squatch

Really didn't understand the criteria. QB was offensive player of the year (with Spralls at Tyner) in the toughest 2A region in the state but received neither Best of Preps or All State consideration. RB was Running Back of the Year in the region. Both played LB on the best defense in the history of the school (lowest points allowed) and QB also punted. The best reward is the comments of those who actually watched or played in the games. Comments from Coach Turner, Coach Ross, Coach Grider, their players, staffs, etc. as they went through the line after the games hold much more credibility and value.

My sincere apologies for things I said earlier. In this case, I am guilty of overreacting to comments made on a message board which is out of character and not acceptable. Probably don't need to read Coach T after Tennessee loses to Florida. This takes away from a great game played by two teams playing their guts out. The kids don't post on message boards and don't have anything to do with what happened before they came along. They just go out every Friday and do their best without trying to hurt anyone. I know both teams are coached that way. We all want to represent our school the proper way, and I probably failed to do that in this case. People make mistakes but you have to own them. Best of luck (injury free) to both teams going forward.

I hope the Walters kid is OK. Was not a cheap shot by 27. Was surprised that Boyd was in so much better shape and more physical than Marion. Kick return and trick play all scoring for Marion with Boyd almost doubling yardage. Boyd backs trucking Marion linebackers all night. They don't want to see 5 and 21 in any Oklahoma drills anytime soon. Boyd had many penalty yards and penalties s lets get that off the excuse list. November can't get here soon enough. No excuses after that. These seniors were sophomores When you stuck that extra touchdown in to make it 28-7 two years ago. We will be your huckleberry. Soon....

Rams have 11 yards rushing. 73 yards total offense. 45 of that on one long pass when kid was covered. Many thanks to SP people for running off our defensive coordinator. Gift that keeps on giving!

Yes, got me on the reference to increased passing. I love slinging it around but that is why I had people putting moving signs in my yard when I coached 11 year olds. That was the end of my play calling. Easier to call plays from the stands now. Calling plays is one of the toughest things to do when things are not working like you thought, and you have to make a new decision every 20-25 seconds. It is like taking the ACT every Friday night. Things are so much more complex now. They have around 20 different formations, and the plays come out in paragraphs not "34 dive" like the old days.

We all hope it is a good injury free game as these two might see each other (and Marion) later. Boyd will have to open it up and pass on early downs to have an opportunity.

We played TKA in week 2. They are well coached but just don't have a lot of depth. I would consider us to have decent speed on the back end but #5 took a 75 yard wildcat snap and 99 yard kickoff return back on us. I think he is going to a service academy. I would not kick to him. #12 is big strong armed QB but he puts the ball up for grabs consistently. #10 is very underrated RB. Had 75 yard run against us late in the game. #7 is best receiver and they try to go to him consistently. They will hit some big plays but really not a 10-12 play drive team. I think Oneida will win but TKA will have some big plays to keep it close early. #5, #7, and #10 touch the ball 75-80% of the time.

My Jethro Bobine math is not the best or they can have 13 people on defense to your point! With the spread, they try to shade those outside LB types covering the slot receivers back to middle of the field and dare you to throw to them. They kind of give you the perception that everyone is covered but they are really not. KA runs exact same offense and has a couple of kids that can make plays. They don't have a lot of overall depth it appears so I guess the plan would be to get the lead by passing then hit the ground game to see if we can wear them down a little. I think both teams will score some points but ours will probably be on longer drives and theirs will be on big plays.

As we ease into this schedule, we will have to throw to win many of these games where we will be outmatched physically. We can't line up and run against 8-9 guys in the box consistently. It does look like a lot of the younger guys got in there last week to provide a little depth espeically when it is hot in these first few games.

Agreed - #2 can be a solid receiver in addition to #1 and #9. Always seems to be running open from my observation so have to find him.

Or at least run out of bounds once in a while! Hard to stay healthy doing that all year. Guys did not hydrate well for last week's game and it showed with the cramps. We don't have the depth for those positions to be out with cramps. Think we are good in the line position depth though. KA will put 8 in box and force us to pass. They don't have a lot of overall depth it appears but do have some good athletes. I think both teams will move the ball especially as the game progresses. They run the exact same offense but have a bigger less mobile QB back there. Keeps the ball on the read option very rarely. They will definitely test our secondary. Their best plays come when #5 gets into the wildcat package. He is fast and elusive. Scored on his first touch on Friday. #10 is solid runner.

Watched their first game versus Seymour. This team is no cupcake. Run the same spread offense that we do. #5 and #7 are playmakers. We will have to outscore them.

Thanks - I have not been to Oliver Springs in 25 years. What is your go to Mexican restaurant close to the school?

We scrimmaged Hixson. This is a slippery slope. Boyd dominated even with smaller guys winning one on one matchups before the scrimmage. Hixson is defending district champion but lost 14 seniors from last year. Our experience really showed throughout the session. The key is not letting this go to the heads and keep working to get the same results. Oliver Springs will be good test on Friday. Really nice coaching move splitting out Keebler and putting Owens at TE. Keebler really bad matchup for DBs and can bring him back in with Owens when you want to pound it with two tight ends.

Nope - Mom/Dad live and work here in Chattanooga. If they lived out that way, I bet he would be wearing the Orange and Black like his grandfather.

I am not sure what the 40 time is for EJ but I have never seen anyone catch him from behind. Very tough runner inside as well. He will get the majority of our carries this year. Expect 1,000 plus yards from him. Very valuable as a linebacker as well. Not the most vocal guy on team but very strong leader by example. Will play college baseball somewhere. Great young man. Family raised him well. Don't hold him playing for us against them when Mr. Wigfall up for election next time!

