SemperFiBlue

Region 3-5A was rated as the worst region in Class 5A last season with several schools in the lower end of Class 5A. That was then. This is now. Region 3-5A has clearly declared that it is a legitimate region capable of crowning a state champion. The region currently stands at 7-3 on the season. Compare that to the region's 4-6 record at this time last year. Last weekend Lincoln County defeated Franklin and added another win tonight by obliterating Murfreesboro-Blackman 51-0. Last year, LC lost to both of these schools. Last year's surprise story, Cumberland County, shocked Region 2-5A power McMinn County last week. The Jets added another win to the region tonight by taking out Wilson Central 20-17. Last year the Jets lost to McMinn County. They have never played the Wildcats. At this time last year Cumbeland County had wins over Livingston Academy and Knoxville-Webb. Franklin County lost to by one point to a very good Father Ryan team last weekend. The Rebels rebounded by embarrassing Tullahoma 35-0. It was FC's first win over John Olive's Wildcats in seven years! Last year FC defeated the Irish but lost to Tullahoma. Cookeville opened their season tonight against hated rival, White County. The resurgent Warriors were hoping to end a long losing streak to the Cavaliers. That went for naught as Cookeville defeated Sparta's White County Warriors 30-26. Last year the Cavs defeated WC as well. Coffee County opened their season tonight at MTSU Floyd Stadium against brand new Murfreesboro-Siegel. The Red Raiders dominated both sides of the ball and leveled the Stars 50-19. Last year Coffee County lost to Rhea County is the opening week. Warren County appears to be the only team in the region struggling so far. The Pioneers lost big last weekend against Livingston Academy. WC fell hard again this weekend against Chattanooga Central 47-0. Last year WC was 0-2 as well losing to Centennial and Shelbyville. GREAT START REGION 3-5A!! KEEP GETTING THOSE OUT OF REGION VICTORIES!! Great matchups next Friday! Cookeville at Coffee County--The resurgent Red Raiders look to go 2-0 for the first time since 1997. Cookeville looks to avenge the shocking home loss it suffered last year to the Red Raiders. Franklin County at Cumberland County--The rising Jets look to add on to the magic of last year! The Jets will be coming in after defeating one team they lost to last year and another they've never played. The Rebels look to avenge last year's loss in Winchester coming in riding high off a victory over Tullahoma for the first time in seven years! Lincoln County and Warren County have open weeks.

"Was White County really that good, or was Tullahoma really that bad??" That question is starting to be answered more and more. White County does look improved. The 30-26 loss to defending 3-5A champion, Cookeville is a testament to the Warriors improvement. You have to think that White County will lose to Hillsboro and maybe one or two others in their region. This team could go the playoffs at most a #2 seed. Tullahoma has proven to me tonight that they continue to play bad. John Olive is still one win away from being the all time winningest coach in Tullahoma Wildcats football history. The 35-0 loss to Franklin County show me something else. Tullahoma could have their first losing season in over ten years!! FC is a good team, but they haven't beaten T-Town in seven years!! UNTIL TONIGHT! And FC won convincingly at that. Tullahoma's ground game looks pathetic. They really miss Adam Dawkins! He appeared to me as being Tullahoma's team last year and really helped them the past four years. With him gone, the Wildcats are lacking on the ground. Things won't get any easier for the Cats as they have to face perennial 5-4A power Shelbyville on the road and then another road game a week later against hated rival Coffee County in the 78th annual Coffee Pot game. The Coffee County Red Raiders were vicorious this evening destroying Murfreesboro-Siegel 50-19. Siegel of course gained alot of talent from Blackman and Oakland.

