donhaney

From 1969-1978, Lewis County's overall record was 41-55-3, included in that was two seasons which were 0-9 and 0-9-1. During this era, we regularly played teams like Marshall County, Giles County, Page, Goodpasture and even Dickson County. Playoffs in 1976 and 1977, one and done. Playing teams larger than us seemingly did little to prepare us for playoff success. The year 1979 was what I like to look at as the advent of Lewis County becoming a great program. A young coach named Mike Pack was hired in 1978 and suffered through a losing first season playing Goodpasture, Page, Giles County, BGA..... The next year, this coach figured out what was wrong. We were a Class A school still playing much bigger schools. He dropped these schools and begin scheduling teams that were also Class A schools, similar in size to Lewis County. 1979 12-1 Semi-finals in playoffs 1980 11-1 Quarters (Lost to Goodpasture 14-12) 1981 11-1 Quarters (Lost to Goodpasture 16-0) In 1983, we were moved to Class AA in the old 3 class system. We were one of the three smallest Class AA schools in the state. We were tossed back into playing Marshall County, Giles County, BGA, Brentwood, Page etc... we hit a bad period. Over the next 4 years, we went 15-27. Playing much bigger schools did nothing for us. This year's out of region schedule is the only thing you can debate. We have zero control over our regional schedule. Let's look at them.... Mt. Pleasant (25 mile drive from Hohenwald.) The two teams had played every year from 1946 on until the series ended 4 years ago. Mt. Pleasant and Loretto had been our longest continuous rivalry. To me, the renewal of this series is beyond debate. Like Huntingdon-McKenzie, Lexington-Riverside, Lawrenceburg-Loretto, threre are geographical rivalries that are beyond debate. Plus, Mt. Pleasant is a 2006 semi-finalist. it's not like 2001 all iover again. Wayne County (28 miles from Hohenwald) Another team that had been a longtime rival until a few years back. Now, I will agree that one of these "rivalry"games is plenty. Our other natural rivalry game is Hickman County (21 miles from Hohenwald) and with them and Mt. Pleasant, that is plenty. I will concur that we should not play them. There is nothing in it for us. We will always be expected to win this game.. always! Earlier, there was referance to coaches padding their resumes with games like this but this is actually quite ludicrous. Even though we will always be expected to win this game, there will be years when Wayne County will sneak up and win one. This is disatrous for a coaching staff. Thye have nothing to gain and everything to lose playing Wayne County so I see no reason to play them. Waverly --- A playoff team last year with big expectations for this year. It is true! Nobody, not our coaches and certainly not theirs expected Waverly to be minus 13 players, nearly all of them starters after week 2. Injuries have killed their team thus far. This was a team on the rise, a playoff team and a team expected to offer some stiff competition until.... THEY LOST 13 PLAYERS IN 2 WEEKS> Ezell Harding -- They have been a playoof team with consistency. Private school.. great tradition. Lest we forget the 77-21 win over Loretto when they were Class A and Loretto was actually winning games. Now with that being said, I would much prefer playing any "Financial aid" school, say a Brentwood Academy or BGA than play in of the so called non-financial privates. At least they are up front about their status. I will end my part of the debate with this.... 1: I am far from convinced that playing a killer schedule does anything except put a smaller school with much less depth at risk. I am not convinced that it "prepares" a team for the playoffs. 2: I will give you proponents of the upgrade one point. Maybe one "fantasy" game per year. Maybe a Columbia or a Lexington or a Milan... but no more than that. Bigger schools with great depth at every position can afford that luxury. Smaller schools cannot. 3: My hands are tired and my head is spinning and I have to meet the Governor on Thursday so I need to shave. Good night.

