bigwes68

If UC wins this game....so what? It's December. WHOLE lot of basketball left to be played. UC fans should hope their team is not peaking in the second week of December. LC still has a ways to go, but I'm confident they will get there. LC may not win this game, but I might look for a different outcome later in the season.

Agree 100%, wardawg. While Whitby does some good things for the kids (feeds them from time to time, opens the gym up during the summer, etc.), I don't know that most other coaches aren't doing the same thing. And then he takes them to Marion and tries to pass Lake County off as this poor, pitiful place that can't even afford uniforms for its team, or takes them to a jamboree and doesn't even bring any uniforms and tells the kids to play in whatever they've got. I've gotten plenty of earfuls of Whitbyspeak over the years, and I don't mind listening to it, but I take most of it with a grain of salt. But as long as he wants to keep buying me lunch at Talley's every now and then, I'll listen to it (even if I don't believe most of it).

Whitby doesn't run it up on folks. He just doesn't. If he's playing a team he knows he can beat by 50+, he plays everybody. And I don't mean that he plays the starters most of the first half, builds a big lead and then empties the bench. He goes 10-11 deep all night, sometimes platooning every four minutes, even starting people that ordinarily would never start a game. I don't really understand it...personally, I think the starters should play together for at least a half every game and try to get some team chemistry going. I'm all for letting everyone play, but the way it's being done right now, I think it will hurt us in the long run. That said -- it's December. Still a good 2-3 months of basketball left. And games in November and December mean virtually nothing. It's what you do in February and March that matters.

If some of them don't come out, LC will hardly be able to field a team. Losing all those seniors from a team that only had about 25 players to begin with, you've got to have some fresh faces come out. Hopefully, the excitement of getting to the third round of the playoffs will inspire a few to put on that green helmet. Thanks to all those that sent me updates from the game....my dad gave me play-by-play of the last 2 minutes, and I could feel the agony from 350 miles away. Just a heartbreaker. Even knowing the outcome of the game, I still wish I could have been there to see the atmosphere and everything surrounding that game that has been missing from Lake County football for so many years. Like an earlier poster said, this senior class -- with some dedicated guidance from Coach Barger and the rest of the staff -- has put Lake County football back on the map. I hope to see the winning trend continue, but the returning players have to get to work NOW. It's not like the old days -- there is no offseason. It wouldn't be this way if everyone else weren't already in the weight room...but they are. Congratulations on a great season, and let's start getting excited about that mid-March trip to the 'Boro!

Thanks, sbl and UofM Fan. I may not be able to reply much early on since I'll be doing stats for FSN South and will be on a headset the entire match, but I'll get back with y'all at some point once I get out of there. I have a feeling Florida will take care of business in 3 games, so I should be out of there by 9:00 or so (8:00 central). If by some water-to-wine miracle the Gators don't beat Tennessee to a bloody pulp (considering we've lost 7 of our last 10 and our best player is out for the season with a torn ACL), it may be a little longer.

In case anyone from Lake County is interested....I will be working at a volleyball match Friday night. That's right. Volleyball. Third round of the playoffs, and I'll be watching friggin' volleyball. Enjoy the fact that you get to see the Falcons play, and remember me while I'm watching Florida take the Lady Vols behind the woodshed. (Then watch the replay on FSN South on Sunday at 1 p.m.) Edit: If anyone wants to text me updates (bubbabargery, mrbigster, U of M fan, etc.), that would be greatly appreciated. I'm not posting my number on the board, but my dad will be at the game (probably cooking hamburgers) and he can give it to you.

Come on, guys. Let's not bicker over petty things. Let's keep this as civil as possible and let our game do the talking.

I know it is used at both Sevier County and G-P. I had games at both places this year, and the play clocks malfunctioned several times at both places. I think it's a lot easier just to keep it on the field unless you've got a qualified official to run it (and even then, the clock itself doesn't always work).

Thanks good buddy -- appreciate the kind words. I know there's got to be one or two in the "sideline crew" that were on the field the last time we played these guys and they pulled that fake field goal crap on us at the very end of the game. I know at least one person hasn't forgotten it....heck, he's probably still wearing those Red Wing boots. We got back at them in a few other ways for that one that shan't be mentioned in a public forum....but we still owe them one on the field.