Coffee County's Wing T Offense Levels Siegel 50-19 The Coffee County Red Raiders (1-0) defeated the Siegel Stars 50-19 at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro. The Red Raiders were led by sophomore quarterback Nick Hibdon who was 3-10 for 54 yards passing. Hibdon stepped in for Adam Clark, the senior who tore his ACL and is lost for the season. Coffee County's sophomore-comprised offensive line held back the Stars defense and opened the way for Jake Nunley, the transfer from Bradley Central, to rush for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Coffee County's other 100 yard rusher was Kevin Sipe who racked in 108 total yards. This year the Raiders have revamped their coaching staff naming Bill Price from Bradley Central. He brought with him Ed Nunley from Bradley Central and is named Coffee County's defensive coordinator. His son, Jake, is Coffee County's #1 rusher. Ed Nunley has to be happy because Coffee County's defense comprised of four seniors and the rest being underclassmen held Siegel's offense to 151 total yards. The Stars were led by freshman quarterback Anderson who passed for 96 yards. Nunley was well assisted by two new coaches this year. Coy Sisk from Lincoln County coaches the Red Raiders defensive line, and Al Morris from Cleveland High coaches the defensive backs. The offensive coordinator for Coffee County is Chase Jones, the only coach who returns from last year's Coffee County staff. Assisting Jones is offensive line coach, Jay Thompson, who like Sisk comes from Lincoln County. The game marks Murfreesboro-Siegel's first ever game as a football team. The game also marks Coffee County's first 1-0 start in three years. Last year, the Raiders went 2-8 with their only wins over Warren County and Cookeville. Coffee County will return home next week and host defending 3-5A champion, Cookeville, who was playing against White County tonight.

Coffee County's Wing T Offense Levels Siegel 50-19 The Coffee County Red Raiders (1-0) defeated the Siegel Stars 50-19 at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro. The Red Raiders were led by sophomore quarterback Nick Hibdon who was 3-10 for 54 yards passing. Hibdon stepped in for Adam Clark, the senior who tore his ACL and is lost for the season. Coffee County's sophomore-comprised offensive line held back the Stars defense and opened the way for Jake Nunley, the transfer from Bradley Central, to rush for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Coffee County's other 100 yard rusher was Kevin Sipe who racked in 108 total yards. This year the Raiders have revamped their coaching staff naming Bill Price from Bradley Central. He brought with him Ed Nunley from Bradley Central and is named Coffee County's defensive coordinator. His son, Jake, is Coffee County's #1 rusher. Ed Nunley has to be happy because Coffee County's defense comprised of four seniors and the rest being underclassmen held Siegel's offense to 151 total yards. The Stars were led by freshman quarterback Anderson who passed for 96 yards. Nunley was well assisted by two new coaches this year. Coy Sisk from Lincoln County coaches the Red Raiders defensive line, and Al Morris from Cleveland High coaches the defensive backs. The offensive coordinator for Coffee County is Chase Jones, the only coach who returns from last year's Coffee County staff. Assisting Jones is offensive line coach, Jay Thompson, who like Sisk comes from Lincoln County. The game marks Murfreesboro-Siegel's first ever game as a football team. The game also marks Coffee County's first 1-0 start in three years. Last year, the Raiders went 2-8 with their only wins over Warren County and Cookeville. Coffee County will return home next week and host defending 3-5A champion, Cookeville, who was playing against White County tonight.

Wilson Central has been struggling since their founding three or four short years ago, and now that they've moved to 5A? LOOK OUT! Cumberland County is one of Region 3-5A's finest programs. Cumberland County will win this one big time! I'll say 44-10.

CHS4Life, it is a travesty when the team leader goes down. I pray he is not out for the season. It appears that the team looks to him for guidance, otherwise I'm not so sure preseason wins against Soddy Daisy and Dalton High would've occurred. And on another matter, I thought Zack Shelton looked very good in the Thursday scrimmage. I know he is being recruited for a punting position at Division 1-AA Tennessee-Martin, but I hope someone in his tribe tries to get MTSU's attention. After this season, MTSU will lose it's starting fieldgoal kicker, Brian Kelly, who is also the all-time leading scorer in MTSU football history as well as the punter Robert Billings. MTSU has one back-up kicker. His name is Paul Wheeler. He played his high school ball at Tullahoma High. MTSU will need to look for another kicker in the near future to give Wheeler some competition. I thought Zack's punts looked pretty awesome against Riverdale. Every single one went out of the endzone or was unreturnable. His leg looked far better than that guy who punts for Riverdale. It is no wonder why a Division 1 school is looking at him. GO CHS! BEAT THE STARS!! GO MTSU! BEAT THE OWLS!!

