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Every once in a while some kids may move in. It is rumored that it is just for the education - and only a coincidence that the kids are also very good in football.

Stars, I predict (and hope) it is Fuller at LB. That group has not been as good as one might expect with all the athletes at MHS. This year's team should be very good. I'll go ahead and say it: If they don't win it will be because of coaching. It's never about our little all americans wearing the uniforms! How long until the opening kickoff? I understand its a doubleheader night so it should be a packed house.

On second thought...I guess FHS doesn't have to hit it. Congratulations Eric on a great job pitching! Huge win for FHS. They have a real shot to win it again!

I hear "Big Red" is throwing for FHS today. He is a very good soph - but still a soph. If they can win that first one today, I think they can piece enough together in the championship game. It will be interesting to see how many more RBI's Delmonico has a chance to get against Collierville. They gotta hit it!

No, I was not being serious, but pretty funny that someone took it that way. And to be honest, I did have to ask a football parent for directions in Murfreesboro! MHS had a good team this year that played with alot of confidence in the district and regional tourneys. But...they played a little starry eyed at the spring fling. They could not make anything happen, get/make a break, or gain any momentum. Both Columbia and Arlington are good teams who appeared very comfortable in the situation. MHS did face 2 good pitchers, but 1 run in 2 games stinks. Therefore, two and done with a trip back to murvil just in time to start the summer workouts for football! There was nothin to be ashamed of, it was a good season for MHS. Got to watch a couple of games of Farragut. Their games were much more enjoyable without all the usual heckling. Their kids really compete. Yeah, Delmonico is a beast that you DO NOT PITCH TO, but their young players are very competitive. I hope they can win it all for our district. They have a really good shot, especially if the other coaches keep telling themselves that Delmonico isn't that good and believe they can get him out in tough situations. I guess no matter how much experience a coach has, he must see it to believe it.

Not sure about that one Jake. Murvul was lucky to beat Farragut 3 times this year and extremely lucky to get by Norris and Science Hill. I heard their baseball team had to ask the football team for directions to Murfreesboro. They may just be happy to be staying overnight. I do wonder who the real favorite would be. Is it the young talented Farragut team? Who has the "shutdown" pitcher now that Pfeiffer and Norris are out? Surely the middle TN teams are very good. Who are some studs to watch play?

I'm glad someone besides me brought up the student section. Yes, kids will be kids - if you let them. If they don't know how to act, their parents should keep them at home until they don't act like kids in public. They aren't 10 to 12 anymore. Most are driving and getting ready to vote, move out on their own, or (heaven forbid) being sent to the desert to defend our country. By the age of the kids I see at the games showing their ####, they should know how to act by now. Surely, they are not allowed to act that way at home, at school, at church, or anywhere else. If their parents are not there to "control" (bust their butt) them, then the AD's should escort them out. These ideas are not meant just for the FHS student section. I don't care if it's my kids or the governor's kids, they should be representing their family and school in the right way when at a game. It is possible to support your team (while riding both the ump and the other team) without taking away from the game. If a coach or an adult in the stands acted some of these "kids", they would either be escorted away or there would be a fight in the stands. IMO - When anyone in the stands becomes a distraction from the game itself, they should be forced to leave.

Very good baseball game to watch. Congrats to FHS for winning the region and staying away from Norris at Science Hill. After trailing most of the game, they made enough plays to keep it close and then pull it out in the 7th. The E on the MHS 1st baseman was huge, but there was only one out and tying/winning runs could have still been driven in. Too many plays and chances in a close game to blame one play. Farragut was probably fortunate in the 7th, but MHS was fortunate with the 2 lasers Delmonico hit earlier in the game. FHS made comeback and deserved the region title. I'm new to the high school scene. Are these two teams good enough to have a shot in Murfreesboro? It doesn't look like either one of them hit it really great. Maybe it's that way all across the state in high school. I've always believed the old saying "you must have good pitching to get there, but when you get there, you better be able to hit it because everyone has good pitching". After watching these teams play 6 times this year, I wonder about the hitting. Thoughts?

ADGRAD, I know nothing about the local high school coaches, just a little about the players. FHS does play several young players who are already very good. I agree with you, they will continue to be a contender for many years, just maybe not a favorite every year. IMO - some teams play to win, others play expecting to win, and others play and hope to win. It is usually not very hard to see which group a team fits into, and most champions definitely play to win. With the young players, sometimes they just expect to win. The young ones at FHS might have to learn the difference as they go thru the tourney. They definitely have a good shot to win it all again! Haven't heard about the elder statesman at Powell. It wouldn't surprise me for that to happen at alot of places in the coming years. More parents of young kids are holding their kids out of school until they are older. Those parents likely don't know the rule regarding 19 year old seniors. Both sad and funny.

