bigwes68

Maybe the Falcons will get a little bit of the Tennessee syndrome -- meaning that whenever they're double-digit underdogs on the road and NO ONE is giving them a chance, they pull the upset (I know you just LOVE hearing about the Vols, haha). I'm not counting them completely out, but I've got to believe Fayette Academy is a pretty big favorite here. They have been the class of 1A in the West all year, and I anticipate an all-out war between the Vikes and McKenzie in the third round. I don't see Lake County winning this one. (And yes, that WAS intended as a reverse jinx.)

If a team finishes with a .500 or better record and does not qualify for the playoffs, they can play in a bowl game. There are a scant few each year.

Not to mention the officials.

I gotta say, that's definitely the worst call I've ever heard of. I don't think anything can top that.

Good post. Lake County has gone through a lot of the same things. And a lot of the trouble in getting kids out is that they just don't want to put in the effort. Not everyone is cut out to be a football player, but out of 120 or so males, you'd think you could find 35-40 that are. And as we've seen, winning certainly can't hurt interest in your program, but it doesn't guarantee that more guys are going to come out and play.

I agree, good rule change. 15 yards and LOD seemed pretty severe for an ineligible simply touching the ball. But I also agree that it's amazing how little the fans (and, in a lot of instances, the coaches) know about the rules. Had a play Friday night where B1 intercepted a pass in full stride at B's 2 and went into the end zone where he was downed immediately. I ruled momentum and brought the ball out to the 2, 1st and 10. Team A was livid that it wasn't a safety, Team B was livid that it wasn't a touchback. Gotta love those calls when you literally can't please ANYBODY.

Sounds like a bad call...but only because you say the pass went toward an eligible receiver. Plus, there's no way the back judge should be throwing that flag, that should be the referee all the way, possibly getting help from the other officials to determine if an eligible receiver was in the area. In high school, there is no such thing as "outside the tackles" or the ball going past the line of scrimmage. The only determinant is whether the pass was thrown to conserve loss of yardage and if there was an eligible receiver in the area.

OK, I'll back it up with the rule book then, word for word. 7-5-13: An ineligible A player has illegally touched a forward pass if he bats, muffs or catches a foward pass while he is behind, in or beyond the neutral zone, unless the pass has been touched by B. So what is a bat, muff, or catch? 2-2: Batting is intentionally slapping or striking the ball with the arm or hand. 2-26: A muff is the touching or accidental kicking of a loose ball by a player in an unsuccessful attempt to secure possession. And he obviously did not catch it, don't need to quote rule book on that one. The lineman didn't bat the ball, muff the ball or catch the ball. Therefore, it CANNOT be illegal touching. Oh, and just to take it a step further, this EXACT play is in the 2006 case book: 7.5.13 Situation B: Ineligible receiver A2 is behind, in, or beyond his neutral zone when a forward pass by A1: (a) accidentally strikes him in the back; or ( is muffed by him; or © is caught by him. RULING: In (a), there is no infraction, but in ( and ©, it is illegal touching. The acts in both ( and © are intentional and not accidental as in (a). Read YOUR rule book.

If the ball did not cross the line of scrimmage or if the contact was behind the line, it cannot be pass interference. Pass interference restrictions for B only apply beyond the neutral zone. Good call. Edit: Sorry, didn't see that papatj had already replied. Oops.

If the quarterback intentionally hits his lineman in the back and there is no eligible receiver in the area, it could be intentional grounding. But it is still not illegal touching.

If this play happened exactly as you described it, the referee made the correct decision in waving off the flag. It is not illegal touching unless the act of touching is intentional -- i.e., a muff, bat or catch. And the ball is live until it hits the ground, so the fullback catching it off the center's back is perfectly legal.

