DBGRAD70

I like WaCoJaCo's prediction: DB 24 SC 21 The kicking squad does it once again. It'll be a hot time in Parton's Korner Friday nite. But the majorority of the smoke will be com'n from the Bears. As dry as it is, we probably need to take a few extra fire extinguishers.

The only back way that I know of is to take I40 to Newport, then US411 to Sevierville. Dolly Parton parkway, Correct? If anybody knows a better way, I'm all eyes.

I heard a wild rumor the other day that someone is adding testosterone to the Colonial Heights water supply. I thought it was a fabrication but after reading this thread ... may be true. Think I going with plan B and sit on the TN High side tomorrow. Go Vikings!

I'm sure Coach Clark won't let them forget any of this but just to answer your post, seems to me that the team can't let the TN High game go to their heads. Otherwise there could be an different kind of embarrasement at the Sevier Co. or Karns game - sorta like 2 years ago. The Sevier Co. game will likely determine whether we play Oak Ridge at The Ship or in Kingsport during playoffs. They need to realize that they aren't there yet on the Offensive side of the ball (even though they've drastically improved) and Defense has room to grow too. The learning curve must continue. The team has had to prove to all those who thought that they would loose to OR 1st game, that they are a good team. They've said it to the press. They are a good team and that determination is what made them improve so much. They still have to prove themselves and to do that stay focused. I think they can do it if they stay focused on Sevier Co. and sorta make believe that SCo is as good as OR.

DB does seem to have a well balanced team now. Hats off to the offensive players. They have been on a very big learning curve but they have continued to learn rapidly in the last couple of games. Of course the defense and kicking squad continue their excellence. I hope the whole team makes valuable use of a week off. You just can't relax this week. Good luck in 2 weeks against Sevier Co. Them Bears have sharp teeth. Get your bows and arrows out. (Not as sharp as them Wildcats however.)

Art, I would assume you get your article info from the public library or the Times News' own archive. But those wonderful stats you come up with - where do you get them? Man, you must either work for the newspaper or the school system - or have access to their records. I've admired your ability to pull this data together for some time. I don't know where else you could get it.

If you can, try to be there by 7pm. The band does a pre-game show featuring "Rocky Top" similar to the way UT performs it. Pre-game is as much a part of the show, and tradition, as the ball game and half time shows. Nice to have you in Kingsport for the 1st time. I will wish your WildCats well for the rest of the regular season, but for this game - well you know how it is. I just hope neither side has injuries. They can happen in a game like this one.

OR nole, Yes the stadium is right beside the school. In fact you will possibly park in the main school parking lot which is just to the left of the statium - if you get there by 5:30. But if there are really 10,000 there you may have to park in Fort Henry Mall parking lot and walk a ways. There is a little bit of parking behind the school. Some people park in the grass in a park across the street from the stadium (may not be legal tho). Also parking at Food City and other lots on the south end of Eastman road. A map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1800+Legion+...,0.049494&hl=en Ya'll folks have a safe trip. I'm seeing gas up here for $2.84/gal so decide to either fill up before you leave or tank up here before going back. So TankTalk writes for the OakRidger... I like to read your DB vs. OR articles every football season. Sorry about the chuckle I got out of your article the other day. Thought it interesting that some in OR might believe that DB can't really be having a slow start. But the O appears to be improving fast. We'll see tomorrow.

I notice in the Oakridger article from the main CoachT web page that some in the Atomic City don't believe DB is just a little down this year - young, rebuilding and all. I quote: "And despite the whispers of DB being down, don't believe it for a second, Wildcat fans". Okay - I give up. The hoax is over. You found us out! This week there's going to be a totally new looking offense on the field. One with a finely honed tomahawk looking for anything that goes meowwww or even tries to growl. (or so we hope). Good luck to both teams. I look forward to a good game, win or loose. Let's hope everyone stays healthy. Hope ya'll bring your marching band. Would be good to see your half time show too.

thegreatest20, I take it from your ID and from your comments that you are on the team. If true that would probably make you Josef Throp. You are a very good player and we DB fans appreciate your contributions to the team. If that is not true, disregard my previous comments. "stonewall" appears to be an older DB fan, much like myself. My ID describes myself - a 1970 DB graduate. It is of concern that you question his loyalty as a DB fan just because he is being realistic. This world is made better by people who are realistic but strive to do better than realistic. Frankly, a little more respect for him seems to be in order. He is just stating what he believes, not what he wishes were true - which is what you were doing in your post. It's fine to think positive and expect to win. I hope DB does win. I will be screaming my lungs out Friday night - you can count on it. But I am realistic too. Oakridge by 24. Make me eat those words. If you get fired up enough, a victory may be within grasp.

