WrittenWord

you are right. they need to take your name off. you dont understand enough football to be associated with that group.

/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> You're probably right about that.

Sure is neat talking X's and O's with you from time to time. I waiting for a coacht roundtable discussion consisting of such legends as Festus, Writtenword, Pujo, KingB, Kazam, SCW86, YDKM, CYJacket (if he comes out of his hole), P22, Cleatlessinjun', Slimpkins, StateChamp'92, and anyone else that wants to chime in on sports in our neck of the woods.

Kazdaddy, I'm not sure how my name wound up on that list but you just take it right off. I'm not sure how many of those people I would want to be associated with. /roflolk.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflolk:" border="0" alt="roflolk.gif" />

I just want to say thanks for the comments. I take a lot of pride in doing my job and I really, really enjoy doing it. I have had some opportunities to go other place during the past, but I consider Morgan County my home. I have some very, very good friends that I would not have made if not for my job. Like I said in the paper, there are many folks that don't like me and that is just part of the job and I really could care less, but I just ask that I can have access to give every single team in Morgan County so I can give them the best coverage I can on a weekly basis.

 

I let a lot of stuff just roll off my back with the calls and comments I get about their kid not getting the coverage they deserve or their kids stats were better than what I had in the paper. The one that tops them all is 2 or 3 years ago I was informed that a local politician was counting my camera flashes during a Coalfield at Wartburg basketball game. Said I had taken more pictures of Coalfield than Wartburg. My thing on that is, every picture that I shot during that game had to have Coalfield and Wartburg people in it. And I don't put every single picture in the paper any way. I still smile and scratch my head at the same time when I think back about that one.

 

I'm fair game to take shots at (I have made some mistakes unintentionally over the years in the paper) and I kind of learned over the years that you can't make everybody happy, but if I do my job the best I can then I will at least make most of them satisfied with what I'm doing. These past few years, parents have become increasingly more concerned about whether little Johnny gets his name mentioned or gets all the glory than whether they win or lose.

 

Wartburg and Oakdale have both recently snapped long suffering losing streaks and I was tickled to death for both teams and the kids for experiencing that winning feeling, but in both instances I had a disgruntled parent about their kid didn't get mentioned. Like I tell folks, I wish had the space, time, and resources to list every player's name each week, get a picture of them in the paper each week, but that just isn't possible. Just thought I would share some of the stuff I deal with from time to time.

I feel your pain. And I second what Kaz said about the quality of your work.

thats the way it is cause the newspaper man said so. he knows all!

Some things never change I reckon.

Muledog seems to be stuck in 2006. We can talk about Oneida's lack of offense all day long. But at the end of the day, the numbers ring louder and clearer than cheap messageboard talk ever will. And those numbers say well over 200 yards rushing against a solid Rockwood defense that flies to the ball. 2008 ain't 2006, Muledog. Several of these seniors who are starting on offense now were playing as sophomores in 2006. But they've gotten bigger, stronger, faster. Oh, yeah, and a new offensive coordinator dusted off his whistle last year. He knows a thing or two about football. This game Friday night is going to be a whale of a game. A late 4th quarter kind of game. Everybody knows that. Anyone who says otherwise is just talking smack. Was Oneida's offensive attack against Rockwood a fluke? Maybe. But I wouldn't bank on it. Let's see what happens this week and then we'll have a lot better idea. In the meantime, it strikes me as hilarious that someone spends so much of his time trying to predict a team is going to lose based on what he reads in newspaper box scores.

I'm not sure why reclassification is brought up by someone on every Oneida thread every week, but it's a little premature to be speculating about where Oneida's going to wind up heading into 2009. Yes, if reclassification were to be based on the current structure, and were to happen now, there's no doubt that Oneida would move up. But there is going to be a LOT of movement from A to AA and from AAA to AA, etc. Then you have the multiplier with the private schools to consider. The numbers are very likely to change.

In that case why cry over being in the region they are in. The schools they play are 3A schools. If you contend that you can play with every other region except for 2-3A then why don't you play more competitive schools?

Who is complaining or crying about the region Scott plays in? Who wants to see Region 2 broken up? You're the only one who has injected that argument into this thread.

Your right it is none of our business and the Coach makes the dicision who he schedules, but you also have to remember that this is a open forum.

You're right about that. I guess this being an open forum also gives us the right to make silly statements, such as the following . . .

Some times we have to ask if a coach is padding or salvaging his coaching record or is he really trying to make his team better.

Having had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Coach Gillum a few times, I feel safe saying that his personal coaching record is the least of his concerns. He's very frank about where the program stands and what it has to do to get better. Coach Gillum left the collegiate ranks as offensive coordinator of one of the better offenses in the NAIA to come to this program, so I doubt he's overly concerned with his record.

What is your problem with Scott High School, anyway?

