VolandIndyGal

How many students attend South Fulton High School? Humboldt has approximately 375 students. We are in 2A because of the last classification when we had approximately 440 students. I believe South Fulton had 42 varsity players, and we had 36 varsity players. Many of our freshmen were dressed out for homecoming, but they do not play. Our starting qb is our starting safety. Campbell is a running back/db. Wedley is a full back/defensive lineman. Brooks is a half back/db. Woods is a tight end/linebacker. Bufford is a tackle on both sides. Torrie is a guard/linebacker. Ward is a center/linebacker. Sheppherd is a split end/safety. That is nine of our starting offensive players that also start on defense. So, I am simply saying that we have many many two way players. This is how we were beaten by MUCH bigger Henry County (100+ players and 1400 students in the school) and Milan (3A). Those schools definately don't have hardly any two way players.

The score is a bit deceiving. It was close until the final quarter...really the last three or four minutes. Hum scored 3 times in the last five minutes. Humboldt was able to cause a three and out....scored after that....intercepted SF after that....then went in for the final score. Penalties killed Humboldt. 10 penalties. As a matter of fact, we jumped off sides on third down in the opening drive that gave SF the 1st down, and they proceeded to continue the drive and score. Humboldt's defense was not near as sharp tonight, and the whole team looked a bit flat. However, they certainly made the stop when necessary...and came up with a very big sack on 3rd down to end the drive. So, SF scored first. The big back for SF carried the ball well and gave the Hum defensive line a lot of trouble through the night. At the end of the 1st half SF had quite a bit of success throwing the ball and scored with just seconds left. Toward the end of the game when it was still close, Hum started letting Wedley (the fullback) run the ball. That change helped Hum move the ball quite a bit. So there was a mixture of Wedley, Campbell, and a kid that also plays db. It is a bit late and that is all my brain will recall right now. lol. If you have any specific questions, just post it.

Have any of you HC fans considered that "the unknown" might be a player? I only say that because I have read his posts. He writes like he is texting using "c" for "see." He also says, "NOT TRASH TALKIN HIM. IT NOT THE KID FAULT HE JUST DO WHAT HE IS TOLD." The incorrect grammar looks painfully close to the kind I see out of many kids today. In addition, he can vent about coaching here without fear of of retaliation. Just providing a little objectivity. HC is a great football team, and Counce is an excellent coach. Y'all will be fine the rest of the year. Just ignore the negative "fans" and move on. Good luck in the rest of your games.

Don't confuse jeAlousy with contempt

Lake County is a good football team. They have a good qb and a good supporting cast. They will be able to move the ball. They have good size, too. So, like last night, the test will be for our offensive line to get some push and make some holes. Our speed is only as affective as our line is. Last night showed that while Quan ran very hard and tried to make things happen, if there was no where to run, it didn't matter how fast you were. So, the line play will be the key. Also, with Lake County having such a good qb and good receivers, our defensive backs will have to remain disciplined and alert. I look forward to seeing a good clean game. I hope, of course, that the Vikings come out on top. We will need to bounce back from the loss at Henry County...put it behind us....have a good week of practice....realize that this game has more actual meaning and impact on their place in the district....and work hard this week. Go Vikings!!!

Thank you, Prez. He is probably a parent of one of the boys who was in the truck that drove by our Humboldt bus on the way home and harrassed our players. Obviously those kids learned the atrocious behavior from somewhere, and I don't have to go too far to learn where it seems. I know that not all HC kids and parents are like that. However, it is bad enough that you have even one that would do such a thing. His quote of "HC won't see another good team until the playoffs" which he said after the Liberty game was used as poster material for the Humbold team all week. We just came across a very good 5A school, and we were outmanned. We are not ashamed of the loss, and I am proud of the way the Humboldt players conducted themselves. I would imagine they wanted to really hurt those boys who drove by harrassing them, but they held their heads high.