Any chest thumping usually comes from a a very few. The vast majority of us have been through plenty of 10-0 seasons and it's nothing to write home about anymore. Since I have covered the Panthers, I have witnessed 6 10-0 seasons so....... As I stated earlier but will state again, we are not playing all Class 1-A schools although the two we are playing are exceptional 1-A teams (Mt. Pleasant and Wayne County) Waverly (AA playoffs last year) and Ezell Harding (AA school with great tradition) were added this year. As for us going into a decline after this year, might be? I don't think it will have anything to do with the schedule though. I also doubt we will go into a decline but that's really not worthy of factual debate. I can debate the merits of scheduling all anybody desires. If you have the time... HA I have witnessed what playing Goodpasture, Giles County, Marshall County and Page does for a small school year in and year out. I have also witnessed what playing Notre Dame, Michigan, etc did for Vanderbilt year in and year out.. lol When you are ready?

I agree we should not be playing Wayne County, there is absolutely zero in it for us. The other three out of region games I think I made a valid point. Being privy to some of the informatuion over ther years as far as our scheduling, I assure you it is just not that easy to go out and pick up a Creekwood, a Giles County (who we did play for a while, a Sycamore.. most teams have 6-8 region games and usually a rival game or two. That leaves usually one or two free dates. Naturally these must coincide. Take Milan.. I know the two schools have talked but they have 7 region games, a rivalry game with Huntingdon, a game with Camden and then another West TN game. Most schools, unless just forced to, aren't going to drive 100+ miles for a game when they can get one in their own backyard. There is a degree of fiscal responsibility involved with most public schools, especially small, underfunded, rural schools. School boards would definitely frown if you scheduled, say Pigeon Forge, instead of Wayne County. Lot of differance in bussing a team, equipment, etc 25 miles compared to 290. Back to rivalry games, let's take Huntingdon for example. Great, great program.. great tradition.. former state champs a few years back. Thye also play down to two Class A opponents, Bruceton and McKenzie... which of course are about a 15 minute drive. It's accepted that these are "rivalry games" and nobody is saying anything about their schedule?? And this is no disrespect towards their program because it is first class all the way. Tell me the differance? Just wondering?

He did try and schedule Columbia, could not even get a bite. Also refused to scrimmage us. Also tried Milan but their schedule was full. Lawrence County dropped us a few years back and are not interested in another series. Mt. Pleasant was a semi-finalist last year, I would think that is good competition. I would hope he will drop Wayne County after next year because there is nothing to gain in beating them each year and maybe their goons would stay off our threads. Four out of region games... Mt. Pleasant: If you don't think this was going to be a competitve matchup before it took place then you are being less than truthful. Wayne County: Old rivalry.. hope it ends forever. Waverly: Playoff team from last year, were expected to be very competitve this year. I guess Coach Sharp should have known they were going to lose 13 players to injury in the first two weeks? Ezell Harding: Private school, great tradition, Class AA Playoffs.. So?? Padding his stats? Most ridiculous allegation I have ever heard. He takes it from a lot of us all the time for his absolute propensity to "call off the dogs." 35-0 Friday night against Richland with 10:00 left in second quarter and starters are out for the rest of the game. Will not run the score up, even if the other team might just need it. Resume builidng? HA HA As someone has said.. this is plain goofy, Bobby was born here, he played here, he moved back here in 1988 and I am sure he will be here when he retires. In the 2 years before he came, we were 4-16... Maybe a lot of you don't remember those years? Maybe success simply breeds contempt? For some schools and their followers, success breeds jealousy.. you can't beat us on the field and all you can do is sit here and play the doofus with your ignorant commentary. Go bother someone else! I would rather be playing in the second round of the playoffs every year than getting ready for basketball season, have a happy day!

Thye are 1-0, a win over Ardmore, Alabama.

