PowerSweep

I'll predict that St. George's advances over Davidson Academy by 10 points or more. The ECS vs. Webb game should be a war. I expect this one to go back and forth but in the end I believe the Spartans will prevail in a close, hard-fought game.

Very, very good points... The o-line began the season as an unknown for the most part. They have gotten better week after week and now are a very solid unit. They have remained mostly healthy all season and have proven that they can get the job done against any defense they have faced up to this point. I have said many times previously that Webb's coaching staff is without question at the very top in the state at any classification. They are very adept at making adjustments on offense and defense as the game unfolds to take advantages of weaknesses in their opponents. With the amount of experience they have, there's not much they haven't seen before.

I'm really looking forward to the game tonight. It should be a very hard-fought game with both teams leaving everything on the field. There's no doubt the taste of last years' domination by Webb at ECS, in the semi-final game, still taste just as bad today as it did that night to everyone at ECS. ECS returns some very talented players in the Jamisons, Childers and many others. Webb certainly got their attention last year, so the Spartans should expect the Eagles to come out focused and ready to hit them with everything they have. Webb's defense will have to contend with a very talented, balanced offense that poses many threats with talented skill position athletes. Webb's offense will need to mix it up and keep ECS off balance. In last year's matchup, Webb was able to use many weapons and displayed a mixture of runs and passes that kept ECS on their heels. ECS's defense will be faced with slowing down the Blance brothers and an offense that at times has shown the ability to throw the ball when teams decide to load the box. Focusing on stopping two talented backs is made even more difficult by the fact that Webb's 3rd back is quick, fast and talented as well. ECS will have to find the ballcarrier as quickly as possible since Webb's wing-t offense uses a good deal of fakes and misdirection. If ECS decides to just focus on stopping the Blance brothers by scheming their defense that way, Webb's offensive coordinator will make adjustments and exploit the weaknesses that are there. I think it's very interesting that ECS is going to play one of the Jamisons at free safety on defense. He is certainly an exceptional athlete with tremendous speed. I would imagine his job will be to run down anyone from Webb's offense and keep them from breaking a long play for a score. This is the kind of challenge Webb's offense usually rises to. ECS's offense will present a significant challenge to Webb's defense. With the Spartans playing USJ last week it could have been a very good thing because I expect the ECS offense to be similar. I expect ECS to be balanced with tough runners and a very good young QB who has some talented targets that he is getting more and more comfortable with. Will Jamison will be in the mix at multiple positions so Webb's defense will have to always account for where he is. One thing that ECS should expect is that Webb's defense can be very physical and love to hit. In the end, I really think this game will go down to the wire. I'm really hoping the Spartans can win and go back to Cookeville to defend their State Championship but it wouldn't be a surprise if ECS came to Knoxville and left with a win. Should be a GREAT game to watch!

Looks like Knoxville Catholic would like to see the multiplier reduced... Thoughts? 21. Knoxville Catholic High School Asks Consideration that Multiplier be Lowered During Next Classification Period The administration of Knoxville Catholic High School has asked to address the Board concerning the possibility of lowering the 1.8 multiplier for Division I independent schools prior to setting classification in 2013.

Webb's young secondary did a good job against a very good USJ QB. Berube, Blance, Kelly and Melton are going to be an exceptionally talented defensive backfield for the next 2 years. Particularly Kelly and Melton have done a good job lessening the affect of losing two all-state safeties to graduation. Berube and Blance are returning starters from last year and have played well all season too. Webb's DBs are in great hands as Coach Collier does a great job with them and coaches them up when they need it. They are all quick, fast and don't mind getting physical with run support. They will have another tough test this Friday as ECS has a talented Soph. QB who has taken over for their very good QB from last year who has moved to WR.

