coachjeffers

my dogs are there lol who else in this district can say that

NOONE, gobey!! Congratulations, again, Dawgs. And...looks like you got the best possible draw in the state tourney brackets you could have gotten... You still have to go and play, though.

I've seen Clarkrange and I believe Wartburg can and will get them. As for the semi's...well, get there first, then we'll make predictions.

I tell you guys something, Grace proved to me they are a lot tougher than I gave them credit for. Shame on me. I still believe Sunbright was a good basketball team, but the Rams showed they are better. Well, at least, for sure on Tuesday night, but I think period. If, Langley, Dyer, Justes, Adkisson, and the role players for Wartburg play their game like they did against Harriman, I think Fountain will do his thing and the Dawgs will prevail. However, if the Rams get free from the outside and are knocking down their jumpers watch out. I kind of agree with gobeywarrior, Warburg by 5 to 7, but that is with them hitting free throws and pulling away late. I think this one will be a "barn burner" and I am looking forward to seeing it.

Obviously I'm jaded in my pick, because I'm a District 4 guy, but ya'll know I'm not a Dawg fan being from Oneida. So, let's hear from some of you others weigh in on this one.

Don't worry Dawg or Ram fans, I'll try not to root for either team so I don't bring any of that wonderful Oneida luck to one of you. But, deep down.....Go Dawgs!!

Kaz, what gossip? Nothin's been said in any of these posts remotely like gossip. What are you talking about?

While I think gossip is a horrible animal that destroys, I believe that the Bible says money is the root of all kinds of evil... just sayin.. But, isn't silence Golden? I think I heard that in a song. Stay golden, man.

Wow! Nice synopsis CookeVegas. I spoke to a reporter tonight at the girls semi-finals games at Harriman and his notes indicated almost verbatim what you said. He said OS played more like they did against Oneida in the District Tournament and it almost put them in the semi-finals of the region. Unbelievable! I really expected Harriman to "man-handle" the Bobcats. But, kudos to the Cats.

Tomorrow night is shaping up to be a great night of basketball. I think Sunbright and Grace play first at 6:00 followed by Harriman and Wartburg at 7:30. If things work well, we should get finished just in time to get home and watch Tennessee beat Florida on ESPN. As for our little region.... I am going to stick with my earlier picks; Wartburg over Harriman and Sunbright over Grace. I think Sunbright has to play physical, but stay out of major foul trouble. If they can win the rebound war and keep a "hand in the face" of the Grace shooters, then I believe the Tigers will be playing for a Region Championship on Thursday night. As for Wartburg and Harriman, Coach Lane has been there and done that and knows a whole lot better than I as to what should be done to get to the C-ship. Having said that, I don't think you can out-physical or out-think Xavier. I really think the key to beating Harriman is through their role players, i.e. everyone after X. If you stop everyone else you should be able to out score the Devils. At least it worked for Oneida when they played. The Dawgs have too much talent for Harriman to try and stop and come back and have enough left to get it done on the other end. Fountain and Langley are two of the best players in District 4 (probably #1 and #3, Gunter being #2) and it's hard to do much against just those two, but they have good role players that can score and rebound. Obviously, they aren't unbeatable, but they are awfully tough. As much as I would like to see X keep playing in high school, I think tomorrow night will the end of a great Blue Devil career.

Good Luck to all the teams and may God be with each player keeping you from injury and helping you play up to your very best ability.

Hey olerockyrebel, tell me about the Harriman/Oliver Springs game. The score was a shocker. It probably shouldn't have been after what the Bobcats did to my Indians in the district tournament, but I really thought the way the Blue Devils were playing spelled a blow-out.

While the scores may not have gone as predicted, I did get the winners correct. Not too difficult in that round. LOL! What about the semi's. Even though it's on their home floor and Wartburg isn't playing their best ball right now, I still think they have too much for Harriman. It's gonna be close, though. I believe Xavier will make sure of that. A Harriman win won't shock me, but I think it will be Wartburg by 5. The other semi-final is a little harder for me to pick. I'm sure Grace is happy they have avoided Wartburg, but they are going to have their hands full with the Tigers. All season Gunter and Seabolt have anchored Sunbright's charge and they have put together one of the best campaigns a Tiger squad has ever had. But they say they aren't finished and want their first trip to the state. That requires a win against Grace to keep that goal/dream alive. Anytime someone has said Sunbright can't or won't do something, they have proved them wrong. With that said, I won't bet against them, Sunbright by 3.