As promised.... Team Stats: The Panthers ran for 427 yards on 44 carries. They were 0-2 passing for a total of 447 yards on 26 plays. They had 13 first downs, fumbled twice while losing neither, were penalized 7 times for 62 yards and punted 3 times for a 13 yard average. Mt. Pleasant ran 33 times for 127 yards, were 6-13 passing for 97 more giving them a total offense of 224 yards in 46 plays. The Tigers had 7 first downs, were penalized 4 times for 49 yards and punted twcie for a 35 yard average. Offensive Stats: Ryan Greve paced the Panthers with 14 carries for 154 yards followed closely by Kane Crowell with 5 rushes for 104 yards and Jake Tennison with 9 for 92 yards. Colton Mathis added 55 yards in 14 carries while Chuck Dodson chipped in 22 yards in 2 rushes. Defensive Stats: Chris Odom led the Panther defense with 8 tackles and a blocked punt. Jake Tennison and Dakota Crews also added 8 tackles followed by Kane Crowell, Ryan Greve, Chuck Dodson and Andrew Lawson with 6 stops. Harley Deline, Mason Sharp, Jordan Mercer and willie Frazier had 4 tackles, Nathan Couch, Dylan Crews and Carson Bates 2 tackles and Colton Mathis and Eric Wright 1 tackle. Marco Dailey had 22 carries for 127 yards to lead Mt. Pleasant.

What I know about Fairview even thought they have a new system is that they always have some fine athletes and are physical. They will defintely present a huge challenge for Mt. Pleasant. Conversely, I don't think they have hardly the team speed of LC so Dailey will give them some problems as well. Should be another good game between two great public schools.

You are welcome. I know this has to be devistating because I really thought you guys were turning the corner last year and had a chance to compete for the region title this year. Hopefully you guys can weather the storm and get well in a few weeks. I simply can not imagine losing that many key people this quickly.

I only know what I have been told by some of my Waverly friends but how could any good high school team deal with losing 4 top starters in week one? I would imagine if you took away Lewis County or Wayne County's QB, RB, and a couple of other big contributers, we would both have problems. I congratulate the Wildcats on the win but no rational person would think they are 38 points better than Waverly. Good luck to our firnds in Humphreys County for the future. I sincerely hope you get some of those guys back soon. I know this is a real shame.

Suits me.. Privates are the only ones comfortable with a "gold" ball.

I appreciate the hard efforts of the Mt. Pleasant radio station, enough so that we have been advertising our Lewis County business with the station for the past 3 years. I find it unsettling that a few bad apples have pretty much dominated this entire thread. If you read all 5o plus pages, you will see that most of the posters are simply imtelligent, loyal supporters of their program and that is perfectly fine. There is never any room for the junk that some people can't seem to live without. Mt. Pleasant has a very fine Class A team and are a program that should be winners for years to come. Lewis County is the exact same for Class 2-A. I was around in the 1970's and 80's when these two teams played almost every year for the right to represent their district/region in the playoffs. I am happy to see the rivalry renewed. I am sure that it will not be one sided. I was happy for the Panthers, an impressive win over a top 5 Class team. Mt. Pleasnat should be proud to have stood toe to toe with a top 5 AA team... nuff said. The ominous thing for our team is that we must still deal with the "privates" come playoff time. And not to beat a dead horse but how level is a playing field where a "small Class-AA private school" (Goodpasture) can defeat a large Class 5-A state runnerup in Ravenwood? It makes me respect Carlton Flatt and Brentwood Academy even more. When they got to the point they could beat 5-A schools, they moved up to 5-A... It takes a good set to admit that the deck is stacked and obviously, it is still stacked for AA schools. Good luck to Mt. Pleasant this season. Put this one behind you and I for one look forward to supporting your efforts the rest of the season. Good luck to the Panthers. It makes my job a lot easier when you give me good headlines.. lol

I am pretty sure that those stats aren't correct. I will get them up soon.

Fairview will be very similar to Lewis County.

What a set of circumstances! What else can you say? I guess that the coaching staffs from both teams have been able to have really, really long halftime speeches.

HA HA Stanneeeee!

I don't think 4-5 years ago has anything to do with the present. Mt. Pleasant of that era is like comparing Lewis County to the mid 1980's, it has zero relevancy. Two well coached teams renewing a great rivalry is what high school football is all about. I just hope the 100+ degree weather doesn't adversely effect anyone.