Now this is probably a stretch in trying to find a common denominator in previously played games but... there may be a set of games that already give some comparison of DB to OR. Both Maryville and OR have played Clinton. OR 74 - Clinton 0 Maryville 37 - Clinton 0 I also understand that DB scrimmaged Maryville and that ended with Maryville 14 and DB 0. Then the non-first and second strings played and DB tacked on 2 TDs. But really what mattered was the 14-0 score if one wanted to compare what kind of shape the two teams were in at the time. So if OR beat Clinton by 74 and Maryville beat them by 37, that says that OR just may be stronger now than Maryville. I wonder if Maryville is still stonger than DB. All teams improve as they begin to play real season games. Does this possibly indicate that OR is much stronger than DB? Yes, it's a stretch (especially using a scrimmage as input) but the only comparison I see right now. What do the rest of you folks think? There was a Maryville/OR skrimmage I think but it was unclear who looked better in that one. I am looking forward to going to the game. It will be the celebration of all times if DB wins. The DB Band looked awful good Friday nite didn't they?

I got up this morning and my crystal ball had a crack in it. Sent it off to the shop. So I’ll have to take my best guess. DB will make every extra point + 1 field goal. Bearden won’t. Our new quarterback should show marked improvement. I expect he will do a lot less of the "keeper" junk. If he doesn't, come next week he's goina get smashed. DB – 31 Bearden - 13 (mostly coming late in the game) Good luck Gentlemen Roll on

I believe you play Kingsport in a couple of weeks and assume that is to whom you refer. Well DB is usually a good team and is this year too. But they are not the team they were last year and we all know how that ended up in playoffs. I suspect they will suffer from cat scratch fever in a couple of weeks. But check back in 2006-7.

I believe you. There are only 3 out of conference games available in regular season. Ooltewah is just too far away vs. the benefit of doing it. My view is that the 2 local Sullivan Co. school games need to be eliminated for now, then add TN High and Greenville - if they'll play us. Frankly I would favor adding someone like MBA or even Riverdale as the 3rd non-conference game over either Oak Ridge or Ooltewah if we're going to make a long distance trip for one of the games. We'll play you guys (OR and OO) soon enough in the playoffs. I expect to see you both there next year.

Folks, I've attended every DB home game for over 6 years now. For the last 4 years I've attended perhaps 80% of the away games. I've seen some great DB teams and some great players. But I am really struggling to understand all the hype about Duran. He had great promise about half way through this year - through the 1st OR game. But it seems to me that something "unplugged" after that. His throwing accuracy has really gone down the tubes. Others on this thread have said that DB played a great game. True, many of those guys did but Duran reminded me of the ole Iraqi Scud missle launcher - just point it in the general direction and hope you hit something. It seems to me that he lost his touch over the 2nd half of this season. OR's QB was absolutely great. He repeatedly hit his mark with precision. Perhaps he should get the Mr. Football award. And Nottingham seems to have a real ego problem not to mention self control problem. He was just back online after sitting out a game for fighting with McCord - on his own team. He's got some real growing up to do. Lamon is a good player and he seems to have his act together much better than last year. He has matured a lot - although not completely as proven by his 1st PF in the SHHS game. (his 2nd PF that night was a joke that the TSSAA should eat) If someone can just get a ball near him, he can catch it. Perhaps that's the real reason that he and Duran have at times worked well together. But the surprise to me is the DB defense. They were somewhat of an unknown/not really experienced bunch and some folks thought they would be the weak spot this year. Turns out that it was them how really won the last few games. The way the offense was sputtering, they certainly didn't win them. Good luck to Oak Ridge. You have a good team and certainly were the better team tonight. I really hope you beat the arrogant bunch - Riverdale but I suspect that the score will be something like Riverdale 28, OR 10. But you will score at least one touchdown which is more that most teams they've faced have been able to do. Hope I'm wrong about the score.