I agree, I think all the privates across the state need to be in their own league. I'd like to see that happen. We'll never see the day where all schools, public and private are in the same league so I think a complete split is best. Here are the stats from the game... Webb 41, USJ 14 USJ 0 7 0 7 — 14 Webb 13 0 13 15 — 41 Scoring: W—Caleb Blance 20 run (kick failed); Aaron Blance 43 run (Robby Strachan kick); USJ—Jake Overby 3 run (Hunter Anthony kick); W—Aaron Blance 12 pass from Parker Wormsley (conversion failed); W—Caleb Blance 21 run (Strachan kick); USJ—Chase Rushing 25 pass from Overby (Anthony kick); W—Aaron Blance 20 run (Aaron Blance conversion); Caleb Blance 75 run (Starechan kick). ...................USJ.......Webb First downs.........20.........17 Rushes-yards....29-196.....46-433 Passing............172.........20 Comp-Att-Int...15-26-1......2-7-0 Punts.............3-39.......2-36 Fumbles-Lost.......2-2........0-0 Penalties-Yards...5-40.......2-25 Records: Webb 11-0; USJ 10-2

Obviously those are some great names from the past! How about the Smith family? Loved watching all those Smith boys play. Copeland and Berry were around the time I started following Webb. Those two were really good as was Walker. The problem, as you know, is that Webb has a very hard time scheduling local teams. They haven't lost to a Knox Co. public school in about 8 years. I think they are on a 14-0 streak over that time period. The Beardens, Powells, Wests, AEs that used to be on the schedule dropped off after never being able to beat Webb. I know Webb has tried to schedule Farragut numerous times but it hasn't worked out for whatever reason. I'm with you, I would love to see what Webb could do against Greenville, DB, Maryville, Alcoa etc. I would love to see the privates come out of the public league across the state. That would help in my opinion and create much better competition during the regular season.

mofo11... I completely agree. The level of competition week end, week out is certainly not what it used to be. I was very hopeful that Webb could have upgraded their non-region schedule for next year but have heard that Central and Halls remain. Catholic stays on the schedule with a 4th opponent that is certainly an upgrade over Lancaster. If you are close to the program you probably know who it is. Actually, I would have liked to have seen how Webb would have done the past two seasons in DII-AA. Personally I believe they could have competed with any of them. There's no question Webb has benefitted from the recent classification changes made by the TSSAA. Comparing teams is impossible but it sure makes for good conversation! I've been pretty close to the program since the '02 season and since then I have enjoyed watching several Spartan teams who may not have had great overall records like the '09 and '10 teams but they were very good. The OP wanted to know if these were "up years" for Webb and I certainly believe they are.

Yes, I thought USJ's QB was the best throwing QB Webb has faced this year. I think I said "exposed Webb's young secondary somewhat last night". 172 yards on 15 completions could be somewhat exposing a young secondary in some people's opinion. The interception by TK was a huge play in the game and did "affect" USJ's passing game as you said. In my opionion, many of the "keepers" run by the USJ QB were designed runs. When the QB takes the shotgun snap and immediately tucks it and runs then I'm pretty sure his intent was to never pass.

KublahKD I completely agree that Webb will have to get their passing game going for next week. Usually Webb's QB is pretty accurate and throws a very catchable ball with some zip on it. Last night he seemed to struggle to get the ball out of his hand cleanly. I don't know if it was a mechanical thing or what but I'm sure the coaches will correct that in practice this week if it was. Many of his passes last night were off target and wobbly. As for how last year and this year's team compares to previous Webb teams I would say last year's team would be one of Webb's best ever. They had 18 seniors and pretty much the same skill position players as this year's team. Webb's 2006 State Championship team was also very, very good. Will this year's team be the best of the 3, well it remains to be seen. Starting with 2006 these have definitely been up years for Webb. Next year's team has a chance to be even better than this year's team. They lose a good deal of size in the lines but somehow they seem to always find some young guys to step up when needed.

Bottom line is the Mobley kid let his team down and probably divided the team and hurt their chemistry for the playoffs.

Webb may be the favorite but I completely agree with you that ECS, Davidson or St. George's could get the Spartans. Right now, Webb will need to keep their heads and not lose their focus.

I like your passion KNIGHT72! Your team was MUCH improved over last year. What do you attribute that to? Good luck next year if you aren't graduating this year. It looks like a 2-year series with Lancaster is all there will be as Webb's schedule does not include the Knights next year.

You are right, I saw your prediction and thought it would be a much closer game than that! USJ's RBs were very good, hard-nosed football players. #40 and #39 were warriors last night. Their QB impressed me with his wheels and with his strong, confident arm. He exposed Webb's young secondary somewhat last night. The Blance brothers had another strong night last night. USJ seemed to be holding them in check for a little but if you give them just the slightest crack of daylight they will get to the second level in a blink. Aaron is probably a touch faster than Caleb and their running styles are vastly different from each other. Caleb is a jitter-bug with speed while Aaron just seems to glide as he runs and can make full-speed cuts. However, both of them are tough as nails and will lower their shoulder and run over people who are much bigger than they are. ECS will come to town on a mission. The Spartans played their best game of the season last year when they went to ECS and put them out. With no disrespect to USJ, once the season was over, many Spartan fans thought the State Championship was won that night as they thoroughly beat an ECS team who many felt was going to win it all. That win gave Webb the confidence they needed to finish the job in Cookeville.