Sorry RR, but that may have been true 5 years ago. Thunder travel ball is way down except for the older high school age kids and a 15U team that is very good. But that team has players from all over including Seymour, Hardin Valley, Powell, South Doyle, and even William Blount. There are some other very good organizations in Knoxville who are feeders to lots of Knox County schools - including Farragut. They do have a good rec league program that promotes the kids to play both league ball and some travel ball. That something the powers at Maryville Little League discourage for some insane reason! Maybe it will take away from the football? The schools that currently has the brightest future are Powell and Bearden. Both of them have some very good players moving through their programs in the next few years. Powell's are already fr/sophs and Bearden's are a little behind that. But if the coach isn't able to manage the increase in talent, it will all be a waste anyway. GO REBELS!

I did get to see this game. Pfeiffer looked good but maybe rusty from his layoff. Maryville had some good cuts and plenty of opportunities due to walks and wild pitches. He still only gave up two hits. A 2-hitter from your pitcher and 2 homeruns from your all-american catcher make it tough for your opponent! It will take a very good team to beat those two this year. Any thoughts why teams pitch to Delmonico in close games with Farragut? I would definitely consider making an all district player beat me instead of the 1st round draft pick getting the chance. But then again, I am only a second guessing spectator watching from the bleachers. Does he have many intentional walks this year?

Maryville High School - by the way, does he play football?

Didn't get to see the game, but I heard it was a good HS baseball game (so was their 1st mtg this year). Also heard that Farragut's pitcher didn't have his best stuff (still threw 3 hitter?), but MHS does have a very good team. FHS should be the favorite out of East Tn again this year (if they can beat Norris from Science Hill), but the gap between them and everyone else is closing. Although they do have some good young players, the two HS All Americans will be gone next year. The younger "studs" that used to find their way to FHS are now going to...other places (I will leave it at that).

Sounds like things haven't changed alot since I was around the league. I heard the raider teams have been pretty dominant - I guess that is somewhat of a change. They were unbelievable one year with the Burstrom group. My kids city players were dropping like flies when we played. I doubt this group was that good. I bet if you asked the coaches from the raiders and rebels they would probably say (and believe) the dominance is primarily due to their coaching! What's the old saying about jimmys and joes not X's and O's? It used to be that we would get the better county kids to come to the city because they didn't want to get their brains beat out - as you say. That must still be happening, but aren't the raiders in the county? My kids coaches actually told me they were coming for the coaching! People sometimes forget that it's pre-puberty, youth, parks/rec football. Jimmys and joes are going to win more times than not. There was a movement several years ago to try some things to balance the league, but I guess those in power didn't see the need. I think you are right, taking those kids out might be the best way to save the league. I hope something good happens because it has provided probably thousands of kids (many who won't play in HS) an opportunity to play football.

Thanks Jake. I think I found out about the guy who is putting it together - if not, I may ask for your help. I don't have a kid that young anymore, but I know of 3-4 southerner/reb and a couple of alcoa parents who have expressed an interest in something more competitive. I will let them know. My neighbor is tied into the bears group so I will let him know as well. I'm not sure about the raider, but I heard their program has dominated recently, so they probably have some kids who could help. It would be a great opportunity for the better players to get into a more competive situation. From what I remember of the parks/rec league, it would also make that league much more balanced if you took 20 of the better players off of the stacked teams. But you never know, some parents may want their kid stay at parks/rec and dominate just like LL.

If that's the case, we better hope those kids didn't get too far behind in football smarts by playing for a county team - especially when they may have to later compete against other city kids who have 5-6 years in the system. I have been out of the loop for a few years, but has anyone heard the rumor of an all-star youth team being put together from maryville to play "competitive" football in Knoxville and other cities? From what I saw of the parks/rec league (when my kid was there), it would surely be better for the better football players. At that time, the parks/rec league was simply ridiculously unbalanced - JMO. Has parks/rec ever tried to even out the teams for the benefit of the kids?

I realize this is a football district, but... Will anyone give Farragut any competition this year? Who are the sleepers or improved teams? Any up and coming studs to watch out for? What does Bearden, WB, Catholic, and Maryville have?

Spoon, You are right on target. Having played with/against baby owenby for a few years, the scouting report on him is "don't throw him a fastball for a strike - especially a mediocre fastball". And yes, he can play outfield. If they have a better 3rd baseman at Powell, he must be a beast too! Even though Hag hasn't played 3rd much because of his athletism, I think he would be great there - IMO.

Nation, I understand the best player on that baby reb team will actually be an Alcoa High School athlete - unless the garbage service gets to work! He was dominant in that age group...but time will tell.

I saw MHS play much more than anyone else in the county this year. IMO, Curtis was a huge part of that defense, and I was surprised not to see him on the all-state team. It was hard to do much of anything (throw or run) on his corner. Maybe a glaring oversight, but more likely the coaches trying to recognize some seniors - and there is really nothing wrong with that either.

