donhaney

Knowing Bobby Sharp as I do, I also know that he would welcome me asking for you all to remember him in prayer. Coach Sharp begins treatments for his illness today and has a lengthy treatment process ahead of him. I am proud of what he has accomplished as a football coach at LCHS but am more proud to call him a brother in Christ. He and his wife are people of strong faith and they believe in the power of prayer. Bobby is one year older than me, still a fairly young man by today's standards, and his journey makes all of us realize that sickness is something that will come to most of us. He has a genuine love for people, especially his current and former players and has made many sacrifices to help those in need over the years and now we can all join together and pray for him and Sue daily. I know I will and I hope you will join me in doing so.

Tonight's game was a great one. Goodpasture went up 28-14 with about 5 minutes left in the game and it would have been easy to fold the tent but Lewis County showed a lot of character in coming back and scoring to make it 28-21, then holding the Cougars and getting the ball back with less than a minute to go. The Panthers drove from their own 40 to the Cougar 20 yard line with 13 seconds left. A final pass play was stopped at the 8 yard line as time expired and it wound up 28-21. And now for observations... Goodpasture has an exceptional team and Cunningham will no doubt puinch his ticket to D-1. They also have great character and class. It was refreshing to see these two teams show mutual respect and sportsmanship during the game. In games like these, no one could ever be satisfied losing but the facts are that someone wins and someone loses. On this night, the Cougars wound up a little better and advance. They have a lot of talent, excellent skill people and good line play and should have a fine chance of continuing on. I have left a lot of seasons being totally frustrated with the outcome, tonight, that is not the case. We left nothing on the field and gave great effort all night. The Cougars were a lot deeper than we were and it took its toll on occasion. But when the time came that we could have laid down in the fourth quarter, we showed true character and came within a few yards of scoring near the end. I am extremely proud of our team and coaches for giving all they had and never quitting. People can talk about our schedule all they want and they can also talk about one and done but folks around the program know that this year was a special bunch and they have brought a lot of joy and excitement to our community. They fought to the very end and simply got beat by a team that was a little better and there is absolutely no shame in that. God gives us all kinds of tests in life to see how we react. Life is not always about winning but sometimes it is about building character, faith, teamwork, love and family. I thought that both teams exhibited so much of what high school football should be about tonight. And I know that the Panther team made some remarkable progress since week zero, not only as a football team but also as young men and a close knit group of friends. I give God thanks for him giving me the chance to be a part of this season and see these young men grow. and wish them nothing but success as they journey through life.

A tad bit of jealousy showing through with that post?

Looks like basketball scores...

Observations: Lewis County was penalized 13 times for over 100 yards. Waverly 5 for 44. The officiating was horrid and I mean that for both sides. Waverly had a player injured and the officials called their coaches out to check on him. They helped him off and the head linesman asked the Waverly coach if he was going to call a timeout, he said no. He asked him again and he said no, I am not. The ref then flagged him... crazy! On one of our dozen plus penalties, Coach Sharp was pointing across the field at the flag lying on the ground when the side judge told him not to be pointing at him! Coach Sharp told him he was pointing at the flag and he told him not get smart with him. I watched the game from under the goal posts and witnessed this kind of behavior from these two men all night, on both sides of the field. I am not telling anyone that we didn't commit 13 infractions, I am telling everyone that both teams put up with ridiculous behavior from the officiating all night long. I thought Waverly was one of the toughest teams we had faced. They were the most physical team we have played. They were far from the team we had beaten earlier in the season. They had a few bad breaks or could have made it closer. And yes, they did drop several passes in the opening quarter but I thought our defense really stepped it up afterwards. Our ground game continues to look really strong with over 300 yards again tonight. Congrats to Waverly for your playoff appearance and good luck next year. You truly did make great strides.

Places to eat in Hohenwald --- Rio Grande or Rio Colorado (Mexican downtown), San Antonio Grill (Tex-Mex on 412 East by Wal Mart) Rong Garden (Chineese buffet downtown) Snappys Pizza (downtown) Pizza Hut on 412 East. Junkyard Dog (Steak house downtown), General Cafe (Southern foods downtown), Big Johns BBQ (412 East) Subway (Across from court house) Hardees, McDonalds and Sonic all on 412 East

I believe the year was 2002. Lewis County had played Harpeth early in the season and romped over them in a no contest. We played them early in the playoffs and really had no reason to expect nothing but the same. We felt confident that they could not stop our offense and as the game progressed, they didn't. We ran for well over 300 yards and scored 35 points. What we didn't expect was that Harpeth was going to develop a pasing game between the two games that was going to give us fits. They aired it out, exploited our weakness and threw for over 300 yards and we escaped with a 35-28 victory. I feel our team has gotten better every week this season and right now we are playing very well. I also know that Waverly has improved as well. I also know that they are throwing the ball very well. Honestly, I am not sure that Waverly can stop our ground game with consistency. But I also fear the Tigers ability to throw the ball. I do not expect another 37-0 game. I suspect that Waverly will be a much more formidable opponent this time around. Now back to my rest.

No, that would be me.

Thanks, trying to finish a story and thats the only one I didn't have.

Can we get a final score?

