rolltriberoll

actually, I have been waiting for someone to go away. At this point, I am of the opinion that a coaching change is the only way for DB to move forward. Tennessee high school football is a playoff sport. GC has proven himself not to be a playoff coach. The data to support this fact is current, overwhelming and compelling. Until things change, I don't see anything changing. I hate it, but it is what it is.

Better question... What is the most points south has ever given up? Currenly 63-14 with about 9 minutes left in the 4th.

Exactly. Correct on every point.

I went to the game last night, and I have a few comments. First, Farragut is not that bad. They didn't help themselves all night. Fumbles, bad punt, etc. Their QB is quick, and he has a decent arm. They are a big, physical team. They would be the second best team in NE Tennessee. DB did not play great by any stretch, and they certainly have room for improvement. D-line got pushed around a bit at times. The O-line is small with the exception on Ty. Strenght and conditioning program? Makes you wonder. What really make me wonder is the play call when DB had a first down inside the Farragut 5 yard line late in the 4th qtr. DB led 14-7 at the time, and a FG wins the game. Smart move is to run up the middle three times and score a TD or kick a FG. Instead, we run an option read play which results in a fumble. Again, Clark's playcalling makes me wonder. Not smart football, IMO. #50 had two huge defensive plays for the Indians.

Sadly for us DB fans there is a fairly obvious answer to this question... If the two teams played a regular season game, DB would win. If the two teams played an early round playoff game, G'ville would win.

Good post, with excellent question at the end.

Waco, I guess I should have said 'recently'. are you saying that Clark's best win in recent years is a win over South a couple of years ago? Really? South? OR hasn't been great in a few years - I wouldn't consider any recent wins against them as being unexpected. As a matter of fact, they fired their last coach. The only time I remember us really 'upsetting' them was when they had Bohannon at TB and the guy that went to Florida at WR. Can't remember his name. Gaddis was coaching them then. They took a turn for the worse after he left. How long ago was it that we beat MBA? A great win for sure, but that was about 10 years ago? Most of the teams that are favored to beat DB have killed us. Maryville and Farragut in recent years. Add that to losing to several teams that we should have beaten in the playoffs.

Funny. Say what you want about Morgan, but he has done more with less. That 'powerhouse' that we had in the early 90's lasted all of about two years. That 'powerhouse' produced exactly one state tournament victory. We beat a Haywood Co. team that featured Tony Delk. I was there. How many teams has he beat that he shouldn't have? Several. He has taken several very average teams to the state. He hasn't had near the talent that Shipley had in his 'powerhouse' of the early 90's. He hasn't had a single player as good as Black, Carnes or Mills. Maybe not even as good as Fred Smith. How many teams has GC beat that he shouldn't have? How many teams has he lost to that he shouldn't have?

Has Cory been offered by GT? Who else has offered Cory?

There is a reason that the bigger schools in the Knoxville area dont/wont play Alcoa in the regular season. It's the same reason that I outlined earlier. I also don't believe that Alcoa would want to play them either in the regular season, but that is just my opinion. However, Powell, Farragut and OR have all scrimmaged Alcoa recently. All pretty much got the h*ll beat out of them, too. Don't know that is the way to build up a team. Maybe it would be better to scrimmage Alcoa because we no longer scrimmage M'ville. I guess it would depend on the make up of a particular team. It didn't seem to help is the year we got beat by pretty good Farragut and Clinton teams. That team never got better as the season went along. Maryville doesn't suffer from a confidence problem regardless of how they play against Alcoa - and they always play pretty well against them. They have confidence in their coaching staff that they will be put in a position to win football games. I heard a M'ville player say a few years ago that 'winners know how to win and losers know how to lose.' That's their attitude in every game. I believe that M'ville has confidence - especially in the playoffs - that they are going to win. Their confidence is based on past experience. I worry that DB's confidence in the playoffs is also based on past experiences.

Double post.

I would argue that DB has nothing to gain by playing Alcoa. If DB wins, folks will say they beat a small school and should have won. If we lose, people will say we got beat by a small school. We lose either way, IMO. I also don't think that we could beat Alcoa, soothe losses wouldn't help from a confidence stand point either. Remember, Alcoa has beaten Maryville two years in a row. One of those wins came without Alcoa completing a single pass. Alcoa doesn't need to outcoach teams (and they have a fine staff) - they out-athlete everyone they face.

In your opinion, those three very big problems are?

WHICH beatdown. They received several!

Frankly, DB didn't deserve as shot at M'ville. Too many mistakes were made to beat a team as talanted as Bearden. You make mistakes, you lose. Best of luck to the Dawgs, but I dont see them beating the Rebs. The Rebs will be nearly mistake free tonight, and their special teams play will be well, special. I say M'ville 35 - Dawgs 14.

Batman, I think you nailed it. GC is a very good coach. His regular season winning percentage is a testament to that. However, he is not a great coach. His playoff winning percentage is a testament to that. I certainly respect your opinion, but I am not satisfied with very good. It is my opinion that others are in the same boat. Most are not pleased with a lone playoff win every few seasons.

Batman- In fact there is some similarity. That loss featured a kick-off (or punt return) for a TD at the end of the game. The year when Coty Sensabaug was a SR featured DB missing a FG that would have won the game. When we played Riverdale, we mis-played a punt that resulted in a TD for Riverdale. Special team mistakes have been a killer for The Tribe in the playoffs. How many team that we were clearly better than have we lost to in the playoffs? Whatever the number, it is happening entirely too frequently!

You make it sound as if a coin flip determined the winner. Which team had over 100 yards in penalties? Which team had a special teams meltdown? Make no mistake, Maryville will beat Bearden on friday night. They will have about 30 yards in penalties, and their special teams will be subperb. That is how they are coached, and that is how they play.

I bet you do. Anything other than playing Maryville, again. Heck, you would probably rather play the Dallas Cowboys. Anything other than Maryville.

Several posters have offered up the end-of-season 'great year' narrative. How would this year possibly be characterized as 'great'? Good year certainly - but not great.

The hidden yardage in the penalties and KO return was a big equalizer.

After a quick review of the statistics in the Knoxville News Sentinel it is clear that a 'speacility' teams meltdown is to blame for this one. Not the first time that has happened. Here are some interesting stats... DB had 25 first downs to Bearden's 16. DB had 362 yds rushing to Bearden's 113. Passing was about equal with DB getting 126 in the air to Bearden's 134. Bearden punted 4 times, DB once. DY was held to 112 yards on 25 carries. CS had 172 yards on 25 carries. DB had one turnover to Bearden's zero TOs. Based on the above you would expect to see that DB won this game going away, but... DB had 12 pentalties for 115 yds. DB's lone punt was for 13 yards. DB gave up a KO return TD. DB blew a game winning FG as time expired. Not to take anything away from the Bulldogs, but it would appear that DB beat themselves with penalties and nothing short of a special teams collapse. Sad to take a loss this way. Sadly, I dont believe that we can blame schedule or the level of regular season competition for this loss. This one looks like player focus and preparation.

Doesn't look like we are going to get to talk about any of that. Another undefeated Tribe falls in the early rounds. Am I the only one who is tired of it?

Great game by the Indians. Derrick. Steele. Makes. Playes. Roll Tribe Roll!

Anyone have an injury report for the Indians?