Well, I know olerocky and others disagree, and maybe a few agree, let's hear from you.

True, to be the best you have to beat the best. But I can see his logic somewhat; they wouldn't have a potential game with Wartburg until the Region Championship, which isn't a win or go

home game. Not taking sides, just saying...

They could have played Wartburg in the semi's if they had won, though. I hope they didn't throw that game just to avoid a "possible", not even definite, match-up. That's almost like throwing everything you worked for through the season down the toilet. I pray their coaches have more integrity than that. I know Wartburg is good, but come on, have more confidence in your kids than that. I;m not taking sides either, but I am of the mind Harriman is playing better ball now, they are probably peaking, and Grace had an off night. I wasn't there, but from what I wz'as told the Devils had much more than just the X factor going. I was a little surprised by the margin, but not by the champ. Remember, they did split with Grace during the season. And, like I said in an earlier post, I really felt like Harriman was the stronger team in D3 even though they finished 3rd in the regular season.

Congratulations to the Harriman Blue Devilseth. Three in a row.That's quite an accomplishment. Wartburg was going for that, also but fell short. That says a lot about the Sunbright Tigers; to stand in the way of that and get the biggest win of the season.

Wow!!! So much for a Wartburg vs. Grace Semi- Final. The Region Tournament should be interesting just the same. Coach K gets a third shot at the chess board against Wartburg, Grace hosts a dangerous Coalfield team that can put a lot of points on the board if you don't defend well (especially if you don't rebound hard on the defensive end), Midway visits Sunbright, and Oliver Springs goes to Harriman.

My predictions in the first rounds are somewhat boring because I believe the 1s and 2s hold serve, but there will be a couple of close calls. I think Midway will keep it close against Sunbright, but the Tigers pull away late by 8. Harriman over OS by 21. Too much X and on their court. Grace will get Coalfield, but only by 5 and in a nail biter really late at the foul line. And even though I think they will lead through the first 3 quarters, I believe Rockwood will get overpowered by a strong Wartburg team and lose by 4. We'll see. I also thought Oneida would beat Oliver Springs 15 in the district tournament opener. LOL!!!

What do Ya'll think?

Wow!!! So much for a Wartburg vs. Grace Semi- Final. The Region Tournament should be interesting just the same. Coach K gets a third shot at the chess board against Wartburg, Grace hosts a dangerous Coalfield team that can put a lot of points on the board if you don't defend well (especially if you don't rebound hard on the defensive end), Midway visits Sunbright, and Oliver Springs goes to Harriman.

My predictions in the first rounds are somewhat boring because I believe the 1s and 2s hold serve, but there will be a couple of close calls. I think Midway will keep it close against Sunbright, but the Tigers pull away late by 8. Harriman over OS by 21. Too much X and on their court. Grace will get Coalfield, but only by 5 and in a nail biter really late at the foul line. And even though I think they will lead through the first 3 quarters, I believe Rockwood will get overpowered by a strong Wartburg team and lose by 4. We'll see. I also thought Oneida would beat Oliver Springs 15 in the district tournament opener. LOL!!!

What do Ya'll think?

Wow! Must have been SOME consolation game! Congrats Rockwood and good luck against the Dawgs. I'm an Oneida fan, so, it's baseball season for me, but I read this thread and decided to comment on a couple of things.

I really don't understand Coach T's rankings, cause it doesn't look like Rockwood's schedule gives them that much of an advantage over Grace and Grace has the better record, yet Grace is #19 and Rockwood #11. And while I would put Coach Kamakawa up against anyone in the state, I really believe Grace has a little (maybe even a lot) more talent right now. Of course, Coach K's game plan against my Indians put us in our place and embarrassed us off the court. We didn't adjust and took our second worst loss of the season (Oliver Springs in Dist. Tourn.).

What is even stranger about your guys district, we played Harriman the next day after losing so badly to Rockwood, never trailed in a 7 point win, and it felt like Harriman was a stronger team than the Tigers. I realize the season didn't play out that way, but I see the Blue Devils have made another big district tournament run. And, I know everyone gives him some praise, but I'm not sure if Xavier Howard gets enough recognition for his efforts. But, I'm not in Roane County but about once every two weeks and only see these guys play 5 or 6 times a season. You guys posting in this thread SHOULD know more.