I was wrong, my buddy played back-up QB for Knoxville Central the year ya'll went to the championship game against Memphis East. He only played his freshman year. He did not play his sophomore and junior years at Central. That has been confirmed.

I'll probably make the trip next this Friday night to watch Coffee County face Siegel. This game makes history because it will be considered the first football game in Siegel High School history--since they are a new school and all. I'm a 1998 graduate of Coffee County, so I remember some good times in my time there including the 1996 victory over Tullahoma at Wilkins Stadium and our first playoff birth in school history the following year! You cannot imagine how excited the city of Manchester was to see the area high school team in the playoffs. That year we started the season with a 2-0 record before losing a close one at home to Tullahoma. We finished 2nd in the region and hosted a sell-out crowd in the first round of the playoffs against the McMinn County Cherokees which turned out to be a little more lopsided than the Riverdale game was. Oh well, it was a GREAT year! I got the pleasure of graduating alongside alot of those great athletes such as Josh Clark, Chris Elam, Aaron Price, David Hershman, and John Luke Shelton to name a few. I believe Coffee County is primed to have a similar year as that one this season. 1997 was just plain magical!! It sure was a great year to be a Red Raider! 1997 Results--Coffee Co's only playoff birth -------------------------------------------------- vs Shelbyville Won 27-11 at Warren County Won 22-0 vs Tullahoma Lost 17-25 at Oakland Won 14-12 vs Cookeville Won 26-12 vs Riverdale Lost 13-34 at Franklin County Won 37-17 vs Columbia Lost 7-28 at Smyrna Won 13-7 at Lincoln County Won 32-14 1st Round Playoffs vs McMinn County Lost 56-34