Well, to be honest, that is the crowd I would expect. It was recently reported that Humboldt is the poorest school district in the entire state of Tennessee. Many of the players don't have parents that take care of them. They live with aunts, uncles, friends, guardians, etc. Therefore, their families don't come to the games. That leaves some band parents, some parents/guardians of the players, coaches' wives, and a few just general fans like me. They might make it to Humboldt home games, but most will not travel an hour away. I mean, HC has a Pepsi-provided $25,000 scoreboard. Quite a difference!!!! Now, I will give a report as I said I would, as much as I hate to report on a loss. However, we at Humboldt have nothing to be ashamed of. We have 32 varsity players. HC has 90. That was pretty much the story of the game. HC was bigger than us. We ended at 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. Our defense had some incredible stops! Our offense went three and out too many times. We just knew the boys couldn't hold off the offense if the defense was on the field so long. Speed was not a factor because no holes were made for us to use our speed. Quan broke through a time or two for a 15 yard gain here and there, but those were few and far between. Their defensive line was much bigger than our offensive line, and our offensive line just couldn't make holes for our running backs. Our defense held them several times, and if our offense could have moved the ball at all, perhaps the outcome would have been different. But you know what they say..."If ifs and buts were candy and nuts...blah, blah, blah"....so, by the 2nd quarter we were wearing down. We made another defensive stance and held them to a field goal, and we started moving the ball. Then the dreaded turnover came, and we fumbled. HC then scored a touchdown. So we went in at halftime down 10 to 0 but....again...we were wearing down. It was evident that if we didn't get any offense going, our defense couldn't hold them off. HC received the ball after halftime, and it just went from there. We caused a turnover and scored 6, but that was the only score we had. HC scored 21 more points in the second half to conclude the 31 to 6 score. I was proud of the Vikings. HC has a great team with three times the amount of players we have. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I was proud of the way the players handled themselves, even after they were harrassed by a few young HC fans who drove by the Humboldt bus and yelled at our players. As if beating us 31 to 6 was not enough. I'd like to find those boys and teach them a thing or two about class and winning with grace. Whoever they are, they should be ashamed of themselves and so should their parents! I look forward to the Vikings moving on after this game. We take on a very good Lake County team next week in Tiptonville. I hope we have a good week of practice and keep working hard. Go Vikings!!!!

Thanks, Zebra. Didn't mean to short us the 6 points. Looking forward to tonight. Hope our boys play well...with heart, intensity, and confidence. Go Vikings!!!!

Zebra, be careful. These HC fans might drive you straight into the river to keep you from the game! Go Vikings!!!!

Reitz, I would see your point except for this simple fact. The Jackson Sun last week chose to cover Adamsville (not a Jackson school), Milan (not a Jackson school), and ...was it McKenzie? Anyway, the third team covered was NOT a Jackson school. Therefore, when they choose to cover a school like Adamsville that is much further from Jackson than say, Humboldt (which is the same amount of time away from Jackson that Milan is), then you KNOW there is picking and choosing going on here. If they only covered Jackson teams, then I don't think anyone would complain. That would at least be consistent. It is the fact that they pick and choose which teams they think are worthy of the all mighty print. That is the insulting thing, and not to speak for everyone, but I believe that is what most people are tired of. Of course, the Jackson Sun has been this way for many years. I doubt our complaining will change anything.....lol....but it makes us feel better!

Stan, while I agree with you, I would add that we have to be in even better shape than HC. Our boys are in shape, but we are playing a team with 3 times the amount of players. That will be tough to compete with. We have so many playing both ways, and they will have to dig deep in the 3rd and 4th quarters to come up with a win. Our boys have worked so hard in the off season, and they have worked hard this week. I am hoping it is enough and we can come out on top of this one.

Vike, yes. You are right. At halftime we were only down by 7. By the end of the game three touchdowns separated us. When they have that many more players than us, sometimes you just can't dig down deep enough. However, I am hoping for the best!

Thanks for the suggestion. That was HIGHLY entertaining reading, and that guy was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT on the money!

New guy, not sure where you are from, but you must be familiar with a couple of "Super Dad Loudmouths" here at Humboldt!!!! Thank you for the post, and you are ABSOLUTELY on the money!! VERY well said.

GC, we'd love to have you at the Humboldt/HC game! (cheering for Humboldt, of course! ) I wish I had your confidence. Our problem is going to be keeping up with their depth. They have A LOT more players than we do. I worry about us wearing down. Even IF we could find a way to take a lead, I worry about fatigue taking its toll. I hope you are right, though!

The Humboldt coaches, fans, and parents believe in their team, but they also know that the task ahead on Friday is HUGE. They realize who they are playing, and they must play mistake free to have a chance. They have seen film and know the talent HC has. While they remain confidant, I don't believe for one second that they or their team is cocky. Nor do they believe that the win last Friday night equates to a win this Friday night. We did showcase a capable team against Gibson County, and no disrespect meant to Gibson County (because they have good size and a heck of a qb), but we face a more difficult challenge this Friday. We do not have the depth of HC (we are outnumbered by almost three times), and while we have speed, it is well known that HC does, too. We are not phased by HC's loss to graduation because we know HC simply reloads every year. I just want Humboldt to play their very best, and I hope it is enough to come out on top.

Mrbigster, I will be at the Humboldt vs. Henry County game Friday night. I will provide a solid report!