One of you stated that Grace should win through the Region. Not only is Harriman going to make that hard in the D3A Tourney, I know Wartburg and Sunbright will make it extremely difficult for that to happen. Should Grace win the C-ship tonight in D3A, they will face Oliver Springs at Grace, probably a win. But, Wartburg was upset in the D4A Tourney C-ship by Sunbright and that puts them in the same bracket as Grace. If the Bulldogs take care of business with Rockwood like they should, that sets up a Grace vs. Wartburg semi-final that I think Wartburg has the advantage in. I agree if Grace comes out and shoots well they can play with and even beat the Dawgs, but that defense Wartburg puts on teams will probably stifle Grace. I mean, it seems they have owned the D3A teams they have played this year.

Of course, ALL of that assumes A WHOLE LOT. There's plenty of ball to played and enjoyed between now and then. I just wanted to get you guys thinking and get your perspectives.

Well, I don't guess Wartburg and Rockwood can meet in the Region 2A Final now. Can they?

Congratulations to the Sunbright Tigers on an unbelievable win. I think you guys disproved the "home court advantage" myth. It's been a few years since your last District Tournament Championship and you definitely deserve this one. Beating that team on the their floor and leaving no doubt certainly proves you're the Undisputed D4A Champs. Great job Coach Maxfield, most of us are NOT surprised with your team's success.

....to Gunter and Seabolt, that's the way to end your district careers!!! Awesome game and careers!!! Good luck in the Region.... Sub-state.....and......the Boro!!! You CAN DO IT!!!! You proved that with this win!

And, to the Dawgs and Coach Lane..... I know you guys never dropped your heads and will go into the Region Tourney ready to wreak havoc...Good luck and represent D4A well,as I know you will....I know you still have a lot of season left (what? bout 7 games?)...Maybe you can face off against the Tigers two more times, Harriman and Murfreesboro....Stranger things have happened....Go get 'em!!!

Congrats to the Oliver Springs Bobcats. they played hard and smart and outworked our guys. Moreover, Coach Ingram's gameplan,which was the same as last week's vs. the Indians, was perfect and Coach Yaden did nothing to adjust. I think he thought since it worked the previous two times it should've worked last night, but that was wrong. I hated to see this season end and I don't know the last time the Oneida boys weren't playing in the district semi's (10 years or more? 20?). That hurt, especially because that might be the last time I get to see my son play basketball. But, good luck to the Bobcats.

At least we only have 2 trips to Wartburg now, instead of 4. GO LADY INDIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!

no doubt we are underdogs but im gonna say this is the BEST Wartburg Team ever from this high school in boys basketball and i feel comfortable in saying it does that beat Perry Co. we will find out thursday gotta play the game first all of us can sit here and guess but only one way to find out and thats play! all 8 teams here are here for a reason and thats cause they all earned it good luck to Perry Co. as a Dawg fan i dont like to trash talk id rather just brag a lil bout what this team has accomplished so far and thats district title,first school region title and 2 nd trip ever to the state Awesome season boys whatever happens no need to hang your head or boast to much and play your style of ball and let the chips fall where they may u have nothing to LOSE!!!

Best Post on here from a stand point of being a TRUE FAN!!

Thank you.

I have no idea how good Wartburg is and neither does any other PC poster on here...but the main reason why we're on here saying how good we are is because we are that good...you guys play in a VERY weak District and Region...and "traditionally" East Tennessee never has a really good team...kinda like Clay Co. was last year...everyone said they were so good but we won 67-45...this Perry Co. team/program has alot of tradition on their backs that they carry with them when they put that PERRY COUNTY uniform on that they wear so proudly (6 State Championships, 20+ State Appearences) that means the world to these men and that wants to rewrite Perry Co. Basketball History and a County (8000 strong) and thats the most loyalist fans in the state in my opinion behind them...this County lives and breaths Perry County High School Basketall and we always will and just because y'all have a Mr. Basketball Finalist doesn't mean a "Dang" thing...this same squad (with the abscence of Dray Mercer) beat the Reigning State Champions and "2".........count em "2".........Mr. Basketball Finalists and both were 6'6 and 6'7...and this year we beat the #5 team in the state (Mt. Pleasant) 52-44 and i gurentee their average height was atleast 6'2...and we have a VERY TOUGH District and Region...COME THURSDAY YALL WARTBURG BULLDOGS (and fans) WILL FEEL THE WRATH OF THE LINDEN/PERRY CO. VIKINGS...THESE BOYS IN BLACK ARE AWESOME BABY WITH A CAPITAL "A"!!! WE'RE ON A MISSION GUYS!!!! LEEGOOOOOOO!!!!

