

I do agree that Powell's defense has greatly improved since week 1. These guys have definitely grown up since their loss to Maryville in week 4. I was most impressed with the way their defense shutdown Anderson County, Central, and West (in the 2nd half). Powell and Clinton are very evenly matched, but the improved play of the Panther defense could very well be the difference in this game. The Dragons have a lot of weapons on offense, and I doubt that Powell can stop them all. However, with Hazelhurst returning this week, I would think that slowing him down has to be the focus for the Powell defense. He is still the obvious difference maker for Clinton. Kier Houston and Darian Stone are on par with one another, but Clinton has an edge at running back with Hazelhurst. This game should be as good as advertised, and I expect to see a lot of fans at this game, on both sides of the field.

That picture looks very familiar, except the one I saw had a lot of orange in it.

Both Clinton and Powell got huge come from behind wins last week. This should be a high-scoring affair - both of these teams can score at will, while both defenses are a bit suspect. I was surprised to see Central have so much success offensively against Clinton, after getting completely shut down against Powell. This game will come down to a kick of some kind. The Panthers may have found a kicker in Nikkens (who kicked the game winner against West last week), but I still think that their inability to kick an extra point consistently could haunt them in a game like this. It will be senior night at Clinton, which should give the Dragons an extra boost. However, the Panthers are very aware of the shocker that Clinton pulled off last year at Powell. With a home playoff game on the line, this one could go either way. My prediction: Powell 36 - Clinton 35

So what happened?? I was listening on the radio, and I had to turn it off when it was 21-0. All of the news stations had left the stadium by halftime, so I haven't seen any 2nd half highlights.

Heck of a showdown next week with Powell, who also came back to beat West tonight.

Wow, Central turns the ball over on downs. Instead of Clinton taking a knee, Central strips the running back, and the Bobcats recover at midfield with 1:04 to play.

So what is the deal with Clinton's kickoff specialist?? His 2 kickoffs in the 4th quarter were complete shanks. 1:30 to play, Clinton leads 34-31. 3rd and 10 Central at the Clinton 46.

Still 31-28 - 2:52 to play, 1st and goal Clinton at the 3...

The track meet in the rain continues! Central leads 31-28 with just under 6 minutes to play in the 4th. Clinton has the ball in Central territory...

It seems like in recent games between these 2 teams, the weather always seems to be nasty. I would think that the rain would give an advantage to West. Plus, West's field is absolutely horrible when it rains.

He's just sore that Halls is out of the playoffs. As far as Webb is concerned, they should contend for a DII-A title with some regularity, however, their travel schedule will be miserable compared to the DI schools. Maybe that was a factor in CAK's decision to remain in DI (although they would have been extremely competitive in DII-A). Catholic is another story. It's starting to look like they will be in the same region as Farragut, Bearden, and Maryville (moving Hardin Valley into the other Knoxville AAA region). That is going to be a murder's row for a schedule.

"Sissification" is an excellent way to describe what has happened in high school athletics, particularly football. A coach like Woody Hayes would never be able to set foot on the sidelines today. This issue even carries over into the classroom. Gone are the days of [gasp!] actual student punishment. A teacher can no longer lay a finger on a student, let alone ridicule or discipline them. What makes it even worse is that students are 100% aware of that! If you don't agree, spend a couple of days in an elementary school classroom and you will see exactly what I mean. My wife is a teacher, and she can't even speak harshly to a student without getting a phone call or a visit from a parent the next day. And we wonder why kids have gotten so out of control! Here's a thought - Parents need to stop coddling their children! I wish I knew of a realistic solution, but unfortunately, the ideal solution would require us to turn back the clock. These situations are going to get more common as time passes, and I think that's a shame. I don't condone what this coach did, especially since I don't know the situation, but this is an issue that begins at home and carries over to the classroom.

Good point. Since those 3 teams could go in either district, I like the idea of trying to keep 5A and 6A balanced.

HTV, do you think that we will see Hardin Valley placed in district 3, instead of Catholic or West? I know there won't be a final decision on that for a couple of weeks, but I was just curious to get your take.