blitzinbuc

I'll go with Central in this game by at least a couple td's. It's their first home game of the season and I'm sure the home side and track area will be packed with fans. With Masingale back healthier, they're a lot more lethal.

Central has owned the district and region in girls' basketball the last 2 years, and probably will the next 3-4 years.

Rankings this early in the season are generally based on teams' previous seasons performances.

Congratulations to the Mustangs!

Good game and a win over a quality opponent. Meigs still has some cleanup items to address, but they improved a lot since the first game.

When I quit listening Central was ahead 26-21 and had the ball with a 1st down on their own 10 with about 40 seconds to go, so I assume that was the final.

Real fans would leave for the beach AFTER the game.

Yes, by going to the game.

Teams usually show the most improvement between the first and second games. Coach Bunch and his staff saw plenty of areas that need some attention and I'm sure they'll address them daily with the team this week. This game will be a good early season test for both teams.

McMinn transfer Will Benton will probably start at DT for Central this week. He's a mountain of a man, he's quick and he can move. Outside backer Dylan Carroll (transfer from Meigs) has laid the hammer on a few running backs the first two games. Central improved since the first game and looked very good on defense against Seymour.

Over the past several years during Meigs's glory years it was hard for Meigs to find nearby opponents nearby to play. I think it would be a good non-region series for both teams. Kingston appears to have a very potent offense and solid defense this year, having walloped their first two opponents. Meigs struggled a little more than their coach liked, though it was their first (and only) game.

In years past this was always a good game. You could basically throw out each team's record when it came to the play on the field. Central has won the last 4 or 5 games, last year scoring in the 50's on Polk. Central showed a lot of improvement from week 1 to week 2. Their defense forced several turnovers and scored some points. The team scored 3 touchdowns in a matter of 5 minutes. Don't know a lot about Polk, other than their scores. 5A Walker Valley hammered them pretty hard last Friday, 47-0.

Coach Bunch is a great guy as well as having been a very good position coach and coordinator. Having learned a lot under Fitzgerald, he was a natural to be appointed head coach. He had two schools very interested in hiring him as head coach even before Fitzgerald resigned, one of those schools with an offer.

Kickoff has been moved to 8:00 pm, probably due to the sun still beaming on the new home side aluminum bleachers. They'd be very hot at 7:00, or even 7:30, and may still be hot at 8:00, though they'll cool off as soon as the sun goes behind the tree line. I took a tour of the new bleachers and pressbox. By the way, the visitor's side got new bleachers too. Both side's bleachers are handicap accessible, also. The pressbox is state of the art, with sloped windows to prevent sun glare and rain. Each section inside the pressbox has it's own ac/heat unit.

Not sure if Meigs intentionally chose the first week as their bye-week, but if they had a choice I'd have thought they'd have scheduled an away game the first week if the issue was the new bleachers being finished. Playing 10 straight weeks starting this week is tough. East Ham usually has a pretty good team, so it's hard to determine how good or bad Hixson actually is. I'd say the Meigs coaches, players and fans are definitely anxious to get the season started.... and are welcoming the much-needed new bleachers and press box. I was by the football field a couple weeks ago and the new bleachers looked virtually finished, though I'm sure they had a lot of small detail items to complete. I have to go to a volleyball game at Meigs today so I'll drift by the football field to see how it looks.

G-P does have a good team, but Seymour's defense must not be too goo since G-P had played a lot of players and had all of their 56 points by halftime. I think Central wins this one handily.

From everything I've read or heard about Central, I think the coaches are optimistic with what they've seen in 7 on 7's, as well as the scrimmages they've been involved in. Naturally, there's always room for improvement with any team. Central has a good coaching staff and they're building a good program. Signal had a pretty good team last year. I don't know much about them this year though. Do they still have the same QB who could sling the ball pretty good?

Bob Black was Fulton football. He gave his all for the school and Falcons' athletic programs. He was also a respected baseball ump, and on the chain-gang for Tennessee football. Great guy and role-model.

I read somewhere that Sequoyah only has about 40 players? I don't know what the issue is there that more gents aren't playing. I know the head coach is a tireless worker and doing his best to build a program. Sweetwater's new coach is a good one, having taken over two dormant programs and at least getting them to winning some games during his tenure at each.

Buck Van Huss is smiling.

Fulton could have easily won by 40-50 points, so don't fret over 2 points by a kid who had just got in the game.

This game was over at halftime.

Disappointing showing in 4A by East Tennessee teams.

That big girl from Bartlett reminds me of Key at Tennessee - overrated.

A 12 point victory over a quality opponent like Gatlinburg sounds pretty convincing for a team that didn't play well. At that rate if they play well the next two games they'll easily bring home the gold.