If the Wartburg fans will have me, I am a Bulldog for at least this weak since my Indians fell short in their endeavor to make it back to the state. But in response to this post from SportsFan70, I really have to take offense to the comment about our District and Region. No we're not a powerhouse district, but neither is District 12. After Perry County, it's pretty weak. And Region 6, PC and Mt. Pleasant, and then who? Granted Oneida didn't make to the state, and I'm not going to start throwing out excuses, but we easily could have been there if not for illness, no offense to Cloudland - you guys played great. It's obvious you haven't seen anyone in District 4 or Region 2 play and have no idea about their strengths or weaknesses.

As for your tradition, I know it is a long and proud one. PC deserves the respect it has earned. However, for Wartburg, in 1994, I remember some of these same things being said around Murfreesboro and in the newspapers prior to a Quarterfinals matchup of Perry County vs. Oneida. PC had this same cockiness and looked past the Indians and lost. I can't say that is what will happen nearly twenty years later, but we can hope. Good luck to both teams. Go DAWGS.

Really? I may not be as intelligent as you think you are but I was addressing that to the one who was using the caps lock not you.

I am really sorry. I thought you were addressing me, because I was defending Coach Yaden. But, I really don't think I am intelligent at all, man. If I was, I wouldn't have time to fool with this stuff.

Oh good grief can we not move on? I don't know for a fact the words that were exchanged because I was not close to either, but I do know one looked no more ridiculous than the other. Also, I would be no more leery sitting by a fan that acts like him than putting my kids in the hands of a coach that has a daily influence on them and acts no better thatn the fan everyone keeps crying about, and I did not even have to use the caps lock or bold keys to write this.

You don't have to point out your lack of intelligence. Not once did I use caps lock.

I did think it was kind of strange that he (heckler) was allowed to return to the game. But since both the coach and the parent were to blame, would it have been fair to only remove one of them? Both were in the wrong, right? From rumors down this way, the principal from Oneida had some harsh words for Yaden. How is that relationship going now?

Good luck to both Oneida and Wartburg as both schools are representing their communities well on the hardwood!

I really don't think both were in the wrong. With the "fan" spewing the foul names at the Oneida players and cursing them by taking the Lord's name in vain with the name calling, I feel like Coach Yaden had to stand up for our sons and players. As I said before, I wish Coach Yaden hadn't used the a _ _ word, but in no way should that person have been speaking to our players that way. Everyone is all up in arms about what Coach Yaden said, but what that guy said was a whole lot worse and the fact that the few Wartburg fans in that area that heard him are defending him is appalling. And, not all of them are defending him! I have talked to two that are ashamed of what he did. This guy was looking for anything to get Rusty mad and off his game. He tried to go at him directly and that didn't work, so, he went at the players and that hit a nerve for both Coach Yaden and Coach Wright. They defended my son, their sons, and the rest of the team and that is when everyone got upset. As long as our boys would sit there and take being called those vulgar names and being cursed y'all (including Dallas Davis and the officials) were fine with him doing that. But let our coaches stand up for the boys and they're in the wrong. Well, that's WRONG. By the way, there were two other Oneida employees sitting in that section that told the Wartburg "fan" to be "quiet" in no uncertain terms, but I'm not sure they were heard over the crowd.

Thank you Coach Yaden and Coach Wright. I didn't know what was happening at the time and I appreciate you for standing in for me and taking up for my son. Most of you know I'm not in the shape to get in a brawl and would probably lose a fight, but that certainly wouldn't stop me from giving everything I had left for any one of my kids when they were being treated in a manner such as this. I'm a Christian and teach my kids that fighting is not the way to settle things, but I'm not sure from the actions of Mr. Langley that he would stop and listen to reason, I would try though. But, I am praying for him and ALL of us that God convicts us to work through this in a manner He would find appropriate.

Anyway, all this has taken away from a good game and what is going to be some interesting Sub-state games. First time OHS has been there since 2002. Go Indians!!!!!!!!!!!!

