TicketToRide

Ditto with TFL. Toppers were 2-6 in the Red Zone with 3 missed FG's and a pick. Bedard looked strong running the football but was hesitant in the pocket. He held the ball too long in going through reads and his INT's were terrible throws. The quick hitters over the middle worked and he rolled left on a 3rd down play and threw a dart to Mathes I think. His deep pass to Mathes was Reed Hayes like. So, we know he can do it but his picks were killers. Elizabethton cut the SHHS defense with the run and we couldn't seem to stop them. But we seemed to always make a defensive play. #6 Tolley is a force on D. If the O doesn't put the D in bad spots, SHHS can be formidable. Russell will be the real deal. Bedard has so many weapons he doesn't need to do it all himself. I thought the over the middle stuff and swing passes were perfect. Get the playmakers the ball and let them work. I don't know much about da Bears but we can't be -3 in turnovers. No turnovers against EHS and that game is over at halftime.

Bedard had a tough night throwing the football. He looked hesitant and and short-armed a few passes early. The 3 picks were just awful. Let's hope it was jitters. I thought #6 had a monster game on defense. A couple of tackles for loss and a sack. Science Hill kept Elizabethton in the game with the turnovers. With that said, the Cyclones getting an unsportsmanlike with like a minute to go in the half ultimately cost them dearly. That was bone head. 14-14 at half and who knows what happens. I thought 10 was solid, better than JB. The Cyclones running game was relentless. They unbalanced the line and ran to the weak side. Witten saw something that the Hilltoppers couldn't figure. Science Hill has to calm the QB down. He has so many playmaker. He should have a banner year if he gets it under control. The TD to #25 at the did was a nice throw.

Some of the disparaging remarks here are useless. I think that BOTH teams are better if this becomes a rivalry again. DB has been inside SHHS football head for years. SHHS played tight. Last year it changed as SHHS fell behind but didn't quit and they knew they could play with DB. This year they gave notice. And it is great for both communities. Maybe the personal stuff can stop. Overall it was a great game. DB could have put it away but they couldn't. DB always comes to play and hits hard. To the poster who said McGue was good but if he was contained he was average. Johnny Manziel is average if you contain him but the problem is just that... DB couldn't contain him all 48 minutes. As far as Carter and Cook. When SHHS was coming on the field for the 2nd half Carter told Cook there was nowhere for his team to go and they were slow coming off the field. Cook grabbed Carter by the front collar like a bully. Carter got away and words were exchanged. After the game Cook engaged Carter again and Carter literally stiff-armed him to keep him away. Cook should have let it go but he chose to keep it going. For those who know him, this behavior is not surprising. And where was Cary Daniels? Where was the principal? Cook could use some diplomacy lessons from GClark. The man always handles himself with class and represents his school and community in an exemplary fashion. But the best part is that this rivalry looks like a game again. DB is down by their standards but they NEVER stay down long. Both teams are young and next year looks like another barn-burning.

Only on Coach T can a thread about SH and an opponent get hijacked into a "which team has more first round losses? Db or South? You DB guys are everywhere and let no stone or rock go unturned. You know the joke...how do you scare a DB fan at Halloween? A. walk up behind them and scream PLAYOFFS! Sorry. I am not seeing it tonight for SH. I just don't think they can weather a same day bus ride and play a quality opponent like siegel. I think it is lost on defense. SH is still soft up the middle and they have too many breakdowns in coverage. Their defense just isn't consistent and a good back with a decent line will move the chains. A multidimensional team will give SH fits. And Siegel fits that bill. I don't believe it will be close. I hope I am wrong. This can be a true breakthrough game but it is still HS ball. You just never know how these kids will react. Regardless, Science Hill needs games like this and next week. They need quality opponents. DB fans can boast all they want but SH's time is coming and the streak will end. Carter has the kids excited and when he gets it rolling there will not be a streak. Most of this streak was against weak SH teams that had given up by seasons end. DB fans should be grateful for Carter and what he is doing. This game needs to be a rivalry again and regardless of the losses, it is regaining that rivalry atmosphere. The game last year was fantastic and no one can argue that. The crowd, the game, the big plays....that is what this area needs. Then take that and advance in the playoffs.

Who really won the game was Science Hill. 40-35. You had 1st and goal after the roughing the passer on the failed 4th down. But silly mistakes caused EHS to try and then miss the field goal. What if EHS scores there? The game plays out differently. A FG there changes everything. If the Cyclones correct the penalties they are going to be tough to beat. Your team is better than one who blames the refs. There were questionable calls on both sides including the onside kick. Because there is a playoff this game ultimately doesn't matter except for those who need bragging rights.