JMO - I would recommend trying to use the same offense Maryville High runs. It seems every year they insert new players and don't miss a beat. Although they spread it out alot, they definitely have enough running formations to keep the defense honest and run the clock - if needed. Quarles and the players make it look pretty simple. The multiple formations appear to allow them to find the weak areas of the defense and then exploit those areas. It has been extremely successful for several years now without alot of D1 type athletes.

Stars, Any truth to the rumor that we can move down to a lower classification after the freshmen get moved off campus? I doubt the school would want to, but it could affect not only high school sports but also the middle school if they also lose their 7th graders. I wonder if this was considered by the school board in "THE PLAN". The pendulum swing is starting in the middle schools. With 400+ kids in your future graduating class, it becomes hard to even contribute on the chess team. I heard their were 60+ trying out for the 7th grade (one grade) basketball team this year. Times have definitely changed, and parents appear more fearful their kids may get lost in the shuffle.

Jake, It is amazing - as you put it. Plus, at the high school level, IMO it doesn't take much more than a couple of really good athletes in each class to make a signicant difference in your season. Maybe not a state championship, but it could yield 2-3 more wins per year. I believe the pendulum will eventually swing. The increasing size of MHS is already turning some families away from sending their kids to such a big school, and this is helping AHS. It is very ironic that many who do not want to build a new HS in the city may actually end up hurting the current football program by allowing the school to become too big. One would think that parents of above average players would realize it is HS football (an extracurricular activity and the last opportunity for most of the kids to play the game) and eventually understand you don't have to wait until you are a jr/sr to be a starter at most other schools. The studs in each class across the entire county are going to get to play early at all the schools including AHS and MHS. But the above average guy who is competing with the other 8-10 above average guys at MHS and AHS are the ones who are hard to understand. The competition for playing time is tremendous with the increased number of above average athletes. No doubt, this sacrifice and competition contributes to the success of both schools. Oh yeah, excellent coaches don't hurt either! Maybe GREY is right. Maybe it is also about the examples by the program on and off the field. That is definitely easier to accept (although I don't understand what it means) than just wanting to say I was the 2nd string whatever on my team as we won back-to-back-to-back-to-back state championships. Maybe the county schools should aim for better examples and not just wins. Who knows, that might be an easier goal right now! On the lighter side, what you mentioned in your post has been going on for many years. A few years ago I ribbed some of my best WB friends. For Halloween I broke out all my MHS stuff - hat, old letter jacket, rebel shirt, and put some MHS stickers on the kids' faces. When folks asked what I was dressed as, my reply was a former WB graduate!

Once again, everything must revolve around the rebs. After all, everyone wants to be a reb. Everyone wants their son to play (or just sit on the bench) for them. As some parents have truly been told, if they don't play (or sit) for the rebs, they won't get to play at the middle school or high school. I'm sure their future coaches check out their resume for experience to make sure they were a part of such a winning program at 12 years old in parks/rec! Give me a freakin break! It is parks/rec football. The people across the street from Everett don't even know or care who is playing! To slander any man who has spent most of his life coaching/baby-sitting/counseling kids is dispicable. However, you do deserve a thank you. Back when the colors were changed, I helped start the rumor that it was done just to rile the rebs. I believed at the time that there were some (not all) reb want-a-be's (mostly WB and HHS grads) who would believe it and really get ticked off. I imagined: "How dare they use the Maryville colors! We are the rebs!" Again, it is parks/rec football! It has taken a few years for the evolution, but thank you for chuckle we got from that post. Everyone involved with youth sports should realize it is all about the kids - both the kids on your team and the kids on the other teams. It is not all about championship records, offensive records, defensive records, coaching records, or team colors. If you are not trying to have a positive impact on all the kids, you are in it for the wrong reasons. Luckily, there are several coaches in the youth leagues who have been there for many years. They are not dads who simply want to change things for the benefit of their kid for the few years he is in the league. They have provided a stable league for thousands of kids in our community during the past 25 years. I simple "thank you" to all of them would have been more appropriate. This thread began as a great opportunity for those who have some knowledge about the struggles of WBHS and HHS football to offer their opinions. Although I have little direct knowledge about either of the county high schools (MHS grad), I do have an opinion. Most (not all) wins are determined because of the Jimmy and Joes, not the X's and O's. In other words, the kids have to be out of the halls and on the field. To get them on the field, there must be some excitement in the program. The multiple coaching changes over the last few years has done nothing to build excitement. Hopefully, both schools will (or have) found the right guy for their jobs and (as an earlier poster said) everyone can get behind the program from the youth leagues on up. This should happen regardless of what color a kid wears when he plays parks/rec.

If the little Owenby goes anywhere, it better be to MURVUL to play QB!