I agree with that. I have told Coach Sharp myself over the years that playing down, no matter how good the schools, leaves nothing for us to gain..... except for really good gates. But, in his defense, there aren't a lot of teams in 3-A or 4-A who want to play us for the same reason. I guess we could try The Academy or Riverdale... and I am not being sarcastic, but I don't think you want to ever schedule any game where you have zero chance of winning.

In repsonse to a much earlier post about Lewis County not playing tougher non-regional opponents. The truth is that very few teams in 3-A or 4-A will play us. Ask Coach Belew in Columbia. We have attempted to schedule Columbia for 4 years. He will not even consider it nor will he scrimmage us. Lawrence County dropped us even though we were one of their best "gate" games of the season. I spoke with several of their staff and they couldn't beleive that the series was discontinued. The fact is that teams in 3-A and 4-A refuse to play us not because they are scared of us but they do know that there is a decent chance that they will lose the game and a 4-A team losing to a 2-A team does not sit well on a coach's resume. There is nothing to be gained by a Columbia playing us because they would be expected wo win the game and they have everything to lose and nothing to gain. I would hope that whoever made that statement is not a Mt. Pleasant fan because that belittles the Tigers. As for the game, I am very happy to see this rivalry renewed. The two teams played for some 50 straight years until the series ended and in the 70's and 80's, it was more often than not that they played each other for the old district crown. It has always been a great, spirited, heavily contested rivalry and no doubt will be so again beginning this year. And for whatever reason, maybe the fact that the two schools are so close, I seem to know more people from Mt. Pleasant than any nearby surrounding town,. Good luck to both teams in what truly should be a classic matchup.

It will be interesting to see if he can get five non-regional games? Trust me dudo, it isn't a case of Coach Sharp trying to schedule tougher games. Bigger schools don't want to play us as there is nothing to gain for them. Lawrence County dropped us, Mt. Pleasant dropped us, Columbia refused to play us... he has tried several west Tennessee teams who will remain nameless but refused to play us. I think Waverly is going to stay on the schedule and Wayne County but finding three more is gonna be a chore.

"Ignorant?" Wow, that's showing a lot of class!

Looks to me like the Panthers have to be considered the underdog in this game. Thye will have their work cut out for them against the offensive juggernaut of Camden. We will have to make up with some guile what we lack in speed, size and quickness.

Actually, I know how you feel but it's still a good problem when you think about it. Meaning that the Tiger offense is now picking up a lot of punch and showing the ability to blow people out by halftime. Some of our region schools are pretty bad about playing the starters when they are down 5-6 touchdowns. As you said, it's terrible to do that when they should be trying to get better for the future. And by the way, congrats on the big win. Hope fully your offense can keep it going for a big one enxt week against Loretto and carry a lot of momentum into the playoffs.

Just went and checked their schedule at the TSSAA website. They are currently 3-5 with one game remaining. They did not play in Week 0 and had an open date in week 8 which means they only play nine games. My question from another thread and maybe you can answer. If they win and there is a 3-way tie and HC and Adamsville are 4-6 overall and Richland is 4-5, do they advacne ebcause of technically the better overall record?

Gerry.. are you sure that there would be identical 3 way records? I just ran through this in another post and double checked it and I think Richland would wind up 4-5 if they won? I think they only played nine games. I could be wrong because it's late and I have bad eyes.. lol Double check it to make sure.

Houston County's upset victory over Richland tonight has put them into a position to actually finish fourth in the region. Adamsville controls their own destiny. If they defeat Richland in the last week, they are in. If they lose to Richland, then those tow teams and Houston County win up tied with 4-4 records in the region. Adamsville and Houston County would be 4-6 overall and Richland at 4-5 as they played only nine games. The three teams would cancel out in head to head as each would have beaten one of the others and lost to one of the others. My question is.... if Richland defeats Adamsville and there is a three way tie, does that mean Richland advances because their overall record is technically better than the other two teams, and that simply because they played one less game? Now if Adamsville just wins, then they settle the matter with no speculating. By the way, congratulations to Houston County for the upset that at least gets them a shot at the playoffs.