My only real concern about the Falcons this week is their depth. It seems like their legs all but give out in the fourth quarter of a lot of games. I know that most everyone has to go both ways and play every snap of the game....but that's the way it's always been at Lake Co., and it concerns me that so many players are still cramping up late in the games this late in the season. I think the match-up is pretty even...the determining factor will be if Lake County can sustain their physical style of play for four quarters. I urge the Falcons to take care of themselves this week, eat right, and be completely ready to play Friday night. I won't be able to make it this weekend (or next weekend if we win), but should LC make it to the 'Boro, I wouldn't miss it for anything.

Oh well. We'll see. But you've got to beat Jo Byrns, and LC has to beat JCS. First things first.

If you have a 2,400-yard rusher, sounds like you're a little on the one-dimensional side to me. One player does not a team make, however. Springer showed, for the first time, that he can actually do it all at QB against Trinity. He rushed 25 times for 113 yards, and he completed 13 of 24 passes for 227 yards. Valentine and Yancy both have explosive speed, and Copelin is a force as a tight end. MP may have the single most talented player, but that doesn't mean it has the most talented team.

I don't have my notes in front of me (actually, they're about 380 miles away), but I believe LC is 1-4 all-time against JCS, 0-1 in the playoffs. I know they beat us in '91, '97 and '98 in the regular season, '98 in the playoffs, and I think we beat them in '92 in the regular season. So going into the playoffs, Lake County was 0-2 all-time vs. FA, 0-2 all-time vs. TCA, and now 1-4 vs. JCS. Sounds like another streak needs to be broken. Edit: Which reminds me. In the playoff game in '98, JCS was up 24-0 with time winding down in the fourth quarter and ran a fake field goal. They scored on the play and won 32-0. I know I haven't forgotten about it. And I don't think Lake County's fans have, either. We owe them one.

Obviously you know nothing about LC if you think they have the least talent. They probably have the MOST pure talent, just the least depth. MP and JB may have better overall teams, but I guarantee that they do not have more pure talent than Lake County. It's very, very rare that anyone Lake County plays has more talent than the Falcons.

Anyone in the Knoxville area that wants to see some high-quality volleyball, look no further than Stokely Athletics Center next Friday night -- Tennessee vs. Florida. That's been THE match to see in the SEC the last two years, and the Lady Vols don't lose at home very often. Should be a good one as long as UT can stay at a high level of play for a whole match. Oh yeah -- the SEC did away with a conference tournament for volleyball, so the season ends next weekend. Looks like the SEC should get at least 3 teams in the NCAA, maybe 4 (Florida and LSU for sure, UT and Kentucky probably, Bama sort of on the bubble).

Someone told me that he may have had over 200 yards passing. I can't remember a time when a Lake County quarterback threw for that many yards....maybe Harold Hughes at some point, but if not him, then it's been a LONG time.

The game will be at Lake County. Last home playoff game in the third round or later: 1995 vs. Moore County, LC won 21-20. Still one of the best high school games I've ever seen. What kind of odds could we have gotten around here that the last two teams standing out of regions 7 and 8 would be Lake County and JCS? Probably pretty good before the season; two weeks ago, not so much. I'm pumped now. If I didn't have too much going on next weekend, I'd be heading west come Friday afternoon for sure. Two private schools down, one to go. The Falcons are exorcising a lot of demons right about now.

Best comment of the whole thread. It doesn't matter what Lake County did against Fayette Academy (other than the fact that they won, otherwise this discussion is pointless). It doesn't matter what TCA did against Bruceton...or, for that matter, what Lake County did against Bruceton. It all boils down to who the better team is this Friday night. I anticipate a close game, but now that Lake County knows that it CAN win the big one -- something it had not done in over a decade (with the exception of that one magnificent season-opener against Crockett County) -- I think the Falcons have a bit of a mental edge and a toughness that they had not displayed until the FA game. If they show up and play their game, they will win. If not, they won't. Simple as that.

That's the way it was in the mid-90s. When Lake County went to the Clinic Bowl in '94 from Region 7, it played St. Benedict (Region 8), East Robertson (Region 5), Wayne Co. (Region 6) and Bruceton (Region 7), in that order. Under the old system, you would not play your own region until the quarterfinals or semi-finals. It looked something like this R5-1 vs. R6-4 R7-2 vs. R8-3 R8-2 vs. R7-3 R6-1 vs. R5-4 R7-1 vs. R8-4 R5-2 vs. R6-3 R6-2 vs. R5-3 R8-1 vs. R7-4 It did give more of a true "playoff" feel, but the travel costs were pretty high -- LC logged more than 1,000 miles on school buses during that playoff run with trips to Cross Plains, Waynesboro, Bruceton and Nashville.