That is correct. A Lake County win would create a 3-way tie for second with LC, Bruceton and Union City at 5-2 in the region. Lake County would claim the #2 spot on overall record (8-2) and likely host Trinity Christian in the first round. Bruceton would then be third (at JCS) and UC fourth (at Fayette Academy) based on head-to-head. Having only seen the scores and knowing nothing about the games tonight, I like Lake County by 14 or so next week, particularly if Springer and Yancy are both 100% (or close to it). Apparently Bruceton only managed a 9-point win over West Carroll, who has been less than impressive for most of the season. Lake County has not won a playoff game since 1996. That's too long of a drought in Falcon country. Let's see that streak end in '06...but let's beat Bruceton first. Gotta love that the old rivalry game once again is highly significant.

I remember watching the Jordan kid play baseball a couple years ago in a Babe Ruth tournament at Dresden. He played center field, made a couple of ridiculous catches, and hit 3 or 4 home runs in the tournament. I knew right then that he was the next big thing for Bruceton. Bruceton wins this one easily...should be an all-out war with Lake County in Week 10.

I'm not the O Great Swami Of High School Football In Tennessee West.....but I can answer your question. Since Bruceton beat UC, if LC beats Bruceton and there is a 3-way tie, LC would be 2nd because of overall record. LC would be 8-2, UC would be 6-4 and Bruceton would be 5-5. Then you go back to head-to-head, Bruceton would then be third, and UC would be fourth. Amazing that playing such a weak schedule could actually work to LC's benefit!

I sincerely hope that young man from Central is OK. I hate to see a close game like that end like it did. I also don't understand why there is not an ambulance on site at every high school football game in the city. When something like that happens, time is of the essence.

If I weren't in Knoxville, I'd be glad to. I could go for some good ol' Boyette's catfish and country ham right now, seriously. Boyette's doesn't have a buffet line, but get there early and you should be OK. Their service is usually pretty fast. If Boyette's is packed, Lakeview or Blue Bank are good options, too (you'll pass both of them before you get to Boyette's). I'll be at a game Friday night in East Tennessee...but I'm not going to say where quite yet (it's usually best if officials don't divulge where they're going on the message boards, you know).

I'm just saying that Lake County is going to put plenty of points on the board. LC's lowest scoring output so far was 28 points against Union City. And we all know what happened there. And yes, I know, the schedule has been weak. We've established that, don't have to go there again. But here's some numbers to crunch: AVERAGE POINTS PER GAME (McKenzie opponents): Trenton -- 27.1 West Carroll -- 16.6 Dresden -- 12.3 Greenfield -- 11.7 Huntingdon -- 14.7 Bruceton -- 27.2 Union City -- 21.6 Lake County -- 38.8 COMBINED RECORD OF OPPONENTS ALREADY FACED: McKenzie -- 20-29 (19-30 w/o UC's forfeit win over Milan) Lake County -- 15-36 (14-37, same as above) --McKenzie still has not played Gleason (1-6) or South Fulton (0-7) --Lake County still has not played Gleason (1-6) or Bruceton (3-4) COMBINED RECORD OF ALL 2006 OPPONENTS: McKenzie -- 21-42 Lake County -- 19-46 COMBINED RECORD OF NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: McKenzie (Trenton, Huntingdon, Dresden) -- 10-11 Lake County (Byhalia, Fulton Co., Halls) -- 8-15 So when you look at it that way, LC's schedule doesn't appear THAT much weaker than McKenzie's. Who's to say LC couldn't beat a 1-6 Dresden team, too? Yes, LC most likely would have lost to Trenton as well. And Huntingdon is clearly not its usual self, LC might have beaten them, too...who knows? And the numbers don't lie on the average points per game...so I stand by my statement that McKenzie has not yet faced a team with the offensive firepower of Lake County. And LC could have scored more than that if they had wanted to. The Falcons are going to put a good number of points on the board, I'd say 30 at the VERY least (assuming everyone is healthy and playing). The key will be if they can stop McKenzie from doing the same. Which is definitely a tall order. And so, I stand by my earlier score prediction of 46-42, LC (although the weather will be another determining factor, it's supposed to be COLD).

If there is ever such a thing as a GOOD time to have an inadvertent whistle, it is when you have a penalty that would be enforced anyway and the end result of the play isn't going to matter. This is actually pretty simple: it's a double foul, penalties offset, replay the down. Inadvertent whistle doesn't matter. Rule reference: 10-2-1b: "It is a double foul if both teams commit fouls, other than unsportsmanlike or nonplayer, during the same live-ball period in which...There is a change of team possession, and the team in possession at the end of the down fouls prior to final change of possession.... The penalties cancel and the down is replayed."

