WrittenWord

I'm not Running Riot, but I will answer your question: The Tennessee Department of Education has in-depth statistics and scores on its website for every public school in the state, if you're really interested in the progress made at any particular school. You're making a lot of assumptions, aren't you?

Congratulations to the Indians for a good win last night. I realize that Greenback isn't one of the best teams around this year but I think wins like this week's (Jellico and Greenback) will go a long way towards helping this team mature and gel and make them more competitive in this district. Sounded like it was a great one. I couldn't make it to the game, but I was pacing circles around the living room late in the game while Tim Smith and Coach West called the action on the radio. The improvement this team has shown since the beginning of the year has been tremendous, IMHO. That speaks well for Coach Windle and his staff.

See fellas? You can't even debate the POSSIBILITY that the two teams MIGHT face each other in a little Christmas tournament without turning it into an argument. Kaz is exactly right. It would never work and it is because of the parents. Both sides have more than their fair share. Some from Scott believe that everyone from Oneida is stuck-up, snobbish, better-than-you, take your pick. Some from Oneida believe that everyone from Scott is an uneducated redneck. And around and around we go. The whole Oneida vs. Scott thing reminds me of a study I heard about once where researchers conducted an experiment using five monkeys in a cage. They put a banana in the middle of the cage, the monkeys all jumped for it, and they turned a high-pressure water hose on them. Eventually, the monkeys stopped going for the banana because they knew they would get sprayed. Then they replaced one of the monkeys. The new ape went for the banana and the other monkeys flogged him because they didn't want to get sprayed. One by one, they replaced the other monkeys. Every time the new monkey would go for the banana, he would get flogged by his cage-mates because they didn't want to get hosed. Finally, none of the original five monkeys were in the cage. There was no monkey in the cage that had ever had the hose turned on him. But when they put a new monkey in and he went for the banana, the other monkeys would flog him. They had no idea why they were flogging him; they just did it because it was the thing to do. Well, that's kinda like this issue over Scott and Oneida. No one remembers why they hate the other one. They just do it because it is the thing to do. It's pointless. Both schools provide a quality education. Oneida has traditionally, over the past decade and a half or so, had consistently higher test scores than Scott. But Scott's current school administration is doing an excellent job of improving test scores there and the two are pretty much on the same level now. Sports should be a mute issue. They don't compete in the same classification, so there's no way you can compare the two. It's just a stupid, mindless hatred from both sides and both sides alike. My hat's off to the parents and adults at Scott High who I see at Oneida sporting events to cheer on the Indians when Scott has the night off, and vice-versa. The others need to grow up. Scott High is my alma-mater. But I'm just as proud of Oneida as I am of the Highlanders. I personally would love to see the two schools play each other in football and basketball. It would be a good money-maker for each school because of an extra-high attendance at those games. But it would never work, for the exact reasons Kaz mentioned. Sorry to get on a rant. I'll step out now.

Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of the things that you're talking about. Maybe I'm just in the dark . . . or maybe I'm blind. But I just haven't seen it. What I HAVE seen is a hard-working attitude from the team. I especially admire the hustle and effort put forth by players like Brad Christiansen, Chuck Jeffers, Logan Crowley, Zach Lambert and Benji Jacobs: Players who are giving 110% every single minute they're on the court. This Oneida team has earned my respect, as an observer of the game, for their hard work on the court and a ne'er-give-in attitude that they bring to every game they play.

I don't know why anyone else bothers to show up against the Lady 'Devils.

Kaz, thanks for asking. Spoken has gone corporate on us and is doing good things being employed by Bill Gates. As such, we have nicknamed him Microsoft. Oh My married one of them Processor boys of Dual's down on the creek and she is now a Word-Processor. Thatsa went to see the doctor and all of a sudden she is a crossWord (enough said about that). It's a real puzzle figuring that girl out. Spoken is real upset about it. He calls and rants at her every day. He wanted me to do the same, but you know me . . . I'm the silent type.

I'm looking forward to a very good game, regardless of who wins. I was impressed with Oneida's play in the HOF games in Anderson County last week. I haven't seen Clarkrange, obviously, but they're Clarkrange. . . what more is to be said? A game as exciting as this one should be and it ain't even Thanksgiving yet. . . It should be a very exciting season.