So are you saying that because they are in a tough region they should play and schedule cake walk teams for non-region games?

I'm saying that it's ludicrous to suggest they aren't playing anybody or that they are any better or worse simply because of their non-region slate of games. When the season is said and done, Scott playing Taft isn't going to amount to a hill of beans as far as determining what kind of team they have. If they beat a couple of region teams during the rest of the season, they'll be considered as having a pretty decent team. If they pull an upset or two, they'll be considered as having a pretty good team. If they lose six straight, they'll be considered as being pretty weak, and whether they played Taft, Carter, Seymour, Alcoa, Maryville or Podunk High early in the season isn't going to make any difference in that regard.

The bottom line is that who they play is the coaches' business; it isn't LeonardsLosers' business or WrittenWord's business.

You're always going to find a reason to have a problem with this school, whether it be the schools they're scheduling or something they say or what happens on the field on any given Friday night.

I've been asking this question for years, but have never got an answer. "Why does Scott Co. play Taft Youth"?. If you want to be recognized as a legitimate team then you are gonna have to play legitimate teams. Your schedule reflects what and how you are recognized by others. If you keep schuduling the lower level of football, then you will keep being considered the lower level of football, as well as not get any better.

Well, let's see. When the region gets in full swing, they'll play Catholic, Fulton, Austin-East, Kingston and Anderson County. Those aren't legitimate teams? If they beat one or more of those teams, they're recognized as a playoff contender in Region 2-3A. If they don't, they aren't. It's as simple as that. Who you have on your non-region schedule determines little about what kind of football team you are.

Like I told everybody back after last season. No Brandon Davis means no wins. After that whipping vs. York I can't wait to see the Indians do the same thing to them.

Coalfield has won five straight against Oneida. In 2002 and in 2003, the Indians had the better team, but Coalfield won 12-0 in '02 and 14-8 in '03 to start this winning streak. Coalfield could very easily win this game. It's going to be a war, regardless of who wins.

The truth will stand when the world falls. This is the watered down version.

If you can point out the inaccuracies that you're alluding to in that post, I'll buy you a steak dinner at the restaurant of your choosing if/when Oneida and Hampton meet in the postseason.

Pujo, you keep saying that four of Oneida's first downs came by way of penalty. I figure it's silly for us to keep talking about the game, especially on a thread about this week's game, but since you keep bringing it up, I'll be silly too.

There were penalties called on four of Oneida's first downs:

The first came on Oneida's first possession. On third and three, Braxton Hutson was stopped for no gain, but Hampton was called for an incidental face mask, giving Oneida a first down at the 14 yard line.

The second came late in the second quarter. On third and 17, Jonathan Lewallen rushed for 11 yards and Hampton was called for a personal foul late hit, giving Oneida a first down at the 32 yard line.

The third came in the fourth quarter on Oneida's second touchdown drive. On third and four, Torrey Slaven carried for four. He had the first down anyway, but Hampton was called for an incidental face mask, advancing the ball to the 39 yard line.

Four plays later, on fourth and four, Slaven carried the ball for 10 yards, easily picking up the first down by about five yards. Hampton was called for an incidental face mask, advancing the ball to the 18 yard line.

So, Oneida had two first downs by way of penalties. One of those came on a drive that ended with a fumble inside Oneida's 20 yard line (so it actually benefited Hampton since Oneida would have punted on fourth down if not for the penalty) and the other came on a drive that ended with a missed field goal at the end of the half. You say "What would Oneida's stats have looked like" without the so-called 4 extra possessions. On the first 1st down by way of penalty, Oneida wound up with an additional three yards before turning the ball over. On the second 1st down by way of penalty, Oneida wound up with an additional 12 yards before missing a field goal. So, if not for the two penalties, Oneida would've had 15 fewer yards and would not have had the game's only turnover.

And you my ignorant friend are stupid to think a highschool team is not going to comitt more than 3 penalties in 2 games. I bet you get at least 5 this Friday.

"I" am not going to get any penalties this Friday. I'm merely an unbiased observer. However, you may very well be right that Oneida has 5 penalties against Coalfield. Maybe they will have 10. Maybe more. But I'll grant you this much: If Oneida is fortunate enough to win the football game, I doubt you'll see them whining about officiating. You Hampton boys beat anything I have ever seen. As upset as you get because you got called for grabbing a facemask, I'd hate to see what you'd do if your guy was down on one knee and the ball was ripped out of his hands and carried in for a touchdown without the play being blown dead . . . or if two touchdowns had been called back due to penalties during the course of the game . . . or, well, you get my point. Geez, as much as you boys complain and call for a TSSAA investigation after a win, I'd hate to see what would happen if you lose a game this season.

Don't you guys have a region game to play this week, or do you just enjoy making yourself look silly on other threads?

