EHgreen

It is pretty obvious that the problem IS NOT #6 running the ball but that our HUGE line does not play up to their sizing. If I were the coach I would have had open tryouts for line this week. This line has not progressed and is still getting beat off the snap of the ball. There are way too many guys on the sideline to think that this group is our best option. Maybe they are, but I would sure try smaller guys who have a desire to play and want to be on the field. There is no reason other than lack of blocking for #6 not to be one of the leading rushers in the area. If he had last years line he would be sitting nicely on top of that list. A couple other things I will say since I mention what I would do differently if I were the coach calling the shots: • Do more outside running and plays to get the ball outside to spread out the eight in the box that we see a lot against us. This will open up the middle so we can eventually have some success there. We will never win this battle with our current game plan. • Call more quick slants or at least allow the QB to make that audible at the line when he sees the linebackers blitzing up the middle and we have another dive called for the third time in a row. • With the skill level talent we have we should be running a faster offense that would allow for more plays to take place and this would also slow down the rush. Just look at Oregon and the others who do it. It takes skill players and we are full of them. This style of offense will actually slow down the defense and allow our linemen some help. • Defensively we need to move #51 back to linebacker where we need help. He made a lot of the tackles from there before his concussion. Now at end he makes only a few plays a game. Same was true when they moved the Gelanto(?) kid to defensive end instead of linebacker. (He was never heard from again.) Why take a play maker and then take him out of the game by matching him up against someone over 100 lbs more? Also, #1 needs to be in at safety unless he needs a break. He has done more from that position than anyone ever has at EH. I like the way he comes up field on run plays and makes the stop for a short gain verses us allowing the runner to come down field and then try to make the tackle. Overall, I think WE HAVE the players and WE HAVE the coaching, we just need to play to our strengths and quit trying to be a team that can run it up the middle when we DO NOT have the execution needed for that style of play.

Agreed. I heard the Cleveland QB on the radio saturday and was very impressed with his maturity. But what impressed me the most was your coach's trust in your QB to make the audible at the line of scrimmage. This is where the Canes are the weakest. We have to run the play called regardless of how we may be out-numbered in the box. State Champion caliber teams have QB's who are allowed to change the play at the line of scrimmage depending on the defense alignment. I really liked what I heard on your alls strategy regarding this area. I differ with ChattaCane on a couple of his picks. Though Ooltewah has a haus who is definitely a brute, I think East Hamilton has the better running back. The difference is purely the offensive line. We have size but not strength or aggressiveness up front. The proof is when #6 touched the ball last year he was getting TD's or long runs on MOST of his carries. This year we have a VERY inexperienced line that is improving but has yet to make the holes for #6 to run through. You can't run when you are getting hit as soon as you touch the ball and you definitely can't run up the middle with a scat back. We do not play into our strengths until we are deep in the hole. Last year East Hamilton clearly had the more talented team but Coach Williams called a better game. The screen pass was a back breaker. I think this years teams are more comparable but I think EH has the better QB and the better receivers. I think one of our best receivers was overlooked by ChattaCane. #8 has been clutch for us when we needed him. Not the fastest guy but I would say he has the best hands on the team. Other than that I think ChattaCane did all right with his picks. Just wish our coach would allow our QB the same trust Cleveland gives theirs. GO HURRICANES!

It is the quality and experience of those numbers. Over half our team has never seen playing time in a varsity game. It really showed in our first game when a new starting offensive line took the field with NO experience. I will say they were much better this past Friday but they still have a longgggggg way to go to improve. Good luck to you all and I hope your kids can stay healthy and free of serious injury.

Hey, we are just lucky to have running water to water the field. Our first two years of football was played at different home locations due to not having a field. Our poor baseball team still has to travel everyday to find a field that will allow them to practice on. Not a good idea considering these are new drivers driving other kids younger than them and alot of times they are driving over 30 miles each way. Our school systems policy on sports facilities stinks and puts all our kids at risk! DB has a long history of great teams and no doubt the one you have now is not far from being one of those teams. Good luck the rest of the season.

I think you all are being too hard on your offense. They fought the entire game and if you ask me, the problem with your offense was because two of your main players, #4 and #35, were completely drained of energy in the fourth quarter from going both ways the entire time of a very heated well fought battle. Your guys will not face many more defenses like East Hamilton's. The Canes were constantly changing out players on defense to keep them fresh.

Just going by what someone told me. As far as expectations, they are always high but realistic at the same time. So I guess we scored more than once against each of those teams then as well?

Doesn't matter how good your boys are if you don't have a proven coach. I think this will be the best chance for the East Hamilton coaches to prove themselves. Their depth of talent will probably not be this deep again for many years. I think this game will come down to which coaching staff is able to adjust the quickest and exploit the other teams weaknesses.