Another impressive win by the Spartans tonight. Webb scored on their first two possessions and pulled away in the second half to win 41-14. USJ played hard but they just couldn't slow down the Blance brothers for Webb who combined for 6 TDs and 375 yards rushing. USJ committed some key turnovers that stopped a couple of drives. USJ moved the ball on Webb's defense and had two very impressive running backs. They were a much more balanced team on offense than I expected. The USJ QB made several good throws and also scrammbled well on a few keepers. Webb's defense will have to figure out how to slow down a balanced offense like USJ presented tonight or it could be tough next week against ECS as I've heard they can run and pass really well. Webb's offense tonight ran the ball well but the passing game seemed a little out of sync. USJ played hard and brought a ton of fans. Hope everyone has a safe trip back to Jackson.

Bold prediction but to say USJ has no chance is something I can't agree with. I haven't seen USJ play this year but I would be shocked if it's a blowout.

I have never seen SBEC play and don't have a feel for their talent but I would give DA a slight edge. The one thing that's confusing me is that SBEC played St. George's really tough but had some lopsided losses to ECS and USJ. My feeling is they must have some good athletes but are either young or have had some games where the breaks just didn't go their way. I watched DA play Webb and even though the game kinda got away from them a little bit after a fast start, they have some very good athletes who can really play. DA has the ability to hit teams with a balanced offensive attack using both Williams and Dixon along with a QB who has a good arm and is athletic enough to scramble and complete passes. They gave Webb all they wanted in the first half. DA's lines are young and not nearly as good as last year's but they are scrappy. So, if SBEC can control the lines of scrimmage then they could come out on top. After watching DA play Webb, I came away thinking to myself that Dixon is not used enough on offense. Williams certainly is a great back but Dixon hasn't seemed to get many carries this year. Looking at tendencies SBEC could focus on Williams and leave Dixon to run for big yardage. Obviously I don't have all the inside info as to why Dixon doesn't get many carries but for someone on the outside looking at him both last year and this year against Webb, I would probably get him at least one-third of the carries. Hope it's a injury-free game and that all of the SBEC players, coaches, families and fans have a safe trip!

#12 is Vic Wharton. TK is starting at SS for Webb as a freshman. He's another one that's going to be fun to watch over the next 3 years. Ironically they would have been teammates at Webb had Catholic not hired Vic's dad off the Webb coaching staff.

Well, I'm pretty sure I've been able to get CAK score updates when following Jesse.

APB... if you follow @prepxtra you should get score updates from several games. Jesse Smithey has several people at the games who send updates.

I was really impressed with Noah as a baseball player. I saw him at last year's state championship and could tell he would be a heck of a football player. Looks like he's had a great season... good luck to JCS this week against ECS!

Tell everyone how you REALLY feel!! I think that just put everything I needed to know in a nutshell.

If Columbia has speed on offense then they could handle the Irish. Catholic is not overly fast on defense and they struggle against teams that have quick skill position players. Columbia's defense will need to be ready because Catholic has a huge o-line that includes 3 or 4 guys who will be playing D1 once they graduate. The Irish QB had a ton of pre-season hype but really hasn't put up the numbers to justify it. Their top two RBs are decent backs that are not real big or fast but run hard. The x-factor for Catholic on offense would be their freshman WR #12 who can really play. He's going to be something to watch over the next 3 years. He is also a very dangerous return man so keep an eye on him. I'm looking to hearing how this one turns out.

I agree... the $3,500 probably had nothing to do with MBA's decision considering they didn't seem to mind to travel their Middle School team, and a very good one at that, to Knoxville earlier this year to play a game.

BC... I'm pretty sure the team traveling down I-140 was in the mix to play either Alcoa or Maryville somewhere on their schedule next year regardless of the bowl game setup or the $3,500, don't know about MBA. At any rate, I'm pleased it got worked out. It'll give us something to look forward to!