The play where Thomas stepped out of bounds was legit. He was pushed and stepped on the boundary. The ref blew the whistle and Thomas wasn't in the end zone. It was a legit call. Now the mark on 4th down did look favorable. Calls were missed both ways. Bottom line to me is both teams displayed toughness and resilience. Toppers looked gassed at the end and Cyclones were inspired. Both teams shot themselves in the foot. Toppers with the shotgun snap and penalties. Cyclones had costly penalties. Both teams had chances. Both can blame themselves. In the end the Toppers made a few more plays. That was the difference. EHS is well-coached. They played hard.

Science Hill has a respectable run game. They are very deep at tailback but their horse is Will Adams. I don't know his final numbers but he shared the load this year because of the weapons all over the field for the Hilltoppers. Adams is very elusive and strong. He isn't Foreman elusive but he is great on cutbacks and in the open field you will not catch him. He didn't get the ball much against DB, therefore he wasn't much of a factor. Not sure why? I probably just worked out that way with SHHS falling behind early. But don't underestimate Adams.

I haven't seen this much one sided hype since UT went to Gainesville in 2001 as 17 point underdogs. Regardless, it is going to take a near perfect effort from the Hill. No stupid penalties, no turnovers and even then how do they contain the speed? I've seen both play. DB just has a better defense. SH seems to have gotten worse on D since the season began. But I will say it is the passing QB's that have hurt them this year.

I would love to see the HILL finally get over the hump. This may be DB's best team in ages. SHHS will not see a QB again like Hayes. The kid deserves Spurrier's number. But he doesn't play defense. SHHS did a lot of chasing last week. They aren't consistent. They give up too many 3rd and longs. It is crazy to watch. They have talent on D but they seem like UT's D...wrong place and both the right and wrong time. They couldn't contain Swafford (sp?) or anyone else for that matter last year. The dive up the middle on play #1 flat out set the tone. Johnson City hasn't noticed the Hilltoppers yet. They had a scarce crowd Friday night,. I think people just feel they are beating up on the Crocketts, Centrals and Sullivan South's of the world. No real competition. However, if they beat DB people will come. They will most definitely come. . How come with a loss SH or DB drops all the way to #6. That is a heck of a drop.

I understand what 78Blazer is saying about the fan support in JC. I believe JC isn't a football town anymore...ETSU is long gone. Toppers hadn't won a playoff game in a long time until Carter arrived. I believe they have to beat DB for the city to take notice. I don't understand the edge given to Jenkins against Carter. Did he ever beat Carter when Carter was at South? He beat him his first year at SH but that will be it for a while. Jenkins is run first and sticks with his formula as good coaches do.But, if they can't throw the ball Friday night you can forget it.

Man, can we say jealous envy?

If you look at all sports, including girls...SH is very competitive with DB. Football is getting there. Spurrier is a good coach. What he has done at USCjr is amazing. But it took a while...7 years and he still isn't over the hump. What do you expect in the Tri Cities papers? The AJC or Observer? Come on... Are those paper cups the same ones that hold up the stands...

Name any coaches around here that have been successful at beating DB...Clark has a machine there, no doubt...but Carter couldn't beat him at South because he didn't have the athletes...plain and simple...even his best teams couldn't match up. He best shot was Phillips sophomore year and that year they did have equal players...but they couldn't hold onto the football. Carter now has the athletes, he just has to build a machine like Clark. You are right on the fans...they need to come out and be on time...but it takes time. I believe he has to beat DB to get real believers in the city whose kids don't play or are not in the band or former players... Last years results and the past 15 years don't matter. It is about matching up and coaching. SH hasn't been able to match up in the past and if they could, they never had the coaching. Now they have the coaching IMO, and they have to work on matching up against DB...nothing in this area prepares you for that...DB is physical up front and in the middle and they also have the speed. And the kids transferring from SH are basketball players...not football players...and there is a reason...SH has a much better BB program than DB. Charlie M is playing catch-up...much like Stacy C

Jeez. This makes me wonder why teams recruit speed at the college level. Watch the UT / UGA game last week and talk about speed. Speed creates...it goes hand in hand with being physical. Teams must do both. Being physical and controlling the line of scrimmage is paramount to success...no doubt..but you can't contain the perimeter if you don't have the speed. Once you are tired chasing the perimeter you get hammered up the middle because a good RB with speed doesn't need much space. A football game isn't played between the hash marks...if so being physical would dominate. Why doesn't the Big Ten dominate against the SEC? Speed... At the HS level especially in this area, speed kills....you can coach the kids to be physical but you must have speed. I think you will see that SH can be just as physical. Carter has made them hit the weights...being physical and having speed it a deadly combo.. For DB...Foreman and Swafford are special players. McGue is a good player, but he isn't in their league. But he does have two more years. I love watching Foreman and Swafford play...