Don't get too excited Beastyboy, I was told the Marshall team was a 2A team and Shelbyville is a 5A team that only won two games last year. And if I am not mistaken, we only scored once on both of them and that we still do too much ankle tackling with the secondary. Not trying to burst your bubble but also not trying to get unrealistic expectations with this group.

Winning a very down and weak district last year gave the Canes a false sense of accomplishment. The team the season before was a much stronger team with good leadership. Last years team did not have the senior leadership it needed. This years team will be loaded with seniors who have played varsity football for three years already so we should actually have some senior leadership this year. Our junior class is talented and pretty deep but most of them lack game time experience and unless we blow teams out by more than 48 points then are seniors next year will look like last years inexperienced group. Subbing only six players in a 42-6 blow out last year did not get any experience for the players who worked their butts off all spring, summer and fall. The good thing for this years team is the fact that the majority of starters last year are returning and we don't have a certain distraction anymore who got playing time at positions that had better players. I am really looking forward to this years games against Signal Mountain and Ooltewah.

Thanks for the link, that is a good article. Hope Reese has a great year... just not against East Ham though. I would feel much better about our school if they actually took football seriously and built a full program including a full schedule JV team so we do not keep rolling in with unexperienced players every other year. All the top schools in any state have a great feeder program set up.

Did not realize Reese was related to Stan and Tank. I remember those guys when they played back at Tyner with Gary Woodburn. Those were some good teams and the rivalry with McCallie back then was always a sell out.

Unfortunately we got out coached and out executed by Brainerd. It was a good run but this was a week District this year. With that said, we should be strong the next two years as we only loose a few players due to having so few seniors. The officials didn't cost us the game but that group does not need to be officiating playoff games. It took five of them to make a call after a five minute discussion. That was the routine for every call made. Really took the rythmn away from who ever had the ball at the time.

East Hamilton beat them 25 to 12. I will say that Alcoa had some big boys though.

I guess you can read into things what you want. I was not putting down the player but referring to the call to pass the ball when the player had struggled earlier with passing and East Ridge was having trouble stopping the run. The player does not call the plays he only carries them out. He never should have been put into that situation. Now if you want to bash go ahead, it is still a free country.

TigerTom is correct that East Hamilton is NOT in first place until after they beat Howard. And they still have to beat Howard regardless of Howard's position. A rainy night this Friday could cause enough problems to make any playing field equal. While Howard may have a less than desirable coach per Tmac, who has always spoken with common sense, the fact of the matter is that Howard still has a lot of talent and if the stars line up in their favor because EH gets over confident, then it could spell the end of a good season. Point and example the East Ridge game where we grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory by passing with a back up QB who had already thrown two interceptions when they were stuggling to stop the run. Go Canes! Stay focused. Be humble.

I have been watching Gatewood teams play now ever since he came to Ooltewah over a decade ago. Friday night was the first time I have ever seen him come out with a balanced attack. Would love to see this kind of play calling more. I don't think anyone at the game can say that the best team didn't win. Bradley was clearly the best team and made the least amount of mistakes. I can remember not to long ago when Bradley was everybody's homecoming game, I think that would be a BIG mistake now. Good luck Bears, thanks for your patience with our under construction situation and we look forward to playing you all next season.

Attention Bradley Fans: When you enter the school you will see three lanes. After turning in move to the left and middle lanes so you will not be delayed. The right lane is reserved for season pass parking holders so that traffic will move more efficiently. Drive safely and watch your speed through Collegedale. See you soon! Go Canes!!!

Glad to see Bradley has a good following. We are use to winning the fan base game as our supporters follow well. You all will benefit from that next season. If our first home game was any indication of how traffic will go, then you all should be pleased. I have traveled to Bradley with Ooltewah and it was always caos with so many supporters for each school. I think you all have the best football venue in the area with the exception of the players having to come down those steps. I think you all will like our venue but don't expect much seating. We are still thousands of dollars away from being able to have enough seating for either side. But I can say we do have a lot of standing room. lol As far as who wins this Friday, I think the more established team should win but our guys never seem to quit... no matter what the score. Drive safely and we are looking forward to the challenge this Friday night. Boy it sure feels nice to have a home field for a change.

