TonyDalton

I agree completely. A tougher non-conference schedule would simply get CAK more nicked and dinged up. It seems to me that his observation about CAK's non-district schedule was simply another attempt to make CAK fans feel less positive about what their football program has been able to accomplish. With all the success that Alcoa has had, I simply do not understand the compulsion some (not all) of Alcoa's fans feel to deride, denigrate or otherwise rain on the relatively smaller parades of other teams and their fans. I'll say it loud and clear for all the world to hear--Alcoa is THE HS football program in TN; its players are football demi-gods, with so much more natural talent than any other team's players, and they work so much harder, and their coaches are so much smarter. We all pale in comparison, and we realize that and have come to grips with it. But that's not enough for some of you Alcoa fans--no, you have to rub salt in the wound by belittling CAK's schedule. Is that the way you would want to be treated if the shoe were on your foot?

Hopefully Scott County will get more and more kids to play in coming years. The team had some very good athletes at skill positions. From my observations, I would say Scott County might very well be the best coached team CAK has played thus far. Offensively and defensively, the coaches seemed to have the perfect scheme for their players to have the best chance of succeeding against CAK. Good luck, Highlanders.

His tone certainly doesn't sound like someone who is out to "harm Alcoa football." It sounds like he's raising legitimate questions, without in any way belittling what Alcoa has accomplished recently, about whether the landscape needs to be changed, whether that be a multiplier or some amendments to the OOZ rules (to the extent there are any). I'll tell you up front my son is a freshman at CAK. Of course, as a CAK fan I feel some frustration at what Alcoa has done to our playoff hopes in the last couple of years, but I don't want to succeed by dragging somebody else down. However, if the current rules, or lack thereof, skew the landscape, rule changes should at least be discussed and considered, and surely true Alcoa fans would not shirk from that debate or stoop to imputing dishonorable motives to the people who think rule changes should be at least considered. Many of the Alcoa fans who are posting on this subject seem to be taking the high road, which I respect. Some, unfortunately, are resorting to namecalling and casting as villains anybody who has the audacity to say this is a legitimate issue for debate. Alcoa has a great tradition, but there are a lot of good teams around the state, and many of them have very good coaches and probably work just as hard as the boys at Alcoa, and yet nobody...nobody can beat them... for years in a row? You don't see that kind of extended domination...of an entire state...in very many places. You certainly have a lot more parity in the NFL, when a team can go from the cellar to the cellar to the Super Bowl in a year or two. Similarly, there is much more parity in the NCAA than exists in TSSAA 3A; two national championships in a row is an extremely rare feat anymore. And yet somehow Alcoa wins oodles of state championships in a row. Perhaps it's just something in the water in Alcoa that makes the players who grow up there so much better than anywhere else in TN. I know that's an outrageous proposition--but that's kind of what you're suggesting. Some of your fellow Alcoa fans are taking the high road and discussing this issue without being mean-spirited to the posters who are simply raising legitimate questions--in a respectful way. It would be nice if you would do likewise.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm enjoying it already, and I noticed there's even some chatter about my alma mater, Jefferson County. Go Patriots! Go Warriors!

If HS football gets too boring for you, fall is girls volleyball season too, I think.

They did. The teams spent the first 20-30 minutes practicing special teams plays, but with limited contact--i.e., as soon as the punt returner fielded the ball and took off running they would blow the whistle, etc. Several key offensive players for CAK didn't suit up for some reason. The backup QB ran the first team offense and played extremely well. Gibbs' offense moved the ball against CAK's 1 defense but not consistently. Gibbs moved the ball much better against CAK's 2 defense but I'm not familiar enough with Gibbs' players to know whether they still had their 1 offensive players in or not. CAK's 2-3 offense moved the ball well at times but drives would stall and no big scores that I recall. Also some turnovers by the 2-3 CAK offense. Overall a good scrimmage and both teams seemed to get some good work in. I'm not sure which division/classification Gibbs is in, but they have some good players and seem to be a disciplined team.

That's good to hear! I don't hate that at all. A rivalry should be based on healthy and mutual respect. And I did notice that there seemed to be some very respectful Alcoa folks posting here. Of course, those kinds of Alcoa fans are certainly welcome to join in the discourse. I assume respectful CAK fans would be welcome on the Alcoa message board as well. I certainly wouldn't presume to go to the Alcoa board and post something (1) downplaying any positive feelings Alcoa fans might have about their team this year and (2) predicting that any team is going to "spank" any other team this year. From what I could tell last year, CAK is really the only team that gave Alcoa all they could handle during the regular season. My post was directly solely at the poor soul who seemed to be posting a slam against the CAK team for no reason other than to stroke his own ego or rain on somebody else's parade. As an aside, I am delighted to hear your positive and respectful attitude toward CAK; unfortunately it is not universal among Alcoa fans, as I heard a fair amount of fairly derogatory "trash talk" from Alcoa fans as I was walking to the parking lot after the regular season game last year. Edge2010's post here sounded very similar in tone to the comments I heard on that occasion, from more than one Alcoa fan, and is probably why I jumped to the conclusion that he was an Alcoa fan. I'll take your word for the fact that he's not. And I realize I can't draw generalizations about ALL Alcoa fans based just upon statements I overheard from a couple of groups of Alcoa fans after last year's game. Unfortunately, every team probably has some bad apples among its fan base.

Anything is possible. What is more interesting than the content of the post is the fact that an Alcoa fan (presumably) who claims to not be worried about CAK is doing lurking around on a message board about CAK's team. A little worried about what CAK might put on the field this season, perhaps, or just way too much free time?