osunut2

And that is the kind of comment that equally adds to it. Jeez, relax... I attended Powell back in the 90s, I went to college at Ohio State and graduate school at UT, and I agree, Powell is no different from any other high school in Columbus or Knoxville. They all deal with the same problems. However, AE's glaring problem has been the same thing for quite awhile now - they have one of the highest dropout rates in this area. Yes, I failed to clarify what I referred to in my original comment, and I apologize to anyone who took it as a "racist comment." Thanks for making that "painfully" obvious. The truth is, I don't know you and you don't know me, so you should probably cut out the "holier than thou" routine. Getting back on the subject at hand - I hope this kid gets his head straight, and if AE is the place that can get him focused, so be it.

If they grabbed the #2 spot and beat Cleveland, they would play the winner of Red Bank and the #4 team in region 3. Playing Red Bank would be a road game, but if the #4 seed pulled the upset, the game would be played at Halls. If they get the #3 spot and beat Brainerd, they would play the winner of Maryville and Rhea County. They would play at Maryville if Maryville beats Rhea County, but they would play at home against Rhea if RC beats Maryville.

I knew that someone would jump up and say that. I wasn't necessarily referring to the drug problem that plagues all of these schools, but rather the high dropout rate at AE specifically. That is probably the biggest problem that school has to deal with.

They don't really elude to this in the article, but why is he now at AE and not Karns?

That is correct. I don't see any reason why he would be able to play without sitting out a season.

Unlike Knox County, you can pay "tuition" to attend school in the Alcoa and Maryville school systems.

Brainerd has 3 losses - they lost by a TD to AE, they lost by 2 TDs to RB (Red Bank's closest victory), and they lost their opener by 10 against Howard (who is 8-1 and a top 10 team in 3A). Red Bank's schedule really hasn't been that impressive; they've thumped everyone they've played by at least 2 TDs, they only have 3 teams with winning records on their schedule (Brainerd, Cleveland, Rhea Co), and their best win came against Brainerd. According to Coacht's strength of schedule, Red Bank has the 3rd easiest schedule (58th of 60) in 4A. Brainerd's schedule is ranked 11th.

I don't like the idea of facing Red Bank or Brainerd right out of the gate. Both of those teams have played very well this season.

I totally forgot that their could be a three-way tie for 3rd in the region. Excellent clarification HTV!

Not only does Central have to win, but Clinton would have to win at Powell to seal the deal. West should be the better team on Friday.

West was definitely the better team tonight. It just looked like West dominated up front, on both offense and defense.

Powell is a pass first, run second offense, so Powell doesn't rely on a 100+ yard rushing night every week. The Panthers rely on Kier Houston's passing and scrambling ability to get the offense going. If West can put some pressure on Houston, that will slow the Powell offense.

I call it an aberration, because I don't think that game is a good indicator of what to expect from West defensively (or even Halls, for that matter). I'm not trying to take anything away from Halls in their frantic comeback, but SD almost did the same thing 2 weeks earlier against West, all with a backup QB. Again, I'm a Powell fan and I don't know enough about West to say that they'll do this or that, but an aberration is simply something that goes against the norm or is out of the ordinary. The last time I checked, teams don't often combine for 100+ points in a high school game, plus comebacks like Halls' win against West don't happen every week, and sometimes don't happen during a team's entire season.

I'll give West some credit, they've played a tough schedule this year, and that makes their record very deceiving. Farragut, Bearden, and Maryville are all top-tier teams. The loss to Halls was a bit of an aberration, similar to the final score of the South Doyle game. I don't really know all that much about West this year, with the exception of Ryan and Wagner. Both of these teams can score, but I think it will come down to who can play defense. This one could go either way.

Chattanooga Brainerd gets my vote for most improved in 4A, while William Blount is my pick in 5A.

Since Tennessee HS plays in region 1, they could never meet Maryville for the 4A title. They could meet in a semifinal matchup, however.

Until someone ends the streak, seems near impossible to pick the Rebels to lose. Maryville should cruise, 35-14.

Excellent post!

Powell finally beat a playoff-caliber team at Central on Friday, which got them over the hump. This game could go either way, especially now that Powell and West are playing much better football at this point in the season. The only thing that would surprise me on Friday would be a very one-sided blowout.

Powell wins 31-21. Any comments from those who attended?

I think both of these teams are ticking time bombs, which could lead to some fireworks tonight. Powell offered a glimpse of that in the South Doyle game a few weeks ago.

Even though West hasn't lived up to their billing, Jake Ryan is the difference in this one. West wins, 35-21.

Very good post, and I agree 100%.

I'm a Powell fan, but I'm also a realist. Yes, the Panthers are playing better than I thought they would this year, thanks to the emergence of Kier Houston. However, looking at their schedule, I did expect them to be no better than 4-3 at this point, and sure enough, they are 4-3. They've beaten the teams that they should beat (Campbell Co, Lenoir City, Karns, South Doyle), they've lost to Maryville, and they've been beaten by 2 other good teams (Halls & Anderson Co). The Anderson County game was a bit of an aberration, simply because Powell failed to cash in on scoring opportunities after halftime, and it cost them. Last week's game against Halls was tough to swallow because either of those teams could have won that game (fans keep saying that it was a sloppy game, but I disagree). I've said it way too many times this year, and I'm about to say it again - Until Powell beats a playoff-caliber team, I just don't think that they can win a game like this. I'm anxious to see Powell win a game like this, so the team and their fans can carry some additional confidence into the final 2 home games. I just think that Central knows what's on the line (just like they did against Halls), and they will find a way to win a close game.

Given the log-jam in the middle of this region, this is a must-win game for both teams, especially since both teams finish the season against West and Clinton. The playoff picture (behind Maryville) will be as clear as mud going into week 10. I still can't believe that through week 6, the only quality win between these two teams is Central's win against Halls. I'd love to see Powell get off the schnide this week, but I just don't think they have what it takes to put it all together yet. Both of these teams have the tools, but sloppy play has been common for both teams all year long. Even though Central was stunned last week, I think that's the motivation they need to pull out a close victory against the Panthers.