You say that you can only take so much. I see players get heckled by student sections every game all game long. I have yet to see a player go to the student section and threaten any of them. The point of the matter is your coach is an adult and a teacher of your kids you do not lose your cool like that. Your coach is sending the message that if someone gets on your nerves you need to fight. Thats the wrong message to send in my book.

You know, I wish Coach Yaden has kept his cool or, at least, not said the a _ _ word he used. However, I was told by people sitting in that section that the "fan" in question was addressing our players and calling them foul names and that is when Coach Yaden decided to stand up for his players and say something. He let everything go when the the man was addressing him, but when he cursed at our players, Yaden had all he could take. My son plays on the team and I may not agree with cursing when Coach spoke to the man, but I appreciate him getting him to stop talking to my son and the rest of team that way. There is no place for that in this game or in life for that matter. Obviously, I am not going to repeat what the man said, but it makes my blood boil that my son had to sit there be called that and hear the Lord's name taken in vain all because this "fan" was trying to get under the skin of an opposing coach to help his team win a game. That is really sad. I had a fan from Sunbright tell me that this man has done this against other teams this year. She did not specifically say he cursed, just the yelling at the coach and players to cause problems and gain an advantage. What have we come to. I'm naive enough to think that we are supposed to cheer for our team, and, of course, yell at the officials occasionally. What made things worse tonight, the law enforcement that was present came to escort the "fan" out for causing the incidents that he had caused and then it appears Dallas Davis intercedes on his behalf to allow him to re-start his tirade on the baseline near the end of Oneida's bench. That shocked me. Obviously, the "fan" is classless, but Dallas surprised me.

I have several people I consider friends in Wartburg and many more that I think are very classy and in no way will I ever let tonight taint how I feel about Wartburg as a whole. However, I really felt like our boys got a raw deal tonight, and I'm not talking about the game. Wartburg played great and earned the win. Oneida played great, as well, we just ran out of gas. Not having Noah hurt. And before you get on here Indianoutlaw, I am NOT making excuses. We just lost in a hard fought game. The raw deal was having to listen to someone talk to them that way in the first place, but then seeing what they thought was justice only to have him escorted back in by the law and Principal of the school and having him continue his onslaught on them.

Good luck to Wartburg on Monday against Hampton. You already have a 16 pt. victory against them this year so you know you can get to the 'Boro. Now go make it happen. You deserve it.

As for Oneida, you guys deserve it, too. We haven't seen Cloudland this year, but I believe we can beat them. I really think we can play with anyone in Class A. Haven't seen them all, but like a friend of mine told me, they can only put five out there at time just like you. I know that's a little simplistic, but you guys have been playing so well I think it's fitting. Good Luck Indians. Get to the 'Boro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would 2 steps not be considered a travel? Just flipping through topics on here, and that caught my eye.

rulesman09,

Idk?... I thought you were allowed two steps. For instance, if you catch the ball step with your right, then go off your left for a layup, (or dunk if you have the hops) without a dribble has been legal all year I thought. And it was all those many years ago when I played, but that shows how little I know, apparently if they don't allow two steps, anymore. Do you know where I can look up that rule on-line to understand it better? Thanks ruleman.

Region 1 Cloudland vs Hampton

Region 2 Oneida vs Wartburg

Region 3 Grace Baptist Academy vs CSAS

Region 4 Friendship Christian vs Clarkrange

Region 5 McEwen vs Middle Tenn. Christian

Region 6 Perry County vs Collinwood

Region 7 Lake County vs Humboldt

Region 8 Trinity Christian Academy vs B.T. Washington

Region 1

Hampton

Region 2

Oneida

Region 3

Grace Baptist Academy

Region 4

Friendship Christian Academy

Region 5

McEwen

Region 6

Perry County

Region 7

Humboldt

Region 8

Booker T. Washington

big win by the indians and dawgs both tonite glad too see both moving on and i think u may see them in mufreesboro also upper region isnt as strong as usual i think it can be done for a district 4a double representation in the boro

It won't be easy to get both teams down to the Boro, but you're right in the fact it could happen this year when you compare these two to the Region 1 teams. Congratulations to Oneida and Wartburg. Awesome job Indians! Coaches scouted well and had a game plan that worked to perfection. You could tell Rockwood was a good team, but Oneida's defense gave them no open shots and very few offensive rebounds. Really seemed to take them completely out of their game. What a great game by Jake Wright. He carried Oneida on offense in the first half and continued with great defense and rebounding throughout the game. Cole West and Noah Duncan got it going in the second half offensively and all played intelligent and kept turnovers to a minimum. Nice job guys.