We'll lets see Oneida is 2 and 0 and Coalfield is 1 and 1. Oneida don't commit penalties. Oneida 35 to 0.

Pujo, you are foolish. You need to get over it, stop making excuses for why your team didn't win by any more than they did, and go talk about Jellico. I've never seen a team who won do all the complaining . . . until now.

As for Oneida's penalties and that terrible officiating crew, Oneida was only penalized twice at Rockwood. Both of those penalties (a delay and false start) occurred on back-to-back plays early in the first quarter. After that, they had no penalties. Rockwood was penalized five times for 30 yards. I suppose Oneida paid off the officials at Rockwood as well?

It's hard to know exactly where Stone stands. They stomped an exceptionally weak 4A team and were stomped by an exceptionally strong 3A team. As for the Highlanders, even though I expected them to beat Gibbs, I was surprised that they dominated the game on both sides of the ball as they did. I have been particularly impressed so far by Scott's defense. On paper, these two teams appear pretty evenly matched, but I really like Scott's chances if they continue to play the kind of ball they played in the first two games.

For those who say the officials were terrible, I'd like to see you point out how many touchdowns these bad calls cost Hampton and how many they gave Oneida.

I asked this before and no one responded, but Oneida's problem the last few years has been a bad offense. I know Rockwood and Hampton's defenses are really good so I don't you can judge the Indians against those two, but I ask if Oneida's offense is any better or will they need to pitch a shutout (or close to it) to win a lot of games this season?

I don't think there is any doubt that Oneida's offense has improved this season. I'm not sure it is quite to the point YET that it needs to be to accomplish the things Oneida wants to accomplish, but as you said, Rockwood and Hampton have very good defenses. The defensive competition doesn't get any easier next week, either.

The game went pretty much as I expected. Hampton is an excellent football team, but I guarantee you that they flat knew they had been in a football game when they walked off Dr. M.E. Thompson Field tonight. I believe Hampton's fans will have a little more respect for Oneida once they've made the long trek back to upper East TN tonight than they had when they headed down this afternoon. Maybe we'll get the chance to see a rematch in the postseason once Oneida has gotten their special teams figured out a little better. I'm disappointed that Oneida lost, but I'm proud of their effort, and hats are off to Hampton for doing what they had to do to win the football game.

If Hampton scores in the 40s I'd almost be tempted to walk naked down North and South Main Street.

There will be a JFG mayonnaise jar at the gate tonight for donations to PAY Hampton to call off the dogs if it starts getting close to being that ugly, because TheAnswer9 walking naked down the street is certainly not going to be a sight we want to see.

Seriously, though, I expect Hampton to be the better team (yes, shame on me) and I figure they should earn the win. I'm hoping the Indians will make me eat those words, but regardless of what happens, I think those who are expecting a Hampton cakewalk by 30 or 40 points will be in for a surprise tonight.

These boys are big....they are real big.....i mean they are big big.........they are the biggest of big.

So was Goliath.

Heck, I guess Oneida can just take off Friday night and go to the fair. This one is apparently already decided.

 

When asked to look at players, I can learn a lot because Coaches like you make comments and kids and parents make comments. You have to take them with a grain of salt but when colleges fork out money for a kid to attend school, they like to know the total picture.

Oooh, so you're a college scout now, huh? ROTFLOL. Well, they say anyone can be anybody they want to be with the Internet's anonymity.

Get your facts right answer9 Puleo did have 14 points but only had two turnovers and fouled out with only four fouls[ check the book] with 7 minutes left in game. A great job by the home town refs and book keeper. With a little more depth on the Blount side the game would have a different outcome. Puleo is an All American on the court and off. Considering the circumstances around this team so far her attitude and enthusiasm for her senior year has been very good.

Hey I was keeping count and I only had Puleo with four fouls also, and I pride myself on my accuracy. OK, that last part was a joke, but I was surprised when she fouled out. HOWEVER, let's point out that WB's bookkeeper signaled four fouls on the foul preceding the final foul to Coach Fowler and as YDKM observed, Fowler yelled to her to be careful because she had four fouls. So let's be careful trying to cast the blame on bias from Oneida parties or third parties, hmm?

Puleo was pretty much a non-factor in the first half. She got warmed up in the third quarter, but fouled out early in the fourth quarter. She finished with 14 points. Sampley and Kelley both fouled out shortly thereafter for WB.

Two big things I noticed about Oneida last night. One, they rebounded the ball well. They outrebounded WB 33-24. Two, improved free throw shooting. They were 20 of 25 from the line.

Where did they get the post players you talk about? Are they incoming Freshman, Transfers or what?

They have a couple of junior post players, one of whom missed all of last season due to an injury and one of whom decided to return to the team this year. Both will give Scott's girls added size inside.

As for next season, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, Jacket Dad.