NWTennSports

Please please please someone tell me that this game was televised by that Channel 16 Jackson station or the WLJT station so I can watch it. Sounds like it was one great game.

Wow. That must have been a great feeling for GC people everywhere. I hope Coach A. got a good Gatorade shower, b/c he certainly deserves it. I hope this win can be a stepping stone and a building block for GC. That's a good school with tradition in other sports and deserves a good football program as well. 20-13 Wow.

Did I see that score right??? GC 20, OC 13???? Well, if true, I humbly take my knife and fork, dig into the plate of crow and take a huge bite. Hats off to the Pioneers. Their long national nightmare is over (Hey, I accused them of not winning since the Nixon Administration, I can quote Ford when he pardoned the Trickmeister). 20-13??? That's weird, wild stuff. Someone fill me in with the details. I was keeping a previous commitment and watched (suffered through, actually) the Halls-Stewart County game. 20-13??? No, seriously ...

I think you could do that for the semifinal round and maybe even the quarterfinals because we do have some good college stadiums in each of the Three Grand Divisions. .... The problem is this: rent. Someone's gotta pay those places to use the facilities, and the T$$AA ain't gonna do nuthin' that costs them money.

I'll bet if you let the T$$AA in on that plan and tell them how much money they could make off of it, you'd get that all-day footballfest kickoff.

I don't care who you are. That's funny right there. Let me get this straight: You guys haven't won since, what, the Nixon Administration and you're talking about being better than someone else???? Win once -- just once -- this century and then pop off.

In terms of all-time wins, I wonder where UC's 511 wins rank? ..... I researched UC's numbers for several years, using the files of the local newspaper to get every game-by-game result dating back to 1929 and then traveling to other newspapers and libraries and also using old school yearbooks for the years prior to 1929. Those seven missing years are just not available anywhere as far as I can tell. The info in this post is considered the official school numbers and used by the newspaper and in the school's game programs..... Anyway, I was just wondering where the Golden Tornadoes ranked with the info available.

Using your criteria, this particular Tennessee won't make your list, but I thought I'd toss in the info anyway. Union City High School in northwest Tennessee has been playing football since 1903. According to the numbers I have, Union City is 511-356-26 (.572) through six games this season. Records of 7-5 (2002), 2-8 (2003) and 2-4 (so fa this season) have dropped the percentage a little. My records are a little incomplete in that I do not have full listings for seven seasons (1904, '05, '07, '08, '10, '11 and '16) If you can get info on Humboldt, Milan and Trenton Peabody in West Tennessee, those three programs would likely be on your list. At one time, there was a website for Trenton that had its all-time info, but I don't think the site is running anymore.

I agree on UC keeping OC and Westview. UC will want to keep its big-money gates (and, so will OC and Westview). Now, about Milan, Humboldt and Trenton: Well, UC would love to keep them, too. But they'll have to draw the line somewhere. New regional commitments will limit their non-league schedule, and those schools will also be looking for lateral or upward movement in their schedules as well rather than a downward turn. It'll be a shame b/c UC-Milan has produced some great games, UC-Trenton is a long-time rivalry that makes sense from a logistics standpoint, and UC-Humboldt (with about 80 all-time meetings) is one of the best statewide rivalries around. From a tradition standpoint, UC moving down is a bad one. But, they don't play games based on tradition. And, if enrollment numbers say UC is a 1-A school, then UC is a 1-A school. People who don't like the stigma attatched to being 1-A should go just north of the border and see if that designation has bothered Mayfield, which is still highly competitive and considers higher-classification Paducah Tilghman its biggest rival (and visa versa) ... Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong, but with UC and McKenzie moving down, that puts 15 W. Tenn. schools in 1-A, if Perry County stays on this side. An alignment of three 5-team leagues would give UC some scheduling flexibility. But a 7-team and an 8-team league would make scheduling tough .... Whatever the future region plan, UC would be wise to keep its biggest gates and then schedule teams within 1-A to get a good feel for the classification and to give fans (especially those who have threatened to never again go through the gates of War Memorial Stadium if UC moved down to 1-A) a chance to see that type of competition. .... My biggest fear about UC's move down in classification is losing fan support. That would be tragic, considering the program's history and tradition.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with getting as much film on an opponent as possible. That's simply smart coaching. ..... Wanna example of something that's a little underhanded but not exactly unethical? Go take a look at some of that old 8mm film John Tucker at Milan used to trade with opponents. All sliced up and only a couple of plays included. You could break down that stuff in 15 minutes. But, it certainly wasn't a bad thing on Tucker's part. Why would a coach want to hand over his game plan on film? All's fair in love, war and football.