Take it easy on BeastyBoy. He is obviously a true supporter of his canes. His youth and too much green kool-aide blocks his better judgment sometimes but it is great to have student support for the Canes. Friday night's game was exactly like SO many parents and other coaches have stated... you CAN'T substitue practice and reps for REAL GAME EXPERIENCE. I assure you the Canes have worked really hard to make the strides they have made, but as Friday night's game revealed, the inexperienced offensive line got confused and broke down many times. You don't get this kind of experience verses a weaker scout team. It was not a lack of effort but a lack of experience to know how to adjust. Ooltewah's defense was much more impressive than their offense. And their offense was not that bad but they did not take advantage of the mismatch with our secondary. They could have scored as often as they would have liked over the middle. Our guys need to learn how to tackle (arms included and quit this diving crap) on defense and get more aggressive. We are not taking the fight to the other team, we are waiting on them. We have a LONG ways to go and are fortunate our District is down as a whole.

Sounds like you need a little clarification on my comments, no problem. The reason you all had so few seniors last year is because most of those players came to EH after their sophomore year. The uprising Ooltewah sophomores stayed because they knew they would get playtime from all the departures and they did so they stayed and got early experience on the field at the varsity level. That is also why we have a small senior class this year. Our next two years after this one will be full classes in all age groups and you all should have the same because all the dust will have settled. Ooltewah was a young team last year only having three seniors who played there as a freshman (Goose, Freeman & LaMech). You all will have to excuse BeastyBoy because he has spent to much time drinking the Green Kool-aide and now is on a sugar rush. We did not stop the run up the middle near enough and that is where Signal Mtn. got alot of yards and points. Our linebackers will definitely have to play better against the run up the middle or Ooltewah will control the clock and field position the entire game. It looks to be a great one and it will be interesting to see which coaches make the best adjustments after the half.

Here will be the keys to victory in this game. Ooltewah must take advantage of their experienced offensive line and their tall receivers on offense and their defense just needs to play heads up ball. For East Hamilton they must go with the Sophomore QB or they will not have a duel threat offense. The inexperienced line did pretty good last week but that was in part by the Sophomore QB buying extra time with his mobility in order to throw. East Hamilton needs to pass to its junior and sophomore receivers who have the best hands. Defensively we need another big game out of our few seniors on defense and our young secondary needs to wrap up and quit playing dive at feetball. I think both teams will need to bring their mental game and cut out the costly mistakes that can change the outcome of this game. And if EH should win, I really do not think you should put the blame on Coach Williams, he is still trying to rebuild his program after losing so many players to his new rival. I hope to see a game like when EH played Ootlewah in basketball last. Nobody knew who was going to pull it out until the final buzzer. What a historic game that was. Ooltewah came out on top but EH earned alot of respect. Of course this time I am hoping to see East Hamilton come out on top. Go Hurricanes!!!!!!!!!!!

If your defensive line is as good as you say, and I am not questioning, then that will be exactly what our young line needs to see this early in the season. This is where you find out who is cut out to be on the field. I have all the confidence in the world in our line and if they get beat on a couple of early plays it should only help get their heads where they need to be and step up the intensity. I watched a college practice recently and was blown away at how hard they hit in the trenches and how fast they were. I am sure the inexperienced rookies learned quickly you better tighten that chin strap and deliver the blow first or you will be on your butt. Looking forward to Friday night and the start of a new season.

Well if you have seen both scrimmages then you are more privileged than I because the Polk scrimmage was closed. I think it would be truthful to say that are varsity lost to Heritages' varsity and our back ups beat their back ups and freshmen and that is why we had more on the scoreboard. I will disagree all day long with you on experience, too many times I have seen a more experienced team be more disciplined and beat a more athletic team. I think we have a huge upside with some of the sophomores as they get their early opportunity to step up to the challenge. I really like our sophomore QB's potential and the toughness he brings to that position. Just to make sure I am not misinterpreted, I will give an example of where the less experience will hurt the most. Last years line was all second year starters and seniors. I think we will have a good offensive line once they have "more playing time together" under their belt. But there is a huge learning curve going from playing part time on a mix and match scout team offense to playing with team offensive line assignments and pick up reads. That is where the experience comes in that you do not get doing scout team offense as underclassmen. Luckily for us, that is Coach Gatewoods area of expertise and focus so hopefully they will come around quickly. Then next year they will be strong since only one will be graduating. Then the process of unexperience linemen will start all over again unless he does like Coach Bowden at Florida State use to do when he would bring in his entire second team offense and run one play at the start of the second and third quarters.

The number 28 is NOT accurate when you look at experience. Yes they have participated on the varsity team for two years. Most have not started a game since eighth grade or had more than maybe five minutes of actual varsity play time. JV football games are not important to this staff for some reason and therefor we will have a starting offensive line that has only ONE player with any varsity game experience at all. That is just an example. We will be relying on a sophomore group to lead the way in many of the skilled positions. Again, I do not see this years team being better than last years. However, with all that said, our next two years after this year should be very strong, experienced and deep in talent.

With the exception of the Oregon Ducks, I think we found someting that the Canes and Eagles can agree on.