It is hard to understand those who question CSC. This is his third year..there has been improvement every year. Look at SH history. This is where it should have been a long time ago. Like most coaches at any level he needs players to make his system operate efficiently. Reed Hayes has been that. No disrespect to Snyder, but he seemed to hit a wall at the end of his jr and sr years. It seems to me looking in that the success of the football team has other kids looking to play football. I wish it would energize the town....I was surprised at the lack of attendance at South. Everyone there was either a football parent or band parent or so it seemed. Back to CSC. For the spread to work you must have a QB who can tuck it and run when needed. The receivers are coming around (imagine if Fields were still there) and Adams is Adams. There is so much depth at running back. If CSC can develop a QB yearly like he did at South...the offense will click. The question then becomes defense and kicking game...

What made Catfish so good was his in game adjustments. I don't know how many times an opposing team would score on their first drive or have a good drive....after that...Catfish would shut them down. The man loves football and he loves talking football. I had no idea he was facing chemo.

How can you not be impressed with the Topper offense. Hayes put the ball on the money and if his receivers make the catches they should they score 60+. The fourth down play where he rolled right and then reversed back and threw to #4 with his left hand was a head shaker. He just put the ball on the money most of the night. Once his receivers learn to catch in traffic, watch out. The Hill gives up a trick play, a botched punt that was returned, and a short TD due to a nice KO return to start the third. Their D stuffed the run all night. Both teams made head scratching plays and there were breaks on both sides. Science Hill has to work on the kicking game. Special teams will cost them. They couldn't block anyone up the middle on XP all night. I cringe at the thought of a field goal. It seems penalties hit them at every turn. The returned punt of 90 yards with the obvious block in the back. But then they drove it 90+ for a score. It is a long season and last year the team seemed to hit a wall late in the year. They have to avoid letdowns. They have a lot of weapons and not all of them will slump in one night. Greeneville will always be Greeneville. No need to knock them, they have a solid program and community. Science Hill was just bigger and faster and stronger...it wasn't that way last year. I thought the Hill had a chance to win tonight, but 49-21? 590 yards of offense? I look forward to next week.

Carter is a good coach. An idiot can see the program is in much better shape now than it was last year and in the years prior. But he still doesn't have his system in 100% nor are the players buying in 100%. The scuffle on the sidelines is evident and such a stunt was embarrassing to the players, staff and the school. With that said there seems to be little senior leadership. Hopefully they can look on the other side of the line when playing DB and see a team that is COMMITTED to winning. Regardless of the playoffs, DB was sound and disciplined. A coach can't instill that in a few years. It takes time. SHHS has lost to DB some 18 times in a row. That says more about the state of affairs than the last few games between the two. I am most disappointed in #1. He started the year like he would be all state. But he can't catch a cold now. He could so help his team. He is the epitome of what is wrong. He isn't committed and you can tell it on the field. The pass he caught against DB was a laugher. He was afraid of being hit. He is now gun-shy. He has yet to block any one. He hasn't bought in. He is no #45. He is no longer the best receiving option on the field.

I, for one, don't get all the "on paper" logic. You say on paper but you have yet to point out anything on the paper. On paper DB should be dominate. Two stats. #1 offense Dobyns Bennett #1 Defense Dobyns Bennett. Okay, against like conference opponents DB has the statistically best offense and defense. Now that is on paper. As far as tomorrow night's game it boils down to this, in my opinion. Can Boone keep SHHS in front of them. In other words don't let them get by you and break the big play. They have had several this year and they have had several big play TD's. Speed kills and SH could kill Boone with their speed. But Snyder has to protect the football. CSC is not stupid. He knows SH is faster and he will do all in his power to get great matchups and exploit his speed. Boone may have a few fast players. SH has team speed. I say 35-14 SHHS.