Your rant would probably hold more water if we had lost to someone other than a team we had already beaten. You are engaging in an argument that is not logical. I deal in facts not hypothesis.

Just one thing.. There is not much differance in a private school and open-zoned public schools. They can both pick and choose from a larger base. Carry on.One other thing, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that Goodpasture moves to round three. Camden has a fine team and they are playing at home. I wish them all the best!

Have any of our devoted Lewis County fans ever heard of locker room material? Why don't you see if you can give the Bulldogs some more while your at it. I know your love for the Panthers runs deep but try and stay civil and stop making outlandish predictions. You're just helping the opponent with motivation, not that they need any extra. The two teams are about as evenly matched as can be. I don't see either team beating the other by 20 plus points. I can tell you this much, usually in games like this, the team that lost the first time has an advantage the second time around. It is very difficult beating a really good team twice in a single season. It can be done, just look at Goodpasture/CPA but look at how much closer it was the second meeting. I would like to see both teams keep it civil and show some class. The two schools are both great teams, and both have a legitimate shot at going deep into the playoffs. Let's try and respect the two programs this week,,, hey?

I don't think Hickman County is in danger of heading back to Class 4-A any time soon.

I agree.. How about Camden? They play a killer schedule, win their region and get rewarded with a second round game against either Goodpasture or CPA? Geez... I am from Lewis County and I love the Camden folks and you want to talk about the shaft!!

Papatiger.. this has always caused me more grief and angst than anything else connected with high school athletics. You see kids who have been playing sports (Let's just say football) since they were 7-8 years old. They had great talent in middle school. You watch them progress thru the high school years. You know that they have been given a great talent, a great blessing and the ability to use that talent to get a priceless education at a great university and then when they become seniors, they seem to lose all interest. I just don't know? Makes you scratch your head though

Ok, so then when we had David Sharp in 2001 and 2002 2001: Sharp threw for 1000 yards, Miles Staggs caught 20 some odd passes for 9 TD's and we relied much less on the run. We lost to Mckenzie 42-14 in the third round... Okay 2002: Ellis Dailey rushed for 1200 yards, Sharp rushed for 700, Skelton for 600... averaged around 325 per game. Threw the ball a LOT less. We lost to McKenzie 16-13 in round 3. Maybe I missed the big differance? Explain it to me further.

Let me see if I understand correctly? If we were able to pass for 1000 yards and run for 2000 yards, we would be better prepared to go deep into the playoffs. I am just trying to understand because I am getting older and am easily confused. Let's say that we had a quarterback who threw about 10-12 times a game and maybe had a stud receiver who caught 25-30 passes during the year for 10 TD's... and then we had a good strong rushing attack that averaged 200-250 yards per game, then we might have a lot better chance of making it deep into the playoffs? Compared to say a team that was run orriented, in which case we don't have that good a chance of going deep into the playoffs? Is this correct?

Greve had 130 yards on 10 carries and 5 TDs.. Didn't realize that Ezell just dinked those little passes all night or wouldn't have worried about this one. I expected them to try and throw the ball downfield but just short routes and shorter all night long. Not much of a game. Ezell's first period score came with LC taking it towards a TD, fumbled and Ezell returns 90 yards for a score. LC was never stopped all night.

Win by 50 huh? I hope our guys don't read this stuff. This game worries me more than it should I guess. You have to expect a letdown from the Panthers. Coming off the big win over Hickman County + clinching the regional championship + knowing they are already a #1 seed + knowing that Ezell Harding is 0-8 + the general attitude exhibited by some folks here in Lewis County that this one is going to be a blowout + the fact that Ezell Harding can throw the ball + a slick, wet field which can lead to anything and everything. I don't worry about strong teams.... these kinds of teams in these kinds of games worry me.

Congratulations to Stewart County on a great accomplishment this season. To be competiting at this level this late in the season is something to be very proud of. I hope the program has turned the corner and your team can make a habit of your fine season. Camden.. I think most of your guys know how much respect that Lewis Countians have for the Lions. I think we mirror each other quite a bit as far as the programs go. I remember a few years back when the program was just getting turned around, much like Stewart County this season. The facts though; this is new to Stewart County and you are about to experience something quite foreign to your program. Big games for Camden, like Lewis County, are not new. Their staff and team know how to prepare. They have played a very tough schedule this year and it is not for naught. I mean no disrespect for the Stewart Countians but it will take a monumental effort to make it close and an even biiger one to win. Maybe a year or two down the road, this can be a true rivalry game but right now I think it's going to be fairly one-sided.

Speaking strictly about the game.... If Loretto could run the ball with ease against East Hickman, then how much will Hickman County put up on them? I know how everyone likes to think upset but the talent levels here are really, really far apart. Hickman County's defense is also very underrated, in my opinion. They did a fine job against our Lewis County offense last week. I don't mean any disrepsect but the mercy rule will placed into effect pretty early in this one.

Just curious Ddaddy.. is this the biggest gate you can remember?

Lots of class.. much appreciated. As I had predicted from day one, it was gonna be a defensive struggle. I will be honest with you, I didn't think we could shut the Dawgs down like we did. I wish Hickman County all the best over the next few weeks.