HC is loaded, as usual. People, of course, come to expect that every year when facing HC. HC is incredibly deep, fast, big, talented, disciplined, and well coached. We at Humboldt have speed, but so does HC. Hum must play mistake-free and if possible cause a turnover or two. We are expecting a hostile HC after their loss to Liberty, and we must be careful not to let the high of Friday night cloud our mission this Friday. Our speed will not take us as far this Friday. I hope the Vikings make a good showing and come out on top. We also hope for no injuries and a good clean game.

VIG, huh? Is that Notorious V I G? haha. We look forward to being in Paris.

Thanks for the well wishes. We wish you luck, too. We also appreciate your kindness about Kane. If you haven't read the post, please check it out. He was a special boy.

That many touchdowns would be nice! I don't believe we will be able to stop HC completely. They are too good. Their offense will score, so the key becomes keeping up with them (which I believe is exactly what you said). In simple terms, we need to only stop them one more time than they stop us. If we can dig deep and come up with an additional stop somewhere during the game, we will have a chance. Our lines have a tough tough task ahead, but I believe in them. They need to believe in themselves, too.

Today would have been Kane Young's 18th birthday, and as I reflect on his life I wanted to share some thoughts on this outstanding young man. So many times, negative assumptions are made about our boys at Humboldt, and he was a boy that ANY parent would LOVE to have had as a son. If you are a Humboldt fan, or if you knew Kane, or just want to post something, please feel free to share! Kane was going to be a senior this year. What a fantastic young man! Of course he was an outstanding athlete. He was on the track team and was a lineman on the defensive and offensive lines. He established many of the weight lifting records, and he was the player that made everyone around him better. He demanded excellence from himself and his teammates. When he didn't get something right away (which was rare), he repeated it over and over again until he nailed it. He also did things the right way off the field. He was going to take tough classes this fall (Physics and Chemistry II were among them), and he most certainly was going to go to college, whether he played football or not (but we all knew he'd be suiting up on Saturdays, too). Something in particular I want to share is a story about him and some of his teammates encountering a homeless man in Humboldt. Kane ate A LOT....and when I say A LOT, there really isn't a word to describe how much he ate. lol. Breakfasts are provided at Humboldt, and when someone didn't want their milk, they knew who would take it. lol. One afternoon he happened to have kept a lot from the morning in a regrigerator in the fieldhouse so he was taking them home to finish. On their way home they encountered a homeless man. Now, Kane was not a rich kid. He didn't come from money. However, he opened his backpack and gave that homeless man, who he didn't even know, every milk he had, plus any snacks he had. The boy who didn't have a lot himself, gave a perfect stranger everyhing he had to give. What a treasure Kane was! I just wanted each every person who reads this to truly know why we loved him so much. It wasn't because he was such an outstanding football plyer. It was because he was an outstanding person. We loved him, and we miss him so much. Thank you for reading this post, and give your son/daughter/grandchild an extra hug tonight. Warmest wishes to all.

I don't mind HC taking us too lightly! Doesn't hurt us. They are a good football team, no doubt. Plus, they just reload every year so I don't expect to see a down team in red on Friday. As for the defense, scheme was good. Intensity was good. Problems showed up when guys were out of position...losing contain....or taking the wrong angles. These are fixable things, as long as the boys listen and execute this week. Coach Bland, Coach Lane (defensive coord), Coach Yates (off coord), Coach Bond, Coach Shepherd, Coach Cox, Coach Taylor, and Coach Dehaan are good coaches and I have no doubt they will put together a great game plan. It will be up to those boys to execute. It's only Sunday? boo!

GC, I also wish your team the best. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how nice it was that you had a moment of silence before the game specifically for our wonderful Kane Young who was taken from us right before the season. What a special young man he was! Gibson County didn't have to do that, and it was such a nice gesture. The Humboldt family truly appreciates your kindness, and I didn't want this exhibition of fine sportsmanship to go unadknowledged.

I am a Humboldt fan....guess I better say that up front first. lol. I know what happened at Liberty. Try not to be too hard on your team. You are correct that both teams played sloppily. However, it seems to me that the HC turnovers were at costlier times and at costlier places on the field. You get those turnovers fixed (and you will at this week's practice), and y'all will be VERY tough to beat. HC may have lost players, but you lose players every year. You have a beautiful situation there where you simply reload. Cramping is very common this time of year...first game....heat...so try not to be too tough on your coaches. Counce has been coaching a long time, and I assure you he knows what he is doing. We have speed, but so do y'all. Your qb can fly! We have a lot of players that play both ways the entire game, so we just hope to play our best and avoid cramps ourselves. I look forward to a good clean game.