Clearly Coffee County versus Tullahoma will be one of THE best to watch! The Coffee Pot rivalry game between the Class 4A Wildcats and the Class 5A Red Raiders is one of the longest standing rivalries in Tennessee Prep Football History. The series dates all the way back to 1924--before there was Riverdale and Oakland! The Coffee Pot game is one of those forgotten rivalries that not many in the state of Tennessee know about. This game is always a guaranteed sell-out. Over 10,000+ are always in attendance for this contest no matter how bad either team appears to be doing and no matter how good one or the other may be doing. The two teams have met 77 times. The only two years they didn't play (1943 and 1944) were during the fierce fighting days of World War II. Found this link from Tullahoma's website: http://www.thscatzone.com/pottrivia.html The Coffee Pot Tradition Continues Tullahoma leads the series 48-27-2 Longest Winning Streak THS 10 years ('36-'47) CCHS 5 years ('73-'77) Largest Margin of Victory THS 1955 52-6 CCHS 1952 34-0 Record when both teams score 35 or more THS 17 wins - CCHS 2 wins Record when both teams score 35 or less THS 28 wins - CCHS 25 wins Most Points Scored THS 1955 52 - CCHS 1952 34 Most Combined Points 59 points in 1999 THS 38 - CCHS 21 Largest Shutout Score 1988 THS 42 CCHS 0 2 Games Tied in 77 games 1964 THS 7 CCHS 7 --- 1942 THS 6 CCHS 6 Record of Shutouts THS 17 shutouts - CCHS 14 shutouts Game History of the Coffee Pot from 1924 to 2003 2003 2002 THS 35 CCHS 22 2001 THS 38 CCHS 20 2000 THS 15 CCHS 7 1999 THS 38 CCHS 21 1998 THS 24 CCHS 0 1997 THS 25 CCHS 17 1996 CCHS 18 THS 13 1995 THS 38 CCHS 7 1994 THS 28 CCHS 26 1993 THS 6 CCHS 0 1992 THS 18 CCHS 6 1991 THS 15 CCHS 0 1990 THS 39 CCHS 14 1989 CCHS 10 THS 7 1988 THS 42 CCHS 0 1987 THS 41 CCHS 0 1986 THS 35 CCHS 0 1985 CCHS 17 THS 14 1984 THS 28 CCHS 6 1983 THS 35 CCHS 0 1982 CCHS 28 THS 14 1981 CCHS 20 THS 0 1980 CCHS 14 THS 0 1979 THS 7 CCHS 6 1978 THS 21 CCHS 3 1977 CCHS 12 THS 0 1976 CCHS 10 THS 6 1975 CCHS 14 THS 7 1974 CCHS 14 THS 12 1973 CCHS 28 THS 0 1972 THS 20 CCHS 8 1971 THS 14 CCHS 0 1970 CCHS 28 THS 0 1969 CCHS 6 THS 0 1968 THS 14 CCHS 6 1967 CCHS 27 THS 7 1966 CCHS 20 THS 7 1965 THS 14 CCHS 7 1964 THS 7 CCHS 7 1963 THS 21 CCHS 6 1962 THS 30 CCHS 7 1961 THS 13 CCHS 6 1960 THS 40 CCHS 0 1959 CCHS 26 THS 0 1958 CCHS 10 THS 7 1957 THS 13 CCHS 0 1956 THS 48 CCHS 6 1955 THS 52 CCHS 6 1954 THS 33 CCHS 0 1953 CCHS 13 THS 0 1952 CCHS 34 THS 0 1951 THS 19 CCHS 7 1950 THS 33 CHS 7 1949 THS 38 CCHS 6 1948 CCHS 32 THS 13 1947 THS 13 CCHS 6 1946 THS 38 CCHS 13 1945 THS 13 CCHS 7 1944 NO GAME THIS YEAR 1943 NO GAME THIS YEAR 1942 THS 6 CCHS 6 1941 THS 6 CCHS 0 1940 THS 20 CCHS 0 1939 THS 19 CCHS 6 1938 THS 24 CCHS 19 1937 THS 12 CCHS 0 1936 THS 8 CCHS 7 1935 CCHS 6 THS 0 1934 THS 13 CCHS 0 1933 CCHS 13 THS 0 1932 THS 6 CCHS 0 1931 CCHS 7 THS 6 1930 THS 15 CCHS 12 1929 CCHS 7 THS 6 1928 CCHS 19 THS 0 1927 CCHS 19 THS 0 1926 CCHS 21 THS 0 1925 THS 6 CCHS 0 1924 THS 6 CCHS 0

Wingman, I would have to agree with you. Tullahoma is really going to miss Adam Dawkins. BTW, I think Dawkins may have enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. I know he came to alot of our Marine Corps poolee meetings. I just got the feeling that in his absence, not only has Tullahoma's running game taken a major hit, but the entire team may have taken a hit. Tullahoma hasn't lost to Franklin County is a few years now. I say if Franklin County wins, then Tullahoma could be glaring down the road at a losing season for the first time in a LOOOONG time! I don't think John Olive has ever had a losing season in his eleven years at Tullahoma. Who knows?

Class 4A Region 5 White County Lawrence County Class 5A Region 3 Coffee County Class 5A Region 4 Siegel That's just the one's I know of.

RaiderOne, do you know who will be stepping in for Clark? I feel confident that Bill Price is well prepared with a back-up QB. The Raiders reserves defeated Red Bank and Soddy Daisy reserves, and the reserves of Dalton High, one of the best teams in Georgia. I think Coffee County is going to shock some people this year.

Not that many people respect Region 3-5A. It is probably the least respected of all the regions in Class 5A. Cumberland County's victory here coupled with Lincoln County's victory against Franklin was huge. Region 3 really needs Coffee and Warren County to step up. Coffee County has looked really promising in the preseason, but with the star QB possibly out for the season with a torn ACL, things could get rocky in Manchester. And Warren County looks like the same as always evidenced by this weekend's 42-7 loss to Livingston Academy.