It was 28-6, and it was the worst game OC played all season. Which means, the worst OC had last year was still three TDs better than GC. ..... Don't expect another OC letdown this season. The Pioneer losing streak continues.

Isn't there a TSSAA rule that says its member schools have to compete for the playoffs in football or they won't be allowed to compete for the postseason in any other association-sanctioned sports?

Ya know, this could be a really good game, considering the teams involved and what's at stake. I thought UC played a pretty good game against OC, but just had some breakdowns on defense and a few missed opportunities on offense. Good teams take advantage when the opportunities come their way, and UC is just a hair off on capitalizing. Humboldt's a mystery team, even five weeks into the season. Always good athletes, but ya never know which Humboldt will show up. I think it will be a fun game to watch, if not the most technically attractive, and I think UC pulls off a squeaker.

I've said it many times to many people: Last year's 2-8 UC team would have been at least 7-3 in Class 1A and would have advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Same feeling with this year's team. .... That's not a knock on 1A W.Tenn H.S. football, but just an observation at how much farther along 2A is in this area, and across the state. Some teams in recent years, when moved into 2A, have chosen to play up in 3A rather than face the rigors of 2A ball in Tennessee (USJ should have considered this option). So, tell me, who would you rather play on a weekly basis: Huntingdon, Westview and Milan or Gleason, Greenfield and Halls???? What UC has to worry about is straddling the fence every time reclassification comes up. Moving down and then up and then down and then up does not give your program much consistency. If UC is destined for 1A, which it is fror the time being, it needs to stay there. Example: Trenton Peabody. The Golden Tide moved down to 1A back in the early 1990s and advanced to the state championship game. Then, since moving back to 2A, the Tide has had several consecutive below-.500 seasons. .... A lot of people in the UC community think the move to 1A is a good one, because of the recent hard times the program has suffered (4-12 record the last 16 games), but they would not be saying that had UC finished among the top teams in 2A last season, as the program was just three years earlier when it finished as 2A state runnerup. Would UC be accepting its 1A status had it come in the months following that runner-up finish in 2000 or the runner-up finish in 1997? Probably not. There would be widespread sentiment to stay in 2A. But, losing brings with it a defeatist attitude, and some in the community feel that UC is no longer competitive in 2A and might as well take its 1A status and see if it can build the program back. Well, I'll tell you what wins games: Good coaches, good players and discipline. The city recently began a youth league program, which was WAY OVERDUE (someone should b-tch slap those who resisted it for so long), and that program will be a huge help to the H.S. program in years to come. ..... I'll say it here: If UC stays in 1A for the long haul, look for a few gold footballs in the trophy case.

Wow, 38 and counting .... and they're going 4A next year??? Good thing they got that nice hoops gym. .... I think teams that have been this bad for this long should get a 1.8 divider from the T$$AA so their enrollment numbers would drop them into a lower class. Oh, wait. GC can't beat anyone in any class. I would suggest scheduling Rutherford Jr. High for homecoming next year, but they would hate to lose another in-county game. I kid because I care, GC fans. .... It'll get better some day. Heck, it can't get much worse.

I believe if you'll go back a few pages on this post, you'll notice someone who picked a score of 20-13. Now, that person didn't pick a winner -- he's too smart for that, you see, with family on both sides -- but he was within two points of the actual final score. And, this dude don't wanna hear no griping about the final few seconds when OC coulda scored but didn't or about all that offense put up between the 20s (OC had FOUR RB's near the 100-yard mark). Well, it was a good game with big plays on both sides. Central made a few more stops on defense and a few more big conversions on offense, and those were the differences in the outcome. The rest of the season will be interesting for both teams. I really think OC has a very good shot at a 6-4 final regular season mark, but UC is will have to step it up with Humboldt, a much-improved Westview (ask Huntingdon), Huntingdon and Dresden remaining. See ya next year at Rebel Field in Troy, where nice people live. Congrats to No. 74!!!! thumb

I have a very good friend in administration at Stewart County, and I would be at this game if my (and his) alma mater wasn't playing our biggest rival at home this week. (Besides, I started a thread about the game that's now four pages long and going strong, so I kinda have to go. ) .... But, I plan on making the road game when SC comes west and I'll catch a game in the new stadium before the season is done. .... And, if I can get that nice SC shirt over my ever-expanding mid-section, I'll wear it to the games. thumb

You say you don't think its a big deal to play on Monday and Friday. I'm looking at it the opposite way: I don't agree with playing on FRIDAY and MONDAY ... just a couple of days rest between games. Yes, teenagers have a lot of get-up-and-go, but at some point its gonna be got-up-and-went. Experience is good, but if I'm a sophomore varsity starter, I don't really think I need too much jayvee playing time. But, that's just an observation from the 10th row of the bleachers. The coaches are smarter than I am, so there's no reason for me to question them.