This is the first time Oneida has been to a Region final since 2002, I'm pretty sure. They won it that year after having finished second in the District tourney. Sound familiar? We are hoping and praying these young men can pull together and do that Thursday. Of course, we know that it's a monumental task, but I believe they can do it. It will take an almost perfect game, but they have been playing well and Wartburg might be due for a loss. Go get 'em Indians!

District 4 almost pulled off the sweep. Tuesdays semi finals are set. At 6 rock wood and Oneida. Oneida length may cause rockwood some trouble. This should be a grind out type of game. Probably in the high 40s. I think Oneida can pull it out possibly in overtime. My prediction 49-48. At 730 wart burg and Jellico. Round 4 between these 2 teams. Wart burg is 3-0 this year vs Jellico but 2 were close. Jellico showed they could play without malicoat Saturday at telico. He went out with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd and did not return until 4 minutes to go in the game and Jellico stayed even while he sit. Malicoat hit the game winner with 8 seconds left for the winner. Big key in this game will be fouls and how coach Reynolds handles his bench to counter wart burgs 32 minutes of heck. I thought the game in the district semis Jellico wore down. Smoky mountain officials so u never know how they will let wart burg play with their pressure defense, if they let them hand check on the perimeter dogs will prevail. If called close Jellico stays in it. Someone on Jellico will have to play good to help malicoat. Jellico is the defending region champs and want go down without a battle. Dogs playing home home floor will help. Atmosphere will be electric Tuesday night at the dog house. I think dogs will win by 10 if they let them play Jellico could pull it out if called close.

Good post. If the officiating in the quarterfinals is any indication of how the rest of the tournament will be called, they're gonna let them play. There was plenty of hand checking, pushing underneath the boards, and hip/body checking that went uncalled in the Harriman/Oneida game. And it went both ways, but Harriman was more physical early before Oneida adjusted. Oh, but there were lots of walking violations called. No one and I mean NO ONE got away with steps. I think they even called a walk on the clock keeper at one point. I lost count, but I don't think I'm wrong in saying that there were 12 walks called against Harriman's Xavier Howard, alone. He still had a good game, but it took him out of his game, somewhat. Oneida held the Blue Devils to 41 and X had 20. Granted, I thought several of the calls were legit, but there were some that I had no idea what the officials were seeing. It seemed like they didn't allow any step-through-jump-stop moves and spin moves had to have a dribble all the way through the spin. Of course, it also looked like they called a walk if a player just went a long distance for a layup, even if it was only two steps. We'll just have to see what happens.

As for predictions, I hate them. There are going to be two very good games on Tuesday night and I am looking forward to it. I'm nervous, too. I know Rockwood has a great team and a fantastic coach. But hey, Oneida is pretty good, too. And I would put Yaden and Wright up against any coaches around. They've had some great game plans against Sunbright, Wartburg, and Harriman and nearly ran the table in those games. Wartburg had to play, and I'm quoting a Wartburg fan/"expert", their best game of the year to beat the Indians by 3 and Oneida had a shot on the rim to tie at the end. I'm sure Rockwood remembers last year, but I am also sure they are like Oneida and aren't that worried about last year. Rockwood will be ready just like Oneida will be. It should be a good one.

Congratulations to Cole West on scoring his 1,000th point during the D4A C-ship game. Cole is only a Sophomore and was playing in his 64th game when he hit the first bucket of the game for OHS and gave himself 1,000 points in his career. Not bad. We are all hoping Cole can stay healthy and continue his high school career and pursue the all-time scoring title at Oneida while he leads the team to as many wins and as far as possible. Way to go Cole.

Good Luck Indians. Let's make this an all District 4 finals in Region 2.

It was an awesome game. Oneida played great. Hats off to Coach Yaden and Coach Wright for their gameplan and I am so proud of the game the boys played. Congrats to Wartburg and those boys for a game well played. They deserved to win. And, yes Yaden deserved the T, but he was trying to get a point across about a bad no call on the previous play and may have wanted the technical. Nonetheless, the boys got fired up and came back and had three chances to tie or take the lead when they were down 57 - 55. Some missed free throws by the Dogs and a couple of steals helped get Oneida back in it, but it was great to see our boys never say quit.