Yes, I know him -- I've umpired several of his games over the last 3-4 years.

mrcballer22 -- I am an official, have been one for five years, and have worked on the field in the playoffs. And there is a huge difference in an official making a bad call...and just plain bad officiating. The last two weeks, Lake County has been plagued with bad officiating. I think the problem -- particularly in the Bruceton game -- is that the assigning officers of some associations (not all, but some) assign their less-qualified, less-experienced officials to work the 1A games way out of town while the better officials work the more attractive contests closer to home. I can't say this is the case in the Fayette Academy game since the TSSAA has direct control over playoff assignments. But in every association, there are poor officials who can still make 80% on an open-book test and who have been around long enough that they are assigned playoff games. You can spot a poor official immediately by seeing if they are attempting to become the show instead of simply blending in. And when an official is calling sideline interference for a coach attempting to call a time out, he has crossed that line and should be criticized for it. If there was a TSSAA supervisor present (which there should be at most every playoff game), I'd be willing to bet he was criticized for that call. Am I the world's best official? Not by any means. But I study the rules, I take every game seriously, and I truly enjoy what I do. I don't go out there looking to make a spectacle of myself...I'm out there because I love Friday nights and want to see the kids have better officiating than I had when I played. And it bothers me that there are a number of officials that complain about the games they have to work and are determined to interject themselves at some point in the game to make sure the crowd knows they were there.

spellerone, The NFHS added the rule this year that the chains should be set six feet from the sideline at fields where there was room to do so. The rationale was that it gives a little more room on the sideline for plays that come that way and helps overall safety of players, coaches and officials. The only downside is that when moving the chains back, the possibility for them being incorrectly placed is higher, and therefore, we have had more stoppages for measurements this year. As for the penalty for the coach being on the field trying to call timeout, that's a very, very, ticky-tack call. Bottom line, that's a call that should never be made. Going straight by the book, the first time a coach is out of the team box, it should be a sideline warning. Second offense, 5 yards. Third and subsequent offenses, 15 yards. But most good officials will never call this unless the coach or other sideline personnel is interfering with either the game or with the official doing his job. I don't know where the crew was from for the FA game; you always have "neutral" crews calling playoff games. I'm assuming that the Jackson association covers their games normally, and LC is covered by Northwest, so those officials were probably from Memphis. And those guys are notoriously bad. I'd say there's a good chance the LC-Trinity game will have Memphis officials as well.

I said it about the Union City game. I said it about the McKenzie game. And I said it about the Fayette Academy game. If Lake County ever puts together four quarters of solid, hard-nosed, virtually mistake-free football, they WILL win. Period. They are too talented to lose to anyone in 1A if they play their best game for four quarters. Until Friday at Fayette Academy, they had not done that. Now, the challenge is to do it again. Trinity is right on about the same level with FA, so they have their work cut out for them. If they play like they did at FA, I predict a 14-point victory. But if they put it in neutral at halftime or at any point until the final gun, they don't stand a chance. That is the way it has been all year against quality opponents. There aren't any Byhalias left on the schedule. This is the playoffs. You've got to play for four quarters to have a chance against anybody. The Falcons proved they could do it Friday night...now they have to prove it again. Here's to believing that they can.

I am in shock. I knew we had the talent to take care of business, but tonight is the first time that the Falcons have shown the will to win for four quarters. Sounds like the officiating was questionable at best, but apparently not as bad as last week. I don't know where they get some of these playoff officials from...probably Memphis. Who knows. But regardless...Lake County came out on top. They need to build on this win -- first playoff win since 1996, by the way -- and take care of business at Trinity Christian. NOTES: The last Falcon playoff win was 1996, a 35-22 win at home over McEwen...Lake County has not lost a second-round playoff game since 1988...All-time in the second round, Lake County is 9-4 (5-1 since expansion to the current 5-round system)...Last time LC won two consecutive playoff games on the road: 1994, when they won at East Robertson, at Wayne Co. and at Bruceton before falling to South Pittsburg in the Clinic Bowl...LC's all time record against Fayette Academy improves to 1-2...Trinity Christian has won both all-time meetings against the Falcons, a 35-6 decision in 2003 and a 22-7 victory in 2004...The win marks the first time Lake County has won as a #4 seed in the playoffs...It also marks the Falcons' first ever postseason win over a current member of Region 8A (0-1 vs. JCS, 1-2 vs. Fayette Academy).

Hey, at least you didn't have to PLAY during that era.