Three questions: Who from Coalfield will step up to fill the shoes of Casey Jackson? Can Oliver Springs, with a ton of potential, plug in four new starters and not lose a step off their game? And can Brittany Chambers and Calie Terry step up to fill the void left by Katie Sexton for the Lady Indians? I don't know the answer to the first two, but I think the answer to the last one is "definitely yes." Oneida has a great shot at the state tournament, but it's easy to sit here in November and talk that talk. In this district and in this region, there's no way you can start talking Murfreesboro until the spring.

I think Scott High will be okay. They aren't going to win a district championship this season, but one might be in their not-so-distant future. I really believe Chad Marcum will turn this team around. From what I've seen so far, I believe the players will respond very well to his coaching and his style. The last few years have been tough ones for the Lady Highlander program, but this year will be the start of a brighter future.

The only one in doubt, IMHO, is the #4 vs. Hampton game. I don't think Greenback can beat Hampton, but I think Sunbright, with their potentially explosive passing game, could give them a run for their money on a good night.

That isn't right. Sunbright beating or losing to Coalfield will make no difference on whether the Tigers are in the playoffs. If Greenback beats Oneida, Sunbright is out. If Oneida beats Greenback, Sunbright is in.

Coalfield should win by two or three scores at least, but if the 'Jackets have a letdown from their big win over Harriman, Sunbright can keep it interesting and I don't think an upset is out of the question. The game doesn't have any playoff implications, though. Sunbright has done all they can do. Now they just have to await the winner of Oneida and Greenback.

This game will be overshadowed by the fact that there is a game between two region unbeatens taking place just down the road and the fact that both of these teams are near the bottom of the region, but I think this will be one of the most intriguing matchups around this week. These two teams are very evenly matched, albeit with strengths in different areas, and I think it will come down to the wire before Sunbright's athleticism on offense wins out over a determined Oakdale defense. Of course I have got to root for Oakdale to make the playoff road a little easier for Oneida. But it should be a dandy.

Thanks Franchise. I was just curious as to what you thought was wrong. I'll tell you what I think is wrong and why I think the criticism of the coaches is undeserved. First of all, the defense - as I think you agree - is not a problem. The defense has not played perfect this year, but it's played very, very good; well enough that Oneida hasn't lost any games because of its defense. All of the problems point to the offense. And obviously there are plenty of problems with the offense. I think one of the biggest problems is the players having to learn a new system. You can't blame that on Coach Wampler or Coach Burchfield; it takes time. The other problems on offense are a lack of offensive line play, which I won't pretend to have an answer for, inability to catch the football and inability to hang onto the football. Zach Lambert is not a bad quarterback and I don't think it's fair to criticize him until the receivers step up and start doing their jobs. I've never seen a team that has as much problem catching the football as this team is having this season. It's hard to win in this region without the ability to spread the field with the pass. The defenses in Region 2-A are just too good to try and beat teams by being one-dimensional. I reckon you can make a strong argument that receivers not being able to catch the football and runningbacks not being able to hang onto the football are the result of coaching. But you can't coach the inability to hang onto the football into a player overnight. These coaches have been with these players for six months. The offensive coordinator not that long. To teach them to drop five passes in a row or to fumble three or four times a game in that amount of time . . . well, they'd have to be miracle workers. These coaches are good. But they ain't THAT good! I've already said it on another thread, but I'll say it again: This coaching staff is an outstanding coaching staff. But it takes time; it always takes time when you have a new coaching staff and a new system in place. Oneida football will be back very soon.

Hey Franchise. What do you see as being the biggest problems on this team right now? What are they doing or not doing that has contributed to a 3-5 record? (And I am going somewhere with this. I'm just curious to see what you think first. )

This one should be a dandy, but my gut feeling says Harriman.

Someone help me out here and tell me whether I'm right. Barring an upset in the final two weeks of the season, the region's #1 playoff spot will be determined by the Coalfield/Harriman game Friday night. Winner #1, Loser #2. Midway is third. The fourth spot is the one that is most intriguing. Greenback and Oneida both control their own destiny, while Sunbright waits and hopes. Here's what has to happen as I see it (and I know one of our knowledgeable football minds will correct me if I'm wrong): GREENBACK: A win in either of their next two games puts the Cherokees in the playoffs regardless of what else happens. Losing both eliminates the Cherokees. ONEIDA: The Indians control their own destiny, but must win both of their next two games against York and Greenback to make it. SUNBRIGHT: The Tigers first have to beat Oakdale (not necessarily an easy task). A loss to Oakdale eliminates the Tigers (assuming they cannot beat Coalfield, which I don't think they will). The Tigers then must hope that a.) Oneida loses to York, and b.) That Greenback loses to Oneida. A three-way tie between Greenback, Oneida and Sunbright (all at 2-4 in the region) leaves the fourth spot in the hands of the overall records. In that scenario, Greenback would finish 3-7 and be eliminated. Sunbright would be 4-6. Oneida would be either 5-5 or 4-6 depending on the York game. If the Indians defeat York, they would be 5-5 and be in. If they lose, they would be 4-6 along with Sunbright and the Tigers would be in. Am I correct?