I agree the quality of athlete is much better. One of the key differences is the academics. The team GPA is around 3.2 I think with several 4.0 guys. Football is gravy but you get a lot of attention when a school can hand you academic money to help you come there to play football. # 5 is definitely a prospect but will probably play college baseball. Great kid with good grades and showing up well at all the baseball camps. #1 has really good grades and will play somewhere. #2 does well in the classroom and will have an opportunity somewhere. #86 has been offered by Davidson and Cumberland with heavy interest from Bucknell, ETSU, etc. He does really well in the classroom. He will play somewhere. #10/21 has good grades and has interest from schools in that Maryville College, Sewanee, etc. level. I missed a bunch of guys in that senior class but know they are all headed to college and do pretty well in the classroom. I expect the interest will heat up for these guys after the season starts. The lesson here is the classroom performance opens up so many options because there are really good schools that can't give full athletic rides. These guys compete in the classroom as much or more than they do on the field. They are making their own breaks. It drives me nuts to listen to parents complain about the coaches or someone else not giving their kid recruiting love or promoting them when they emphasized the field performance and not the classroom all through high school. Self inflicted wounds here. Also, these high priced camps like Football University prey on the parent's belief that their kid is a 4 or 5 star. Tell them what you want to hear about your son and take their money to keep them coming back. Big business.

Oh field whisperer, is it too early to start the blue and white checkerboard end zone discussion yet?

I appreciate it - hope both of us have good injury free seasons. Last time for me this year so I will be wandering around next Fall looking for something to do. Been busy every Friday for a while - might need to take in a Marion/SP game next year. That will be in my Top 5. Never seen a Baylor/McCallie game or some of the other classic games so want to experience those. Might be a little less stressful next year.

God bless all the single wing dinosaurs. My Dad played guard with no face mask in the single wing. He just had someone break his nose before the season so he could control when it happened. It is easy to sit and evaluate the play calling from the stands. My offensive coordinator days lasted one year so obviously not an expert. I called plays one year for some 12 year olds, and it is one of the most stressful things you can do. Luckily, I was not paid as that would have been taken away and moving signs placed in my yard. Everyone makes good points but this is really an injury issue. We have 6-7 guys going both ways so it is critical to keep them helathy over the course of the season. You want to win every game but we really need some games where we can strike early to get a lead then rest our guys to maintain them for the rest fo the season. If you know a running team has to pass, I guarantee there will be some turnovers and the game get out of hand. Maybe you can win some 21-14 physical blood baths but those games wear on a smaller team over time. With our 195lb linemen blocking 240lb guys when we have two 6' 2" guys on the perimeter who can make big plays, you have to exploit those matchups. Most teams have one kid that can cover (Marion might be the exception - think they are solid across the board) but then you have a good matchup on the other guys back there. When you establish that you can throw the ball, defenses have to take one guy out of the box and go two deep safeties and widen those linebackers out to cover the flat game. Then, you have big holes for the running backs and blocking angles get easier. #5's 15 carries now get him 150 yards rather than 75 yards. Central is our jamboree game. Not sure of the night yet. Need to check that.

No, there will not be more passing than in the past. #5 is a good back and will get a bunch of carries this year. When we play Meigs, Polk, Bledsoe, Tyner, and Marion, we probably can't line up and pound those teams without throwing the ball to loosen things up. I think it will be 75% run in the other games. Most teams in 2A can't throw it that well so that advantage will have to be used for us to win. You normally have substandard defensive back play in 2A as it is not very well coached at that level. Can't remember last DB to play any type of higher level college football out of 2A Tennessee football.

You nailed it. #86 is 6' 2" 233lbs. and can fly. He is rated the #1 TE in Chattanooga by the River City Sports site. Probably a hybrid TE/WR. In the 7 on 7s, things tended to work better when he was split like a receiver and had some space away from the LBs. They have another kid that can function well at TE #44 so you can split #86 out then bring him back in for a two tight end set to run the ball. #1 played safety last year but will be a main option at WR. He is 6' 2" also and can go get the football plus makes the tough catches in traffic. Just a real tough kid. QB has plenty of arm so deep ball should be a weapon to just let those guys go get it. They are working on developing the #3 and #4 receiving options in these 7 on 7s. Offensive line is relatively small but very quick and experienced. Have more depth this year with 8-9 guys that can play in the line. In my opinion to be successful, the pass will have to be used to get people out of the box then run the football with the lead later. Schedule is filled with teams bigger than us so can't afford to get into the grinding 14-12 4th quarter type slugfests. The formula will be to use the pass to get ahead and make the other teams get out of their comfort zone throwing it to catch up. Think you can still pound it just as much but with the lead. Defense looks to have a lot of potential if they can stay healthy as well.

The 7 on 7 circuit has started. Boyd went down to Lafayette, Ga. for an event with 7-8 teams there. LFO, Lafayette, Christian Heritage, Sonoraville, Walker Valley, North Murray, etc. were there. Played 7 games. Went 6-1 losing first one to North Murray. Good to watch some football although it was the touch variety.

Absolutely. It looked like we had about 35 guys out there yesterday with about 10 more still involved in Spring sports. Put in the UTK Circle of Life drill which was fun to watch. Have some quality depth in the offensive line this year plus have good depth at linebacker. Still not a huge team but it looks like several of the guys "wintered up" in the weight room in the last few months. #1 at receiver as well as safety. Looked good along with #86 catching the ball. Good therapy watching football again.