missingthesouth

Great quote for today...........Lead, follow or get the heck out of the way!!!!!!!!!! Listen to me Frenchie. Not to be political, but the military going into Iraq will keep this board (and our freedom) alive for at least the next 100 years. USA, USA, USA...........Thank goodness for the courage of our troops. They keep us working stiffs going to our jobs everyday. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

Taylor was the best option QB I've ever seen. He was an awful passer but could run the option. [Edited by missingthesouth on 3-15-03 11:14P]

Kip Jones was GQ's backup. Kip was a tremendous passer and a great athlete. He was not the fleetest of foot which hurt him in being JC's QB. Jeff County was a veer team and GQ went from being Jeff's leading receiver in 82 and 83 to having to run the veer. GQ was out of position playing QB. He would tell you that, but it got Jeff deep in the playoffs. Jeff was at an impass in 84 and the coaches were committed to the veer. Good decision because the veer got Jeff a state title in 87. GQ went onto Furman and was their leading receiver in 88 when they won the I-AA national championship. I always wondered how many yards GQ, BC and KJ would have hooked up for if KJ would have been QB at Jeff. Kip did a great job at TMI and then Wingate. [Edited by missingthesouth on 3-15-03 8:39P]

I agree that great players make a difference, but the coaches are the glue. Great coaches tell their players to check their attitudes at the door. I think good players can be state champions if they have the right direction.

Hillsboro did do a good job with moving the ball in 2002 and really stopped Maryville's running game; however, in the 2001 game, Maryville had two backs over 100 yards and it was Hillsboro playing catch up. Maryville was definitely the more dominant team in 2001. Anyone who saw the game will admit that. Hillsboro's QB was a great player in 2001 but Maryville led most of the game by 2 scores. 2002 Hillsboro may have gotten tired but Maryville ran some plays that caught Hillsboro on their heels....the flea flicker to Stewart, the reverse pass for a score and the subsequent onside kick. If anyone remembers, Maryville recovered the onside kick and then ran the ball for most of the winning drive. The only pass on the drive other than the two point conversion was a roll out and the QB threw back to the weakside flat to the RB who had lined up as a strong side slot. No one was there to cover the back. On the two point conversion, the player who caught the two pointer lined up as a "tackle eligible" and ran a flat route. Did anyone else notice that? Maryville outcoached Hillsboro. They adjusted throughout the game to what, they couldn't do, and what they could do. Even after Maryville took the lead, there was four minutes left in the game. For whatever reason, Hillsboro got into a hurry and tried to throw. I still say if Hillsboro has a good chance to win or at least tie the game if they do what they had been doing the whole game, run the ball on Maryville. Hillsboro's kicker had the leg to kick a 50 yard field goal. If I recall, Hillsboro had the ball twice after Maryville took the lead. Don't you think they had plenty of time to run the ball into fieldgoal position. Hillsboro couldn't react to adversity. Maryville did it time and time again in that game. A lot of that has to do with coaching. They handle adversity very well, i.e. 0-4 start in 2000 became 11-4 and a state title. As far as I know, Maryville hasn't lost any of their coaches so I think they will still be the team to beat until they are knocked off. Maryville expects to win. Ask the players and coaches from Hillsboro, M'Town West for that matte if they expected to win. I'm not sure they will keep their run of State Championships alive but while that coaching staff stays intact, you can't count them out. Maryville coaches won the game in 2002. 2001, Maryville was the better team. [Edited by missingthesouth on 3-14-03 7:04P]

I can't speak for Jeff in 99 but in the 80's and early 90's they were running the true triple. Mostly outside veer, with the tackle and tight end doulbing down on the defensive tackle and the QB reading the defensive end give or keep and then optioning the first person who showed outside if the QB kept the ball. Jeff had a lot of success with the outside veer especially with the FB (play side back) give. Defensive ends never seemed to squeeze and take the dive. Inside veer seemed to lend to more QB pulls as the tackle would take the dive and then QB would go to the next progression of optioning the end. A lot of Jeff County's success with the veer in the mid-80's and early 90-s had to do with the fact that Jeff had 3 Collins in a row playing tight end. Tight end is key in the veer, split back especially.

I hope Jeff County does well, I think they will. Meadows is a great coach as was his predecessor. However, why wouldn't you pull for Maryville to do well, especially with 2 native Jefferson Countians on their coaching staff. Joe Pinkerton and the head coach Quarles? I can't understand why you wouldn't pull for Maryville with their Jeff County connection. If Maryville does well, you can always say, "hey they are coached by a former Jeff County player". That only makes Jeff County look better. No body is more proud of Jeff County's success over the past 20 than I am, but I'm also proud of the players and coaches from that school who have gone on to successful careers in and out of football after Jeff County.