Unfortunately, Anderson County should win this one fairly easily. Scott just doesn't have the defense to stay with the Mavs.

Congratulations to Sunbright. Those kids played well and deserved to win. Next week's game at York just became very important for Oneida. It could be what boosts them into the playoffs. A win over Greenback in two weeks, barring a major upset along the way, would leave Oneida, Sunbright and Greenback all with 2-4 region records, and Greenback and Sunbright would have 4-6 overall records. Of course if the kids don't come to play on offense for Oneida in two weeks, it is a mute point.

Kaz, I think you're right on the money. Unfortunately, there are some people in the community who would shoot down this coaching staff regardless of how well or how poor the team played. I guess any time you have a change at the helm you deal with that sort of thing but the really unfortunate part is that, almost from day one and certainly as soon as Oneida lost to Coalfield, there have been all sorts of rumors floating around about this coach is going to be fired and that coach is going to give up and go back to wherever he came from and that sort of thing. Most of these rumors are unfounded and are being spread by a select few folks who ought to know better. Has the team played up to its potential this year? Of course not. I don't think anyone - least of all the coaches - would try to say otherwise. I think it's been a disappointing season for anyone associated with Oneida. But as you pointed out, everything is different. I've never seen a program at any level of football, from junior high to the pros, where a completely new coaching staff can come on board and the team hit the ground running without some time to adjust. Now I'm not a life-long member of the Oneida family. I am a Highlander by birth. Oneida is sorta my "adopted" school (though I haven't forgotten my SHS roots ). So maybe I'm off-target here, but I was always under the assumption that there was something different about Oneida; that there was something to this "Tribe Pride" ... That Oneidians stuck together, no matter what. Frankly, that's not what I'm seeing with the vicious criticism of this year's team. I've heard the comments, but I don't agree with them. Oneida still controls its own destiny as far as the playoffs are concerned. A fourth place finish might not be what anyone wanted, but it's still something to be proud of in the region that is, from top to bottom, arguably the best in 1A football. And IF Oneida makes the playoffs, that means Greenback, with their great, storied football history, stays at home. That's something to think about. This Oneida program is in good hands. Jim Burchfield is a great coach. Tony Lambert is a great coach. Top to bottom, to a man, this staff is made up of coaches that could step in at any high school around and make the coaching staff better. And at the middle school level, the coaching staff is the best I have seen around this area at the jr. high level, so the "feeder program" is going to supplement the high school well for a long time to come. Oneida High School football will be back, and it will be back very soon. In the meantime, everyone needs to cut the coaches some slack. Sorry to ramble.

Take all the things you mentioned, put 'em in a bag and shake 'em up real good, then dump 'em out and you have a pretty good mixture of what is wrong with Oneida offensively.

I think it is Midway's to lose. Harriman has a great defense, but they have yet to face a running attack like the Green Wave running attack. Harriman can win and if Midway blinks, it will happen. But if Midway plays as they're capable of playing, they take it.

It'll be a good game. Oneida should win, but one never knows.

A dry field would've probably made the game more interesting because it stands to reason that Oneida wouldn't have had the early fumbles, which led to the excellent field position for Harriman and the early points for the Blue Devils. A wet field is often seen as the great equalizer where speed is concerned, but it also tends to hurt the team that cannot hold onto the football, and that's exactly what happened last night. I doubt a dry field would've led to a bigger win for Harriman. Not that I'm saying Oneida would've won on a dry field; you don't gain 39 yards of offense and expect to have a chance. And good teams don't have the problems with the football that Oneida had on the wet field. This team has an unbelieveable problem with their ballcarriers holding onto the football and their receivers catching the football. Good teams don't have those problems. Period. No excuse. But congratulations to the Blue Devils. All we've heard about is speed and athleticism but neither of those things necessarily tipped the game in Harriman's direction last night. It was hard-nosed defensive play that earned Harriman the victory.

Interesting. I thought #6 scored a 60+ yard touchdown with about 4:22 remaining in the fourth, the last score for either team.