I, for one, don't get all the "on paper" logic. You say on paper but you have yet to point out anything on the paper. On paper DB should be dominate. Two stats. #1 offense Dobyns Bennett #1 Defense Dobyns Bennett. Okay, against like conference opponents DB has the statistically best offense and defense. Now that is on paper. As far as tomorrow night's game it boils down to this, in my opinion. Can Boone keep SHHS in front of them. In other words don't let them get by you and break the big play. They have had several this year and they have had several big play TD's. Speed kills and SH could kill Boone with their speed. But Snyder has to protect the football. CSC is not stupid. He knows SH is faster and he will do all in his power to get great matchups and exploit his speed. Boone may have a few fast players. SH has team speed. I say 35-14 SHHS.

Jamar is a junior. Will is a sophomore. I believe they have a younger brother.

You obviously sat far away from the game. As I am not sure where you get some of your statements. #1 Carter lost the game because of playing too conservative early? He was throwing the ball in his territory trusting his QB to do as he is coached. Carter's normal QB's aren't 5'8" 150 lbs but I have to say #5 looks like he has heart. He didn't lower his head after the pics and Carter kept calling the throws. Once he missed #1 down the sidelines by over-throwing him and once he hit him. This is a young SH team, used to losing, getting familiar with a new coach and new coaches. The Hilltoppers were without at least two of their better D linemen and their starting center I believe. They really struggled pursuing to the ball on the toss sweeps. The Vikings have been running Stubbs system for a long time. Their kids know what to do....the only real question I ever have with Stubbs is when he had Shepard he would run him up the middle and never really worked to get him in space. He just likes to over power opponents. But his kids are fundamentally sound. The defense on paper does look good but they do have weaknesses. They have kept SH in every game but the Volunteer game tonight. Tonight, the personnel loses shined bright. How do you get on paper SH should beat Tennessee High and should beat DB? I haven't read that paper nor do I know where to find it. On paper SH has been an opportune team, creating more turnovers and scoring off those turnovers. To date, they haven't allowed a TD or FG after one of their turnovers. Tonight that wasn't the story. The defense was without two of their best linemen and the offense does sputter at times. Kids don't hold their blocks or totally miss them. Receivers drop passes. But, there are players emerging for the Hill and they are back in the system again next year. They are young. I haven't met any Topper fans that are already celebrating a championship. SH has always been known (outside of roundball) as a school that produces individual champions but very few team championships. And if they had given up by half maybe that is the old way of thinking. Hopefully, the second half performance convinced them that Coach Carter's teams won't quit. And one thing about the stadium, I think somewhere you have to compare it to where they used to play which should be plowed up and corn planted. That place didn't excite anyone and they had bad teams to boot. The new stadium instills excitement and kids that roam the halls at SH might decide to play now. New stadium, new coach and what seems to be the beginning of a new winning attitude. Kids like to be around that. Coach Carter will have his kids as fundamentally sound as Coach Stubb's are and it will happen soon. Mix that in with the athletes at SH and you could have an explosive concoction.

They actually threw two official passes in the last drive I think. One was to 47 for a short gain and the other was to Downs but well over his head. #12 was a much better passer than what I thought he would be. He looked poised the entire game. That was the difference. #5 makes two TERRIBLE throws. Rule 1 for a QB is PROTECT THE BALL. He just floated both passes.

I am not sure how you can say total domination in the first half. Until the Viking drive after the first INT around the 7:00 mark the game was scoreless. A Viking touchdown was called back yes, but it was clearly offensive pass interference. And the Illegal Procedure calls were legit. Watch the film. To the first INT the Vikings had 5 first downs to Science Hills 3. The Vikings hadn't even thrown a pass yet. And after the first INT it still took 9 plays and 4 minutes to go 23 yards. That is hardly domination. The only difference in the first half were the two INT's.

Science Hill has been in the Red Zone 13 times this year and scored on 9 with 8 TD's. Opponents have been in the Red Zone 11 times and scored 6 times with 5 TD's and they have created 2 turnovers. SHHS has given up 21 first quarter points and only 16 in the final 3 quarters. MO WEST did not reach the Red Zone in the second half. SHHS is averaging 4.5 yds per carry. Snyder I believe leads the Big 8 in passing according to Doug Fritz. His QB rating is 115.97. Some more: SHHS is +7 in the turnover department. After the 9 turnovers they've gotten, they have scored 6 TD's and two of the INT's were in the opponents end zone. They don't beat themselves. Also, don't forget Campbell. I have seen him flip the field twice during big time situations. It will be a good game...