I agree. There will always be questions about who should and who should not be in the playoffs. It's tough. Like college IA football, there should be a playoff. I agree DB has been a strong team. I didn't see the game but from what I hear, DB should have beaten Riverdale. But the only way to prove who is the best is to play it on the field. Many teams were better than the team that beat them. They were beaten by teams that were better than that team, that night. That night. I remind you. Ohio State-Miami is the most recent example. In I-AA football, this is the true example of supremacy, when you take all factors into account. [Edited by missingthesouth on 3-8-03 7:48P]

Maryville or Hillsboro hands down for 3A state championship if there were only 3 classifications in 2002. Both teams were deserving of the 4A title. Maryville stole this one, but hey, they have the GOLD trophey. I think Maryville should have gotten the 5A and Hillsboro the 4A GOLD trophy to show their supremacy. Hillsboro had several, 3 or 4 players, I think, sign division IA scholarships. Maryville 1. (My soap box that high school coaching outweighs talent in the end). Physically Hillsboro was great. Maryville just took some chances that worked. Maryville coaches just took the attitude, we win or we lose by 14, 21 or whatever.......a loss is a loss. Too many times, teams take moral victories. How many moral victories are remembered? Coaches are fired for moral victories. Sad but true. Red Bank won the 5A state championship in 2000. They move to 4A in 2001 and get whipped by Maryville early in the playoffs. But as long as there are 5 non-recruiting divisions and a Div. 2 in TN, there will always be that question....just like Div. I college football. Why not have a state champion playoff to decide the all division champion after the respective championships are decided???? Separate it from the TSSAA and let them go at it for a couple weeks...I'm sure it would pay for itself. If they say it is about money, let the teams participating in the games split the cash. Alternate the years that 2A-5A teams host the semis, etc... Play the Deciding game at Vanderbilt, (or at Maryville or Hillsboro, just kidding). In high school, it makes more sense. 1/2 the kids playing football play basketball so you don't have the argument of taking away from academics. Poll the kids and coahces of the championship teams, not the TSSAA to see if they want an all division championship. Just a thought. But again, I guess it would take away from this message board as I've already taken 15 minutes of my life to send this message to resolve the abstract talk. Let me know what you think?

My pick would be Maryville or Hillsboro this past year. I saw both the 4A and 5A state title games and both Maryville or Hillsboro would have beaten Brentwood and Riverdale convincingly. I can't comment on the quality of the 3A teams as I didn't see that game. [Edited by missingthesouth on 3-6-03 6:39P]

Locke was a good one. The QB from Hillsboro in 2001 gave Maryville fits in the title game with the load and midline options.

Who are the best high school option QB's in the history of Tennessee football?

I think Meadows is the right man for Jeff County. He is an excellent coach. Kisabeth was a great coach. Kisabeth lost 3 of his best assistants after the 87 championship. Anthony (Offensive Coordinator), Holt (Offensive Line) and Seals (Passing Game Coordinator) got out of coaching. No offense, but I think if any good head coach lost that many coaches, it would be hard to replace, especially considering the fact that Jeff County doesn't pay real well. Kisabeth's best coaching job was in 96. 5-5 regular season and goes to the state championship. That BA team would beat most high school teams I've seen. Meadows will do well. He has a great system and has proven he can win anywhere. I think Jeff County got a steal when it got Meadows.

The veer won Jeff a state championship in 87 and took them to state title games in 83 and 96. I just don't think that they have the players to run it in Kisabeth's last years.

Hutchins will be fine at McMinn County. He knows how to win. Erik was the backup QB when I played at Jeff. He is a hard worker. He came off the bench cold in the playoffs and led Jeff to its first TD against Oak Ridge in 87 playoffs after the starting QB, Quarles was injured. He has a lot of confidence and can think well in tough in tight spots. I think that will spill over to his players at McMinn. I look for him to do a great job at McMinn. He knows how to win. Good luck Erik.

Todd Collins, Jeff County. Great Linebacker and even better tight end. Only Tennessee player that I know of that was the USA Today Player of the Year '87. (Defense) Unbelievable athlete. Epitomy of a hard worker. [Edited by missingthesouth on 2-13-03 7:33P]

Kisabeth wasn't successful in the 90's? He led Jeff to the state finals in 96. How many other East Tennessee teams played for the state in the 90's out of that classification? Oak Ridge comes to mind......Who else? I certainly do not agree with the premise that high school football is ALL about athletes. Maybe it works in the regular season but not in the playoffs. Those athletes have to have discipline, direction, and focus to last through the mentally draining playoffs. Coaching puts the pieces together Look at Don Woods at West. Had Morristown West ever been to the state semi-finals before Woods arrived?

who are the contenders for this job? Pretty easy region, in my opinion, having played in that region before. Hard to believe that East doesn't have the athletes to make a run at 5A state title with a little coaching. High school football is all about coaching, look at Jeff County in the 80's. One can't tell me that athletes at Jeff County were better at Jeff with M'town West and East, DB, Central etc. in the mix. High school football is 90% about getting the players to believe.