You know what? Before the LC-UC game, everyone was on here talking about how unstoppable Lake County was, how Union City didn't stand a chance, and how the Falcons would win by 2, 3 or 4 TDs. Look at what the McKenzie fans are doing right now. True, Lake County hasn't played anyone as good as McKenzie. But I don't think McKenzie has played anyone with the offensive firepower of Lake County, either. McKenzie, from top to bottom, is most likely the better team. But as we've all seen, the better team doesn't always win. I don't know what it is, I've just got a good feeling about the Falcons in this one. Lake County 46 -- McKenzie 42

I just thought I'd point out before any more disgruntled LC fans (like I will be if we lose Friday) come on here and complain about McKenzie being twice as big as LC, yada yada yada. According to the latest numbers, McKenzie is the THIRD-biggest 1A school on Lake County's schedule....Halls has a larger enrollment, and West Carroll is close behind. And Greenfield is one of the smallest schools...not just in the region, but the whole state...and they still had 30-something kids dressed out. So no excuses about McKenzie having a bigger school or LC only having 22 players. Just go out there and get it done. We've got the horses to do it, so DO IT.

It won't show up in the box scores or on any regular season schedule, but LC played the most ambitious pre-season schedule I've ever seen. They played Brighton, Dyersburg, Covington and Humboldt just to name a few. So yeah, LC hasn't played much competition in the regular season, but they have faced bigger, stronger teams this year, when conditions were a lot tougher as far as heat/humidity. And they held their own against all of them. LC could have played a stronger non-conference schedule, but keep in mind that when this schedule was made out, this was a program coming off 0-10 and 3-7 seasons. UC and McKenzie loomed in the region, and Bruceton and West Carroll were kicking everyone's butt. Fulton County and Halls are local rivals that don't require a long trip (and we have a ton of those to make already). Don't know where Byhalia came from, although I think we had someone else scheduled in that spot and they dropped us at the last minute and it was the best we could do. And there's no sense getting half your team hurt against Milan or Obion Central or Crockett County when you've only got 22 players or so to begin with. As for saying LC couldn't beat any of the non-region teams UC or McKenzie played....UC went 0-3 against those teams, too.

All good points. Lake County has the POTENTIAL to be the best team in the region, and they have the POTENTIAL to beat McKenzie. But like many have said, they haven't shown it yet. Yes, they lost to UC and McKenzie last year. Did you actually SEE that LC-McKenzie game in '05? Quite possibly the best high school football game played in West Tennessee in the last 10 years (if you like offense). Can't make any excuses for losing to UC this year, but they did. Heck, Auburn is about to lose to Arkansas right now, and they're a LOT better team. So the better team doesn't always win. I will say this right now: McKenzie, go ahead and overlook Lake County. Go ahead and start looking ahead to the playoffs. IF...and that's a big IF...Lake County shows up to play and competes with intensity for four quarters like they did last year at McKenzie....the Falcons will win. If LC plays like they have in every game this season...meaning they come out strong in the first half then put it in neutral at halftime...they get beat by at least 2 TDs. You can turn it off at halftime against Greenfield, South Fulton, Gleason, Halls, Byhalia, etc....but not against McKenzie.

Not a white one....yet.

Ah...but force is NEVER a factor on kicks going into R's end zone, since these are always a touchback. And we all know that a kick is a kick until it ends, and it doesn't end until it becomes dead by rule or it is possessed by R. So even if there is a muff, bat, or kick you still have a touchback. But if there is an illegal bat or kick, you still have a penalty. The PSK spot is R's 20...but since the foul occured behind the basic spot, you penalize from the spot of the foul, half the distance to the goal. If the kick was at the 1-yard-line, half the distance, R's ball, 1st and 10 at the 1/2-yard line.

Right. Some of those personal fouls may be automatic 1st downs under college or NFL rules, but not high school.