Torn ACL. I hear it is much worse than expected and he may be out for the season, and if that's the case that means somebody will need to step up for the Red Raiders and fast. Adam Clark is the only senior who plays on the offensive side of the ball for Coffee County. This comes at a bad time because the Red Raiders are less than a week away from the season opener at Siegel. I'm not sure who the back-up is. Coffee Co. doesn't have alot of players like Riverdale, so there are not that many people to choose from to step up, but someone is going to have to. Clark was hauled off in an ambulance Thursday night before halftime so apparently it is REALLY bad.

In light of the Warrior stunning victory over the Wildcats of Tullahoma, I think you have to ask the question, "Is White County really that good, or is Tullahoma really that bad??" This is White County's first trip back to the Class 4A ranks after spending some time in Class 3A playing the likes of Bledsoe County and getting beat in those contests. I'm not so sure that White County has improved, but I could be wrong. I believe if Cookeville plays like they are in the defense of their Region 3-5A title, even though the Warriors are a non-region contest, this game should not be close. We will see. If White County wins, then there is something going on in Sparta that has fooled every single Tennessee Prep Football preseason poll out there. Remember, going into the Tullahoma game, just about everybody had White County ranked last in Class 4A among some 61 schools. They had Tullahoma ranked way up there! So the question on whether or not White County is really that good will be answered Friday. And the question of whether or not Tullahoma is really that bad will be answered in the next three weeks as T-Town makes consecutive road trips to area rivals Franklin County, Shelbyville, and then in Manchester for the Coffee Pot game against Coffee County.

Does Knoxville Central have a website? I was wondering if I could find anything about it. He showed me his certificate where Knox Central played for the state title against Memphis East.

That's it. That's the year. He was a freshman in 1999 and played for the varsity team. You don't remember him? He's one of my best friends. I met him over a year ago when we were both going into the Marine Corps. He showed me his trophies and newpaper clippings and everything. He transferred to Blackman in Murfreesboro for his senior year, but he did not play for the Blaze. He's about to graduate from Marine Corps bootcamp. I on the other hand was discharged due to an inherited condition that I was unaware of. I was just curious if any one over in Knoxville knew the name. It's Gary Wayne Robinson Jr.

Livingston Academy is a very strong Class 3A team. They could beat alot of Class 5A teams out there. Warren County has always been a perennial cellar dweller in Class 5A. The 42-7 loss can't come as much of a surprise. Warren County has to be concerned because Region 3-5A is going to be alot tougher. Even Coffee County has toughened up with a new headcoach.

I was wondering if any of you remembers your quarterback from a couple of years ago--Gary Robinson Jr. I heard he was Knoxville Central's starting QB that helped lead your team to the state title a couple of years ago. I heard he was pretty good.

I really need to weigh in here! The things that you guys are used to seeing may not come to pass. I'm telling you now that Coffee County has one of the most underrated programs in the state and people in Region 3-5A aren't taking Coffee Co. headcoach, Bill Price, seriously as a coach. The man took a horrible Bradley Central team and turned them into a state power! You look at Coffee County. From 1998-2002 they've won maybe four or five games. In 2002 they lost every single preseason scrimmage to teams like LaVergne as well as the Coffee Co. Jamboree game against Blackman. From 1998-last season the Raiders were guided under Jeff Breeden who is now an assistant coach at Riverdale. 2003 is on the rise. Coffee County AD Major Shelton decides it's time to see the Red Raiders win. Exit Jeff Breeden. Enter Bill Price from Bradley Central. The Red Raiders finish the preseason with a 4-2 record. While the Raiders lost embarrassingly to Riverdale, the Raiders lost a close 21-7 game against Chattanooga-Baylor. Coffee County recorded four wins against Lawrence County, Soddy Daisy, Red Bank-Chattanooga, and Dalton High (GA). Dalton finished with a 15-1 record last season in the state of Georgia. The last time Coffee County played that good against a very good team from outside the state of Tennessee was in 1997 when Coffee County lost by less than a touchdown to Hazel Green, Alabama. Incidentally, 1997 was the last and only time Coffee County went to the playoffs. Coffee County recorded some amazing victories that year--including blowout vicories over Lincoln County and Franklin County on the road and winning against Oakland and Cookeville at home. The Raiders only three losses that year were to Riverdale, Columbia, and Tullahoma as well as a 1st round playoff loss to McMinn County. I see alot of things going right in Manchester. The Red Raiders are a dark horse in Region 3-5A this season.