Jumping off things??? Man, I don't even touch a step-ladder anymore. The chance of FALLING is too great. .... Anyway, I won't be dancing in any streets. Heck, I never could dance anyway. (too much ivory, not enough ebony) Now, I know UC cheerleaders will be yelling: Shoo-Wee, what's that smell? C-E-N-T-R-A-L!!! .... I've forgotten what the OC cheerleaders yell, but I do remembering it being pretty good. Looking forward to the fun. By the way .... tell all your friends to post here. Huntingdon-Westview thread has more posts than this one does, and I know we can do better than that!!! thumb One final thought: Don't be surprised if the defenses step up in this one. I'm betting the final score will be a couple of TDs lower than what everyone's expecting.

Hey occhsfanviachatt .... When you talk about injuries, you wouldn't happen to be referring to a leg injury to a certain No. 74 from that game, are you?? .... Hope Cartman's ok for Friday Night at the War (Memorial Stadium, that is).

Do people really dance in the streets and ring victory bells??? Anyway, here's a little year-by-year for ya. 1962: UC-34, OCC-6 1963: UC-25, OCC-0 1964: UC-18, OCC-9 1965: UC-35, OCC-0 1966: UC-42, OCC-14 1967: UC-34, OCC-13 UC's only win that season; 7 UC players quit the next week 1968: UC-14, OCC-3 1969: UC-32, OCC-6 1970: UC-37, OCC-8 1971: UC-52, OCC-16 1972: UC-23, OCC-0 1973: OCC-8, UC-0 (OT) OCC's first win in the series 1974: OCC-14, UC-6 1975: UC-7, OCC-6 1976: UC-19, OCC-9 UC won 15-of-17 games during a stretch from '75 and '76 1977: UC-14, OCC-0 1978: UC-41, OCC-8 1979: UC-34, OCC-17 1980: UC-10, OCC-0 1981: OCC-7, UC-0 (2OT) 1982: UC-30, OCC-0 1983: UC-42, OCC-0 The game occhsfanviachatt talks about ALL THE TIME 1984: UC-18, OC-0 1985: OCC-16, UC-6 1986: UC-35, OCC-6 1987: UC-20, OCC-13 1988: UC-14, OCC-0 1989: UC-22, OCC-0 1990: UC-35, OCC-0 1991: UC-29, OCC-0 1992: UC-13, OCC-0 1993: UC-41, OCC-7 1994: UC-38, OCC-0 1995: UC-14, OCC-13 (OT) 1996: UC-19, OCC-0 1997: UC-39, OCC-6 UC Class 2A State Runner-up 1998: UC-29, OCC-0 1999: OC-17, UC-14 OCC's Larry Shanks beats his old team; UC finishes 12-2 2000: UC-46, OCC-6 UC Class 2A State Runner-up 2001: UC-28, OCC-0 2002: OCC-27, UC-7 2003: OCC-33, UC-8 Anyway, I think those scores are correct, according to my research

Well, sports, your alignment makes sense from a playoff standpoint, since the 7-3A teams are all either right on Hwy 51 or just a quick cruise from I-40 into Mempho (as Jimmy Valiant used to call it). And, I like your setup from a logistical standpoint. For the most part, you have a Jackson-and-South region (6-3A) and an Every-Other-Rural-West-Tennessee region (7-3A). Ripley and Covington, of course, are south of Jackson, too, but they are on -- I hate to say it and admit that it makes sense -- a 4-lane highway that makes travel easier. I just wish we could switch up your Region 7 and Region 6, thus aligning the so-called Jackson-and-South region with the Mempho schools for postseason purposes. Now, all this is a moot point anyway since the Lords of the T$$AA will do whatever can make them the most money.

You mean that's not how they do it already???

I agree

Actually, nader, I think you strengthened my point. Improving as the season goes on and cutting down on those early mistakes is exactly my point, and your statistics back it up. Now, the question will be who will continue that improvement this week. Thanks again for the stats. ..... Should be a fun game. thumb