It won't be easy, but that could be the two teams in the Region 2A Championship next week. Oh, wouldn't that be awesome. But, Oneida will have a good Greenback team to beat first followed by either a strong Rockwood or hungry Sunbright team before they would ever get back to the Dawgs. That's a lot of basketball. Good luck Indians.

Btw, after the first two nights not going quite so smoothly, I thought both championship nights were hosted extremely well and the games were very enjoyable.

Also, congratulations to Mike Reynolds and Jellico on their victory tonight over Sunbright. That was a very good game, also.

{I personally would rather see the games stay at wartburg over going to AC or RSCC. I also don't want to play at OS either. I'm an old school oneida guy and feel like we should win wherever the games are played and don't want to hear excuses about losing. The wartburg gym is as good as any to win a championship! We should try to host but shouldn't complain and make excuses for other teams success, we should work harder and maybe we could get back to what we should be #1}From INDIANOUTLAW

Well, if that was a jab at me Indianoutlaw; point taken. But, I wasn't trying to make excuses for losing. And your memory goes back a lot further than mine if you remember Oneida winning a lot of championships down there. We have had a few here and there. I said before that the home court advantage was a SMALL part of Wartburg's run and that their talent level and coaching has been superior during this period. The talent and coaching, along with hard work, has meant a whole lot more than where the games have been played. I agree with you that we need to "lace them up and go play" regardless of where the tourney is held, no excuses.

Good luck to the Indians tonight. This team has been through a lot this year. If you go back to the Coalfield loss and look at what this team has done since then, well, they have grown and done what has been needed to turn things around. I know they are all going to leave everything they have on the court tonight and will have nothing to hang their heads about whether they win or lose. And that goes for Wartburg, as well. I'm looking forward to a great game. It's been twelve years since Oneida has been in this position and these boys are hungry and ready for this. GO INDIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wartburg has played in the championship every year aside from 2010 because the teams show up to play at tournament time. It has nothing to do with "home court advantage". This isn't the SEC or "Large districts". Coalfield, Oakdale, Wartburg, Oliver Springs, and Sunbright are all within 30 minutes of Wartburg High schol. I attended Wartburg, even though Coalfield and Oliver Springs were time wise closer to my house, but due to the option Kids had coming from Petros I could choose. Wartburg Holds the tournament because as the actually name of the school states it is the "Central" school of the district. It is what is best for the schools in the district, and if you think more Wartburg people are going to show up for the Championship game than Oliver Springs or Coalfield, then you haven't attended many championships. Each school travels well to Wartburg for both boys and girls. Anderson County and Roane State are both significantly longer drives for every single school besides maybe Jellico to Anderson County. The reason the District 4A tournament is packed is because Morgan County people love basketball, it's a strong passion... Move the tournament elsewhere, it'll look a lot like summer camps.

Obviously, you don't remember or weren't around when the District tournament was held at other sites. It has always been packed and will always be packed, regardless of where it is held. The tournament was at Rockwood around 2003 or 2004 (can't remember which) and attendance was higher than ever. And, in 2006 when the Region was at Oneida, attendance was tremendous and no one, but Oneida fans and players want to play at OHS. Basically, you could probably play this tournament somewhere in Kentucky and our fans would follow, because this district has fans that love their schools and kids. It doesn't hurt that it seems they have an above average basketball I.Q., as well. What's even funnier, with our schools and our fans, if any of these schools played at a summer camp, seating might be an issue cause we would go and watch.

There were no seating problems. The gym practically emptied out after first game. A few people hung around to watch outcome of Sunbright and Oneida.\, but mostly just Oneida and Sunbright fans. There was no reason for the small boy to be sitting on the edge of the floor except he chose to and obviously his parents let him. No one else in this district could possibly hold as many people as Wartburg's gym does. Like it or not that is just the way it is.

You're right. That's why a neutral site with more seating that is still centrally located would be better. Say..... Anderson County High or Roane State Comm. College? Just spitballing. Plus, there wouldn't be a home court advantage for one team over another. You can't tell me you don't believe this has played a small role in the run Wartburg has had in being in the C-ship game every year since 2005. They have had talent, mind you, but that kind of run is unheard of in our district. It usually cycles, but hasn't in a long time. But the point is moot, it isn't going to change with Morgan County having a 4 to 3 voting edge in the District.