I don't think Blackman can be underestimated. It seems like the Murfreesboro schools are doing something right. I think Lincoln County will win, but it will not be these 42-14 scores that I'm seeing here. That right there is unrealistic when you are going up against a Murfreesboro school. I say the Falcons will win 28-17. I've seen some good things out of Region 3-5A last night. Lincoln County defeating Franklin was huge and so was Cumberland County's victory over McMinn County. Franklin County almost beat Father Ryan. The only ugly showing was Warren County--a 42-7 loser at home to Livingston Academy. Cookeville and Coffee County didn't play. The Class 3-5A schools (with the exception of Warren Co.) have looked really good in the preseason--and that includes Coffee County who defeated Soddy Daisy, Red Bank, Lawrence County, and Dalton (GA) in the preseason. The only ugly performance for the Red Raiders was the Thursday scrimmage versus Riverdale. While these are just scrimmages, I know that the way the games were set up, they were all evenly matched. In each contest Coffee County's 1st string went up against the opponent's 1st string in two quarters and then Coffee County's reserves went up against the opponensts reserves in the final two quarters. So it wasn't like Coffee County's starters played the whole game against Red Bank or Soddy Daisy 4th strings. It was an even playing field. That's why I think the Red Raiders will surprise alot of people this year. When I look at Region 3-5A I believe the Coffee County game against Lincoln County will be for the region title. I believe the region will shape up like this. 1. Lincoln County 2. Coffee County 3. Cumberland County 4. Franklin County 5. Cookeville 6. Warren County

HOLY COW!! I SAW THE SCORE!! Yes, White County (ranked #61 which is last in Class 4A) defeated Class 4A's 14th ranked Tullahoma Wildcats 28-27! Sonny Moore ranks Tullahoma at 90th while he has White County at #258. Well, I'm a graduate of Coffee County Central, so as a fan of the Red Raiders, this has to provide some glimpse of hope that maybe the Coffee Pot will return to Manchester for the second time in 21 years. The last time Coffee County defeated Tullahoma was in 1996 (I was a junior at Coffee Co. Central then). We defeated the Wildcats at Wilkins Stadium in Tullahoma by a score of 18-13. I'm thinking Coffee County could beat Tullahoma more than ever, especially in light of some awesome scrimmages where Coffee County defeated Soddy Daisy, Chattanooga-Red Bank, Lawrence County, and Dalton High (GA). Dalton High finished last year with a 15-1 record. Coffee County's only preseason losses were a 21-7 loss to Chattanooga-Baylor and a blowout loss to Class 5-A power, Riverdale. Coffee County has the coaches and the players to be one of the biggest surprises in the state this year--definitely a playoff bound team! Wow! The last time I predicted that was when I was a senior in 1997! We went 7-3 on the regular season (losing only to Riverdale, Columbia, and Tullahoma) and went to the playoffs and lost to McMinn County in the first round! It's great to be from Coffee County! It's great to be from Middle Tennessee! GO CHS RED RAIDERS! GO MTSU BLUE RAIDERS!

Did I hear right or is this some nasty joke?! I'm a '98 grad of Coffee County, and while I appreciate Tullahoma when they aren't facing the Big Red for the Coffee Pot, I find it surprising that White County could actually beat John Olive's team. Is this true? Did White County actually come from behind to beat Tullahoma???? White County???? OVER TULLAHOMA???? I CAN'T SEE THAT!!!